Help Your Teen Start Their Own Business

I’ll be honest, I’m not so sure my kids will be going to college.  Some of them might, but it’s not an option I’m going to force them into or push on them.  When I graduated from high school, it was just expected that the next step would be going on to college.  So that’s what I did.  I went to college. 

Times have changed since then and many more people are successful and make a good living without going to college.  Plus, with the way the political and social climate is on my college and university campuses, that is just not an environment or influence I’m eager to have my children be around.

My husband works for his brothers; they own their own business, and my husband owned his own businesses prior to working for his brothers.  And I guess you could say that I own my own business because I do make money blogging, which supplements our family’s income.  Working for ourselves (or for family) has been a wonderful blessing for our family.  It provides so much flexibility, and being your own boss definitely has its perks. 

As a mom, I often wonder what each of my kids’ futures will look like, with one aspect being what kind of job or career will they have.  Having owned our own businesses, my husband and I have often talked about helping our children start a business of their own.  Our oldest kids are 14 and 12, and while still on the younger side, are a great age for starting to learn about the business world and entrepreneurship.

While my husband and I have some experience with owning and running a business, we don’t have experience with starting one from scratch.  So I was pleased to learn about Adam Lean’s book, My First Small Business Plan for Teens. 

Adam Lean has created a 10-step guide for teens that will help them start their own small business.  No experience or money required.  You don’t even need a business idea; Adam will help you with that too.  Once you complete all 10 steps in the guide, which you can do at your own pace, you will have your very own small business.

• Steps 1 through 4 will guide your teen to come up with a business idea that will interest them and will sell something that someone will be willing to pay for.
• Steps 5 and 6 will walk your teen through the economics of the business to ensure that they will make a profit.
• Steps 7 through 10 will guide your teen in preparing to start their business.

My First Small Business Plan for Teens comes with a complementing, spiral-bound workbook that will help guide you on your way.  You will use this workbook to complete tasks as you work your way through the guide; tasks such as – brainstorming a business idea, determining who your target customer is, naming your business, and advertising plan.   In essence, your workbook will end up being your business plan. 

The guide is written with teens in mind; it’s simple and easy to follow and understand.  It takes the guess-work out of what is entailed to start a business and lays everything out in a clear, logical order.  There is also a handy ‘Tips’ section at the end of the guide to help them run their business more smoothly.  You can view a sample of both the text and the workbook on the My First Small Business Plan for Teens website. 

So why would a teenager want to start a business anyway?  And what are the advantages?

By starting a business, a teen can not only earn their own money, but also learn responsibility, personal money management, business basics, selling, and people skills.  They will be better prepared for the real world, as running their own business will promote independence, a strong work ethic, and give them confidence.

Now that my boys’ hockey season is over and the weather is starting to get nicer, I’m looking forward to jumping into this book with my boys and seeing what kind of business they can cook up.  I’m excited about the simplicity of the program and the easy-to-follow format that will allow my boys to work on much of this on their own and won’t need me holding their hands the entire time.  After all, this will be their business, not mine. 

My First Small Business Plan for Teens guide and workbook are available for $19.95 (this is a limited time offer; regular price is $29.95) and are geared toward kids ages 13-17, however it could be used with those as young as 11 or as old as 19.  They also offer a 60-day 100% money back guarantee.  So you really can’t lose. 

Is your teenager interested in starting a business?  Do you think having your teenager start their own business would be beneficial for their future?  Would you like to win a copy of My First Small Business Plan for Teens?  Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter for your chance to win a ‘Teen Success Bundle’ from the creator of My First Small Business Plan for Teens.

The bundle includes ($50 value):

• Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets about Money – That You Don’t Learn in School by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• The Success Principles for Teens: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield
• My First Small Business Plan for Teens by Adam Lean (includes guide and workbook)

One person will win the entire teen success bundle above and another person will win a copy of My First Small Business for Teens (guide and workbook).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends March 19th at 11:59pm EDT.  Winners will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim prize.  Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions upon entering the giveaway.