Mobile Dance Academy

What a great idea and a great teenage micro business!

Amiya Alexander was only 10 years old when she started a dance studio in a pink school bus!

The Amiya Mobile Dance Academy’s (AMDA) mission is to further the art of dance in an extended cultural community which will provide dance training and community programs for all youth.

Watch her story:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

http://www.amiyasdancebus.com/newsandevents.htm

If she can do this, you could so something like it too! Offer dance lessons from your house or go to a neighbors house and teach what you know!

My book Starting an Micro Business will get you started!

Ten Tech Teenagers & Their Micro Businesses

Need some inspiration? Here are ten teenagers that had brilliant ideas for their micro businesses:

Ten Teen Entrepreneurs To Watch

Kids these days. It seems like they’re writing HTML before they learn how to talk. And a lot of them are starting companies before they graduate from high school.

Here’s a list of some of our favorite teen entrepreneurs.

Jessica Mah, 19, is currently the CEO and Co-Founder behind Indinero, a Mint.com for small businesses. Mah started her first startup at 13. Last year, she founded internshipIN.com, a site to help high school and college kids find internships in their area. Now, at 19, Mah is finishing up her Computer Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as being the CEO of Indinero.

Ashley Qualls, 19, started WhateverLife when she was 14, a site designed to give MySpace users free Myspace layouts and HTML tutorials. She employs both her mom, and her friends who do graphics for her. Qualls started WhateverLife in 2004 as a hobby, and now has turned into a business, with her site getting anywhere from 150,000 to 360,000 daily page views.

(more…)

Don’t feel intimidated by their stories. Remember, you don’t have to invent something new or even launch a website to have a successful micro business.  All you need is to see a need and meet it. That can be as simple as caring for children or as complex as the micro businesses mentioned in the story.

Micro Tips for Micro Businesses:Smile!

Micro Tips for Micro Businesses

Today’s tip: Service with a smile

There are hundreds of books written about customer service and many of them offer tips and “secrets” to serving customers. The only secret is to treat your customers with respect and give them what they paid for. That’s pretty simple, so why are their hundreds of books written about customer service? Because there are hundreds of ways to show respect and to serve a customer.

• Smile! A smile can really make you seem friendly, warm and caring. Friendly people attract people.
• Shake hands. Offer your hand when first meeting a potential customer. This might make you feel uncomfortable because teenagers don’t usually shake hands, but watch adults in the business world. They frequently offer their hand when being introduced. Practice on friends or your family if you need to get comfortable shaking hands.
• Look them in the eye. Making eye contact shows confidence if even you don’t feel confident! Looking directly at someone also is a sign of respect (if you’re not staring!).

I was giving a workshop on teenagers and micro businesses at a homeschool convention when a 12 year old boy came up to me after the program, extended his hand and said, “Hello, I’m Jack. I really liked your presentation.” I was immediately impressed by Jack because he offered his hand to me.  Although he was young and very small in stature, I knew in an instant that this young man would be good at whatever he set his mind.  Adults are very impressed by a handshake and a smile.

Carol Topp, CPA

http://MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Find Micro Business for Teens on Facebook!

Love horses? Turn your love into a micro business!

I have met a lot of teenage horse lovers that have created a micro business related to their horse passion:

Libby offers riding lessons to children on her family farm (Check with your parents and an insurance agent before starting this)

Abby sells custom made saddle pads to horse lovers at horse shows and to people she knows from 4-H.  She leaves a sample fabric swatches at her local stables, so customers can pick a favorite design.

Victoria Kasten was only eight when she started writing novels that featured horses. She has now written more than 9 books.  The books covers above are Victoria’s books. See her books at http://www.epicscrolls.com/

Heather gave my 10-year old, horse-loving daughter six riding lessons one the summer. Sarah learned how to groom a horse and muck out a stall too!

Jessica set up a website devoted to horses, Learn About Horses, and gathers income from the ads placed there. See her work at: http://www.learn-about-horses.com/index.html

Let your interest in horses make you some cash!  Start a micro bsuiness related to horses.

Teen entrepreneurs offer tips to peers

USA TODAY polled some successful teenage micro business owners for advice. Here’s what they said:

• Expand upon your interests. “Find a task (or) work you like and that is in demand,” says Lucas Rice, 18, who runs a successful landscaping business in Loveland, Ohio. “With my business, I like to be outdoors and to work with my hands, which was one of the reasons I chose landscaping.”

