Business ideas for 6 year old kids

[SGBoise]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for ideas for business I can do with my 6 year old to get her started on starting a business. I don't really want to sell lemonade. The only thing I can think of is selling things on ebay/craigslist.

Have you guys tried anything with your kids?

 

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[tafy]

Kids love games, make it like a game and not boring.

Sell these 10 things in school today and you will receive this bonus
Find out the 5 top products that the kids in the class desire

Maybe find an ipad business game for 6 year olds? or make one if it doesnt exist

 

[royemunson]

We are starting (with my 8 year old) a poop pick up business. I'm showing my kid how to set it up, go through a checklist, we've got a flyer we're going to test our neighborhood out with, learn to knock on doors, present the idea, etc. From there I'm going to show him that I as the investor will get him set up with some capital to buy supplies.

From there we'll see what other ideas we can generate but I wanted to do something away from technology b/c that is all our children are wanting to do at home. I do want him to learn about how to develop technology, but I also want him to learn hard work and hitting the pavement.

Other ideas we threw around were helping older folks with errands (I'd have to assist), selling things online, developing apps, putting together events for friends, etc.

Good luck.

Joe

 

[glenm]

I have been looking for ideas for my 7 year old daughter also. She watches me and is starting to ask questions. I think its time to start with something simple.

She loves to rainbow loom, I thought of having her do something with that, either teaching other kids or selling the things she makes.

@royemunson Im in SW Ohio too, what part?

 

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[SGBoise]

We are starting (with my 8 year old) a poop pick up business. I'm showing my kid how to set it up, go through a checklist, we've got a flyer we're going to test our neighborhood out with, learn to knock on doors, present the idea, etc. From there I'm going to show him that I as the investor will get him set up with some capital to buy supplies.

That's a great idea.

Microsoft has Kodu which is a game development for kids. It's still fairly advanced for 6 year olds. I create the games and she tells me what she wants the game to do.
http://www.kodugamelab.com

 

[Get Right]

I let my 6 year old help with one of my ecomm stores. She picks the products and if they sell, she reaps the reward....and shes pretty dang good at it!

 

[tafy]

I let my 6 year old help with one of my ecomm stores. She picks the products and if they sell, she reaps the reward....and shes pretty dang good at it!

Yes! If you already in business then getting your kid to help you with it and explain details of what you do and how you do it is great

 

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[Rem]

It's funny you raised this question. I was just having a discussion last night with my wife on starting a family business. My oldest is 14 and I have 8 kids. In the years to come it would be nice to develop a business where I could get my kids involved. I would never push it on them but if they want to be part of it then that would be great. So I have been kind of tossing around the same idea myself. Like anything ideas are a dime a dozen. It's about executing on that idea.

 

[CarrieW]

we were going to do dog poop... we live in a rural area tho and it wouldn't work as well out here. (too much on gas)

we have development time as part of our homeschooling. I started out reading them rich dad poor dad. they have a million ideas of their own. I am just guiding and pointing in the proper places where information is.

we are starting to import some items we want to sell at the flea market and online. my son has an idea he is working on and my daughter is trying to figure out how to move forward on her own invention.

I would love to set up a fastlane group for them... my daughter just turned 14 as well I sent her to this forum but she had a hard time finding the info she was looking for. none of their friends have any idea what they are talking about. they are beginning to see the differences in how they think vrs how others think. I would love to have them in their own mini mastermind

 

[tafy]

I would love to have them in their own mini mastermind

There is a young entrapreneurs forum, you have to apply to be accepted and they check that you are under a certain age. I cant remeber the name of it atm

 

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[CarrieW]

I would not be comfortable with that yet... she may be 14 but I am a very strict parent. I would trust kids of parents I know and could interact with. not so much an entire community.

maybe soon. not yet. they are very restricted in what they are allowed to do online

 

[yveskleinsky]

James Altucher often talks about strategies he uses with his kids--things such as, "make a video with the goal of getting 1k likes" and "make a list of 20 ways you could earn $100 this weekend."

His blog is good reading even if you are sans kids.
www.jamesaltucher.com
Keep us posted.

 

[CarrieW]

I never heard of him... I will definitely check it out ty

 

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[SarahSH]

I have a seven year old girl and several local business ideas we came up with were in-house pet sitting or garden weeding. She is just now getting to the point where she has enough attention to detail to do a thorough job with the weeding. The pet sitting idea would be for those pet owners of cats, gerbils, fish and other more low maintenance pets. I don't think I would let her take care of a dog unless we knew the animal really well.

 

[Mattie]

There are many elderly communities that are looking for people too go to people's homes and do yard work, repairs, be a companion, read books, cook and bake with them, clean. Elderly love little kids and it gets the moving and smiling. I know most people don't think about them. Most of them don't have anyone to help them whether they're poor, middle class, or rich.

 

[healthstatus]

I would encourage you to let your 6 year old be a 6 year old. Kids learn by emulating what they see, not being crammed into something. I made sure my kids saw me doing my own thing, enjoying the free time it gave me, now they are both in their 20's and one has his own company, successfully making video games (current one is on kickstarter), and the other is in the planning stages of breaking out on her own.

