While it’s true that a teenager’s focus should be on school work, it’s also true that living expenses are soaring and many parents will be only too pleased if their child becomes financially independent. Running a business online also has the benefit of keeping a young person gainfully occupied rather than hanging around aimlessly. In addition, the experience will lead to many skills that will come in handy later in life.

The question is, is it legal for teenagers to earn money online? Yes, it is. Just keep in mind that you will also be eligible to pay tax (yuch!).

How much money can a teen make online?

There is no limit to the amount of money you can make online – it will depend on the kind of job, the time you have to devote to your work, and the effort you put in. Putting in few hours a week should enable to earn somewhere between $50 and $500 a month. 

We have compiled a list of seven online business opportunities for teenagers. All of them may earn you little money in the beginning, but the earning potential is excellent for all of them.

1. Tutoring

Tutoring is one of the best online job options for teenagers, paying much better than some other options. Helping other students with subjects like Math, Science, English or any other subject is a great small business option for students who excel in these subjects. 

Technology has eliminated the need to meet students in the local library or coffee shops. These days, you can find your students online and teach them via online platforms like Zoom. 

There is also a great demand for older students to supervise younger ones doing their homework. In most families, both parents work and don’t have the time, patience, or interest to help their kids with their homework. It’s a great help to them if someone can take care of that responsibility for them.

Smart students can also help peers by explaining concepts that they are finding hard to master. Students who tutor others also benefit by helping others and developing their communication skills.

Create a profile on Samespeak, SkimaTalk, or tutorme.com to get started. You can post subjects that you are proficient in so students can find you.

You can also try to find private tutoring jobs as they pay more. Your tutoring experience will be very useful later whenever you need extra income.

2. Start a blog

Teens as young as 13 can start a blog online. A blog starts life as written content about a topic that the writer is interested in or knows a lot about. The money starts flowing in once the blog attracts a following through Google when you can start making money through Google Adsense. However, Google Adsense only starts earning you money once you have loads of regular visitors to your blog.

You can also make money through affiliate marketing, which allows you to earn money by recommending products.  But to make money through affiliate programs you also need a ton of traffic.

How do you get that ton of traffic?

The secret is unique content. Bloggers who are making money from their writing all have one thing in common: they have a unique perspective that gets noticed by print media or established online media. 

Have any teenagers made money from their blog? You bet!

Eva Baker, founder of the blog, Teens Got Cents, started her blog when she was only 16 years old. The blog teaches teens how to use their money wisely. Within two years, she turned her blog into a business and by the time she turned 21, she was earning $5,000 per month from her blog.

Tavi Williams became known in the fashion world when she was only 13 years old. She shot to prominence the instant her Style Rookie blog was featured in the New York Times.

Nick Normile, from Philadelphia, started his blog foodieatfifteen when he was 15 years old, writing about his passion for food. His blog began to attract a lot of traffic after he wrote about saving up enough money to travel to New York to eat at an upmarket restaurant.

Other famous teen bloggers who made their blogs work for them include the young film critic Charlie Lyne, trend spotter Matt Benson, the young feminist Julie Zeilinger, and shopping guru Kristin Prim.

Your blog won’t make money immediately, but if you have a unique voice and keep creating solid content that people find interesting, your blog will eventually bring in a steady flow of passive income.

Check out our article on Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Farmers.

3. Sell your creations on Etsy

Minors between the ages of 13 and 17 can sell on Etsy provided their parent or legal guardian takes responsibility for all everything you do on the platform while using your accounts. Your account must be registered using your parent or legal guardian’s information.

According to Etsy’s terms of service, you need the “appropriate permission and direct supervision” of a parent or legal guardian.

If you love crafts and can make items that look professionally made, you can earn money on Etsy.  If you can create cool designs, you can brand your own t-shirts and other items that other teens will love to buy. You don’t need to worry about space for inventory as you can make items to order. 

This is a venture that works in reality. There are already many teens who are successful store owners on Etsy. Kate Li is one of them. She also started a YouTube channel where she shares how she got started. Kate sells handmade silver and gold jewelry.

