By Laurie Neumann
Having a home based business can also be a wonderful experience for your teens. What better way to teach them entrepreneurial skills than to have them start a home based business? You can be right there to guide and help them, and can use this as a practical way to teach business. By offering your teens this option, you are opening up to them a world where they can make their own choices, be their own boss, and provide a way, if they desire, to be able to work from home when they have their own family.
By helping your teens start a home business, you are offering them options. Many times, teens go on to college simply because it seems like “the thing to do.” However, if they find a business they enjoy, it could eliminate the need for college. They will learn many academic skills by running a business, such as:
- Bookkeeping – they will need to keep track of expenses and income, thereby determining a profit/loss
- Writing – they will need to write for their business – if an online business, they will need to write content to put on their website or blog and email correspondence. If online or offline, they may need to write up advertisements, flyers, etc.
- Research – to be successful, they will need to research what their market wants and what is already being offered.
- Communication – verbal and written communication will be necessary with customers.
- Marketing – they will get a “hands on view” of which marketing efforts work and which ones to eliminate.
If they decide to go on to college, they will bring valuable experience with them, setting them ahead of their classmates in the areas of leadership skills, maturity, and money and time management. Their business during their high school years can also help to pay for some of their college expenses.
Today, we are living in uncertain economic conditions, and more than ever, is the time to teach our kids entrepreneurial skills so that they have options. Owning a home based business can give them a taste of what being an entrepreneur is all about, without the big expenses that come with a brick and mortar type of establishment.
Give them choices!
Laurie Neumann, a homeschool mom, has researched over sixty home-based business opportunities and listed them all in her “Home Business Resource Guide.” Click here to download a copy and get lots of ideas!