kids-in-biz.com

How Do You Know What’s Hot and What’s Not?

While eBay is a very user friendly place to sell your stuff, not everything sells. To avoid wasting your time and money, take some time to research what’s hot and what’s not.

There are a number of options available to find information on hot items. If you would like to pay for a service that is loaded with market research analyses, consider using eBay’s Market Research . You can pay for a one-time usage or subscribe by the month.

A free tool to use is called eBay Pulse. It contains several lists showing popular searches, stores, products, and more. These lists are a great way for you see what is hot in the eBay marketplace.

If you just want to get a feel what may sell, click on the BUY button at the top left of any eBay screen. The link will reveal a plethora of categories of items. Find some categories that interest you - example dolls or cameras.

From there you will be able to select a search criterion; choose Price – High to Low. The results will show the higher priced items first. You can also refine your search to show only completed auctions, which gives you a more accurate picture of what actually sold.

Finally if you merely want to see if the widget you have sitting in your basement is hot, type in the name of whatever it is in the search box and see what comes You may be surprised to find that it is selling for $100 or you may find that there are multiple listings for the same widget yet no one will enter an opening bid of $2.99.

It is one thing to see current auctions, however since much of the bidding doesn’t occur until the final few minutes, it is better to look at closed auctions. Then you’ll see if your Tommy Bahama shirt is really worth anything. Or you’ll see that your old baseball cards had 23 listings and not one of them sold. It’s important to go into “Advanced Search Option” and choose Completed Listings. Anything in green has sold, anything in red did not sell.

The bottom line is research. If you want to find out what’s hot and what’s not, do your homework first. It will pay off in the end.

Creating an eBay auction can be one of the easiest ways for a kid to learn about business. I will warn you up front that in order to comply with eBay terms of service, you must be 18 or older to sell on eBay. Consider this a joint venture! First, you must create a free account at eBay. To start an new account Click here for eBay! and choose the REGISTER button.

On any given day, there are millions of items on eBay available through auction-style and fixed-price trading. Chances are good you are already familiar with buying on eBay. Below is a very basic overview for the beginning seller.

It’s not rocket science – anyone can learn easily how to start selling on eBay. Essentials needed are few, including a computer, internet access, a digital camera and some space to put your stuff. That’s really all you’ll need to get started. You’ll also need shipping and packing supplies; Priority Mail boxes and envelopes are free through USPS. Just stop in any post office and pick some up! You can also order supplies online.

Next you’ll need to learn how to list auctions. You’ll need to write a description of what you are selling and have at least one picture of the item. Make sure you take a picture on a simple, uncluttered background. People want to see what they are buying! Rather than using this space to tell you all the mechanics, I recommend eBay’s very helpful page . Don’t be overwhelmed; just take it one step at a time. Listing is quite simple through the use of templates. You just fill in the blanks. There are some tips and tricks you can learn along the way about listing but for starters, just follow the logistics of how to put a listing onto eBay.

To start with, look around your own house for items to sell. Is there a duplicate gift you got for your birthday? A video game you don’t play? Books you read once and won’t read again? To make steady money, finding a niche to sell is a great idea, but for now you simply want to gain experience and build your feedback. You’d be amazed at what people buy. Don’t know what to charge? Do a search on eBay to see if others are selling the same thing or something similar. Click on “Advanced Search” and check the box for completed listings only. This will tell you what items actually sold. Anything in green sold. Items with red prices did not sell.

Online payments such as PayPal are very convenient. You may also want to accept money orders or personal checks. The more options you leave your buyers, the more likelihood you’ll get more bids; although most buyers prefer the ease of online payments.

Many people ship the items using USPS because of the free shipping supplies and inexpensive rates for small items. You can print postage online and mail the items from your home. There are of course other vendors – UPS, FedEx, DHL you can chose to use. The size and weight of the items may help you make a decision. Most will pick up at your home if you schedule a day in advance.

Remember this is a learning process. eBay, Yahoo and MSN have wonderful message boards and networks to help you along the way. In summary, if you want to just “start pushing buttons” and learn on your own, you can do it! If you do better chatting with others, those resources are available too.