• Price wisely. “Feel around and see what other companies are charging,” then price competitively, Rice says. “When you’re starting out, go a little lower on price in order to start capturing some customers.”

• Make taxes less taxing. Save every work-related receipt. Those expenses could become tax write-offs. IRS.gov has details on dependents, such as children, filing tax returns.

• Don’t overinvest in supplies/equipment. “Allow your business to grow, and then grow your equipment into your business,” says Rice, echoing advice he was given by others. He invested in his first riding mower at age 12 (bought at a yard sale with savings from a newspaper route) and as his customer base grew, he conservatively bought more equipment.

• Promote your business and yourself. “Seek business; do not wait for it to come to you,” says Rice. “I go and welcome new people in the neighborhood and offer my services and give out business cards.” Archer promotes herself and her products on the Web, as well as through fliers she places into shipments to customer

Lucas is one smart kid.  I know him personally; he’s one of my business clients!

Crafts into Cash

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

Two 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 Stephanis lists for selling your crafts? Tell us how its going for you. Drop a comment.

Idea: Virtual Assistant

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!

iPhone Apps as a micro business

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.

10 Micro Tips for Micro Businesses: Learn a Lot

10 Micro Tips for Micro Businesses

Countdown to Starting a Micro Business ebook launch

Day 10: Starting a Micro Business ebook by Carol Topp, CPA is now available for purchase!

Today’s tip: Learn a Lot

You go into business to make money, but wouldn’t it be great if your business also had other benefits?

What if you learned so much, you decided to launch another, larger business?

What if you found your future career by running a micro business?

Or what if you learned what you definitely do not want to do for a career? What would that be worth to you?

Starting a micro business can be a huge learning experience, without paying tuition.

Here’s a few things you might learn:

• time management
• customer serve
• how to overcome shyness
• bookkeeping to track your income and expenses
• how to express yourself
• confidence
• marketing

Meghan taught violin lessons to children when she was a teenager. She loved playing violin and enjoyed teaching so much that she decided to study violin in college. Running her micro business helped her find her future career.

What would you like to learn? ____________________

In what areas of your life do you need to grow?_____________________

Get started on learning more today by purchasing your copy of Starting a Micro Business.

For one week only until  May 10, 2010, I will be offering a special bundle package. For the price of the ebook, $9.95, you will also receive a copy of my Teens and Taxes: A Guide for Parents and Teenagers ebook and my audio Starting a Micro Business. This offer is only good for one week. It expires Monday May 10.

Carol Topp, CPA

http://MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Find Micro Business for Teens on Facebook!

10 Micro Tips for Micro Businesses: Keep it Manageable

10 Micro Tips for Micro Businesses

Countdown to Starting a Micro Business ebook launch

Day 9: 1 day until the release of Starting a Micro Business ebook by Carol Topp, CPA

on

Saturday, May 1, 2010

As we count down to the launch of Starting a Micro Business, I am going to share tips on starting a micro business.

Today’s tip: Keep it manageable

Micro businesses are a perfect business for teenagers to start because they are small and manageable. A teenager should be able to run a micro business and keep up with school work and extra curricular activities.

Running a micro should only take a few hours a week, up to 20 at most. The time commitment should be similar to working a part time job, but the rewards are much greater!

Emily teaches piano lessons to seven students for 30 minutes each week. The three-and-a-half hours a week is not a heavy load, but she is a busy high school student. She charges $8 for a half hour lesson, a very reasonable price, but twice the hourly rate that she would make working fast food. She can schedule the students around her schedule and since they come to her home, she doesn’t have to spend time driving or borrow the family car.

• Do you have a busy life with your parents expecting you to get good grades?
• Do you still want to earn some money without being given a funny uniform and being told when to show up for work?

A micro business would be great for you!

Be sure to visit MicroBusinessForTeens.com on Saturday, May 1, 2010 to order your copy of Starting a Micro Business.

For one week, May 3-10, 2010, I will be offering a special bundle package. For the price of the ebook , $9.95, you will also receive a copy of my Teens and Taxes: A Guide for Parents and Teenagers ebook and my audio Starting a Micro Business. This offer is only good for one week. It expires Monday May 10.

Carol Topp, CPA

http://MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Find Micro Business for Teens on Facebook!

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