Toby Groves started secondary school last September. It’s a big year for most children, but it’s been an even bigger year for Groves. In the year that it has taken him to get used to his new school, his sweets business made £600. He could have earned more but, like all growing businesses, he has employees to pay: £15 for four hours. And that’s just one of his side hustles.
The sweet shop business is simple but effective: Groves sets up his stall at school fairs and takes orders on Facebook. Customers can collect the sweets from his house, or Groves can deliver them, with the help of his parents. He’s been so successful that in the past two years, he has grown the variety of sweets on offer from five to 50. He is even selling Prime energy drinks in his tuck shop.
Then there’s the car washing business, which he runs with his friend (£10 per car or £12 if it is particularly dirty.) “My friend let this one lady pay £7, but you can’t be doing that. We won’t make any money,” he tells me, with a hint of irritation. Groves is just 12 years old, but since he turned nine, he has been hustling.
It started at his dad’s birthday BBQ. “The other kids were playing,” says Emma Groves, his mother. “But Toby was walking around making drinks for people. He was looking for ways to work.” That night, he made £110. “I see people my age just sitting on their phones on social media and I think, come on, you can do so much more,” he says.
Groves is not an anomaly. In recent years, his drive to make money has become a defining trait of Generation Alpha. This cohort is still incredibly young: born between 2010 and 2024, and yet, they are already emerging as tiny tycoons. According to a report by Visa, 76 per cent aspire to own their own business. “The youth economy is booming,” says Louise Hill, co-founder and CEO of GoHenry, a banking service for children and teens. “Gen Alpha is the most business-minded generation I think we have ever seen.”
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In 2023, over two thousand six to 18-year-olds were surveyed by GoHenry: 69 per cent said they had already saved up to £1500, with the intention of starting their own business. The data also shows that children as young as six have started saving to buy their first home, and even their pension. “I spoke to one of our users, who is ten,” says Hill. “He told me he has started saving to buy property. He watches Homes Under the Hammer with his dad, and wants to buy a house so that he can flip it.”
The same report also found that a quarter of children are earning an average monthly ‘wage’ of £7.34 from selling things on online marketplaces, while 12 per cent of seven-year-olds are already making money from social media, selling products on their page or making money from advertising for brands. That figure rises to 23 per cent for 10-year-olds.
They have other income streams too. Some are making thousands of pounds by designing worlds inside video games like Roblox. “We call them bedroom businesses,” says Hill. In 2018, Roblox said that its young developers earned upwards of $30 million on its platform by cashing out its video game currency “Robux”.
Mabrookah Agbabiaka, 15, from South Yorkshire, was one of these young developers. She remembers sitting for hours in her room in lockdown, aged 11, screen-recording as she designed a digital world in Roblox, before sharing her videos on YouTube. “I would then spend ages designing my logo for my channel and giving the videos a voice-over,” she recalls.
Each video would take a week. Agbabiaka didn’t earn any money for her efforts. It doesn’t interest her but making cash is something her peers discuss often. “So many people I know want to be influencers,” she says. “They have had a lot of pressure on social media, growing up with overconsumption, and influencers spending money. I guess it makes children want to spend money too, and when they don’t have money. They’re going to want to make money. Most people are thinking about starting a business but hustle culture is mainly a thing with teenage boys.”
A quick search on YouTube reveals millions of videos instructing children on the best ways to make money. “This is how I made $1000 by the age of 13,” declares one video. “How to make money FAST as a teen in 2024,” advertises another, as a teenage girl explains how other kids can make a passive income by making book templates on Amazon.
Mabrookah Agbabiaka says so many of her generation want to be influencers
This hustle culture is rife amongst Generation Alpha. According to GoHenry, 31 per cent said they were open to setting up side hustles. Mabrookah cites the influence of Andrew Tate. “He is not that popular anymore, but I’d say he had that grinding mindset and I think boys have been influenced by it.”
