Small business ideas for students often begin with a skill they already love using. For Kaitlin, that skill was drawing — especially pencil portrait sketches.
This is Kaitlin’s creative enterprise idea: using her artistic talent to draw portraits from photos and turn that skill into a simple student business.
Small Business Ideas for Students: Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Enterprise
I admire those very creative people who can draw!
Sadly, I am not one of those people, although there are some very artistic people in my family.
My sister won first prize in one of Australia’s richest art prizes, a $250,000 prize for an artwork she entered into “The Signature of Sydney”, which really kicked off her painting career. Also, my grandparents and aunt on my Dad’s side were respected artists.
So it is not surprising that our eldest daughter Kaitlin has an exceptional skill with drawing, and in particular pencil portrait sketches. From when she was very little, she would draw for hours and, over the years, has honed her skill.
Her Mum, Cathy, also has exceptional drawing skills and has encouraged and taught Kaitlin many of the skills she has today.
Looking at Skills as Enterprise Opportunities
When looking for an enterprise opportunity, it makes sense to look at what someone is already skilled at, then see if there is a need or problem in the community where that skill could be put to use.
This is one of the best ways to find kids business ideas. Rather than starting with the question, “How can I make money?”, children can start by asking:
- What am I good at?
- What do I enjoy doing?
- Who might need this skill?
- How could I help someone with it?
- Would someone be willing to pay for that help?
For Kaitlin, the answer was clear. She loved drawing, she was good at portrait sketches, and people often like having personal artwork created from family photos.
That made portrait drawing a natural enterprise idea for her.
Small Business Ideas for Students Can Grow from Creative Skills
Up-skilling yourself in your area of interest and becoming the best there is in that field will likely increase the demand for your kind of talent and services.
As a result, customers may choose you over your competitors and may be more likely to pay a premium.
I wrote an Enterprise for Kids post on this very topic a number of blogs ago. If you would like to learn more about how up-skilling can create enterprise for kids opportunities, then visit Finding Enterprise Ideas.
Kaitlin’s talent with drawing became the basis of her enterprising idea, and she explains her business plan in this short video.
Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Business Plan
Kaitlin planned on spending $70 to buy the drawing and framing materials she required to run her business.
Her idea was to draw people’s portraits from a photo and sell the finished artwork either framed or unframed.
She planned to market her service on Facebook. In our local area, there was a classified Facebook Buy and Sell group for Bunbury, and this gave her a place to start showing people what she could offer.
Her aim was to complete one drawing a week with a sale value of about $30.
In her video, Kaitlin also considers the roadblocks with her business and looks at possible solutions. That is an important part of planning any student enterprise idea.
What Kaitlin’s Idea Teaches About Student Enterprise
This is a good example of how small business ideas for students do not always need stock, tools, complicated technology or large amounts of money to get started.
Sometimes the starting point is a skill.
For Kaitlin, the important business lessons included:
- recognising a personal talent;
- turning that talent into a service;
- working out the cost of materials;
- deciding whether to sell framed or unframed drawings;
- thinking about how to find customers;
- considering roadblocks before starting.
Those are valuable money lessons for kids, because they show that earning money is not only about doing chores or receiving pocket money. It can also come from creating value for someone else.
Creative Enterprise and Real-World Learning
One of the things I love about Kaitlin’s idea is that it connects creativity with real-world learning.
She was not just drawing for fun. She was thinking about how her drawings could become useful or meaningful to someone else.
That is an important shift. It helps children see that their skills can be assets. Their interests can become opportunities. Their creativity can serve other people.
This is also why we believe so strongly in raising entrepreneurial kids. The goal is not simply to make children business-minded. The deeper goal is to help them become observant, confident, capable and willing to try.
The Australian Government’s business planning guidance also highlights the value of thinking through customers, marketing and planning before starting a business. Even though Kaitlin’s idea was small, these same basic principles still applied. Developing a business plan helps clarify what you want to offer and how you plan to make it work.
Key Takeaway: Small Business Ideas for Students Can Begin with Talent
Key takeaway: Small business ideas for students can begin with the skills they already have. Kaitlin’s portrait drawing enterprise shows how creativity, practice, planning and confidence can turn a personal talent into a real business idea.
So we have covered all our kids’ enterprising ideas except for one. In our next post, we share Jai’s passion for electronics and gaming and how he plans to turn this interest into a money-making enterprise.
We would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.
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