There are several blog scripts available for use, including:

• Wordpress – Free to use, can have a blog on their site (wordpress.com) or grab the open source script (wordpress.org.) for use on your own hosting account.
• Blogger – Free to use, can have a blog on their site (blogspot.com) or publish the content to your own hosting account.
• Squarespace - Paid service (squarespace.com)
• Typepad – Paid service (typepad.com)

Bloggers are often loyal to their blog. Your needs will vary, so check out the options and let your choice be a personal one.

For a business blog, Wordpress is a common choice. Wordpress is feature rich. It is an Open Source script. This means that anyone can take the source code and edit it. Creative and talented people are constantly improving the code and releasing updates for free. There are hundreds of free templates available, too!

Wordpress is flexible. It works with a variety of ‘plug ins’ which add functionality and fun to your blog template.

For a more professional template, The Revolution themes are widget-ready, customizable themes that provide ideal solutions for online magazines, online newspapers, and other websites that wish to use WordPress as a content management system.

What makes a Blog different from a ‘regular website’?

Assuming that a ‘regular website’ is referring to a static HTML site, it is the database driven content that really sets it apart.

There are many websites that have been built using a similar script/database (known as a Content Management System or CMS) and these sites have a lot in common with the blog since a blog script is essentially a CMS.

The lines between blogs and other types of websites are blurring as more business owners choose to build their site with a CMS. While many blogs are designed to look like a web journal, more and more are being designed to look like a regular website.

Because the content you enter into the blog is stored in a database, it can be distributed as a data feed. RSS is the feed that most blogs employ. (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.) With RSS, your content can be viewed through any RSS reader or aggregator on another website or on a computer or portable device. RSS, ATOM and XML are often used interchangibly.
Another benefit to being database driven is that the script can accept and display comments on specific posts and can detect when other sites link to one of your blog posts. By using an RSS feed, you can get search engine readable link backs on all of your blog posts. You can get notified of each Kids-in-Biz post by entering your email address subscribing to our feedburner. It’s much easier than bookmarking and returning to sites you like to see if anything is new.

Happy Blogging! Now that some of the technical stuff is over with, look for Part 3 “What Kind of Blog Should I Use?” coming soon!

What is a Blog?

The term blog comes from two words: ‘web log’.

The strange little word is used in a variety of ways.

• “I blogged today’ means that you posted to your web log.
• “I’m blogging” could mean that you’re actively working on a blog post or that you blog on a regular basis.
• “I’m a blogger” may be used to let someone else know that you run a blog.

Technically, a blog is an online journal driven by a script and a database. The blog script provides you with an online dashboard for typing in your journal entries and the database stores your words.

Don’t worry about technologically intimidating terms like ‘script’ and ‘database’ – it’s not as bad as it sounds. If you have ever used a web based email system like yahoo.com or hotmail.com or if you’ve ever created an ebay auction or signed up for Myspace.com – you’re technical enough for a blog.

If you’ve never done any of these things, don’t worry! It’s not hard to learn.

Leave the tech terms behind us. What exactly is a blog?

It’s whatever you want it to be.

It can be an online journal. It can be your web based diary. It can be your monthly web article archive or weekly newsletter repository. A blog can include whatever you would like it to include: words, sound, video, pictures, etc.

It can be very personal or it can be quite businesslike.

Words like ‘journal’ and ‘diary’ have a private feel, yet a blog is public. This creates a unique culture among bloggers. People tend to be more personable on a blog, even if the topic is business.

Blogs are a great way to start your online business journey. They are fairly easy to set up. You can get one for free. They are flexible enough that you can easily make changes, and the more you play with your blog, the more valuable your skillset will be. Who knows? Before you know it, people will pay you to create a blog for them!

More blogging info coming! Stay tuned!

When you think about being a model, you might think of high fashion, beauty pageants, and shows like “America’s Next Top Model.” You’ve probably heard that you need to be extremely tall and exceptionally thin…and beautiful. If you want to be a high fashion model that’s true.

There is another side to modeling that maybe you hadn’t thought about. Models for advertising come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, all body types, and all colors! You’ve seen them – the cute freckle-faced girl drinking grape juice, the chubby dad mowing the lawn, or the feisty grandma. You don’t need to be perfect looking to be a model.

