How Kid Entrepreneurs Are Using Digital Tools to Boost Business
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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This is a special edition of Your Money Briefing for Wednesday, November 22nd.
How are kids' ways of earning money changing with digital tools?
I'm Arianna Aspuru for The Wall Street Journal. This is the second installment of our series, The New Money Rules for Kids. Last week, we discussed how young kids are learning about money through video games and social media and what that means for their financial decision making in the future. Today, we're going straight to the source. We're talking to a few kids who are making their own money. We'll get into how they do it and some of the newer tools they're using to take their business to the next level. You've probably heard about some of these all-star kids with huge, successful businesses. One of the biggest? Ryan Kaji.
Hi guys, today we're playing Don't Open the Wrong Door Challenge!
The now 12-year-old boy became one of the highest-paid YouTubers, all from videos he started making as a kid playing with toys. Ryan's most popular video has over 2 billion views. With over 35 million subscribers, he's made a business from playing with other companies' toys to actually selling his own toys into a multi-million dollar brand. And sure, there are other examples of kids like him. Kids who hustle nonstop and, with the help of grownups, basically run kid business empires. But everyday kids are finding ways to make a bit of money without the benefit of billions of views. So what can we learn from how most kids are conducting business now? And what money lessons are they learning from it?
We talked to three young business owners about the tools they're using to make money. That's after the break.
What inspired Gemma to start a neighborhood newspaper and how does she produce it?
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kids are still doing a lot of the same side gigs that they did before social media and YouTube. Lots of them are still getting allowances, but others are running their own businesses by making things and selling them or providing a service. What's new are the tools kids are using and how some of them are getting paid. Our family and technology reporter Julie Jargon sees this in her reporting.
Which digital tools does Gemma use to create and sell handmade goods online?
Yeah, kids are still babysitting and mowing lawns and even having lemonade stands. But I have talked to a lot of parents and kids who, when they do babysit, they just ask the parents that they're babysitting for to Venmo them.
Depending on what services kids are looking to provide or things that they're looking to sell, it's never been easier to access some powerful digital tools to make things. And that's what our first kid entrepreneur decided to do.
I'm Gemma Glancy. I just turned 10 years old and I live in California.
Gemma has two businesses that take up her time.
How did Mason (DJ Babyface) turn DJing into a paid gig and what payment methods does he use?
Her first is a local newspaper that she prints at home every week and hands out to subscribers in her neighborhood.
I read a book and it inspired me to make a newspaper because the two girls in the book made a newspaper. And I was like, I should do that. So I did.
She usually writes around four pages with things like business shout-outs, travel tips, and events happening in her area. Like some local annual flowers that sprouted. Her favorite feature is the joke page.
What online resources and design tools does Mason use to improve his DJ business?
Here's a classic one.
Why did the old man fall into the well? Because he didn't see that well.
As for the business itself, Gemma sells subscriptions to homes in her neighborhood for $2 a month. She's got 11 subscribers, and she usually gets paid in cash. And this 10-year-old is pretty old school. She stores her cash in a safe, which she's used to pay for the adoption fee for her dog and to splurge on a purse from guests.
How did Zoe build Beautiful Curly Me and why did she identify a gap in the doll market?
It's a pretty cool safe. Yeah.
It looks like a book. But she uses a few newer tools to help her make a product. Rather than handwriting her newspaper for each subscriber, she uses the Notes app to write down everything and then her dad helps put it together in Photoshop.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:33
2
How are kids' ways of earning money changing with digital tools?
0:33–2:27
3
What inspired Gemma to start a neighborhood newspaper and how does she produce it?
2:27–3:15
4
Which digital tools does Gemma use to create and sell handmade goods online?
3:15–3:52
5
How did Mason (DJ Babyface) turn DJing into a paid gig and what payment methods does he use?
3:52–4:24
6
What online resources and design tools does Mason use to improve his DJ business?
4:24–4:55
7
How did Zoe build Beautiful Curly Me and why did she identify a gap in the doll market?
4:55–5:46
8
What digital marketing strategies did Zoe use to grow her brand during the pandemic?
5:46–13:03
Speakers
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