kids-in-biz.com

School is out for many and teens are scrambling to find summer jobs. It’s nothing new. Unfortunately, many of the coveted camp jobs and seasonal positions have long been filled. Don’t despair! Why start your own business? When you work for yourself, you control your hours. You can work as many hours as you can handle during summer months, and pare them down to little or none during the school year.

Looking for ideas? Check out our Kids’ Business Ideas eBook for 83 ways for kids to make money!  This guide is packed with loads of ideas to get your juices flowing.  It will inspire you to look at skills you already have and encourage you to offer your services to earn some cash!

Last July, my daughter (then 13) told me she wanted a Wii.

“What’s a we?” I asked.

“A Wii, Mom. W..I..I,” she spelled out. “It’s like an X-Box or Playstation.”

“I don’t want you sitting in front of the TV all day. That’s why we don’t have those things,” I said. “How much is it?”

“I need about $300,” she said. “But I really want one. And it’s not like regular video games. You get exercise by bowling and playing baseball.”

“You have your own business,” I told her. “You can earn as much as you want.”

“I don’t want to wait that long,” she begged.

“Well, then find other work. Babysit or something.”

“You mean if I get the money, I can buy a Wii?” she asked.

“Sure. If you earn the money, you can buy it.”

Ten days later, after two pet-sitting jobs and a week of babysitting, she came to me with a wad of cash. “I have the money. Can I get a Wii?” she asked, tenatively.

“Of course you can. Would you like me to drive you to the store now?”

“You will? Really? REALLY? You really will?”

“You earned it. Great job! Congratulations.”

Well, of course that’s not true. But a Kindergartener can surely be involved in internet marketing. I just got off the phone Christina Lemmey from MultimediaVA. She told me that her six-year old daughter wanted her own website just like Mom! At first, Christina didn’t pay that much attention to her daugher’s request, but after repeated begging, she decided to give in.

“I decided to build a Squidoo lens with her. It’s easy. It’s free. And it’s fun for kids, too,” Christina explained. It wasn’t hard to come up with a topic for this Hannah Montana fan! Gifts For Girls was an easy topic for this mother-daughter team! “All you have to do is look in her room!” she laughed.

Since Kindergarten typing, writing, and computer skills are limited, Christina set up the lens. She let her daughter pick and choose the products to feature from Amazon and eBay. She focused on her two favorite things - Hannah Montana and American Girl. Earning money wasn’t the main concern for this lens, her mom explained. She wanted to respect her daughter’s desire to have her own site and toss in a taste of learning about business at the same time.

“How will people know about my site, Mom?” she asked.

Out of the mouths of babes…

(Check out her lens at Gifts for Girls and feel free to leave an encouraging comment so that she knows that she’s had visitors! Who knows, maybe you might even need a gift idea!)

If your child has or is considering an online business, understanding internet safety should be at the top of your to-do list. Kids are savvy, but often naive. ConnectSafely.org is an excellent resource to learn and remind you how to keep your child safe. The site is easy-to-use and navigate and gives some great tips on talking to your kids about online behavior. See their Teen’s Guide to Safe Blogging.

Other Tips and Advice include:

• Social-Web Tips for Teens
• Social Web Tips for Parents
• Cell-phone Safety Tips
• Top 10 Safety Tips for Video-Sharing
• Chat Room Safety Tips
• What Parents Can Do About Online Safety

Please do your homework and stay safe!