One of the best businesses to start as a teenager: Upcycled crafts
Are you looking for businesses to start as a teenager? One of the easiest and most inexpensive businesses is selling upcycled crafts. Because of the unlimited availability of supplies, the only limits are your imagination and your marketing skills.
As a health coach for teens and a homeschool-mom-turned-high-school-educator, I frequently encounter teens who want a money-making alternative to retail and service jobs. They want to do something different. The gig economy is very attractive to them, but they don’t know what the best businesses for teenagers are. They also don’t know the basics of entrepreneurship. But, the best ways to motivate teens involve responsibility and relevance, so learning about the best businesses to start as a teenager is a great way to motivate them!
Best businesses to start as a teenager: upcycled crafts
My son has been complaining about the lack of opportunities and outlets for teens for a while. He says, There’s nothing to DOOO. What can I do? You have to be 18 for everything. And where we live, it’s true. So, when I found this book, Teen’s Guide to Making and Selling Upcycled Arts and Crafts: How to Start a Creative Reduce-Reuse-Recycle Side Gig, by James Dillehay, I got excited. My kids have been making crafts and selling them at fairs since they were in elementary school. But, all those opportunities have dried up. Perhaps this book would help my son make some money from his reuse of old screws and lumber scraps to make miniature weapons.
What We Liked about Teen’s Guide to Making and Selling Upcycled Arts & Crafts
How to choose which crafts to make
One of the biggest complaints and struggles my son talks about is, I don’t want to make stuff and then no one buys it.
And the flip side of that is the misguided idea that one high school student of mine said. I asked him what his plans were after high school and he said that he thought his own skills were enough, that he’d just put up his art and people would buy it. I said, What people? How are they finding you? He didn’t have an answer for that.
Well, when you are starting businesses as a teenager and you want to make money, you need to know 1. What people want 2. How to get in front of those people. The Teen’s Guide to Making and Selling Upcycled Arts & Crafts answers both of those questions.
The book shares tips for how to find products that are in demand, how to test your ideas, and weighing your options. What I especially liked was that Mr. Dillehay didn’t hold back on trade secrets. He shared the apps and tactics that he himself uses to mine ideas from Etsy, Amazon, Ebay, and more. Using data helps my son know what will sell so he doesn’t waste time making items that no one wants.
How to set up an upcycled crafts business
The second thing I really liked about this book is the amount of details Mr. Dillehay included about the legal stuff. It is incredibly specific, including different point of sale platforms and where to sell products. There’s a lot more out there than Etsy, that’s for sure. And, he shares all the places and trade secrets about where to sell in-person, too.
The key element of starting a business as a teenager: Marketing!
Most of the book is dedicated to how to sell your crafts, which I love! And I also love that Teen’s Guide to Making and Selling Upcycled Arts & Crafts leaves no stone unturned. Mr. Dillehay includes all the best practices to get your teen’s (and mine) crafts seen. He even talks about SEO and social media best practices! And, he talks about the best way to set up your table at an event, how to use promotional tools on Etsy and other platforms, as well as how to sell in unconventional markets like wholesale and exclusive art shows. And because it’s so comprehensive, there are checklists to track everything.
Now, my son liked this book, but so did the students in the alternative high school where I teach. They were very excited about Teen’s Guide to Making and Selling Upcycled Arts & Crafts and couldn’t wait to get started. One girl likes to make natural skincare and another girl makes beadwork. And, I must admit, I loved this book for my own handmade herbal and aromatherapy products. Finally, I have found a resource that includes everything I need to know to successfully launch and market my products!
FREE E-book, Blueprint for Selling Handmade Products!
Click the image below to grab your free copy of Mr. Dillehay’s e-book and get started on building your handmade empire (haha).
About Julie Polanco
Julie Brow-Polanco, MH, FMCHC, MSHHP is dedicated to helping teens (and moms) enjoy a vibrant, energetic life through a whole self approach to mental/emotional and physical health. Julie also draws on her education in herbalism and aromatherapy to offer a truly natural approach. She not only follows a natural approach to health, but as a 22-year veteran homeschooling mom of four, she applies the principles of “natural” to motivating and teaching kids, too. She currently coaches and teaches high school students at a small alternative high school in the Chicago area and also accepts private clients.
When she isn’t doing all that stuff, you might find her skimming her hand over the surface of Lake Michigan as she floats in her kayak, singing at the top of her lungs. Or, writing fantasy novels while sipping Earl Grey tea.
