Ten Business Ideas For Highschool Students: It’s never too early to start thinking about starting your own business! Here are ten great high school business ideas that require very little capital investment and give you the chance to get started in the world of entrepreneurship. Have an idea of your own? I’d love to hear it in the comments below!
Ten Business Ideas For Highschool Students
Air Duct Cleaning
An air duct cleaning business can be started on a shoestring budget and provides a good supplemental income for someone who works from home or who wants to start a home-based business. If you’re handy with tools, enjoy cleaning, and want to create your own flexible schedule, an air duct cleaning business might be right for you.
You’ll need a truck (or trailer), ladders, vacuum cleaner attachments, cloths, brushes, and more. Inspect each customer’s vent system before giving them an estimate so you can give them an accurate quote. A one-day job could run anywhere from $100 to $2,000. Potential revenue: $1K – $3K per month in profit at around 10 customers per month.
Catering business if you like to bake, cooking, or anything in between, starting a catering business may be an excellent way to make some extra money. Catering is also a good choice if you’re looking for an opportunity that allows for flexibility in your schedule and freedom from long-term commitments.
Consider renting kitchen space if you don’t want to purchase your own; it can cut down on overhead costs dramatically. Many catering businesses advertise their services online and use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to generate additional business.
If that sounds appealing, there are several courses available online where you can learn how to start a catering business. Just make sure that any local zoning laws allow home-based catering businesses before you get started!
Mowing Lawns
While mowing lawns isn’t a particularly profitable business, it can be good for practice. In your local area, there may not be many lawns to mow or you might want to save up and invest in tools to allow you to offer more services. Mowing a few lawns each week could help you get some valuable experience without paying for classes at a trade school. Consider offering additional services such as weeding, edging, and mulching as well.
These will have very low margins but they can still add value for your customers if they don’t need to take time out of their day to do it themselves. It can also give you an opportunity to put your name out there and develop relationships with potential clients who would trust that when they needed someone professional, you’d come back.
If you decide to start cutting grass, make sure that your equipment is in top condition: keep blades sharpened and properly maintained, keep equipment running smoothly and make sure machines are fueled appropriately so nothing cuts down on productivity. Keep on schedule: Customers appreciate having someone dependable that shows up when expected – even if it means getting an extra hour of sleep one morning by setting up early.
Avoid price wars: Rather than doing what every other lawn care company does and trying to undercut every other competitor by a few dollars per job, look at ways you can differentiate yourself from competitors in another way.
Upcycling
Rather than selling old stuff, you can upcycle it into new useful products. What’s more, by creating something with your own hands, you can make unique and beautiful items—and sell them at a higher price point. There are a ton of great websites that have step-by-step instructions for making everything from wreaths to picture frames. Here are some of our favorites. (All prices listed below are estimates.)
To upcycle an old belt into bracelets: The Crafty Crow shows how she turned an old leather belt into six different bracelets in just one day. You’ll need scissors, needle-nose pliers, cording or lace trim, several buttons, and metal charms.
Laundry Service
Running a laundry service is a great way to make money during high school. If you don’t want to manage an actual store, offer drop-off and pick-up services that only require supervision on your part from time to time. Offer services like free pick up, delivery service, and washing/ironing and drying services for children’s clothes or fine fabrics (which can cost a lot of money at other locations).
Alternatively, if you have any existing contacts in various businesses, let them know about your business idea – many employers can easily make use of some help with their cleaning work. Just explain how it works.
Homemade Ice Cream Shop
Running an ice cream shop is a solid business idea that won’t require you to do much outside of mixing and scooping. You can rent out space at a local farmers market, or set up shop in your front yard if you live in a warm climate. If things go well, you could even expand to multiple stores or add more flavors to your menu. Just make sure you have some knowledge of food safety standards before setting up shop!
Coffee Cart Business
One business idea for high school students that isn’t for everybody, but could be a lot of fun if you enjoy serving others and you love coffee, is to start a mobile coffee cart. This is something people may find themselves doing a lot when trying to earn some extra cash—and don’t let us kid you into thinking it’s easy money.
It can take a while to build up your clientele, but once you do you can set your own hours and work at festivals or during sporting events like soccer matches. It also might be worth going into it with friends, as that way one person can keep working while another takes over their stand; selling coffee by yourself might not net much profit after time is factored in.
A good book on how to start and run a coffee cart business is Running a Successful Coffee Cart Operation: The Everything Guide for Starting Your Own Mobile Coffee Cart Business. You’ll want to see if there are laws against running food carts where you live so you can avoid getting into trouble!
At a minimum, check out local zoning regulations and see if there are laws on how close your business has to be from brick-and-mortar businesses that sell similar goods. Or ask around about how other operations handle things!
Party Planning Business
Start a party planning business during your time off from school. Think of all those holiday parties, baby showers, and retirement celebrations you’ll be able to organize when school is on break! This business requires a wide range of skills—you’ll need to be great at communicating with people and planning events (as well as coordinating transportation, food, and entertainment).
Keep in mind that you won’t make much money out of these events (think $100–$200 per event), but it can add up over time. Party planning is also an awesome way to build your network—you’ll meet new clients while working with friends, family members, and acquaintances.
Plumbing Service/ Heating/Air Conditioning Repair
While going to school full-time is challenging enough, most high school students have even more demands on their time from extracurricular activities, social commitments, and part-time jobs. If you’re looking for a way to bring in some income—and also learn about business—the plumbing, heating, and air conditioning service industry could be a great fit.
The pay can be excellent (when you consider that many plumbers only make $35,000 a year or less) and it can also be flexible depending on your schedule at school. Aside from making money repairing heating systems, air conditioners, and drain lines, you could also meet people in town while they are waiting for repairs or see if there is an opportunity to go into business with your parents.
For example, if you live in a home where both of your parents work during the day and one of them is already a plumber, opening up your own small repair shop might not be out of reach. This idea also involves cleaning up! Plumbing requires getting your hands dirty regularly so think through how comfortable you are with messes before diving into business ownership headfirst.
Restaurant Delivery Service
In some areas, restaurants with delivery services are struggling to meet demand. If you’re already a delivery driver for another company, think about working for a restaurant that offers its own service to earn extra money on nights and weekends. If you don’t have your own car, think about finding out if your local pizza parlor or Chinese restaurant offers delivery and go in on it with friends or family members who do.
Consider offering to drive for free in exchange for a cut of profits—you can always use that income later when you’re earning cash at college instead. Use common sense; if you’re too young or unlicensed to deliver alcohol to people, delivering pizza probably isn’t going to work out very well. Be sure to check local regulations regarding minors making deliveries as well as what they allow regarding any safety equipment necessary (such as lights) for different types of driving tasks.
Once you know what’s involved, put together a business plan so you’ll be prepared for all eventualities when applying for your permit or license. Start small; figure out which days and times offer enough traffic to make your idea worthwhile before deciding how much stock should be ordered.
Also Read: 10 Business Ideas Under 50k in Pakistan
Conclusion
Thinking of a business idea but don’t know where to start? In today’s modern world, businesses are being created left and right. Every day there are new ways for you to earn money and be your own boss. Many students get into high school never even considering starting their own business or asking themselves how can I make some extra cash in my spare time?
After graduating from high school, students often leave their entrepreneurial spirit behind because they think that with their college education there is only one option for them; which is to find a job. Once they graduate from college and start looking for jobs, they see that employers want nothing more than experience. The best way to get experience is by starting your own business while you are still in high school!
