11 OF THE BEST CRAFT BUSINESS IDEAS FOR CRAFTY KIDS AND TEENS

Anything and everything handmade can be turned into a successful business!

Does your girl have any artistic skills or a crafty hobby that she enjoys doing? Then, she can become an entrepreneur by making things from scratch and selling them online or at pop-up shops and craft fairs. We have great ideas below that even the most novice DIY crafter can appreciate. And the best part? Many of these businesses can be done from home during your girl’s downtime from school work or household chores. Plus, your girl can start her arts and crafts business without spending too much on startup costs.

Calligrapher

Calligraphy can turn any word into art. And your girl can get her hand-lettering business off the ground by honing her calligraphy skills with step-by-step tutorials online. Once she gets comfortable, she can make greeting cards, signs, place cards, and much more!

Candle Maker

Your girl can make her own candles and personalize them with essential oils, scents, colors, and unique candle-holder designs. One of our past Girls Who Mean Business finalists, Rose of Rose & Co. Candlemakers started making candles when she was eight. At first, she gave them away as welcome gifts to new neighbors, then she started to sell them at trunk shows and eventually through her online shop. If your girl’s interested in becoming a candle maker and seller like Rose, she can take an online candle-making class.

Ceramics Maker

Pottery requires technical skills, and of course, the right equipment. Your girl can check your local community center to see if there’s a shared studio space so she can use the kiln and tools. An alternative is clay polymer which provides many product possibilities, from small wall planters to magnets.

Greeting Cards Maker

Sydney Weikart of Sydney Day Design achieved more than $10,000 in sales with her stationery business during the 2020 lockdown. Your girl can attend any of Sydney’s online teen entrepreneurship courses and decide if a stationery business is something she would like to do. Another handmade greeting card startup your girl can check out is AnnaMade Design Co., owned by a girl boss from Colorado who started making cards when she was 12.

Jewelry Designer

We know awesome young girl entrepreneurs who’ve been able to turn their jewelry-making hobby into serious startups. Your girl can be like them and start a bauble business, too. She can sign up for an online jewelry-making course or learn from a jewelry entrepreneur willing to mentor her.

Painter/Sculptor/Illustrator/Caricature Artist

Have an artist in your family? She can be a creative entrepreneur by accepting commissioned works of art. She can also partner with an art gallery for representation. You can help your girl in drafting her payment terms and agreement, usually 50% payment upon signed contract and 50% upon project completion.

Sewer/Embroiderer

Sewing is an easy hobby to get started in, and it can easily be turned into a small but lucrative and fulfilling business. Take, for example, Sara Robinson of Sara Sews, who we profiled in our first book. Her success story is truly inspiring. Your girl can also learn how to do embroidery so she can accept orders for custom patches and patterns.

Soap Maker

Soaps are generally simple enough to make with the tools and ingredients you and your girl already have in your home. For inspiration, your girl can head to our gallery of girl CEOs and learn from young girl entrepreneurs who know how to make their bath and body products stand out.

Sticker Designer

Your girl can turn her doodles, drawings, and favorite statements into stickers. All she needs is sticker paper, a color printer, a cutting machine like Cricut or Silhouette, and her imagination.

Stuffed Toy or Plushie Maker

If your girl likes plushies, she can learn how to design and sew them for other kids to appreciate. Plus, stuffed toys and plushies make great gifts, so there will always be a market for them. These young girl entrepreneurs, Lyla Tov Monsters, Wild and Wacky Pets, and Stitches by Charlotte, have successful businesses from which your girl can find inspiration.

Woodworker

Crafty teens can start a woodworking business. But, if space to work and create is an issue, your girl can start small by focusing on handmade wooden keepsake boxes, coasters, keychains, and other small-to-medium trinkets.

Many e-commerce shops, such as Amazon Handmade, Etsy, and Shopify, make it easy for creative entrepreneurs to sell their products on the Internet and reach buyers everywhere. And The Startup Squad just partnered with women-owned women-business marketplace TheWMarketplace to create The Startup Squad Teen Collection to give girls another outet for new sales. Your girl just has to do her homework and find out if her online shop must be owned and managed by a parent or legal guardian.

We wish your girl all the best as she makes and sells her handmade goods and grows her business!