Teenagers starting a business

ohwhatdoido

Hi,
Does anyone have any information on teenagers starting a business of their own please.

They are both under 15

Both keen to make money.

On the list for a newspaper round.

Been saving for years

Now they've come up with an idea to buy a second hand caravan and transform it into a dessert delivery company.

They would only work the 12 hours a week they're allowed.

I would drive them and the caravan to a different location each afternoon and park them up. Then supervise.

They would obviously advertise their business.

Any tips would be appreciated (positive or negative welcome)

Questions I'm not sure about 
-can they register the business in their name?
- there were more questions but my mind's gone blank so I'll have to add them as and when I remember 

Thank you in advance for any help

Savvy_Sue

I'm not sure what you mean by registering the business, but as under 18s I don't believe they can enter a legally binding contract. 

Are they making the desserts? Food hygiene certificates, your local environmental health dept will advise. 

theoretica

Also, of course trading licenses - the locations they have in mind may be a problem and find they can't just go there.  Your council website may help.

TBagpuss

Short term they may do better with a stall and going to farmer's markets, rather than a caravan.

If they are making the desserts they'll need food hygiene certificates, as Savvy Sue says, and they will also need the appropriate permission or licence to park and sell.  Insurance in case someone claims they have food poisoning, or have brken a tooth on something they sold, or trips over the caravan, would also be needed. 

I would have thought that desserts would do better if made to order - or are  they are thinking more of cakes / brownies etc ?

They could potentially also look at selling online, if they were making something post-able, which would avoid the issue of pitch fees, though I 'm sure you'd still need the food certificates. 

Yu have to be over 16 to be a company director, so they couldn't set up a company (unless they had an adult involved, they could be shareholders when under 18) but they can be self employed.

ohwhatdoido

Thank you so much.

So they're thinking things like

Waffles and ice cream

Milkshakes

Sweets

Etc

And the being a bit like an ice cream van, people coming over when they arrive to purchase.

There's so much competition online but no one locally doing this, I told them to think outside the box.

I asked the council and they are happy with the locations we are thinking of (there is a local pizza van that does the same)

Can they get a food hygiene certificate at their age?
Can they get insurance in their name? Or is this something I would need to do on their behalf?

Sorry it's all new, I'm trying to take in so much information that my head is not keeping up

theoretica

https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/starting-a-food-business-from-home

Marcon

ohwhatdoido said:

Thank you so much.

So they're thinking things like

Waffles and ice cream

Milkshakes

Sweets

Etc

And the being a bit like an ice cream van, people coming over when they arrive to purchase.

There's so much competition online but no one locally doing this, I told them to think outside the box.

I asked the council and they are happy with the locations we are thinking of (there is a local pizza van that does the same)

Can they get a food hygiene certificate at their age?
Can they get insurance in their name? Or is this something I would need to do on their behalf?

Sorry it's all new, I'm trying to take in so much information that my head is not keeping up

Good on them - and you! How about getting the young entrepreneurs to do a bit of their own research? Plenty of info online. Be a great learning curve for them and a respite for you...

ohwhatdoido

Good plan, I'll get them on the case.
Thank you 👍

maisie_cat

Even if it is their business, you will be involved and will need to be insured as such.
When I had a small business my husband would help rarely with deliveries, it cost us an extra £30 a year for him to be covered as a pseudo employee for public liability purposes.
The only other thing I can think of is if you claim means tested benefits, and the DWP deem your involvement as self employment

ohwhatdoido

Thank you.
How would I find this out? 
I would be driving them to and from and then just watching.
I wouldn't take any money from them for doing this.

Sandtree

Do you mean caravan or camper van? Ie are they going to be a food truck parked up somewhere and people come to them or are they more like an ice cream truck where they are moving around every 10 minutes? With a caravan I'd assume the former. 

Savvy_Sue said:

I'm not sure what you mean by registering the business, but as under 18s I don't believe they can enter a legally binding contract. 

Its more "its complicated", so they can enter into a contract, otherwise they couldn't buy anything from a shop or vending machine until they were 18. The issue is that for non-essentials the contract is only binding on the other party (unless they too are a minor). Some companies will still enter into contracts because they get paid in full up front (eg the corner shop for sweets or cider)  but others will refuse to where the lack of an obligation on the teenager to do anything will cause a problem (so no 28 day payment terms etc).

The local council is the place to talk about both where you can park up the caravan and food hygiene certification etc. 

Around this the council has stopped running the areas themselves and instead have licensed them to the likes of Kerb who have a fairly rigorous vetting process and waiting lists etc (plus then take a proportion of your gross monies).

As they are under 16 they cannot be directors of a limited company but a Ltd is probably an unnecessary overhead for a fledgling food business anyway.