She raves about Skillshare the online learning platform where she watched loads of videos to learn how to run a successful store online. 

Starting an Etsy shop is a good option if you have a creative streak and enjoy making things. 

However, it takes time to become profitable on Etsy since competition is stiff. Be sure to style your products professionally and take photographs that really stand out. 

If you keep at it your earning potential increases over time. You can generate income in the short term, but you can also think of your Etsy store as a long-term project that can earn you substantial income down the line.

4. Sign up as a Virtual Assistant

Many companies don’t need or can’t afford a full-time, on-site administrative assistant. Instead, they only need part-time help on tasks that can be done remotely. Enter the virtual assistant.

As a virtual assistant, you work as a personal or administrative assistant for a business owner. The work can entail any of the following tasks: 

• Email management
• Appointment scheduling
• Transcriptions
• Making phone calls
• Data entry
• Formatting documents
• Posting social media content
• Writing reports
• Running errands

You don’t need to be employed by one client. Consider yourself as a business and offer your services for payment to various clients. On Fivver you can determine how many tasks you can take on and set up a deadline in agreement with your client so you still have enough time for your schoolwork.

5. Sell print-on-demand items

This is a great money-making opportunity for someone who is creative and can come up with their own designs. For this kind of business, you don’t have to keep inventory; you just work on your art and upload your artwork, which then gets printed onto various merchandise like hats, t-shirts, mugs, bags, dishcloths, hoodies, stickers, and water bottles.

If you use Amazon Merch, your only responsibility is product design, which includes creating attractive images and choosing the right colors. Once customers start ordering your products, Amazon does the order fulfillment.

You can also use Redbubble to sell your creations. Redbubble is a global print-on-demand marketplace, where users can upload their own artwork. Redbubble will print your designs or various merchandise, take the orders, and ship them.

Selling print-on-demand items is a great way for talented teens to make some extra cash doing something they love, and in the process, honing their skills. 

Check out our article on How Long Does it Take to Start a Business.

6. Create content for TikTok and Snapchat

If you are a teenager then you are familiar with social media platforms and are probably taking videos with your smartphone. If you are having fun doing it, it might be an idea to turn this pastime into a money spinner. 

TikTok and Snapchat allow 13-year-olds to create an account. Users can make money from the videos that they post. Both platforms provide multiple ways for users to make money from their videos.

In fact, TikTok has no less than ten ways you can make money on TikTok, including the TikTok Creator Fund, TikTok Coins, managing TikTok campaigns for companies, promoting a service, and becoming a TikTok influencer. 

Snapchat users earn money with videos that go viral. Snapchat doesn’t just take a user’s own followers into account but all the users of the platform, which means a video can quickly go viral. Users on the platform can also make money by creating Snapchat ads for businesses, and promoting products in exchange for a fee.

The income potential on both these platforms is outstanding, and many millennials and Gen Zers have made loads of money with their videos.

7. Manage Social Media accounts

There are hundreds or thousands of businesses that don’t have a social media presence. Yet, businesses need a social media presence to market themselves and build rapport with customers.

Teens are ideally suited to this work. Being social media savvy, they are familiar with the different social media platforms and how they work. They certainly understand it better than the average middle-aged business owner.

As a social media manager, you help your clients to maintain their various social media accounts, create relevant posts, and engage with their audience by replying to comments and answering questions. You may need to help them run their social media marketing campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and more. 

Your prospective clients are local small-business owners who don’t have a social media presence. Many business owners who are not active on social media, don’t realize the benefits they could gain from social media. It’s your job to point that out to them and help them expand their business.

This skill is in high demand and one of the highest-paying jobs for teens online. You can earn up to $24.36 per hour and around $58,105 per year in the US. It may not be possible to fulfill all your responsibilities on a full-time basis since customers demand immediate reaction which you won’t be able to give since you’re still attending school. There are part-time gigs available, though making it one of the highest-paying jobs for teens.

In order to stay on trend, it’s recommended that you complete a few online courses so you can deliver a professional service.