Crafts into Cash

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Stephanie over at Crafts for Kidlets has some helpful advice on creating cash from crafts.

20 dollar billsTwo things that I love are seeing people who are passionate about crafting, and children with an entrepreneurial spirit.

I know that most of the crafts that I have posted here have been geared toward the younger kids.   But what if your tween/teen wants to turn their crafting hobby into profit?

Perhaps your child has a passion for:

  • jewelry making
  • woodworking/painting
  • knitting/crocheting

just to name a few things.    I know out here on the East Coast, Spring and Fall are huge for craft fairs and the Summer is a great time for Yard Sales (Tag Sales as we refer to them!).

If your family, friends or neighbors are having a tag sale, perhaps your child can set up a table with his or her goods to sell.

Now the other places that I mentioned for selling your crafts are:

  • Etsy – You can set up your own site with customized banners. It costs 20 cents to list an item for 4 months.
  • eBay is another place to list your items. There is a cost associated with it, depending on the amount of the sale.
  • Lily’s Craft Store Mall is one other place you can list your crafts. You pay a monthly fee for the website, but the actual craft listings are free.

Do any of you use the sites Stephanie lists for selling your crafts? Tell us how its going for you. Drop a comment.

Filed Under: Blog, Ideas, Starting a Micro, You Can Do This Tagged With: , , ,

Idea: Virtual Assistant

May 19, 2010 By 1 Comment

One great micro business idea is to be a virtual assistant (VA)-someone that helps a business with bookkeeping, administrative tasks (scheduling, responding to e-mail,etc.) or creative tasks (editing, graphic design, etc) all from a remote location.

Here’s a book that could help you get started.

http://entrepreneurialfreedom.com/

Be warned in Chapter One, that you can read online, the author states that you’ll need $3,000 to get started. Ouch!

She doesn’t know about micro businesses!

A micro business can be started with no debt! Use what you already have like a computer, what’s between your ears (i.e. your brain) and your personal experience.

To learn how to be a VA, you might consider Rhea Perry’s class 8-Week Administrative Virtual Assistant Course

http://rheaperry.com/entrepreneurial-education/?page_id=723

It’s an 8 week online class that teaches you how to be a Virtual Assistant.

Check it out!

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Teen Entrepreneur Survey

May 13, 2010 By 1 Comment

Youth Interested in Entrepreneur Survey

The Kauffman Foundation conducted an online survey of 2,438 youth ages 8 to 21 about entrepreneurship. It shows that four in 10 young people would like to start their own business in the future, while another 37 percent believe starting their own business is a possibility.

Those who want to have their own business say their top reasons are

  • to use their skills and abilities (92 percent),
  • build something for their future (89 percent),
  • be their own boss (87 percent),
  • see their ideas realized (81 percent)
  • and earn lots of money (85 percent).

In the United States, 63 percent of respondents in the Harris survey already believe that, if they work hard, they can be entrepreneurs. Twenty-five percent of the youth believe that entrepreneurship is a more desirable career opportunity than other options.

Fact sheet on Youth Entrepreneur Survey

I like their reasons. Starting a micro business and being an entrepreneur is about so much more than just making money-although that’s a nice perk!

But why do only 63% believe they can be entrepreneurs? That’s only a little over half! Is it because of fear, lack of encouragement or lack of understanding what an entrepreneur really does?

And only 25% believe entrepreneurship is a more desireable career choice that others. That’s pretty sad. Maybe these students see only the negative side of too many failed businesses and not the potential of entrepreneurship as a viable career choice.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Running a Micro Tagged With: ,

iPhone Apps as a micro business

May 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Here’s a clever teenager finding a neat micro business: iPhone apps
My name is Jonah. I am 13 years old and I met you last year at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention. My mom and I attended your talk. You mentioned that I could get in touch with you if I any questions. Here’s my question:
I am looking to start up a micro business by creating iPhone Apps for people. In order to do so, Apple requires one of the following:

  • Articles of incorporation
  • Business license
  • Certificate of Formation
  • Charter documents
  • Operating Agreement
  • Partnership papers
  • Reseller or vendor license
I was wondering how I would be able to get one of those since I’m just starting up a micro business.
Jonah,

Getting a vendor’s license would be the easiest. All the other options involve forming a corporation, something you do not need and are not ready for.

In Ohio you can apply for a vendor’s license at the Secretary of State’s website: http://tax.ohio.gov/divisions/sales_and_use/license.stm

There are several types vendors licenses depending on what you sell and if you travel around selling.  I recommend the Service Vendor license.  It costs $25.

A word of warning: the State of Ohio expects micro businesses to file sales tax returns every 6 months even if you do not have any  sales. One man was fined over $100 because he did not file a sales tax return, even though he didn’t have any sales yet; he was just getting started. He managed to talk them out of the fine.

Here is where you go to file the sales tax returns.
http://tax.ohio.gov/online_services/business_taxes_sales_filing.stm


Follow up: Jonah emailed me to say this:

I was able to join the iPhone development program without having to get a vendors license… Turns out if you sign up as a individual, you don’t need to provide any info.

That’s great, but Jonah may still need a vendor’s license and may need to collect sales tax on the sale of his apps.  It depends on the rules of his state and whether he sells to the final user. Jonah will only collect sales tax if he sells to the final purchaser. If Jonah is a wholesaler and sells to a company (like Apple) that resells his app, Jonah is not responsible for sales tax; the reseller is responsible for collecting sale tax.
Filed Under: Blog, Ideas, Money & Taxes, Starting a Micro Tagged With: , , ,