The short answer is yes. But the more interesting question is: should they?
Every parent has had that moment: Your child comes home buzzing with an idea. They want to sell homemade bracelets at school. They want to set up a lemonade stand at the end of the road. And you find yourself wondering: is this worth encouraging, or is it just a phase?
The answer, backed by research and the experience of thousands of families, is that it is absolutely worth encouraging! Here is why.
There Is No Legal Age Limit for Running a Business in the UK
In the UK, there is no law that prevents a child from starting a business. Children under 13 cannot be formally employed by someone else, but they are perfectly entitled to run their own small enterprise. Many successful entrepreneurs started their first ventures in primary school.
What they do need is a parent or guardian involved – both for practical reasons and legal ones. Any contracts, bank accounts or formal registrations would need an adult. But the business itself, the idea, the product, the customers, the profit – that can be entirely theirs.
What Starting a Business Actually Teaches a Child
When a child starts a business – even a tiny one – they are not just learning about money. They are learning some of the most important life skills that schools rarely teach directly.
They learn that money has to be earned. Not given, not found, not magicked from a card machine. Earned. By solving a problem for someone else or making something people want to buy. This single insight changes how children relate to money for life.
They learn about costs. If you are making bracelets to sell, you have to buy the materials first. Suddenly the concept of profit becomes real. You spent £3 making ten bracelets. You sold them for £1 each. Did you make money? A child who works this out for themselves will never forget it.
They learn about customers. What do people actually want? Would anyone buy this? How much would they pay? These are the questions that drive every business in the world, and a ten year old can start wrestling with them right now.
They learn resilience. Not every idea works. Not every customer buys. Learning to try something, adjust it and try again is one of the most valuable things a child can develop.
They learn maths in context. Not worksheet maths. Real maths. How much did I spend? How much did I earn? And, how much is left? Children who struggle with abstract numbers often thrive when those numbers mean something to them personally.
Three Business Ideas for Children Aged 8-13 That Work
1. Handmade Products
Cards, bookmarks, artwork, jewellery, painted plant pots, decorated notebooks. The startup cost is low, the skills required are accessible and the opportunities to sell are everywhere.
The most obvious starting point is your local community – school fairs, family, neighbours and community events. No setup required, no fees and a ready-made audience who already know and trust you. This is where most young makers make their very first sale.
When they are ready to go further, there are several online platforms designed specifically for handmade goods that are completely free to set up:
Etsy (etsy.com) is the world’s best-known handmade marketplace with over 95 million active buyers. Setting up a shop is free and straightforward – a parent can have a child’s shop live within an hour. Etsy charges a small listing fee of 16p per item and takes a commission on sales, but there is no upfront cost to get started.
Folksy (folksy.com) is the UK’s equivalent – built specifically for British makers. You can open a free shop and list up to three items at no cost, making it ideal for a child testing the water. The platform attracts buyers who are specifically looking for handmade, independent products rather than mass-produced alternatives.
Children quickly discover the real relationship between materials cost, time and profit. A child who makes ten greeting cards, calculates what the materials cost and decides on a selling price has just learned more about business than most adults ever teach them.
2. Baking and Food
Biscuits, cakes and brownies sold at school fairs, to neighbours or at local community events. This one teaches budgeting and following instructions precisely – but more importantly it teaches children that quality matters. People pay more for something genuinely good.Â
A child who bakes a better brownie than the one at the supermarket and charges accordingly has understood pricing, value and competition in a single afternoon. Always involves a parent in the kitchen for safety and supervision.
3. Tutoring Younger Children
A child who is strong in maths, reading, a musical instrument or a sport can offer sessions to younger children in the same subject. This is a genuinely valuable service that parents will pay for. It also does something remarkable for the tutor: explaining a concept clearly to someone else is one of the most powerful ways to deepen your own understanding of it.Â
A ten year old who tutors an eight year old in times tables is reinforcing their own knowledge while building a real business skill.
How Parents Can Help Without Taking Over
The temptation is to jump in and do it for them. To design the logo, write the price list, approach the first customers. But if you do that, it is your business – not theirs.
Your role is to ask good questions rather than give answers.
Instead of: “You should charge £2 each.” Try: “How much do you think people would pay for this? Why?”
Instead of: “Here is how to make a profit.” Try: “How much did the materials cost? How much did you earn? What does that mean?”
Instead of: “I will set it all up for you.” Try: “What do you need to do first? What is your plan?”
The goal is for your child to own the thinking. You are there as a sounding board and a safety net – not as the managing director.
Want the Full Guide?
These three ideas are just the beginning. Our free downloadable guide covers 10 business ideas for children aged 8-13 in full, including some you might not have thought of.
Inside you will also find:
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- How children can become young content creators – building an audience on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok around something they genuinely love, with parents managing the account
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- How to turn a love of animals into a pet sitting business – one of the easiest and most in-demand services a child can offer in their local community
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- How to teach a skill – whether that is chess, coding, origami or art, children who are good at something can charge to pass it on to younger children
And the twelfth idea? It is genuinely one of the most exciting business models available to children today – and most parents have never considered it as a possibility for their child.
Every idea comes with step-by-step setup instructions, advice on pricing, how to find your first customers and how to handle the money properly.
Download it FREE here: FREE Guide
Want a whole kids financial literacy course for a price of a coffee? Check this out:Â https://smartkidseducation.org/
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