Not just lemonade stands: How a new wave of 'kid-preneurs' are making their own money

Jayden Karlee Castillo, 9, is one of many young entrepreneurs across Canada running their own small businesses. (Submitted by Keemee Castillo)Social SharingLISTEN | Lots of kids across Canada are becoming entrepreneurs:Cost of Living8:17Why more kids should run lemonade standsAt six years old, Jayden Karlee Castillo started running a business selling toys in front of her house.

Three years later, she’s still at it, even adding new products to her lineup and taking them to more customers.

In July, Castillo joined the first Kids Markets event held in Millarville, Alta., near Calgary, selling a variety of items including bracelets, earrings and 3D-printed toys she makes herself, as well as hand sanitizers and squishies she sources from wholesalers.

So far she's saved hundreds of dollars for a trip to Japan and the Philippines, and has something else planned, too. 

“I really wanna treat my parents to a good dinner,” Castillo told CBC’s Cost of Living.

The Kids Markets initiative, which gives children ages five to 17 a chance to sell their own products, isn’t the only program helping young entrepreneurs take their ideas to market.

Kids Markets saw an average of 16 youth-run businesses at each of their market events since they began in June this year. (Kids Markets Calgary)In B.C., kids can sell their products through BizKids Market, while in Toronto there’s an annual marketplace called Kid2Kid. There’s also Children’s Business Fair in Brandon, Man., along with similar initiatives across the country.

Jodi Letkiewicz, an assistant professor of finance at California State University, says kids have been starting their own small businesses for generations, but there’s been a noticeable uptick in recent years.

“There’s always been kid-preneurs out there … but now it’s sort of exploded.” 

Lemonade Day Calgary, an initiative that supports kids to operate their own lemonade stand, drew a record 792 young participants this year. That’s up from 164 when the U.S.-born program launched in Calgary in 2023, says Chantelle Little, who brought the initiative to Canada.

According to Letkiewicz, who researches how kids learn about money, there’s no single reason why more young people are getting interested in entrepreneurship, but social media has made it easier for children to see others their age running their own businesses. 

Through accessible platforms such as YouTube, kids can also learn how to start a business, while AI tools can help with everything from coming up with an idea and creating a business name and logo to researching customers, setting prices, building a website and doing basic bookkeeping. 

Jodi Letkiewicz is an assistant professor of finance at California State University. She studies how parents influence their children's financial knowledge and behaviour. (Submitted by Jodi Letkiewicz)For some kids, the rising cost of everyday life may also be putting money more firmly on their radar, says Letkiewicz. They’re becoming more aware of what things cost, and curious about ways they can earn some money of their own.

“If you think about how often we're talking about the cost of living now, whether it's at the dinner table, the parents talking with friends about something, or they hear it on the news on a radio [in the] car … they're absorbing that information,” she said.

Another reason may be childhood itself: kids can be curious, creative and willing to take chances, without the same fear of failure that can come with age. 

“They might have a fire for something,” said Letkiewicz. “You don’t want to put that out.”

That’s the case for Calgary’s Atley Ma. When he was nine years old, Ma seized an unquenchable opportunity. 

“We had been filling our own Soda Stream canisters just because it was more cost effective at home, and we started doing it for friends and family, and then I kind of realized, ‘why not do it as a business?’”

Atley Ma, also known as SodaKid, started running a business when he was nine years old. He says the many different rewards he gained along the way have been invaluable. (Submitted by Atley Ma)It grew into a thriving operation called SodaKid. Now 18, Ma has earned enough to cover university tuition for his engineering degree. 

Ma credits his success not only to word-of-mouth recommendations, but to the unique advantages of being a kid.

“You're a little bit cuter and a little bit smaller than everybody else selling the same thing that you're selling,” he said. 

And kids stand to gain more than just some extra cash, says Ross Levine, an economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. They also “learn an enormous amount” from handling the ins and outs of running a small business, he says.  

“They are acquiring quite a bit of skills [including] financial literacy, how to solve problems, how to co-ordinate with other people, and what a balance sheet is,” he said.  

Those skills served Chantelle Little of Lemonade Day Calgary well.  She’s been an entrepreneur for 18 years, ever since she sold pop at a golf course as a child. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Tiller, a digital marketing agency, and credits her childhood experience with where she is now.

“I didn’t really realize I was running a business per se, but looking back, that’s where I really got my first taste of sales,” she said. 

Chantelle Little smiles next to young entrepreneurs who came up with creative ideas to sell lemonade. (Lemonade Day Calgary)‘The world is your oyster’ Family support is another important part of kid entrepreneurship, says Letkiewicz. 

“It’s all about resources, like what resources are available to you, in your family, in your community,” she said. 

Sisters Emery and Hannah Hynes, who run a soap and candle business in London, Ont., told CBC London their mom covers the cost of a table at a farmer's market.

“We’re really grateful that our mom has invested a lot and helped us a lot with money and paying for it,” said Hannah. “It’s really nice we get to do things like this because we really enjoy it.”

Want a summer job? These kid and teen entrepreneurs didn’t wait to be hired

Ma says building a website for SodaKid helped him discover his interest in computer engineering.

Now, he hopes another young entrepreneur will eventually take over SodaKid and grow it further.

“The world is your oyster at that young age,” said Ma. “You have so much possibility, and it teaches you hard work, organization, people skills, and if nothing else, you make a little money on the side.”

Catherine Zhu is a writer and associate producer for CBC Radio. Her reporting interests include arts and culture, science and social justice. She holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of British Columbia. You can reach her at catherine.zhu@cbc.ca.

Audio produced by Danielle Nerman. With a file from CBC London