Kids Guide To Money

How to come up with a money making idea

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:14:00 +0000

You have seen me spit out ideas for a couple months now. I assure you all of these are either original, or altered for my own needs. Many people will call out an idea and leave it. “Lawn Mowing”. OK, now what? “Baby Sitting”. Now what about rates? “Paper route”. How do I find people hiring? The thing is, if you want to create your own idea, or better the idea of someone else, you need to follow my method. Pretty soon, you will just be an idea-making machine.

Here is the basic outline:
Come up with a basic product/service
Estimate the cost to you
How to operate the business to run smoothly
What to charge customers
How to gain customers

Think “So what do people need?”. That is the key thing to remember. No one buys something they don’t need. If a kid came up to me right now and said, “Would you like to buy a broken phone with glitter on it?” I would have to say “no”. No matter how cute you are, no matter what your sales pitch is, no one will ever need a broken phone with glitter on it. The actual product or service is key. It is good to start in your home. What does your mom complain about? Are there always too many dishes to be washed? Does your dog always need a bath? Is your little sister having trouble with math because of a new teacher? Chances are, if your family is having these problems, people around you have the same needs. So that is your first step, find out what they need. We’ll pick an easy example. Your little sister having trouble in math, think tutoring. If a new teacher means your sister has trouble, that means there is at least a class full of kids that need your help. Welcome to the world of tutoring. But that’s not your entire idea, you need to think of other parts.

The next step in forming an idea to make money is to figure out how much it will cost you. How much time, how much energy, and how much money. With the tutor example, will you need to buy materials for the kids you teach? Where will you meet them? If there is no room at your house, you may have to meet at a library or their houses. Do you have enough time in the day to make such trips? What will you have to sacrifice to make this work? These are all things that need considering. With this information, you can better understand what you should charge and how you should operate.

In the world of tutoring, if the kids are in a same class, it is often better to deal with them in groups. This is because, if they have the same assignments, they will ask the same things. It saves time to deal with all questions at once. With any idea, you need to consider each subtle thing like that. Your specific situation is always different in some way. With this in mind, you need to think of a price.

To assign a price to a job, it is best to first look at competition. Find out what other businesses offer. Always go lower than professionals. If possible, find out what other kids charge. Sometimes it is best to go to your parents. Ask them how much they would pay a tutor for you. In most cases, you want to look at an hourly rate. Younger children won’t need as much so will not pay as much. A good rate is about $12-$15 an hour. Some one-on-one cases might be $20 an hour if you are really good. In any business, always consider price.

After your format is done, and you ask yourself all of the questions I have put in this article, then you may look for people. Contact teachers to refer you to parents who ask how to help their child’s grade. If you’ve had the teacher before, it’s even better. Consider the best ways to get customers in each idea you make. You will here me bring it up a lot, but, I really like business cards. They get your point across and are professional. If you don't have business cards, get on that. Even comment to ask me for help or e-mail me directly. stark324@gmail.com

Without all of these components, your idea is just a title. Bring more to it.

Be an artist-for-hire

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:05:00 +0000

Are you good at drawing or cartooning? Do you love to doodle? Maybe you could be a sketch artist. These people are paid for their sketches and you can organize these types of jobs anywhere. You can set up downtown (With an adult or large group), you can rent yourself out at parties, or you can take your business online. There is a lot of room for expansion and if you have the talent, then there is little to no start up cost.

The first things you need to do is find your niche and create a portfolio. A niche is a place or style for your art. Are you good at realistic pictures? Then portraits might be your thing. Maybe you can do cartoons. That is also very successful. You can create funny comic-like pictures of people you meet. To realize your style, you can practice drawing your friends and family. Or go to the park and start drawing people who walk by. This will help you with your speed and portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of your drawings. Customers look through this portfolio to decide if you are a type of artist that fits their needs. I suggest having a wide range of pictures in your portfolio. Also include some famous people. Doing sketches of famous people attracts attention, and some people might buy them just for the person you drew.

Once you have a decent portfolio, I suggest taking your show on the road. Set up a booth at a street corner (if possible, with tourists), pin up some work from your portfolio. This attracts customers. Pin up the famous people portraits I mentioned with some price tags to help you out. You love to draw, but if someone can give you $20 for a cartoon of a basketball player, that gives you more time for other people. Be sure to check with the city for any licenses you might need to sell on the street. They are normally cheap and you can get your money back through sales.

If possible, bring a scanner or a digital camera with you. While drawing others, it is possible to add to your portfolio. Or, you can take pictures for people so you can draw them while they do other things.

