Launch League

Full guide · Ohio

How to start video editing as a teenager

Plenty of teenagers can edit. Almost none of them will reply within a day, hit a deadline and hand over a file named properly. That is the actual product, and it is why the people who do it get paid while better editors do not.

Nothing to startFrom age 14First dollar: A few weeks.

What it costs

What you actually need

Free editing software
$0

DaVinci Resolve is free and professional. CapCut is free and fast for short vertical video. Neither costs you anything to learn.

A computer that can handle it
$0

Use what you have. A school computer lab counts. Edit at lower resolution if it struggles.

Headphones
$0–$40

Audio is where amateur edits are exposed. You cannot fix what you cannot hear.

Somewhere to hand over files
$0

A free cloud drive. Never make a client chase a download link.

Borrow before you buy

Do your first three jobs with equipment you already have access to. Buy your own out of money a customer has already handed you, never out of money you are hoping to make.

What to charge

Pricing, honestly

Start at the lower end of each range. Raise it once five people have paid you without hesitating.

Short vertical video, under a minute
$15–$40

Depends entirely on how much raw footage you have to watch.

A pack of four short videos
$50–$120

Offer this. Repeat work is worth far more than a higher one-off price.

Longer video, 5–10 minutes
$50–$150

Agree how many rounds of changes are included before you start.

Rush turnaround, under 24 hours
+50%

Only offer it if you are genuinely certain you can do it.

These are what people commonly charge, not what you will make, and they were first written for a Canadian market. Look up what adults near you charge for the same job, then start a little under it and raise your price once you have five happy customers.

Your first five

Exactly who to ask, in order

Warmest first. Your first attempt should be with someone who will be kind about it, because you will be bad at it.

  1. Person 1

    A local business you already buy from that posts badly, or has stopped posting.

  2. Person 2

    A coach or club near you that films games and never does anything with the footage.

  3. Person 3

    Someone in your family who runs a business. A first real client who will forgive a first-timer.

  4. Person 4

    A creator with a few thousand followers who is clearly editing their own and running out of time.

  5. Person 5

    Your first client's own network. Small businesses in a town all know each other.

Send this

“Hi — I'm Rowan, I edit short videos. I took three clips off your Instagram and recut one as an example, it's attached. I'd do four videos a month for $90. If the sample is not what you want, no hard feelings and it cost you nothing.”

Change the names and the price. Keep the shape: who you are, how they know you, what you do, the price, and an easy way to say yes.

Not optional

Staying safe

  • Get half the money up front on anything over $100, from someone you do not know.
  • Agree how many rounds of changes are included, in writing, before you start. Unlimited revisions is how this job turns into unpaid work.
  • Never hand over the final file before you are paid. Send a watermarked version to approve.
  • Do not use music you do not have the right to use. It gets your client's post taken down, and it is your fault.
  • Keep your own copy of everything for a month after you deliver.

Tell a parent or guardian where you are working and when you expect to be finished, every time.

The actual business

Getting them to book you again

  • Reply within a day, every time. This alone puts you ahead of most freelancers.
  • Hand files over named clearly, in the format they asked for. Nobody says thank you and everybody notices.
  • Send one idea a month that they did not ask for.
  • Offer a monthly pack after the second one-off. Predictable work beats bigger work.
  • Ask which video performed best, and make more of that one.

Two things to know in Ohio

If someone hires you. Ohio generally requires a minor work permit (an age and schooling certificate) for ages 14 through 17 during the school year, and in summer break only for ages 14 and 15. It is not required in some common teen jobs, including snow shoveling, newspaper delivery and family farm work. See the Department of Commerce and the Legislative Service Commission.

If you work for yourself, that is a different situation, and the sources I read do not spell out how the permit rules treat a teenager running their own small business. If you are unsure, ask the Ohio Department of Commerce, Bureau of Wage and Hour.

Taxes. Money you earn counts. Net self-employment earnings of $400 or more usually mean self-employment tax, and in Ohio lawn care, landscaping and snow removal become taxable services once your sales reach $5,000 a year. The Ohio starting guide explains both.

Checked October 9, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules change.

More ideas are on the full list. Ready to make it a real business? Read how to start a business in Ohio.

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