Subscribe to OCE's weekly newsletter on tech, business and higher education...curated for the ambitious youth.
Small business ideas for non-engineering teens to get you started
|
Not everyone’s a brilliant tech founder.But even for us – non-technical folks with very little capital, there are extremely profitable business opportunities. The community needs small businesses to serve us every day and I am here for it. So if you are intrigued by starting small and starting local, let me tell you what really gets me snoring. But FIRSTIf you are new, welcome to OCE’s weekly newsletter curated for the ambitious youth…here are some articles you missed from previous weeks: Starting with things to consider when looking into a feasible business model:
Now it doesn’t mean that every business that follows this rubric is great but it means that any business in this category could be great. Ok Y’all ready? Oh - and if you want to read until the end, you’ll like what I have there for you. What I’m actively investing in right now as we speak. 1.Sell downloadable digital products Did you know you can make $2000+/month by selling downloadable sticker designs on Etsy? Wild. Other digital goods include: downloadable journals, templates, art prints, designs… Some people prefer to print these at home instead of paying the full price of the paper and design. Downloadable digital products can be a profitable small business idea for those who are already design-savvy or willing to learn an online design tool. 2. Education Consultant Crimson Education is the world’s leading college admissions counseling company charges upward to $60,000 for their service. Leverage your college admission essay, scholarship, and extracurricular sources to build a consultancy of your own. 3. Interior Designing Sure, there are many people who have the ability to buy the furniture and home decor to fill their rooms, but few who knows how to style under a tight budget. You can charge ~$2500/room by designing layout and sourcing furniture/décor for clients. 4. Event Planning We talked about the emergence of AI and redundancy of various occupations. Well, event planning is not a gig that can be easily replaced, so this small business idea is set to thrive regardless of the digital landscape. To start, you’ll want to look for a platform that will easily allow you to advertise your availability, such as event planner directories like Eventective and WeddingWire. If you’re highly organized, are detail-oriented, and have experience planning large events, it might be time for others to benefit from your skills. 5. Packing Services I recently moved and paid $400+ to have someone help me pack since I wasn’t onsite. Unlike moving biz, you don’t need a permit or insurance to start a packing biz. You can even partner with moving companies and offer to do their packing, or have them refer clients to you You might want to bookmark this one, we’re going to add to it. Keep searching, keep adding links and resources as we go.The beautiful part to me is the breadth of possibilities here. Doesn’t it give you that little tingle too? Money aside, the skills you build while running a biz will be a huge asset on your resume. My current investment allocation:
Think globally, act locally. Lena |
Tinkering with OCE
Subscribe to OCE's weekly newsletter on tech, business and higher education...curated for the ambitious youth.
I recently had a LinkedIn conversation with my friend Brendon, who’s a Senior Economist at Indeed. He shared a graph that’s been sitting with me ever since. It shows the unemployment rate among recent grads under 25 who are no longer in school. The story it tells is stark: Youth joblessness nearly doubled in 2 years—and the worst may be yet to come. In just two years, we’ve gone from the lowest youth unemployment rate in decades to one of the highest—and that’s before any major external...
I didn’t fully understand the power of thinking across borders until I moved to Vietnam. It wasn’t just the language or the food or the hustle of scooters dodging through Hanoi streets. It was the realization that while the West was chasing prestige, buzzwords, and “disruptions” — people in emerging markets were building fast, adapting faster, and solving problems that actually mattered. I met local leaders who bootstrapped businesses with no safety net.Youth more globally aware than many...
Let’s get one thing straight: The modern school system wasn’t built to unlock your creativity. It was built to make you obedient. Designed during the Industrial Revolution, and heavily influenced by powerful figures like John D. Rockefeller — who once said “I don’t want a nation of thinkers; I want a nation of workers” — school was built to train you to follow instructions, not ask questions. To memorize, not imagine. To comply, not create. Rockefeller didn’t want poets or philosophers.He...