As always, I always consider how to expand. In this case, parties and other types of get-togethers could be your source of business. Like always, I suggest business cards. Keep a stack with you on the street while you draw and a stack with you at all times. Clearly put on there your style, rates, and the fact that you do private parties. Have a phone number, e-mail, and you can even set up a web site.

For more expansion, you can sell through the website. Whether you draw pictures that people send you, or if you sell portraits of famous people, you can benefit from the idea. It gives a nice central location for people to look you up. You can even expand through this by adding other people. Maybe your friends can draw, or you can hire people. Tag their work up there and create a map of the city with points that represent where each of your employees is at what times.

Lasagna and other food type-businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Ever since I was in the 6th grade, I have made and sold lasagna. It’s much easier than people realize, very tasty, and sometimes, even fun. I could make about 3 an hour, including cooking time. The great thing about lasagna is that it’s not exactly common and people like variety. For guests coming over, people would ask me to whip up lasagna. It was easy to do. It is also handy for lunch. If I make someone lasagna on Monday, then they can cut slices off for lunch all week. Adults prefer it to buying lunch every day as it saves them money, time, and gas. That is a thing to consider with any business scheme. Find something that saves adults time and money. Everyone likes to do that nowadays.

You can ask your parents how to make lasagna, research recipes on the web, or even sell something that you better know how to make. Lasagna is just my suggestion, there are many other foods that you can make. Maybe your parents have a family treat that you can make. It would bring in a lot of money to introduce the treat to the world. Sandwiches are always nice to sell. People like them for on the way to work. Set up sandwich sales in front of corporate buildings. Notice at about 11:30 to about 1:00, many people will come and buy from you.

You can make brownies, cookies, cakes, pastas, full meals, lunch combinations (snacks, sandwich, and drink), any type of food is good. Everyone needs food at some point, it is your job to be in the right place with the right type of food.

The Power of Non-Profits

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Your goal is to make money. That is a very direct and simple thing to understand. Right now, you might not care much about global warming, political parties, or monkeys in Africa. But for the sake of your business and the world, you might want to consider partnering up with organizations like cancer research and organizations like whale savers. It increases your amount of customers, gives you some experience with community service, and makes you feel good. Do you have a dog? Then you can advertise your cookie sales as giving 50% of all sales to the local animal shelter. Even people that wouldn’t have wanted your cookies will buy so they can support animals, and you are helping out in an area you care about. Maybe there are no parks or playgrounds in your area, talk to the city about putting one in, offer to donate money through sales. You can then say that for each lawn you mow, $5 will go toward the creation of a new park in your area. Watch how many people will ask for your service then!

It is also great for free advertising. Newspapers and radio stations will write about your efforts. Let them know what you are trying to support, and they will mention it. People will call you asking for your service, in some cases, you will get donations for your cause. This is a great thing for websites and eBay sales as well. On eBay in particularly, you can donate sales directly to an organization. Then eBay will tell the community how much in sales has gone toward your non-profit.

This isn’t unheard of. Many millionaires and other successful businesses give money to organizations to give back and to put their name out there. McDonalds gives to the Ronald McDonald house for children, Adidas gives money to children in Africa, and many companies offer discounts for those with financial problems.

Trust me. Your business will soar, you will be looked up to, and you will feel better than you can even imagine. It will all be worth it. You have been given an opportunity by the world with your business; now give the world an opportunity.

Sport type jobs for kids: film/photography

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:39:00 +0000

With the talk of tournaments in my last blog, I’ve been on a recent sports-streak. And looking at vendors at the tournaments I go to, I just had to share. How are you with cameras? How are you with computers? Chances are, you’re better than the average adult trying to cheer on their son at his soccer game. Use that to your advantage. Go to tournaments and advertise a picture taking business. You go around with a digital camera and take pictures of certain players or multiple players for a game. Parents tell you what games to go to, you just take the shots. You can have as set rate for going to a game to take pictures and include a certain number or shots. Parents can pay extra for more prints. Even easier if you or your parents have a laptop is to offer CD’s of entire games. Parents can then get whichever ones printed they want. That means, parents can watch the whole game and someone else can worry about not missing the perfect shot. Believe me, parents love this.

If you are good with editing software, you can take videos of people playing. You can have people pay you to follow them and tape a whole game. Many coaches like to show their team how to improve by watching past games. In this case, the best way to go about this is to go to good matches, find out what high schools and middle school teams are good matches. Go in and bring your camera, tape the whole thing if you can. If the game is good enough, you can offer a copy of the tape to coaches, parents, or players as a memento or to learn by. High school athletes like to have what is called a “highlight video” to send to colleges. You can provide this footage. What you do in this case is tape only one person for the game, and edit out parts that are uneventful, you make the player look very good by editing your tape in the right way. Many college teams ask for about 15 minutes of continuous play by the whole team, let the parent know this and you may be able to sell another tape of complete pay.

