As an ambitious teenager, you likely aim to afford the latest gadgets, save for big future purchases, or simply gain personal freedom that money can provide. Yet at your age, finding well-paid work can be a challenge.
The good news? With determination and some insider tips, dozens of income streams await — no job required.
As a small business consultant who regularly advises entrepreneurs under 20, I‘ve seen many teens build impressive ventures aligned with their talents. Whether you‘re a tech whiz, social media maven, crafty artist or homework hero, options abound to profit from your natural skills.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore over 20 ways you can start earning money as a teenager on your own terms.
Lucrative Online Opportunities
The internet makes it possible to make money virtually doing what you love, with minimal start-up costs. Depending on your strengths, certain online jobs will be a better match than others.
Start a Blog ($100-$5,000+/month potential)
Blogging empowers you to earn income sharing your passion and knowledge with the world — perhaps through book reviews, fan fiction, beauty tips or video game walkthroughs. Using a free platform like WordPress, share posts students would find entertaining or useful. Enable Google AdSense to start profiting from ads. Sponsored posts can generate over $500 each. Sell affiliate products and merchandise to boost income. Once your following grows, top bloggers easily clear over $5,000 monthly.
Skills Needed: Writing, social media marketing, basic web design
Time Commitment: 5+ hours per week
Offer Freelance Services ($15-$50/hour potential)
Every business needs help with digital tasks — why not offer your talents? As a freelancer, you set your own hours and rates. Got skill with graphic design, data entry, virtual assistance, programming or more? Create an online portfolio showcasing your work, then create Fiverr and Upwork profiles offering services like:
- Social media management
- Photo and video editing
- Transcriptions
- Writing & copyediting
- Coding and web development
Take on more clients and raise rates over time to grow a lucrative freelance career.
Skills Needed: Specialized abilities like coding, writing, graphic design, etc.
Time Commitment: 5-30+ hours per week
Take Online Surveys ($50-$200+/month potential)
In your downtime between schoolwork and other efforts, take online surveys through sites like Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and InboxDollars. Individual payouts may be small, but with consistency they add up. Power user Kristina Ellis paid for an entire semester of college with earnings from various reward sites!
Skills Needed: Patience
Time Commitment: 1-5 hours per week
Launch a YouTube Channel ($3,000-$10,000+/year potential)
YouTube stars draw millions of viewers — and dollars — annually. While earning a full-time living from YouTube takes major commitment, many teens successfully profit from their channels. Shoot videos focused on your passions — whether comedy sketches, gaming playthroughs, or how-tos around science experiments, coding, fashion or other areas that interest you. Turn on Google AdSense to monetize views with ads. Also, partner with relevant brands for sponsorships as your popularity grows.
With some business savvy, you can earn a nice side income from YouTube. Health and fitness broadcaster Maddie Lymburner financed her first car and college savings entirely through her YouTube channel started freshman year.
Skills Needed: Video production and editing, consistency, marketing
Time Commitment: 10-30+ hours per week
Service Ideas For Your Local Community
Offering real-world services in your neighborhood provides a chance to earn cash and build your reputation in the process. These opportunities also look great on college applications and resumes down the road!
Pet Sitting/Dog Walking ($20-$40+ per client weekly)
Caring for pets in your neighborhood provides a flexible way to earn money if you bond well with animals. Offer dog walking, pet taxi services to vet appointments, home visits for feeding, and overnight or vacation pet sitting. Spread the word on NextDoor, social media community groups, leave flyers with veterinary clinics and pet stores, or appeal directly to nearby pet owners. Apps like Rover and Wag facilitate connections, but you earn more managing clients directly.
With just a few regular pet care clients, expect to easily clear $100 or more weekly for less than 10 hours on the job. Dog walker Mack Morgan banked over $5,000 his first year, investing profits to start a drone photography business.
