Am I breaking the law?

[GraceP]

Thanks for helping and I now understand the situation more clearly.

I think there was a misunderstanding and I now know that I can give services and volunteer for free, as long as there is no exchange of money involved. Then it would become... risky. If I do write, draw or code for another website (there is a community of website owners which I go to, most of which are older teenagers or university students, although there are some 14/15 year olds) then it may look good on my CV, especially if it does have something to do with helping others and English. It would also help me develop communication skills and efficiency (eg. no procrastination, quicker working, work to a deadline).

I've made the decision that I would work on perfecting and completing my website first and in four months I will seek a (shelf stacking, cleaning, data entry, maybe in a hotel, etc.) part time job, as I would have a higher chance of getting one when I am 15. Hopefully I would receive something like £3/hour ($4.70) since there is no minimum wage for under 16s. If I do plan to monetise my website, I will make sure to look up UK laws and American laws since I think COPPA is an American law and it's very important when dealing with online communities/communication.

[akula]

hi!
no you're fine
you're not gonna get shut down any time soon
keep going, best of luck to you!

[GraceP]

I... can? Despite the fact that I'm two years underage and I don't have an adult to represent me?

I think I'll take a break from commissions because I want to focus on my own website, but... I don't want to lie to my teacher. My teacher said that it was either tell my parents (I feel incredibly immature/young saying this...) or a relative (I have no objection towards telling my aunt but I'd feel guilty if she has to go to court in my place or pay a fine if I mess up) or wait until I'm 16.

It's four months until I'm 15 and have a higher chance of getting a real life job and the way I was seeing it was that £130 unearnt and 4 months doing nothing wouldn't mean anything in the long term.

Thank you for answering. I'm still hesitant about continuing since, in the past few months, I was in a constant daydreaming state, thinking that anything was possible even while I'm still a child. It also feels as though history is repeating itself... but I really don't want to go into that. I'm just afraid that, whilst pursuing my financial(?) desires, I would upset, harm or offend someone or lose their trust.

Basically I want to earn money for university and the general future, but the fact stands that I still have four years to do that and there are always student loans, which are almost inevitable anyway.

I think I'm just having a period of teenage angst now, so I'm sorry if I sound immature, unprofessional or insecure.

[KyleXY]

There are legal laws regarding labor for minors but since you're operating your own business and not working for someone else, those rules don't apply here. For the most part, you should check with legal laws regarding operating a business underage and if you need anything else like parents involvement but for the most part, you should be fine. You're not breaking any law that I am aware of.

[GraceP]

If I do this without my parents' knowledge (I don't want to sound deceitful or secretive), is it still legal? Is there anything a child/minor can do to be legally allowed to run a business solo?

Thank you for helping.