How to make money as a kid: 18 summer business ideas

Start with a lemonade stand

A lemonade stand is the best first business for a kid, and not because of the lemonade. It has every part of a real business in one afternoon: something to make, a price to set, customers to talk to, money to count, and a profit at the end. It costs about fifteen dollars to start, it needs no permit in Oklahoma, and the customers are already walking by. Everything on this list is easier once a kid has run one stand. The Starter Kit has how to start a lemonade stand, start to finish.

18 summer business ideas for kids

1. A lemonade standThe classic. Fresh lemonade, a sign, a driveway. List it on The Squeeze so people can find it.
2. A bake sale tableCookies, brownies, muffins. Pairs with the lemonade stand or runs on its own.
3. Freezer popsHomemade juice or lemonade frozen in molds. A hit on a hot afternoon.
4. Pet sittingFeeding and watering a neighbor’s cat or dog while they are away.
5. Dog walkingFor a dog the kid can handle, on a route the grown-up knows.
6. Watering plantsGardens and porch pots for neighbors on vacation. Oklahoma summers keep this busy.
7. Pulling weedsPaid by the bucket or by the bed. Simple, and people are always behind on it.
8. Mowing lawnsFor older kids, with a grown-up teaching them the mower first.
9. Washing carsA bucket, a sponge, a hose. A weekend car wash in the driveway.
10. Trash bin dutyBins to the curb and back for neighbors, every week. Steady money.
11. Handmade craftsBracelets, keychains, painted rocks. Sold at the stand or to family and friends.
12. A yard saleOutgrown toys, books and games, with the grown-up’s okay on what goes.
13. Plant startsTomato or flower seedlings grown in cups, sold in spring.
14. Reading buddyReading with a younger kid, or helping with homework, while a parent is home.
15. Parent’s helperPlaying with little kids while their parent works nearby.
16. Greeting cardsHand-drawn birthday and thank-you cards, sold in packs.
17. Recycling cansCollected from family and neighbors and turned in.
18. Fishing wormsA cup of worms by the lake road. Oklahoma has a lot of lakes and a lot of people fishing them.

Business ideas for kids at home

Some kids cannot get far from home, and that is fine. The lemonade stand, the bake sale table, freezer pops, crafts, greeting cards and plant starts can all be made at the kitchen table and sold from the driveway. The driveway is your own property, so there is nobody to ask, and for homemade food Oklahoma’s food freedom law means no permit either. The lemonade stand permit rules in Oklahoma explain it.

How to pick the right one

1. What do you like doing?A kid who loves dogs will walk them every day. A kid who hates weeds will not pull them twice.
2. Who is nearby?A busy street suits a stand. A street of retirees with gardens suits watering and weeding.
3. What does it cost to start?Most of these cost almost nothing. A lemonade stand costs about fifteen dollars.
4. How does it get paid?By the cup, by the job or by the week. Steady weekly jobs add up the fastest.

Ground rules for grown-ups

• A grown-up always knows whereEvery job, every address, every time.
• Outside, not insideYard and porch jobs for neighbors you know. No going into a stranger’s house.
• Money with a grown-up closeThe kid makes change; the grown-up is nearby.
• Town rules for anything publicSelling homemade food from home needs no permit in Oklahoma. For a park, a sidewalk or a business that is not food, ask the town.

Put the first business on the map

The Squeeze is a free directory of kids’ lemonade stands across all 77 Oklahoma counties. A stand that lists gets its own page, shows up for neighbors looking for lemonade near them, and can enter the County Cup. When the stand is going, the lemonade stand business plan for kids helps set a goal, and what to do with the money covers the best part.