13-14 year olds, sure get them into a babysitting, lawnmowing, whatever kind of gigs, then get them thinking about the fastlane principles and applying that to what they are doing. Get them a domain and a cheap server and see what they come up with.

But if you are in the slowlane, it won't matter how much you preach fastlane.

 

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[royemunson]

I have been looking for ideas for my 7 year old daughter also. She watches me and is starting to ask questions. I think its time to start with something simple.

She loves to rainbow loom, I thought of having her do something with that, either teaching other kids or selling the things she makes.

@royemunson Im in SW Ohio too, what part?

I am in Enon (right outside of Dayton) but from Cincy. Let me know where you are - perhaps grabbing a beverage sometime would be beneficial?

CarrieW - James A did an AMA on here a while back - look into it. Great mind and his books were well worth reading.

Joe

 

[CarrieW]

I would encourage you to let your 6 year old be a 6 year old. Kids learn by emulating what they see, not being crammed into something. I made sure my kids saw me doing my own thing, enjoying the free time it gave me, now they are both in their 20's and one has his own company, successfully making video games (current one is on kickstarter), and the other is in the planning stages of breaking out on her own.

13-14 year olds, sure get them into a babysitting, lawnmowing, whatever kind of gigs, then get them thinking about the fastlane principles and applying that to what they are doing. Get them a domain and a cheap server and see what they come up with.

But if you are in the slowlane, it won't matter how much you preach fastlane.

my mother feels this way about kids having chores, kids should be kids. (my kids have chores)

I respectfully disagree. with her thinking and yours.

I am not (and I don't think anyone else here is doing or considering that) cramming anyone into anything. the desire is for them to learn. about the world and themselves. we do it as part of schooling. there is plenty of time after responsibilities for fun and to be a kid...

we have had some early learned lessons here, that some people live their whole lives never knowing. I didn't learn it until my 20's but my kids have started in the single digits.

My kids have been biding their time until they were old enough and had learned enough to work on their own, I am not cramming anyone into anything, in fact if anything I am holding them back... they have both wanted "jobs" for quite some time, I wouldn't allow it. now that they are a bit older they understand why. they aren't going to be getting jobs they will be creating them.

we may be in the "slow lane" but again the life lessons my kids learned wouldn't have happened if we were not where we have been. when we started reading books, they began to understand the why's. Why even tho we have the money to we don't go out and buy brand new cars like their friends parents... why we have very little credit card debt, how the decisions we have made in the past effects the reality today and for years to come. why we have made the decisions we made and continue to make...

heres something I haven't shared here before, I hope it doesn't get back to the source. but this... this is what my kids learn

I have a family member who is very successful. measured against the rest of the family this person has more than the rest of us combined. (someone kids look up to)

they came to visit us. in our modest apartment. we went for a ride with them in their almost brand new idk what it was a suv thing. my kids were pretty little at the time. one of them said ohh how fancy. the person was like oh honey whats fancy? your new car! its so shiny... this person actually sat there and cried. cried because my kids were so "unfortunate" as to have to ride in a used not shiny car...

she cried cause she felt sorry for us. because we don't have a brand new car? I was so upset, not because we don't have a shiny car, but because my life and my home and my family weren't good enough because we didn't have a $500 a month car payment? no I was upset because I feel bad for people who cry over people not having a brand new car... I felt judged...

my kids now after reading books(and asking questions) understand we don't have a brand new car because Mommy hasn't had time to build the assets necessary to pay for the brand new cars yet... (and that now I am going to do it while they watch help and learn...)

while they used to maybe feel bad that their friends parents had shiny cars and ours merely worked and didn't get gawked at, now they know what they need to do to get it themselves. and its not going to be going to college and getting a job and making that car payment from their pay. and that to me makes us more successful then anyone with an overflowing bank account and that's why I am proud to be in the slowlane (at least for now ) and it took a few years to understand but they now look up to people who have made themselves, and others who while may be failures in the eyes of others but were successful in their own rites... not at the ones who bought the party line and followed along like sheep... even if they have shiny cars to show for it...

my kids at least are excited to be allowed to do something that most kids don't... it is as much in them as it is in me. I am just stepping out of the way now.

 

[pickeringmt]

Hey, yall should get them making lip gloss.

cheap, easy, and fun for girls. ( i noticed most of the posters here have young girls)

It parallels my own business.

• Google lip gloss recipes
• find at least 4-5
• make your own version using/ combining the recipes
• try it
• tweak it
• make it again
• brand it
  
• source packaging
• make labels
• start selling

Trust me, kids love this. They LOVE making things, inventing things, sharing things, and helping people.

You want to go over the top? Set up an Etsy shop and go eCommerce!

 

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[CarrieW]

we are working on something in that industry already

 

[randomnumber314]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for ideas for business I can do with my 6 year old to get her started on starting a business. I don't really want to sell lemonade. The only thing I can think of is selling things on ebay/craigslist.

Have you guys tried anything with your kids?