This is the type of business you want partners for. At tournaments, you will want multiple people to tape and photograph the multiple games happening. You might have specialists in certain sports and they will better know what to put in a highlight video. Know that you can’t please everyone and sometimes you will sit in the stands taping for a week, maybe only one person wants a copy. For this reason, I suggest this idea for those who really enjoy the sports they tape. If you like basketball, you may want to tape these types of games because you will learn about the competition and learn more about the game. If you don’t like golf, don’t spend hours at a golf course trying to sell photographs. Always do what you enjoy. That way, your reward isn’t based just on how much money you make, you can get paid for something you would want to do anyway.

How exactly do you run a tournament?

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:28:00 +0000

One great idea for making money comes up a lot, but isn’t as common. It’s the idea of setting up tournaments. Do you play any sports? Do you have a talent for organizing? Can you keep a level head? Maybe you can set this up!

First, find out what sport you will be organizing a tournament for. I live in Florida about 15 minutes from the beach, so we can use beach volleyball as an example. Really this can work for any type of sport. Your first step is to either establish the type of tournament, or hire a friend that plays the sport you have chosen. It isn’t a good idea to set up a tournament that you don’t understand, always stick to what you know. So let’s set up your tournament!

You need to set up a time frame and type of play. The easiest way to do this is “bracket style”. Just research that on Google. It means that two teams play each other and two other teams play each other. The winner of those matches will then play each other. It works until one team is left standing. I suggest going to a local tournament to understand the concept better. Another type is called the “Round Robin” system. In this, you have each team play each other once. This is good if you don’t have a lot of teams. What you do in this case is assign points for each outcome of a game. Give 8 points to winners, 4 points to teams that tie, and 0 points to teams that lose. You can add up the points to determine a winner, or have the two teams with the most points face off in a championship.

Then, you need to find a place to host the tournament. In this case, you will need to ask either the city, or a private owner to give you exclusive access to a field for the day or weekend. Figure out how many teams you are expecting. Divide the cost of setting up the tournament by as many teams you expect. This becomes your price per team. After you have that set, you need to get people.
Now, let’s get you some teams to play in your creation. To the beach volleyball idea, set up flyers along the beach. Post them at all beach volleyball nets. Go to all the sports shops you can find, ask the owner if you can set a bunch of flyers on counters for customers to grab many shops will agree as people will want to buy equipment. Or surf shops as people who go to the beach are over there. Just anyplace you can think of. If there are any leagues in the area, call them and tell them to offer the tournament to teams that are members of the league. The best bet is to contact a league for teams.

Not many people will do a tournament just for fun, many will, but others will want some incentive, something to win. Cash prizes and trophies are good for adult and teenage competitions and winner T-Shirts and medals are great for kids. You can even get sponsored and ask a store to offer gift cards. For instance, I can ask a beach shop to offer $100 in merchandise to the winner in exchange for advertising. Or even restaurants may offer free meals to winners, hoping other competitors will come by after the long day of playing. Ask areas around the tournament spot for the best results.

Remember, tournaments can be very complex, it helps a lot to make the teams smaller. Try this: 3v3 tournaments for soccer, lacrosse, and basketball. Maybe on the side, you can host a 1v1 challenge where individual players can try to get a goal against each other. These are personally my favorite to enter. Tag teams work great. Just set up 2v2’s for sports like basketball or soccer. These work just fine. People have loads of fun and there is still great competition.

For even more earnings, you can offer drinks (buy Gatorade and water wholesale and resell), food (chips, fruit, burger, etc.), or merchandise (have local businesses set up tents for their stuff). Ask famous players to come, give away extra prizes like raffle drawings, make a whole event! This is one of the most fun ideas that you can work. You set it up, just have an adult be the overseer for legal reasons.

Buy-Low sell-high: On the internet

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:02:00 +0000

Buy-low sell high on the internet is both the easiest and hardest of the business methods. It is the easiest to run, but the hardest to compete in. Not much profit can be made at once, but there is much potential for long term earning. One of the biggest, if not the biggest market, is eBay.

The whole idea is to buy in bulk. Just like the candy bar description mentioned earlier, by buying in large quantities, the prices of an individual item will drop. But you can’t just buy anything again. Research in interest is required. Say you want to sell DVDs. You can find many sellers on eBay who sell 500 DVDs at a time. Not many people want this many DVDs at random. You will, you plan on reselling all of these DVDs. But how good is the market exactly? This is what I do to check a market. Find people who sell mostly DVDs on eBay. Check for these things: 1) how much they make off each DVD (see the price they pay for each DVD by looking at recent bulk purchases, then see how much they sell them for). 2) How many sales do they have a day? This is done by looking in the feedback section. If 3 people leave feedback a day for the same item, then the seller is doing pretty well, and you can see that there is a chance in the market.

