Teen Business Idea: Label Printing

Background

Some time ago at work we went through a major project to clean up and organize our office and work spaces. Part of that process was getting new labels anywhere they were needed. We choked when we saw the size of the bill for printing all the required placards, name tags, shelf labels, etc. Someone did a quick "back-of-the-napkin" calculation and determined we could save thousands of dollars by buying a labeling machine and printing our own labels.

When I see profits of that magnitude for a product that everyone uses, I see an opportunity for an enterprising young person.

The Idea

For a small investment, a teen can buy an inexpensive engraving machine. I've seen do-it-yourself plastic engraving machines for $100. If you wanted to get fancy you could spend as much as $2000 for a multi-function CNC machine.

As with most of my teen business ideas, effort is required to find the business. The opportunities are everywhere, but it requires, footwork, phone-work, and sales. Business name tags, shelf tags, etc. Don't bother with the web, because you won't get the top rank on Google. Put yourself on Google maps and start hitting local businesses. High-tech manufacturing would be a great place to find larger volumes.

What are you offering? Lower price, local business, same-day turn-around, and the proceeds go to a good cause. I believe many business people appreciate ingenuity, and those people are your target market.