kids-in-biz.com

The SBA was established in 1953 to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. They even have a teen division with great information and a host of resources. If you are looking for tips on how to generate ideas for a business, the legalities of owning a business, or guidance in writing a business plan, this is a great place to start.

This is one site you can trust to give you straight-forward information. All business owners and future entrepreneurs should check it out. The teen area is well-laid out and easy to read. Make sure you bookmark it. SBA for teens.

You want an iphone or ipod? Maybe the new Wii?  Trying to save up for your first car or need to pay for your own car insurance?  You want to work, but your crazy school schedule isn’t flexible enough for a regular job? Perhaps you aren’t even old enough to get a regular job.  Now might be the time to consider starting your own business.

Start by looking at your own skills. What are you good at? What do you like to do?  Do you like computers? Kids? Being outdoors? Fixing things?  Are you highly organized? Do you like pets?  Are you an early riser or a night owl?   Do you like to write?  Are you a talented artist?  A musician?

All of these skills can bring you money.  Take inventory of your own talents. Write them down.  Figure out what your strengths are.  People will pay you for things that they

1. Can’t do
2. Don’t want to do

3. Don’t have time to do

What may be easy or fun for you might be miserable for someone else.  Knowing yourself is the first step in deciding on a business.

Can a bad hair day lead to a successful business? Sure! It happened for my 13-year-old.
My daughter, a soccer player, was having problems keeping her hair up. “I’m really bad at doing my own hair and it was always falling in my eyes!” she said; until a friend gave her pre-wrap.
Pre-wrap is a velvety soft foam that comes in rolls like tape. It’s really an athletic pre-taping product used to wrap over an injury before tape is applied, but many female athletes have found it makes the perfect headband! It’s clingy and doesn’t slip off your head like regular headbands. (Check her site out at Pre-wrap.com. ) She loved it so she went hunting for it at the mall. Unable to find it, we had to buy it in bulk on the Internet. She took the extra to share with her teammates - that’s when her business started. “Everyone loved it and wanted it! I had to order more right away.”
Kids have great ideas – they know what other kids want. Listen to them. Make suggestions. I always knew I wanted to teach my kids about business and the opportunity just dropped in my lap. The key? I was ready and waiting! Are you ready?

I know it seems like babysitting is just something you do to make money…but did you ever stop to think that when you babysit, you are actually a business person? You are in what is called a service business. You may babysit for just one family (even your own) or many. The people that hire you are actually your clients or customers.

Want to take your babysitting to the next level? Ask the families you work for to refer you to their friends. Don’t be afraid to tell them the kinds of kids you love to babysit for. If you love babies, say so! If you prefer to be out in the backyard hitting baseball, tell them that, too. Many moms don’t want to give out the name of their best babysitter - they keep you to themselves so you are available when they need you. You can certainly create flyers or hand out business cards in your neighborhood, but I prefer the word-of-mouth method for babysitting referrals. When you are in someone else’s home, watching someone else’s kids, it’s nice to have someone that is familiar with the family.

You can still be professional. Why not have some business cards printed up with your name and/or your email address on it. Printing cards will show that you are serious about wanting to work and makes it easy for people to refer you. Check out Vistaprint. They offer free business cards - you just have to pay shipping. You can also create your own. Office Supply stores like Staples have business card stock you can put through your home printer, but I think Vistaprint is probably easier and cheaper!  We were really happy with our first cards and just ordered more.  You can get 250 premium quality, color business cards FREE!  Click here.

That’s the fun part of internet marketing and having a blog. You can talk about anything you want and share products and services you love with your readers. Affiliate marketing is all about “pre-selling” a product. This year, our family added three new games to our favorites. Our family favorite is “Kids Against the Grown-ups.” In this game, the kids get questions targeted at the older generation (like questions about the Beatles) while the adults get questions about Disney characters or Spongebob. It’s a tug-of war board and lots of fun to play with your family.

