Do child labor laws apply to a kid running their own business?

Federal child labor rules exist to govern an employer-employee relationship. A kid running their own business is self-employed, so there is no employer, and the hour restrictions and work permit requirements that worry parents generally do not apply to their own work on their own venture.

That is why a twelve year old can mow lawns on a Tuesday evening without anyone breaking a law, while a twelve year old cannot be hired to do the same work at a landscaping company.

Two qualifications matter.

States write their own rules and some are broader than the federal standard. Where a state rule is more restrictive, the state rule governs. Worth a look at your own state's labor department rather than assuming the federal picture is the whole picture.

The moment your kid hires somebody, this changes completely. If your kid pays another minor to help, your kid is now an employer, and the full range of federal and state child labor protections applies to that worker. Age floors, hour limits, hazardous occupation rules, and potentially work permits all come into play, along with wage and tax obligations.

That second point is the one to flag early, because hiring a friend is a natural next step and it looks like a small decision. Andre does exactly this in the book, and the interesting part there is the leadership rather than the paperwork, but in real life the paperwork is real.

Practical version: your kid doing their own work is fine. Your kid paying a friend for an afternoon of help is a gray area worth understanding before it becomes a habit. Your kid running an actual crew needs an adult to look properly at the rules first.

Separately, some kinds of work carry age restrictions regardless of who is employing whom, particularly anything involving power equipment or heights. That is a safety question rather than a labor law one.

This is a starting point rather than a ruling. Check your state, and get advice before anyone gets hired.