Then there are YouTube stars like MrBeast: a 26-year-old internet personality who is incredibly popular with Gen Alpha, and with over 300 million subscribers. His channel centres around money, buying expensive things, and hosting competitions to compete for cash prizes. Archie, 11, is one of MrBeast’s fanbase, and when he’s older he wants to either be a YouTube star or run his own business: “I’m not sure what product I would sell yet though,” he says.
His father, Dougie McInnes, was surprised by his interest in money. “He is really into spreadsheets and stuff, and making them on his phone, rather than a computer. He went through a stage not that long ago of wanting to be an accountant, because they make money. I said, where did you learn that? He said: ‘YouTube’.”
Groves particularly loves Simon Squibb, a creator with one million subscribers. “He helps teenagers achieve their dreams,” he says. “He gives them money to support their idea and helps them make a website and make a platform for their business.”
“Kids don’t watch Blue Peter anymore,” says Natasha Courteney-Smith. She thought it was just her daughter Annie who had a penchant for making money. Annie, 11, spent her last summer making bracelets with her two friends. “At one sleepover, we made 75 bracelets,” she tells me. She then sells them for a low price: £3 per bracelet, but her customers often buy more than one, so she offers a deal: two for £5. What does she do with the profit? “We split it between us, and keep the rest in the business in case we need more beads,” she says.
Natasha Courteney-Smith with her daughter Annie
“Generation Alpha are much more business-minded,” Annie tells me. “We have technology and TikTok and YouTube, which makes it easier.”
Courteney-Smith started teaching her two children about business during lockdown. “I wanted my kids to learn some great life skills,” she says. “The recent research that is being released is in alignment with what I already knew, but I didn’t know it was a nationwide thing at the time. I just thought I had a particular group of really interested kids.”
But Courteney-Smith’s lessons have mass appeal amongst Gen Alpha. What started as a fun project for her children has now become a fully-fledged business. Biz Kidz runs entrepreneurial courses for children on Zoom, but it is mainly a TikTok-first platform, with 90,000 followers and a reach of three million Generation Alpha kids.
The platform interviews business-minded children about their side hustles and provides tips for successfully making money. An interview with aspiring child popstar Mila earned 1.2 million views. “That’s because at 4.30pm, when they get back from school, they are sitting on their phones on TikTok, and that’s when they are watching our videos,” Courteney-Smith said on a recent Visa panel.
In theory, side hustles and online money-making opportunities are available to all of us, but this generation is grabbing them much more readily than others. For Groves, the explanation is obvious. “It’s the cost of living crisis,” he says. “Parents are always saying: ‘sorry we don’t have enough money for that’. I think kids just want to be able to help themselves, instead of relying on pocket money.”
He isn’t alone in his anxieties. According to GoHenry, 71 per cent of kids are worried about the cost of living, while 56 per cent are worried about their future job stability. They have also started saving more as a result. In 2023, the average child saved 145 per cent more than they did the previous year. Between 2021 and 2022, before the cost of living crisis worsened, that rise was just 14 per cent.
Louise Hill is the co-founder and CEO of GoHenry
Lewis Somerville, 14, is financially preparing for the future. “Making money is super important to me; now and for when I’m older,” he says. Somerville aspires to be a graphic designer and has been helping his mum with her marketing business. Currently, he is earning £200 a month and working five hours a week. “I like to go to concerts with my friends, so I make sure I have enough money to spend without relying on my parents. I spend around £100 a month on concerts”. Currently, he has £60 in his savings pot. He looks up to Beyoncé, but not for the reasons you might expect. “She has a diverse line of income,” he says. “As she is creating music less frequently, this shows she is still looking to make money as her music career slows a little.”
Generation Alpha understands the language of money better than previous generations, and they are using it wisely. Despite rising prices, Groves is bursting with ideas for his next venture. He has been toying with setting up his own T-shirt business, with made-to-order prints. But his biggest business ambition isn’t about making millions. “My dream is to take my parents on holiday one day,” he says. His mother Emma laughs. “I’ll hold you to that.”