When checking out sellers, there are some things to consider, if they are a store, then you really shouldn’t compare yourself to them. They are expected to do much better. They pay extra in listings and they have a reputation to their name. You will be coming in with no one knowing about you, so it is best to find casual sellers. You can be competition for the big stores some day, but for now, you need to build credibility. Another thing to see is how much they need to pay for shipping. Most cases, you can’t raise the product price by more than $2-$3 for DVD’s. Other markets vary. But if you have to pay $2 to ship the item, then it wouldn’t be actual profit, your business would just pay to keep track of the business.

When starting a reselling business, it could be helpful to cut costs as much as possible. To do this, it can be helpful to use the same bulk buying methods that got your business where it is. I buy bubble mailers the size of my items by the 100 pack. They take a lot of space, but you wind up spending $.10 for each container instead of $.50 each. That saves money in the long run, and in the reselling business, money saved is money earned. Any way you can cut costs is a great way to increase efficiency of your business. Increasing efficiency is the key to having a successful business that makes you money. If you put all your money back into your business, then there really isn’t much of a point and you’re just spinning your wheels.

The concept of Buy-Low Sell-High

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Many people are workers, some people are leaders, some people are teachers, and some people are just people people.

Some people aren’t.

Don’t fret if you are one of these people. If every venture you have tried has failed. Maybe you can’t talk to others well enough to sell your product. Maybe you have no artistic talent and can’t make anything to sell on your own. Maybe you are in an area where no one needs a lawn company. No matter what you think you have against you, there is always the buy-low sell-high principle. But how does this work?

The first time I came across the buy-low sell-high principle, I sold candy bars. It works like this: You go to Sam’s, BJ’s, or even just sales at your local store. I would buy candy bars from $.25 to $.66 each. Then I would take those candy bars, turn around and sell them for $.75 or $1 around school and the grocery store. It took very little skill and I was guaranteed profit each time. To start, just borrow $10 from your parents, go buy loads of candy, sell it, then pay back your parents. Use the profits to buy more candy to sell, and repeat the process. It’s a true never fail, unless you pick an item that doesn’t do any good.

This can be done with candy, cookies, cards, sports equipment, anything you can think of. The important thing to know first, is how much things go for. You don’t want to buy loads of snickers for $.80, only to realize that people don’t like snickers enough to pay $1.

Keep on the lookout for more articles relating to buy-low sell-high. There are many different types of products to do this with, and many different ways to go about selling and buying them.

How to find a scam on the internet

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:56:00 +0000

I really should have put out an article like this sooner. If you have come across this site, it is because you are searching the World Wide Web for information on how to make money. This was probably not the only site you found trying to help you. First, we’re going to go into a bit of history. Around 1949, California made an excellent discovery. They found gold in the mountains, streams, and the vary ground that they walked on. Well, just as soon as everyone knew what had hit the west coast, they raced to the new “promised land” of California. The first year, many people became very rich. Then the second year came around, there were thousands of people looking for gold. By then, it was all gone. Some places still had some, but those that stayed from the early days of the gold rush would hint toward places that were already taken. There places had no real gold, but the people that got there first benefited as they told the new comers where to go.

Sounds like a bit of a story huh? Like a myth? Not really. This actually happened, and, as people say, history repeats itself. Personally, I believe that the internet is the new gold rush. The first few users, the creators of eBay, the creators of Google, the creators of Yahoo and other such large sites got the biggest share while the internet was new. Now, people use this knowledge of success to scam people. Just like in the days of the gold rush, deception and lies are used to bring others down so the rich people stay rich.

What forms do these scams come in though? To tell you the truth, they are more cunning than you would expect. It is important to realize a scam when you see one. The first thing you have to accept is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For instance, if a site tells you to pay $45 to make $40,000 a month on the internet, don’t trust it. Chances are, you’ll wind up having to pay more, you’ll have to work night and day to get close to $50 a month, the site won’t really exist, or there will be a minimum payout that takes years to accomplish.

That brings me to another aspect, minimum payout. A lot of sites will set up a minimum payout that makes sure users are still working, or to minimize costs of money transfer. What you have to look at is the amount. If you need to make $500 before getting paid, they trust that you’ll give up before seeing results. That they can get $100 of running around out of you and never have to pay it. As a general rule of thumb, I don’t bother with sites that require more than a $30 payout.