Even if you are fashion-model beautiful, modeling can be a tough career to break into. Search for information on becoming a model and you’ll surely be overwhelmed by the thousands of websites you can choose to visit. Click Here to check out an informative ebook on breaking into Child Modeling.

Be careful – there are tons of scams out there. You may have seen ads in the paper looking for models – they announce a free open-call. Modeling agencies will claim “train you” and shady photo studios will convince you that you need to spend thousands of dollars on professional photos. Do NOT pay an agency anything. If you hook up with a reputable agency, they will take a cut or commission on photo shoots they book for you, but will not charge to represent you.

If you are a kid with an interest in modeling, the first thing you are going to need is a willing and supportive parent. Your parent is going to be the one scheduling and driving you to auditions. Your parent also needs to be able to get along well with other people and not overwhelm the people who might eventually hire you. You also need to have someone sign a permission form to use your photos. If you plan to get into modeling, you will eventually need a portfolio and professional photographs, but you can hire a photographer that meets your budget.

There is another option that is rarely talked about, but I’ll let you in on a secret. Commercial photographers often don’t have the budget to hire professional models. For photo shoots, they often rely on family and friends to step in. My daughters have been in ads, textbooks, and brochures because their dad is the photographer. They have also asked a number of friends to model as well. The budgets are not huge, but you can often make $25 to $100 for a few hours work.

Contact photographers in your area and let them know that you are available for work. Put a package together with some decent photos of yourself, and a business card or flyer with your contact information. Most photographers will not have anything the day that you call, but if they get that kind of work, they can keep you on file.

Call the photographer (or email) and introduce yourself.

“Hi, my name is Jennifer Smith and I’m interested in doing some modeling. I’m wondering if you ever use non-professional models in your studio. If so, I’d like to send you some information in case anything comes your way.” Chances are, if the photographer does occasionally use non-pros, he or she would be happy to keep you on file.

Keep in mind that modeling is hard work and can even be somewhat boring. You may have to do a lot of waiting around, and may be on a set for hours at a time.

If you’re looking for a guide that is jam-packed with good, solid information, then this is for you! A whopping 247 pages written by internet marketing experts in their fields, this is a great read for both newbies and experienced marketers. Topics covered that might interest a young entrepreneur include affiliate marketing, ghostwriting, eBay selling, article writing, creating graphics, and more. The authors are all well-respected in the internet marketing community. This is not a get-rich quick scheme and you won’t be lead to believe that you will be a millionaire overnight. Rather than worry about the $100 a day, you can concentrate on making your first hundred bucks. After that, worry about the second $100! Click here for more details!

You wouldn’t be reading here if you weren’t looking for a way to make some money. Let me ask you this - do you want a job or do you want a business? Some kids naturally have an entrepreneurial spirit. They thinking running a business would be cool. They like the idea of having the sky as the limit financially. Others kids just want money to buy stuff and that’s okay, too.

Does it matter? It does if you are in the planning stage of your money making journey. Do you want to run the show? Do you want to be responsible for everything? Or do you just want someone to pay you for the work that you do?

Having a business card is a great way to show that you are serious about babysitting. It’s also a great way to easily provide information to parents that need your services. Make sure your parents and families that you babysit for have extra cards to hand out. As a mom, I always ask my friends for recommendations and a business card is an excellent way to get the word out. You can put just your first name on the card. Clear it with your parents before you begin handing out cards with your personal info on them.

If you want to make your own cards, check out the software that you already have on your computer. Many home computers come with templates and free clip art that you can use. Microsoft has a free template section. HP has free templates that you can download and use with Word. Avery sells business card stock and has free software you can use right on their site to design your card. An even cheaper option would be to go to Vistaprint. They have free designs you can choose from but if you check out their premium options, the Childcare designs are adorable and is really about the same cost as printing your own. They have 27 designs to choose from and they’re really cute!

Have some fun creating your own designs. Don’t forget - this is about babysitting. A hand-drawn image is perfect for this kind of card. You can even scan in something you drew as a little kid for a whimsical look.

Speaking of free templates, Microsoft also has a Babysitters Checklist and Babysitters Instructions that you can download. If you show up with these, you’ll look impressive!