Encourage Your Child to Develop a Small Business Idea
A Home Business Article Contributed by Donna M. Brown
Your Child's Small Business Idea Could Be the Beginning of Responsible Money Management
Many children dream about owning their own small business and come up with small business idea after small business idea only to be discouraged by unthinking adults.
If your child has a small business idea, give him or her the opportunity to at least think through a mini small business plan. This could be a wonderful teaching opportunity that will help the child to respect the business process and appreciate his or her own ideas. Your child will have the chance to find a way to make, and save money for the future. Without the opportunity to make money, your child may never learn to manage money.
Sit down and Discuss Your Child's Small Business Idea with a Pencil and Paper in Hand
If you let your child know you are interested in his or her small business idea, that child will feel encouraged to share more ideas with you and to develop those ideas more fully.
Write down the type of business your child wants to start. Help your child come up with a name for the business. Make a list of all of the products and tools your child would need to actually implement the small business idea. Ask the child to make a list of all of the skills he or she must have in order to get and keep the business running.
Make a list of potential customers and help him or her decide how much to charge for the products or services to be offered. Talk about why the small business idea is a good idea and why you could run into some problems. Help the child estimate how much money it would cost to get such a small business off the ground.
Use This Small Business Idea to Talk about Marketing and Advertising
Discuss different marketing strategies with your child. Talk about how other businesses let people know what kind of products and services they offer. Talk about billboards, television commercials, radio and newspaper advertising. Show your child how some people advertise online or simply make flyers and spread them on cars in the grocery store parking lot.
Talk about how much advertising costs. This is a great time to discuss your child's budget. If startup costs are more than your child has, help him or her come up with a plan to save up money for startup costs.
If your child is excited about a small business idea, that child will be more willing to listen to and learn about how small businesses operate. Even if the idea is never implemented, it will give the child a good foundation on which to build other small business ideas.
Help your child look up ideas for a small business on the Internet and research small business organizations that will help people who are serious about becoming business owners.
This experience will help your child to understand your own small businesses efforts.