We plan on getting a vending machine for our daughter. Still have to work out where we're going to put it, etc, but we'll start small. First with just how to stock inventory based on which brands have highest demand. Then with the cost of purchasing inventory and finding best price points. Then we'll move up to how to price the products base on market rates. Later on we can teach her about getting others to fill the machine for her so she can have scale.

She turns 5 this week, so I'm thinking this year is a good time to start this lesson.

 

[CarrieW]

our plans are always fluid and evolving. hopefully this works out it will be an awesome thing if she accomplishes her goal!

My daughter wants to go on a trip to a concert. which is several hours away and going to cost around $600 for her to go with a friend and a chaperone to the concert and most likely spend the night in a hotel. the concert is in the beginning of September. I told her if she wanted to go she had to earn the money to go.

we were preparing to move. we definitely do not want to take everything with us. in fact we want to take as little as possible so we are planning a yard sale.

both kids want to earn money. both kids not only want to earn money but they want to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity. (so far there are 2 picked I will share which ones and why they were chosen later)

My son wants to sell Lemon-aid and my daughter is making bracelets, rings, necklaces, keychains and lanyards to sell out of materials she already has.

my son is younger and doesn't have a huge goal other than to get the experience of having the stand (actually in preparation for a larger project he is working on)

My daughter has a larger specific goal and will be taking the money she makes from selling bracelets and reinvesting in some inventory for resale. she spent hours last night creating a plan and making products and figuring out what she needs to order to complete her initial inventory, what she can sell each for etc... how she can pay her brother (or someone else) to sell or promote or create the products for resale, how since she wants to take one of her friends how they can split the cost of the tickets and gas and also the labor so she has less work to do and half as much money to come up with by herself etc... she also wants to resell her creations and products she picks online and off.

so both kids will split a table at the yard sale and sell their stuff (we are having it in a commercial location parking lot)

I will keep you posted!

 

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[Rickson9]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for ideas for business I can do with my 6 year old to get her started on starting a business. I don't really want to sell lemonade. The only thing I can think of is selling things on ebay/craigslist.

Have you guys tried anything with your kids?

Candy.
Retail vs. Dollar Store vs. Bulk Nation stores
Buy low. Sell high. Rinse and repeat. Fun game for kids.

Gift Cards.
Negotiate to buy desired gift cards at discount from face value.
Buy low. Sell high. Rinse and repeat. A kid can earn a 'free' toy with the profit from flipping (e.g. Toys R Us/Apple/Starbucks/etc.) gift cards

 

[CarrieW]

so I have to update this thread... sadly we were not able to have our yard sale this weekend due to unforeseen circumstances (my back went out on Friday and I am still off my feet ) and since we are leaving to go to pa on Wednesday morning(praying it decides its done its temper tantrum before we leave lol) and since we have things lined up for basically the entirety of july this has to go on the back burner to say I am disappointed is an understatement. the kids are not too happy either but there was not much I can do. sometimes life happens.

so we are going to revisit this plan when we are done with our crazy month of july. I am supposed to be heading out to Washington state soon also.(end of month beginning of next) we are going to squeeze this in hopefully before I have to leave or on one of my weekend back visits... (if everything works out it will be a sell everything we own kind of yard sale cause we will all likely be headed elsewhere)

I am going to try to make sure they can definitely do something to earn some money to get my daughter to this concert one way or another (Id really like her to be able to pay for it because she doesn't believe she can...I don't want to be the reason she could not do it...)

 

[RoadTrip]

Hi Carrie, do you think it could be a good idea to learn your kid to identify needs? Maybe your kid doesn't like one of the toys he or she is using....

 

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[CarrieW]

Hi Carrie, do you think it could be a good idea to learn your kid to identify needs? Maybe your kid doesn't like one of the toys he or she is using....

yes both have inventions, I am already working on 2 projects, soon as we get some cash flowing we are going full force with theirs. (my daughters is an invention she can patent and my sons is a licensing idea for a toy)

this was just a little side project. my daughter was going to sell bracelets she made and my son wanted to sell lemonaide

 

[redsfaithful]

What I am doing with my six year old son:

I enjoy thrifting. Total hobby, I do it a lot in the winter for stress relief (gets me out of the house.) I enjoy vintage clothing, and I enjoy the hunting aspect mostly. I sell some things on eBay that I find, nothing major. I maybe make $500 a month doing it.

Anyway, my six year old decided on his own he wanted to sell some of his toys and I made him an offer - he could sell unused toys, and I would sell him vintage stuffed animals I find thrifting. So I'd sell him a vintage stuffed animal for .50 - these sell for $10-$30 generally (I have been sitting on about 10 I haven't put up on eBay yet.) They cost me a quarter, so he's learning a lesson there.

If he does this successfully, I may start selling him higher dollar finds. He likes sports and I find a lot of vintage sports clothing, etc.

I'd love to see him build up some cash savings and eventually use it to finance some sort of side business he can do in middle school and high school (yard mowing or something typical.) But I'm not pushing him at all, not my style. If he wants to do it, he can do it, if he wants to take a break that's fine. There's a lesson to be learned there as well.