There is also a sad truth to internet money when it comes to kids. Any site that says any age may join is a scam. There are laws that prohibit kids under 13 to join such sites. Or else 6 year olds would lose money and that isn’t safe. Sorry guys.

If you have a site that looks legit and you seem to trust it, then here is your next step. Search the name of the site with the word “Scam” next to it. If you find a program called “Krazy Kash”, try typing in “Krazy Kash scam”. Search results will come up full of people saying not to trust it, that they got ripped off. Then you know not to try the site.

Have you come across a scam site? Do you have any you want me to personally check? Comment on this post so we can find out who’s trying to get your money out there.

The pros and cons to involving friends in a business

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:59:00 +0000

We’ve been on the topic of expansion for quite some time now. But there is just a little more to consider. Sometimes, you will have friends that want to be a part of your business, some of you might be saying “no way”. Others, well you might not consider telling your friends that the business is your thing. Each choice has benefits and drawbacks, it all depends on the type of business and you.

A couple good reasons for involving friends before looking for strangers, is the trust thing. The goals of your friends are often the same as yours. It’s easier to talk to friends then complete strangers. Normally, friends won’t ask for a raise. Depending on the types of friends you have at least. You wont be separated from your friends as long if they work with you. That will give you more time, and stop business from interfering with your friendship.

You should also consider why you should not involve friends in this process. I think this list will be much longer, I personally am opposed to employing friends. Sometimes, you’ll have to establish yourself as the boss, that’s what you are. You might have trouble bossing around your best friend. You were equal before the business, now; you’re the one calling the shots. Friends also expect to be partners, not employees. This means they might expect half the money. While as soon as a set wage is made, there will be no complaints, often, the initial pay can be high. Also, friends may mistake play time and work time, or even you could make that mistake. It’s hard to remember to be serious around your best friend. Most times when you are together, you’re goofing off. If your friend works for you, they’ll have to realize that when it’s time to work, it’s time to work.

So what do you think on the matter? Comment why you think friends make good employees. Or why you don’t think they make good employees. What are some experiences you’ve had working for a friend or having a friend work for you.

is a lemonade stand just a lemonade stand?

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:53:00 +0000

Whenever a kid asks how to make money, most adults will be very limited in ideas. They will tell you to mow lawns or babysit. But there is one business that is suggested even more often than even these. That is the common lemonade stand.
You don’t see many kids trying this anymore. It’s over played and under productive, most times. But back when I was 8, lemonade stands bought me all of my pokemon cards and candy. I’m 16 now, but these methods will make the simple lemonade stand the summertime treat center that will bring in serious profits.
The most important thing is location. If you live on a back street with no traffic, then no one will see you unless you set up signs, and in this case, most people aren’t going to go out of their way for lemonade. You also don’t want to set up on a road with 4 lanes and traffic all the time. This means people are going to fast to see you and don’t have space to pull over. There is one way to make this work out, but we will get to that soon. If you don’t live on a street that looks like it will get customers, ask your church or a friend to host a stand for the day.
The next important thing to remember is presentation. In Top ten tips for young entrepreneurs, we learned how to use the aspect of being a kid for us. This is the ideal business to use this in. Most adults can grab a drink on the way to work at many locations, or get lemonade from home. You have to stand out by being the cute little kid that they support. This is why younger kids normally do this, once you get about 12 or 13, then you lose the “cute factor”. Go for the nicer type clothes, smile and, say hi to everyone that walks by. Always be polite because this goes a long way with adults.
There are other ways to bring in customers. For busy streets as before mentioned, big signs help. You can be especially successful by being creative. Maybe a billboard-type sign that says “drive through lemonade” or some Christmas lights around your stand to attract attention. Have a price clearly marked. This saves time, and way adults see how cheap a glass of lemonade is in comparison to their usual coffee, they are more likely to buy.
The best way to make the most out of a lemonade stand is to turn it into something else. Offer popsicles, cookies, brownies, frozen yogurts, or other things. Maybe you can make sandwiches during lunchtime or buy a box of pizza and sell by the slice. When doing this though, do not offer too much, keep it simple. That makes it easier for someone to come up and know what they want, and you won’t run out of things.

5 signs you need back up and what types of back-up there are

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:08:00 +0000

More likely than not, you are starting this on your own. Whatever your business venture, you are the owner, manufacturer, advertiser, and customer service response team. In most cases, one person can do this. But after following the tips on expanding, you’re going to need to get some backup. Maybe a co-owner in a friend to help run things, or a couple employees to take care of the work. You might need someone good with numbers to handle finances, or a specific group of people to help get more customers while you deal with the work already laid out. Here are 5 signs you need back up and what types of help to look for.

