The world of entrepreneurship is not restricted to adult-only access. In fact, if you are an entrepreneur, your teenager or college student may be inspired by what you have accomplished and may want to start his or her own business as an alternative to finding a summer job working for someone else. Even if you are not an entrepreneur yourself, your teenager or college student may be motivated to start his or her own business. Here are a few tips and ideas to help them along.
If you are looking into starting your own business as an alternative to working at a summer job, now is a good time to begin planning. There are a lot of things to think about, and if you play your cards right, you will be ready to go as soon as school is out for summer. The first thing to think about is whether you want a strictly seasonal business where you will “close up shop” when school starts in the fall or a business that you work full time during the summer and then cut back your hours when school starts so that you are working only on the weekends or as your busy schedule of academics and other activities permits.
Once you have an idea about whether you want something seasonal or year-round, you can start thinking about the fun stuff – what do you want to do for work? Are you going to become the most sought-after babysitter in town? Perhaps you love being outdoors and would like to help others keep their lawns and gardens looking great. Animal lovers can find work as dog walkers and pet-sitters, because not all pet owners want to send Fido to a kennel when they go on vacation. If you have a knack for fixing computers, small electronics, or bicycles, those are viable small business idea too. Of course this is not an exhaustive list. Get creative and think about all of your skills and talents, and whether there may be a market for them this summer.
When you have decided what you would like to do, make a basic business plan. Do your research and find out what you will need to spend to get your business going. You may be able to start your business with very little money, and perhaps parents or others can help you out by letting you borrow the car, or the lawnmower, or other things that you may need. It is not so important where all of the things that you need will come from, but it is important that you think ahead of time about how and when you will obtain them. Also, think about where and how you will advertise your business. Some local stores may let you put up posters with your phone number, and you can place ads on Craig’s List or even in the local newspaper. When people start calling to express an interest in your services, be sure to write all of your appointments and jobs down on a calendar so that you do not find yourself in the awkward position of being double-booked and having to disappoint a client. When the time comes and you start work, enjoy the success of your very own business. If you do a good job and keep your customers happy, you may not have to advertise next year because your schedule could already be fully booked with happy repeat clients. Good luck!
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