Skills Needed: Animal handling, organization, customer service
Time Commitment: 1-10 hours weekly
Babysitting ($15-$25 hourly)
Caring for younger kids so parents enjoy an evening out or get work done provides a flexible income stream. Start by creating flyers and distributing them around your neighborhood. Consider completing a babysitting course to stand out, as well as infant CPR and first aid certification. Sign up with SitterCity and Care.com to expand your client pipeline as well. Babysitting is an ideal gig combining great pay with the ability to work around your school schedule.
Skills Needed: Patience, responsibility, communication
Time Commitment: Varies
Tutoring ($20-$50+/hour)
Every student encounters roadblocks in certain subjects at some point. Share your academic gifts and patiently guide your peers – whether helping them grasp confusing concepts, edit essays or improve standardized test scores. Offer group sessions or one-on-one tutoring in skills you excel at. Set rates based on experience and subjects tackled. Expand your clientele by advertising at schools, youth centers libraries and community boards. Jenna Jaxon funded her entire Harvard education through her $65/hour Exeter tutoring service started junior year.
Skills Needed: Proficiency in academic subjects, teaching ability
Time Commitment: 2-10 hours weekly
Lawn Care ($20-$50 per job)
If you enjoy hands-on work outdoors, offer landscaping services like mowing, raking, weeding and shoveling snow. Typical tasks include:
- Mowing & bagging grass
- Edging walkways and fences
- Raking leaves
- Clearing brush
- Weeding
- Shoveling snow
Price based on size of each yard and services provided. Reach clients through Neighborly, Craigslist ads, flyers and knocking on doors. Set up regular maintenance schedules for a steadier income stream. Joseph Watson earned over $5,000 annually mowing 12 yards weekly his first two years of high school.
Skills Needed: Physical fitness, equipment operation
Time Commitment: 2-10 hours weekly
Washing Cars ($30-$60+ each)
Entrepreneurial teens can launch a thriving mobile car cleaning business with minimal costs – just a sponge, hose, soap and some elbow grease. Knock on neighborhood doors to offer thorough interior and exterior automobile wash services. Or arrange to have customers drop off vehicles. You can easily charge $40-50 to hand wash cars and $15-20 extra for interior vacuuming, scrubbing and windows. Streamline payments through Venmo or PayPal.
Skills Needed: Customer service, physical stamina
Time Commitment: 1-5 hours per vehicle
House Cleaning ($15-$35/hour)
Many families lack time for thorough home cleaning. Offer dependable services – vacuuming, mopping, surface cleaning, bathroom scrubbing and anything else clients request. Provide all your own essential cleaning supplies. Reach clients through Craigslist, flyers and direct asks in your community. For simplicity, arrange a steady cleaning schedule with each homeowner.
As you build experience and trusted references, over time raise rates and take on additional clients. Target 2-4 small homes weekly as a starting point. Add services like laundry and meal prep as requested. College-bound student Sara Sheppard funded 50% of her tuition cleaning houses, starting junior year.
Skills Needed: Organization, physical endurance, customer service
Time Commitment: 5-20 hours weekly
Seasonal and Part-Time Jobs
When you wish to earn extra spending money without overloading your schedule, seasonal jobs are ideal. The limited duration and flexible shifts accommodate academics and other commitments.
Camp Counselor ($2,500-$4,000 typical summer income)
What could be better than leading outdoor activities for kids all summer while building your resume? Counselors lead groups doing arts, sports, games and more. Free room and board helps earnings go further. Gain leadership, communication and problem-solving skills as well.
Icy Mountain Camp in Colorado furnishes dedicated employees summer earnings averaging $3,500-4,000. Secure positions at accredited camps near you through the American Camp Association.
Skills Developed: Leadership, communication, responsibility
Commitment: Varies, summer availability required
Lifeguard ($15-$22 typical hourly rate)
Prevent tragedy and save lives by watching over pools, beaches and water parks. Take an approved training course and keep your CPR/First Aid certificates current. Then apply to local YMCAs, fitness clubs, city parks and summer camps. Perennial shortage of qualified guards means you can land solid summer income if willing to take on responsibility. Peak season runs May through August.