1: Every decision you make seems to be wrong. You think about adding a new service, pay for the materials, and wind up losing money because of the lack of interest. You realize you shouldn’t have gone with the idea.
-In this case, it would be wise to have a partner there to make decisions. This could be a best friend, a parent, or a trustworthy person in general. When looking for people like this, it is important that they know how you think and what the ultimate goals of the company is. You can’t just hire someone to agree with whatever you say, so look for someone with their own opinions too.

2: Your customers complain that you arrive to their houses or meeting places late. Items you ship don’t head out until 5 days after order. Basically, you are 3 steps behind everything.
-There are two types of backup you may be looking for. If there is too much work to be done, then employees are needed. If there is a good amount of work, but you can’t keep track of it, you need someone to schedule these things for you. Maybe your older sister can come up with a system that keeps things calm and not crowded. In a lot of cases, you might not need any help, just use a basic calendar to remind yourself.

3: You have more customers, you have diligent employees who are always busy with work, but you make just as much now as you did when you worked the entire process yourself.
-You are in need of a financial advisor. Maybe it’s that kid in your class that is very good at math, maybe it’s your accountant father, maybe your business is so big, you can hire an outside source entirely. Everything is in place except the money. You want to look for someone to figure out how to cut costs, how to use profits more effectively and how to maximize efficiency.

4: You posted signs at every street corner, you ran your business card from your house to downtown and back, you have nearly begged to your customers to help you get more business, but you still have only 2 or 3 regulars. You need help advertising.
-You are most likely good at your business. You can mow lawns, knit pot holders, or tutor a kid all the way to an A. What you can’t do is advertise. You can’t explain to the world exactly how good you are until they actually try a service. This means you want advertisers, just someone to be the face of the operation. You don’t need an entire team, but perhaps a single person who can make your business cards more attractive or who has influence in the neighborhood. It is best to pay these types on commission, but payment types will be mentioned soon.

5: You have a website that gets 1000 hits a day. Orders come like crazy for your drawings or your bedazzled bags or spray painted skateboards. You can’t keep up with them all.
-You are looking for a basic employee. This would be someone you can teach your trade to. You teach them the patterns you have learned, or find someone with something to offer. If you spray paint skateboards, maybe another artist in your area wants to as well. In this case, they need customers, and you need help. They can make a set amount for each bit of work, and you take a percentage as boss, or they can be paid by the hour.

How to expand a business.

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:26:00 +0000

You have a business now. A nice little set up. Every week,you mow the Henderson's lawn and trim the Smith's hedges. You make about $50 a week. You are completely satisfied right? Not exactly. As a successful businessman, you always need to account for expansion. HOw can you get bigger? This really boils down to getting more people to use your services.
One great idea is to create an interest inventory. An interest inventory is a survey sent to people in your area. In it, you can ask specific questions regarding your type of service or product. You can ask if your neighbors receive regular lawn care. You can ask how much they pay a month for general maintenance. You can ask which services they like to receive. At the end of this survey, ask if they would like to have future information sent to them regarding your services. Always include a pre-paid envelope so that customers will be more willing to respond. These certainly get your name out there.
Another great way to expand is to use your customers you already have. A lot of people are aware of this idea, but few pursue this the right way. Do not just ask a customer to let friends know, but give an incentive. Send out a couponto your customers saying they can have 30% off of a product if they refer a friend.
Another way to expand is through the use of business cards. There aremany places online to get business cards for next to nothing. If this seems like something you want to try, e-mail me personally at stark324@gmail.com and I can lead you to some places to set you up. Leave business cards in places you go. Leave them with customers so they may readily be given to friends. Put them onfree bulletin boards. Keep business cards with you all the time. When people see you at work, you can have something handy to give them as you showcase your services. Put a name, phone number, and services offered on the card.
This last idea gets more customers, and it increases professionalism. For any business a workshirt or a hat is fantastic. You can by a custom T-shirt with your name and number on it and wear this shirt eveytime you mow a lawn, wash a car, tutor a child in a public place like the library.
With these in mind, more customers will be available.