Quiddler is a card game where you make words using the letters in your hand. You might say it’s a twist on Scrabble, but I personally think it’s more fun to play as a family. Players score points by totaling the value of each card, earning bonus points for the longest and most words in each round. This addictive word game contains instructions for playing a solitaire version, so you can enjoy it even when no one else is around. It’s an excellent game for grandparents to play with grandchildren. It’s easy to learn and fun for anyone old enough to spell!

We bought The Original Food Lover’s Trivia Game this year and enjoyed this game without a board! We rarely use the trivia boards anyway, so this was a nice change. If you are a food lover who likes trivia games or a trivia game lover who likes food then you’ll like this game. It features 1,800 questions in the categories of Beverages, Geography and Culture, Ingredients, Recipes, Food People and Food Arts & Science. If you are playing with kids, definitely try Eat It! This one is all about snacks and candy will make your sweet tooth tingle just playing this game!

The New Totally Awesome Business Book for Kids, Revised and Updated Third Edition by Arthur and Rose Bochner

This book is an easy-read that touches upon the basics of business plus 20 ways to make some money. Although the 20 ideas include the obvious, such as babysitting, the lemonade stand and raking leaves, it does offer some creative ways to save money around the house. The Bochners are a young brother-sister team, aided by their mom, Adriane G. Berg, who clearly wants the same that many of us parents want for our kids - financial savvy and a solid understanding of money-making principals. What I liked best about this book was the concept of auditing the family’s spending habits and sharing in the savings. Kids do tend to think money grows on trees. Realizing that electricity actually costs money and someone actually has to earn the money to pay for dinners out are always great things for kids to learn.

If you are looking to start an internet based business, then this isn’t the book for you.

I was listening to Michelle Waters over at Product Sellers Talk Radio and she brought up a great point about how to choose a product to sell. Instead of thinking “What product should I sell?” why not think “Who should I sell to?” First things first. When you begin your journey learning about business, you will hear the term “target market.” This basically means, who will be buying your product or service? If you are babysitting, your target market is parents of small children. If you are thinking about selling a product, who will you be selling to? As kids, chances are good that you know what your friends, classmates, and teammates are buying. Is there something everyone wants or needs but have trouble buying in your area? Are there things that people buy online that you might be able to earn an affiliate commission by selling? Did you know that you can actually make money by selling ringtones?

This is an example of one our affiliate programs: Hottest Ringtone on Your Mobile!

As you brainstorm ideas, ask your friends what they think of your idea. Don’t be surprised if people are not encouraging at first. Many people think that owning your own business is a fantasy. With a little determination and willingness to learn, you can make it a reality.

Let’s face it. Kids love to spend money! What better way to start on the road to financial success than to start earning money at a young age. Gone are the days when babysitting and raking leaves are the only way to make a buck! (Don’t count these out, though. There’s still great money to be made that way.)

Many parents and kids alike are looking for some extra cash. While a successful internet business is a cool thing, kids don’t have mortgages to pay and usually don’t have to feed a family. If you are involved in extra-curricular activities, committing to a part-time job is often impossible. Most of these options allow you to work as little or as much as you please.

There are really only three basic ways you can make money on your own. You can offer a service. You can sell a product. You can provide information.
Offering a service is probably the most common way that kids make money. Babysitting, lawn mowing, and snow shoveling are classic examples. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Remember, people are willing to pay others to do what they (1) don’t want to do themselves (2) can’t do themselves (3) don’t know how to do themselves.
Selling a product is also fairly easy to grasp, but more complicated to start up.  You can create your own product to sell, such as jewelry or other hand-crafted items. You can buy items in bulk and resell them. It can be as simple as buying a cooler full of water and Gatorade and sitting at a soccer field on a hot day. You can also be involved in Direct Sales, where you sell products for someone else, don’t have to keep inventory, and get paid a commission. Think of Avon and Tupperware where you have a catalog and take orders. Most direct sales companies will need you to be 18 or older, but this can be a great way to earn some money as a family.
If you plan to start an online business, there are two really important concepts to learn up front - Affiliate Marketing
and Pay-per-click advertising. We’ll be talking about these soon, so be sure to check back!

Be sure to poke around http://www.internetbasedkids.com for some inspiration.