Opas

#Can a minor be a light entrepreneur?

Short answer: yes, under certain conditions. Legislation limits a minor's right to enter into agreements and work, which is why services have age limits and practices that may require guardian consent. Age limit and guardian consent are therefore concepts that the young person and their guardian should go through together in the service's terms of use before opening an account.

Once the conditions are met, light entrepreneurship is a safe way for a young person to start working life: invoicing, taxes and filings are handled through the service, so the teen doesn't need to set up a company or learn bureaucracy alone. It's a good idea for the guardian to be involved at first with pricing and agreeing terms with customers.

Compared with a traditional summer job, the differences are clear: in a summer job the employer sets the hours and tasks and pays the wage, whereas as a light entrepreneur the teen finds their own customers, agrees on the work and prices it themselves. Neither option is better than the other, but light entrepreneurship is especially suitable when summer jobs are hard to find or when a young person wants to try out their own idea in practice.

To be clear: a gig done as a light entrepreneur is not an employment relationship — the young person carries out the work independently and invoices for it. Because of this, terms typical of employment, such as shifts and hourly pay, are agreed differently in this model: the teen and the customer agree between themselves on the content and price of the work. It's worth going through this difference with the young person so expectations are clear on both sides.

#What kind of summer gigs a young person can do

Summer is full of jobs households are happy to give to an energetic teenager: mowing lawns and other yard work, walking dogs, cleaning help, washing cars, carrying moving boxes and running errands for elderly people. Digital skills are in demand too: creating social media content for local businesses, photography and video editing are sought-after skills.

Note, however, that not all jobs are suitable for a minor: legislation on young workers restricts, for example, doing hazardous work, and some jobs require being of legal age or having separate permits. Choose gigs that are safe and age-appropriate, and check restrictions from official sources if needed.

It's worth looking for customers close by and safely: the neighbourhood, relatives, parents' colleagues and the housing company's noticeboard are good places to start. The guardian should know where and for whom the young person is working, and larger gigs are worth agreeing on in writing, even just by message. Recommendations from people you know naturally bring in more customers over the summer.

A good first gig is one the young person is confident doing and that's easy to define: for example, mowing a lawn once a week for early summer. A clear scope teaches the skill of agreeing terms and keeps both parties happy, since there's no ambiguity about what the work includes.

#First own money and pricing

Money earned yourself teaches more than any lesson: the connection between work and pay, pricing, and saving. As a light entrepreneur, the young person sees the whole chain themselves, since the app shows what the customer pays, what goes to taxes, and what's left over. That's practical financial education.

When pricing, it pays to be fair but not to undersell: find out what's typically charged for similar work in your area, and remember that taxes and the service fee are deducted from the invoiced amount before the money hits the account. Always agree on the price and scope of work with the customer in advance, preferably in writing, even by message.

It's worth deciding in advance how to split summer earnings: some for spending, some for saving, and possibly some toward a bigger goal, like a driving licence. When the goal is clear, working becomes motivating in a completely different way. The app lets the young person see their entire summer's invoicing at a glance, which makes following their own finances concrete and educational.

The app also helps with pricing: the wage calculator shows in advance how much of the invoiced amount is left after taxes and the service fee. This makes visible to the young person how price, taxes and their own pay connect, and helps them set the price at the right level.

#What a young person needs to know about taxes

A young person also needs a tax card, which you get from OmaVero (the Tax Administration's online service) or the Finnish Tax Administration. As a light entrepreneur, the young person is paid wages, from which Truster withholds tax according to the tax card and handles the filings to the authorities. With small annual income, little or no tax is withheld, but a tax card is still always needed.

The most important lesson about taxes is simple: all income must be reported, and honesty pays off from the start. When invoicing goes through Truster, this happens automatically, since wage data is transferred to the authorities as part of paying the wage. The basics of taxation and the young person's own information can be checked at vero.fi and OmaVero.

It's worth having the guardian go through getting the tax card and the first payslip together with the young person: what tax withholding means, why deductions are made from the pay, and where the information goes. These are skills the young person will need throughout their working life, and they're easiest to learn during the first small gigs.

If the young person also earns regular summer job wages during the summer, all wage income is combined for tax purposes. In that case, the income limit on the tax card should be sized according to the whole year's income. Up-to-date guidance on taxing young people can be found at vero.fi and OmaVero.

#Tips for guardians

As a guardian, you can support the young person with a few practical steps: go through the service's terms of use and age limits together, help with getting a tax card, agree on ground rules for workload and spending money, and be involved at first when the young person agrees on gigs with customers. That way the first gigs leave a good experience.

Doing summer gigs as a light entrepreneur can be a young person's first step into working life: it teaches responsibility, customer service and managing one's own finances within a safe framework. If anything is unclear, Truster's customer service is happy to answer questions from both the young person and the guardian.

It's also good practice to agree on how invoicing and communication are handled: many families arrange it so the young person handles the work and customer contact, while the guardian checks invoices before they're sent, at least at first. Responsibility gradually shifts to the young person as a routine develops. At the same time, the guardian sees firsthand that income and taxes are handled correctly from the start.