IDEA: GAME RENTAL

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:54:00 +0000

I don’t know about you, but with two kids in our house, not including the millions that come over daily to hang out, there are a lot of video games lying around. I believe we have 120 or so. Between the gameboy, psp, wii, game cube, playstation, and the PC, there are a lot of games to play. As much as my brother wishes he could, we can’t play all of these games at once. So we tried renting them out. Many parents want their kids to try a game before buying it. You can be their main source. There are a few ways this can be done.
There could be an individual fee. For each day a game is taken out, a certain amount could be charged. This would be great if there is quick use of each game. If you expect someone to pick out a game every day, I would try this. It also makes payment easy to keep up with. The other idea would be to charge a monthly fee. This would secure regular customers. Customers would be able to borrow as many games as they wanted and pay a flat fee on a certain day every month. The only thing that you would have to establish is that only one game may be taken out at a time. This can even result in sales of games if people get interested. If there is a game you are done with, then you can sell it to buy new games.
An extension of this would be to provide a physical arcade. By paying for a setup at a local flea market or other venue, multiple small TV’s can be set up to be played on. Kids can pay to use your games while parents shop. If a flea market venue is paid for, one could also sell foods and crafts while renting out game time. The only cost here would be the venue rate and the TV’s. As a hint, most people will sell online for cheap. Going on Craigslist.com or the classifieds, people will get rid of small TV sets for as little as $10. Sometimes, even free. As always, when a business is set up outside the house, have a parent come along. You do not want to get cheated and ripped off.

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? Part 2: Schedules

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:23:00 +0000

In the Top 10 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs page, we dicussed some things entrepreneurs did, but you want to be one. What does that mean for you in particular. How does one go about being an entrepreneur? An important concept is scheduling.
Schedules keep businesses smooth and successful. There are some things to consider about schedules.

Keep one with you. Most cell phones have a calender option on it. With this calender, you can keep track of all event no matter where you are. That way, if you are with a client, you can easily see whn you are next available. If you can't have a cell phone, I used to keep a notepad with me, I still do on top of my cell phone. You can jot down names, phone numbers, information, addresses, and keep your schedule there. Before making promises to a customer, review your schedule, it also makes you seem organized, and customers like organized kids.
Know how long things take. Set up a time frame. Do not just list 5 lawns in one day without knowing how long each is expected to be. Maybe you don't have time for 5 lawns, maybe you scheduled the 5 biggest yards on accident. Times are crucial. List as "3-4 Jacobson yard" then "4:30-6 Wilson yard". Always space out appointments in case you go over.
Schedule non-business things too. You might have a reunion 3 weeks from now, write that in. If not, 3 weeks from now, you are going to have a hectic schedule as you try to move around an appointment with a client. List everything, your business is not the only thing happening.
Try to keep you schedule balanced. If you schedule tutoring sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then leave the rest of the week open, you will not be as good at the jobs you have now. Leaving space in between leaves more attention to each individual, making customers happy. (Happier customers pay more).

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? Part 1:Loyalty

noreply@blogger.com (Silvestri) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:06:00 +0000

In the Top 10 Tips for Young Entrepreneurs page, we dicussed some things entrepreneurs did, but you want to be one. What does that mean for you in particular. How does one go about being an entrepreneur? One way is to consider the customer and be loyal.
Well an entrepreneur is not the same as being someone who just looks for money. You aren't working for someone else and following their system. You are the system. And with great systems comes great responsibility. For the most part, you are on your own, so it is important to realize what that means.
Loyalty to the consumer is a big thing when you work on your own as an entrepreneur. Your business is not just about when you need money, it is about your customers. Customers count on you to be there when you say you will be. Take this for example. You go to the flea market to set up a stand where you offer games. These games include compettion board games, arcade games, and video games. You advertise that you will be there every week. That means you are expecting regular people there weekly. Now, you just made enough money for a PSP, you're done right? Nope, you have a commitment to your customers. You do not just stop showing up, you give warning, you can even make a sale of it. "Will be gone in two weeks, all games half off". You will get more people at the end, and they will leave happy.

New Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Submit Money Making Ideas and Business plans for a chance to win $25

Submit your idea by registering in the forum and posting your idea.

Contest ends on June 30

Top 10 Tips For Young Entrepreneurs

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Idea of The Month

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Find a friend, and ask him if he can help you make money. My idea is to make a tournament and your friend can help you. What you must do is get a good tournament organizer program. Then put up flyers about 2 weeks before the actual tournament, and see who wants to join. you can charge like 15-20 dollars for an entry fee, as long as there is some sort of prize. (either some sort of cash prize, more than 20 $ obviously, or some cool trophy.) So this is a really good way to make money. im a tennis player so i know how tournaments work, and so lets say 30 people come to the tournament, (which frankly isn't a lot for a tournament.) and 20$ x 30 people is 600 $. So unless you have your own courts, your gonna have to give like 20% to the club,and then like 60$ for the prizes. (1st, 2nd, and 3rd.) which leaves 420$ for you and your friend, 210$ in one weekend, I think that's a good deal.
This is a list of ways that I have thought of so far but it isn't organized, for the organized list please click on one of the categories above.

Tutoring

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Tutoring

Ages: 14 and Up
Parents will only let high school students tutor their kids. If you are in middle school, skip
this one.

