In Blog, Family

As the summer days wear on you may feel short on ideas to keep the boredom from setting in.  While the weather is warm and the sun shinning bright, it may be a little too warm to spend too much time outside. And with a few more weeks before school starts what will you do? Why not give the kiddos a little business experience and encourage them to start up a small business? These days the options extend way beyond the old school lemonade stand. Today’s “lemonade stands” are gourmet flavors of lemonade being bottled and sold in your local grocery stores. So go ahead and be creative. We all want our children to be confident and imaginative. Not only can a small business teach entrepreneurship but it is a great training ground for life basics like budgeting, keeping balance books and marketing.  A small business could be just the thing to get your child’s creativity going, and spark an interest in business.  So how do you get started?

Milk and cookies

4 Tips to starting a summer small business with children

Tip 1. Involve your kids in the start up!

Start by having your kids make a list of their hobbies.A love for pets could turn into a small pet walking business. A love for sweets could turn into a giant cookie or gourmet cupcake business. Let them guide the creative process as much as possible. You want them to maintain interest and the chances of their dedication to the business lasting are much greater if they have a say in the business idea.

Tip 2: Help them develop a business plan.

Guide your young ones as you help them to think through the necessary materials – ingredients for a cupcake business, leashes and water dishes for a dog walking business, for a baby sitting business your children may need a few first aid and CPR courses. Children should think through things like how much time will this business take? What will their monthly materials cost be? How soon do they expect to see a profit? How much will you require them to pay back for the initial investment?  Open a bank account and help them to learn to read  their monthly statements and watch their balance grow. Teach them to keep a balance sheet of costs and earnings.

Tip 3: Be their biggest supporter both financially and emotionally.

Plan weekly times to meet to review the things they are learning and to encourage areas of growth as well. Be their sounding board, but don’t be too tough. Give them room to try things out and make a few mistakes knowing its perfect soil for growing a real entrepreneur.

Tip 4: Market their products with enthusiasm.

As their biggest supporter be their advocate in your circle of friends and family. And take advantage of social media for them.

Make it a Great Day Bag for toys

Make it a Great Day Bags is a family company dedicated to seeing the entrepreneur spirit sparked in the next generation!

We built our company on a simple idea to create high quality versatile products that last! We encourage children to develop their imagination and take their dreams far! Check out our dream: the all -in -one, tote bag and back pack in tan and thunder blue, or watermelon and lime color combinations.

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