5 Service-Based Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs

Service-based businesses are great startup ideas for young entrepreneurs:

• There will always be people willing to pay you to do a job they don’t want to do
• They usually have low startup costs and a low overhead budget
• There’s a type of service job for nearly everyone
• You don’t need a college degree or specialized training
• They have a high success rate

Ready to start your service business? Here are some ideas especially for bright, energized teens like you!

1.         PERSONAL SHOPPING AND DELIVERY

Not everyone welcomed a return to in-person shopping after the lockdown. And not everyone can shop for themselves.

Sure, there are established services like Instacart and Uber Grocery. But you can stand out by offering lower fees and more personalized service. Brand yourself as a shopper who knows their clients and is an active part of the community. Get to know your clients so they keep coming back to you for their shopping and delivery needs instead of hiring random strangers every time. Take on as many or as few clients as you’re comfortable with. Charge by the hour or a flat fee per delivery.

Don’t have a car? Hop on your bike and market yourself as a specialized small errand service. Pick up meals from restaurants. Run to the hardware store for that one thing someone needs to complete a project. Pick up and return library books. The options are endless!

2.         KIDS’ PARTY PLANNER

If there’s one constant in life, it’s that parents love their children. Children have birthdays, and parents love to throw the best parties for their little ones. But parents, as you may well know, are busy, overwhelmed people. How can they make sure they throw the best parties in town?

This is where you come in. For young entrepreneurs who enjoy working with children and want a job other than babysitter or camp counselor, party planning may be your niche. As a party planner, these are just some of the services you can offer:

• Shopping for themed decorations
• Leading arts and crafts for the birthday child and guests
• Set-up and clean-up
• Picking up the cake
• Making fun party snacks
• Maintaining the schedule of activities
• Taking photos and videos
• Just staying by the parent’s side in case they need an extra set of eyes, ears, or hands

Price your services by the hour, task, or “party pack.” For example, you might offer a “full-service party pack” where you do all the above tasks.

The great thing about running a kids’ party planning service is that every job you do comes with built-in marketing for more customers!

3.         PRIVATE TUTOR OR COACH

Speaking of kids, many of them could use a little help in one or more school subjects. Others need private coaching in their chosen athletic activities. Either way, this is a great service business for young entrepreneurs who like kids.

Here at the Kantner Foundation, we know that high-achieving, college-bound teens like you are incredibly smart and talented. You likely take at least one A.P. level class and are involved with at least one sport. Put all your hard work into a lucrative enterprise helping the next wave of young hotshots! Just as you want to give yourself every advantage you can for your future, parents of younger children want the same thing for their kids. They’ll hire tutors when their kids struggle with a certain subject, but they’ll also hire tutors to help their kids go above and beyond the rest of the class.

Sports, too, are an area where parents want their children to be the best they can be. They might hire a private coach to either help their child maintain skills during the off-season, build skills that surpass what they’re learning, or introduce a child to a new sport without paying for expensive classes and equipment.

Professionals often charge a lot of money for these services. By offering yourself as a value alternative, you can make quick money doing something you already love.

4.         GRAPHIC DESIGN AND CONTENT PRODUCER

Not every service business requires you to interact with clients face to face. Graphic design and content production are services you can provide from home without ever having to speak to another person IRL.

For you artsy types, consider running your own graphic design business. There are countless reasons why someone would need to hire you to create a work of art:

• Business logos
• School flyers
• Social media banners
• Self-published book covers
• Digital ads
• In-game merch
• Personalized gifts

And for those of you who lean more toward words, there’s work out there for you, too. Types of writing you can offer clients include:

• Blogging
• Product reviews/descriptions
• Video game scripts
• YouTube or podcast notes
• eBook ghostwriting
• Speeches
• Listicles
• Social media posts

Yes, people will pay for these things. They might as well pay YOU!

5.         PET SITTING

Get paid to play with dogs and cats! Make money feeding fish or petting bunnies! Pet owners go on vacation. They work late hours. For whatever reason, they aren’t always home to care for a beloved pet.

If you’re great with animals and have experience keeping them alive and happy, this might be the best service job for you. Make no mistake: caring for someone else’s animal(s) is a big responsibility. But if you’re up to the task, then go for it! You don’t have to walk 12 dogs at a time like adult professional dog walkers. Instead, offer your services as a small animal sitter while a family is out of town. You can go to their home a few times to make sure the little critter has enough food and water, and a clean cage/tank/aquarium/habitat/whatever. Or be an emergency dog-walker for someone who often works late hours.

Keep in mind that this isn’t a job you can quit suddenly. Someone is counting on you to keep a living creature alive and healthy. Only do this one if you really can commit.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. A few others to consider:

• Car washing
• Lawn mowing
• Babysitting
• DJing events
• Pet or child photography
• Translator/interpreter
• Tech set-up
• Brand ambassador
• Social media manager

Get out there and show the world what you can do!

Are you a Florida-based young entrepreneur looking for a college scholarship? Click here to learn more about how the Kantner Foundation can help you!