Difficulty: Medium
It is not a business that requires hard labor, but getting clients can be difficult. Also, there
are responsibilities that come with tutoring.

Amount of Time: Fair
Tutoring visits are typically only a few hours a week, but preparing your lessons and learning
new material can also be time consuming. Oftentimes, tutors work with one students on a weekly
basis for months at a time.

Potential Profit: $200-1000
An average rate for tutoring is ten dollars an hour. If your student likes you as a tutor, twenty
hours of work is guaranteed.

Basic Idea: This one is pretty self-explanatory. Tutoring consists of helping students with their
schoolwork, usually in one subject. You help students with homework and test preparation
as a tutor. Try posting flyers around your school advertising your business.

Tips:
1. Be thoughtful and friendly. Parents talk to other parents about tutors, so if your student
likes you and says good things about you, it is easy to gain new clients. Also, tips and raises
are far more likely if you are polite when speaking to parents.

2. Make your lessons fun. Going home to see a tutor after school is the last thing most kids
want to do. Keep your lessons interesting and incorporate games and hands-on activities.
Students can be difficult to deal with if they dislike a lesson.

3. Cover your topic. Parents hire tutors to see better grades. If tutor time turns into play
time and grades do not improve parents will fire you. Make sure the kid is having fun, but know
when its time to buckle down and focus on the topic.

4. Advertise in places of learning. Nobody walks into CVS looking for a tutor. However, parents
walk into schools, libraries, and day care centers looking for a tutor.

5. Use our resource center. A list of links to educational websites, worksheet downloads,
and other useful stuff will be posted soon.

Snow Shoveling

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Snow Shoveling

Shoveling snow is one of few options kids have to earn money during the winter. Especially in cold climates physical labor is nonexistent in the winter except for after snow storms. To earn money shoveling snow you only need a snow shovel and free time. All you need to do is wait for the storm to stop and go door to door asking neighbors if you can shovel their driveway. A fair price for most driveways is $20 for about 6 inches of snow. If there is more than 2 feet of snow it is reasonable to double your price. One other technique you can use is a community mailing list. Before a storm find a local phone book or directory and list email near your house and send a basic email letting people know who you are and what services you provide. Often you will get one or two jobs before the snow even falls. Good luck!!

Google Adsense

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Google Adsense

Ages: 14 and Up
This is the most comlicated and difficult idea on our site. The concepts behind this business
are difficult for most high school students to understand.

Difficuly: Advanced
This idea requires hard work and a serious time commitment. Learning the basics of this
business can take weeks.

Time: Great
Again, simply mastering the concepts and ideas behind this business can take months. If
you are looking for quick cash this is not the right idea for you.

Potential Profit: $1000 and Up
Once the work has been completed, money is made in $100 increments. Each month, Google sends a
check, and successful sites make $100 a month.

Basic Idea: Google Adsense is a service provided by Google that allow you to earn revenue from a
website. Companies pay Google to advertise for them, and Google pays you for displaying
their ads. Google is the middleman in the transaction. Each time an ad is clicked
you earn between $.01-$.15. The more traffic your site gets, the more money you earn.
Remember, if your site contains many pages, and a substantial amount of information there
will be more opportunities to post ads.

Redesigning Website

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:25:00 +0000

I am working on redesigning the website, any ideas would be helpful. Do you like what I have so far?

Episode 5- Win Money From Us!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Ian and Daniel taped two previous episodes the same day as this one and were fresh out of Emails and questions or comments. However, they used this episode to give their followers updates and informally announce a contest with a cash giveaway. Listen and enter for your chance to win!

Episode 4- Earn Enough For An iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Ben) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Ian and Daniel give advice on how seventh graders can buy an iPhone. They talk in depth about babysitting as a business and give advice on how to be successful. Also, learn how elementary school kids can raise money for baseball cards.

Kids Guide To Money

How to come up with a money making idea

Be an artist-for-hire

Lasagna and other food type-businesses

The Power of Non-Profits

Sport type jobs for kids: film/photography

How exactly do you run a tournament?

Buy-Low sell-high: On the internet

The concept of Buy-Low Sell-High

How to find a scam on the internet

The pros and cons to involving friends in a business

is a lemonade stand just a lemonade stand?

5 signs you need back up and what types of back-up there are

How to expand a business.

IDEA: GAME RENTAL

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? Part 2: Schedules

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? Part 1:Loyalty

*New Contest*

Top 10 Tips For Young Entrepreneurs

Idea of The Month

Tutoring

Snow Shoveling

Google Adsense

Redesigning Website

Episode 5- Win Money From Us!!

Episode 4- Earn Enough For An iPhone

New Contest