Skills Developed: Lifesaving, responsibility, maturity under pressure
Commitment: Summer availability needed
Retail and Food Service ($250-$1,000+ typical biweekly income depending on hours)
Department stores, coffee shops, restaurants, tourism venues and more ramp up hiring before summer and holidays. Look for customer-facing roles like sales associates and wait staff. Working evenings and weekends when class is in session allows you to balance earning with academics. Holiday temp positions also deliver a quick influx of cash.
Skills Developed: Customer service, sales, food prep, inventory
Commitment: 10-25 hours weekly
Make and Sell Goods from Home
Further cash potential lies in creating products to sell online or locally. Making your own goods takes some legwork but provides unlimited income scalability.
Graphic Design ($200+ monthly potential to start)
Do you have artistic talent and a good eye for visual trends? Local businesses need affordable graphic design help too with logos, ads, posters, menus, flyers and digital images. Set up services including:
- Logo design
- Menu design
- Custom signage, posters and banners
- Website graphics
- Business card design
- Advertisements
- Car wraps
Offer discounted intro packages to win clients, then expand your offerings once work quality builds word-of-mouth buzz.
Skills Developed: Graphic design, communication, interviewing
Commitment: 10-30 hours weekly
Handmade Crafts ($250-$2,000+ monthly potential)
Produce decorative items, jewelry, candles, beauty products in your free time, then sell on crafter sites like Etsy and at local fairs. Wood signs, trendy resin creations, pet goods and home decor also sell briskly to the right audiences.
Leverage skills from hobbies like knitting, calligraphy, painting, pottery and more. Every item should represent quality handiwork. Build business by offering personalized and one-of-a-kind touches. Target local pop-up boutiques as another sales channel.
Promising moneymaker Isabella James started hand-pouring soy candles sophomore year, bringing in $600 monthly. She now owns a thriving Etsy shop grossing over $2,000 a month!
Skills Developed: Crafting, product photography, selling, marketing
Commitment: 10-30 hours weekly
Custom Merch Production ($100-$5,000+ monthly potential)
Express your unique creativity on customizable merch. Produce trendy t-shirt designs, mugs, phone cases, art prints, throw pillows, totes, pop sockets and more. Self-manufacture small inventory batches. Or use print-on-demand (POD) services like Printful, Zazzle and CafePress enabling orders directly to customers.
Narrow down best-selling products based on customer feedback and local area style. Then scale up production of most popular items to save costs.
Skills Developed: Graphic design, e-commerce, social media marketing
Commitment: 10-30 hours weekly
Essential Financial Tips
Learning money management now will pay tremendous dividends later in life. Applying these tips positions you for smart saving and investing choices.
Create an Income & Expense Budget
Use a spreadsheet or budgeting app to track earnings from all your projects. Calculate both variable (hours worked) and fixed monthly income. Then tally predictable costs like supplies, equipment, internet service, phone and other expenses. This lets you monitor net profit.
Analyze spending to trim non-essentials. Set savings goals for short and long-term purchases. Review budget categories each month, adjusting amounts as needed.
Open a High-Yield Savings Account
Choose an FDIC-insured, interest-bearing savings account. Good options for teens include Savings.org and Commonwealth. Automatically route at least 20% of all income earned into savings every month. Watch it grow faster through compound interest.
Learn Investing Basics
Investing puts your savings to work maximizing returns long-term. Have a parent help you open a custodial brokerage account on sites like Fidelity. Then regularly contribute funds into well-performing assets like stocks and mutual funds. Maximize 401k matching contributions from any formal jobs later for exponential growth.
The possibilities to profit without a formal job are endless with the right hustle and money skills. Combine recommendations in this guide matching your abilities for the best income results. Learning personal finance and business now accelerates future success in college or as an entrepreneur.
