Teaching Your Child to Start a Business in Atlanta Georgia

Atlanta is the most populous city in the state of Georgia in the United States, with a population estimated to be over five million. Considering the population of Atlanta, there’s a niche for everyone waiting to be carved out. Before you and your child can successfully start a business in Atlanta, you will have to make him understand that starting a business will not be as easy as eating a cookie, there are quite a number of things that you both have to put into consideration:

1. Your child’s education

Georgia law requires and mandates that a child should be educated in either a public, private or even home school from the age of six to sixteen. See to it that your child’s desire to start a business does not interfere with or hinder him from getting an education within this stipulated age.

2. Teach your child to write a business plan

In order for your child to be successful in business, you have to teach him what goes into writing a business plan and they include:

• See to it that you make your child understand that a business plan is not judged by its volume but by its content. So he should as much as possible keep it short and concise.
• Just like every other kind of writing, teach your child that it is essential while writing a business plan that he knows and understands his audience. Make sure he learns to speak in a language that will be understood by his audience. For instance, if your child is a techie, and is presenting a business plan to people who happen not to be in the field, it is not advisable for him to bombard them with tech terminologies hoping to impress them because he will end up confusing them.
• Teach your child to be confident among his competitors, make sure he understands that no one knows everything that there is to know about the business world. Teach your child that in the long run, he will come to realize that most of his competitors just like him are learning as they go.

Teach him the major components a business plan must contain which include:

I. Executive summary

This is a comprehensive overview of your business and plans. It is usually contained in the first two pages of the business plan.

II. Opportunity

This part of a business plan answers the following questions; what problem does the product you planning to sell solve? Do you have competition? Who is your target market? If your business plan can successfully and intelligently answer these questions then you are one step closer to helping your child start his own business.

III. Execution

A business plan is only an idea written on a piece of paper if in the business plan there is no step dedicated to how to lay the tracks on which the business will glide through. This is where you come in as a parent. A child may have a nice business idea but may not know exactly how to carry it out, owing to the fact that as an adult you have more exposure in the business world than your child so you are bound to be more logical in this regard.

3. Choosing a business location

One of the factors crucial to the wellbeing of a business is the location; help your child with the research that goes into finding a good location for his business. Putting into consideration the increasing rate of crime in Atlanta Georgia, if you and your child decide to get a business place outside your home, I advise that you be prepared to be with your child while he is at his business place, or if you do not have the time to do so you may employ a responsible adult to look after your child to see to it that he is not taken advantage of. I usually advise parents seeking to help their kids start their own businesses to start off from home until their kids are old enough to handle themselves.

4. Financing the business

There is hardly any form of business that doesn’t require some kind of financial investment. Your child will need capital to start off his business. It will be nice if you as his parent can afford to fund the business. If you cannot afford to finance your child’s business, then you will have to help him with finding investors and also ensure you guide him as he writes his business plan.

5. Determine the legal structure of your business

Help your child decide which form of business is best for him while putting into consideration the kind of business he is going into. In order for him to get a full grasp of what he is about to getting, you have to explain to him the different forms of business for which he can choose from:

Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that. A sole proprietorship is not covered by a veil of incorporation so the proprietor can be held solely responsible for the debts incurred by the business.

General partnership

A General Partnership is comprised of two or more persons who agree to contribute money, labor and skill to a business. Each partner shares the profits, losses and management of the business and each partner is personally and equally liable for debts of the partnership. Formal terms of the partnership are usually contained in a written partnership agreement. I usually advise parents to go into general partnership with their children until they are experienced enough to handle the business on their own.

Limited Partnership

A Limited Partnership is composed of one or more general partners and one or more limited partners. The general partners manage the business and share fully in its profits and losses. Limited partners share in the profits of the business, but their losses are limited to the extent of their investment. Limited partners are usually not involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.

Lastly, you should start teaching your child from a tender age that business comes with its ups and downs, and that perseverance, smart business decisions and a pinch of patience has made great business men and women in the past and if still applied will turn him into the entrepreneur of his dreams.