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!

Volunteer to learn about business

Internet Based Kids had a great blog post about how volunteering can lead you into business or a future career.

If you are between the ages of 16-25 and looking for a way to gain work experience you might want to think about signing up to be a volunteer. Many businesses allow volunteers to help out to give them the opportunity to see if they might be interested in having a career in that particular field.

Among those businesses you may want to consider charity work in are hospitals, some long term care facilities, grocery stores, charity groups, and many other establishments as well. This can also allow people to gain new relationships and earn a good reputation for when they are ready to go out into the working world in the future.

Volunteers are a great help to businesses. For instance, those who work as volunteers in hospitals help patients to have a more tolerable stay while they are ill. Nursing home patients may enjoy having a volunteer come visit them from time to time just to keep them company. Volunteers in grocery stores can be helpful by carrying bags out for customers or helping them locate certain items in the store.

Volunteering your time to help charity groups can also be an enjoyable thing to do. Knowing you are helping those in need can be a rewarding experience that you can be proud of. Many elderly people who are shut-ins need volunteers to run occasional errands for them. Having trustworthy people who can go pay their bills or make trips to the store for them when needed can be a tremendous help.

Another benefit of being a volunteer is how you are perceived by the public eye. Most likely if you do well at job volunteering, you will be considered strongly should you ever want a permanent job at that particular business. When business managers see they can depend on you as a volunteer your reputation as a good worker will be set in stone. It is also a nice addition to have volunteer work listed on a resume as experience working with others in your community.

Volunteer opportunities are also a great way for college students to gain on the job training. You can check here – http://www.vinspired.com/opportunities for more information. Once you have an idea of which career you want to go into, find out if there is a business in that field that has a need for volunteers. This can help you be better prepared for the job and give you a sense of pride while doing it.

About The Author

Steve Volman – writer, thinker and general muser. Interests include charity and volunteering, football and the odd spot of golf. Any feedback on my articles in more than welcome.

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!

Chess into $$

Turn a hobby or passion into a money making micro business.

I heard about Jonathan Hilton at a graduation party where I met his mother.  She told me how Jonathan made money from chess. “Do you mean prize money?” I asked. “No,” she explained, “by writing magazine articles and books.”

Jonathan is selling his knowledge about chess and people are willing to pay for what he knows!

The 19-year-old college freshman holds the title of National Master from the United States Chess Federation.

He writes articles relating to his experiences at playing chess abroad and has co-authored  “Wojo’s Weapons: Winning With White,” with International Master Dean Ippolito.

For those who might be interested in learning about chess but fear it just isn’t “cool,” Hilton has these thoughts: “Chess is something that transcends all ages and cultures. I’ve been in situations where I didn’t speak the same language as the other player, but yet I was still on such good terms with them because we could play, we could analyze and we could learn some things. Chess unites people because you have a common experience and a common passion.” http://www.uc.edu/spotlight/student/jonathan_hilton.html

You may not hold a national title, but you may know something about some thing, right? Start writing it down!  Start a blog, write some articles and see if magazines are interested in paying you for your knowledge and perspective on life. Maybe even consider writing a book. Other teenagers have done it, why not you?

Teen jobs and tax issues

I was interviewed by Kay Bell of Bankrate.com for her article “Teen jobs and tax issues”
Kay did a great job explaining taxes for teenagers.

Teen jobs and tax issues

By Kay Bell • Bankrate.com

Highlights

* Teens who earn less than $5,700 may not have to withhold tax money.
* But self-employed teens or contractors likely have to pay SE taxes.
* Some teen jobs are exempt from SE taxes, like babysitting, lawn mowing.

A summer job is a classic rite of passage for teenagers. But teen jobs can be a source of aggravation for young workers and their parents who aren’t prepared to deal with the potential taxes.

When it comes to income, the IRS generally wants its cut regardless of the earner’s age. But some special tax rules apply to young workers, based not only on age, but also on amount of money earned and even the type of job.

First, the good news: The teen worker might not owe the IRS a dime.

A youngster who is a dependent of another taxpayer generally doesn’t have to file an income tax return unless the youth makes more than the standard deduction amount for a single filer. For 2010 returns, that’s $5,700.

If a young person doesn’t expect to earn more than the threshold amount, he or she needs to note line 7 when filling out a W-4 at the summer workplace. That’s where the teen might be able to claim exemption from federal income tax withholding.

In fact, novice workers should pay close attention to all employment paperwork. It could dramatically affect their tax responsibilities.

“Sometimes teens go out and work as technical employees, but are paid as contractors,” says Sharon Lechter, a CPA in Paradise Valley, Ariz., and member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. “So make sure the employer classifies you correctly.”

Pushing the worker categorization boundaries is appealing to some companies who then don’t have to deal with various tax withholdings and potential employee benefit payments. And young workers looking to pocket as much cash as possible each payday might think such an arrangement advantageous, too.

But being a contractor poses new, and costly, tax concerns.

Contactor tax complications

If paid as a contractor, which means earnings are reported to the worker and the IRS on a Form 1099-MISC rather than a W-2, the youth is for tax purposes self-employed.

That designation means that even if the young worker doesn’t earn enough to owe federal income taxes, he or she could owe Uncle Sam self-employment, or SE, taxes.

This is the 15.3 percent tax on earnings that is the self-employed equivalent to Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes withheld from employees’ checks and usually noted as FICA on pay stubs. That tax is required when any self-employed worker’s net earnings exceed $400.

“There is no special tax treatment for teenagers running their own business,” says Carol Topp, a Cincinnati CPA who is also the founder of TeensAndTaxes.com. “If you make a profit of more than $400, you must pay self-employment.”

The rest of the article continues here.

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.

Teen Entrepreneur Survey

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.

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