Dennis

There are a lot of things kids want to do if it gets their attention. At their young age, they are adventurous and excited about almost everything. As the summer draws closer, lemonade stands can be one of the most ideal businesses that he or she may want to get into. This is a great way to keep them engaged and also help them earn some coins. Helping your kid set up a lemonade stand will help them improve on their social skills and communication. Your kid will learn about responsibility and accountability plus good customer service through the way he or she interacts with customers. Apart from these, this could be fun for your kid with you helping out, there is sure to be some more bonding between you both. Below are easy tips to use and help your kid start a lemonade stand. Benefits of a lemonade stand: 1. It exposes them to success Running a successful lemonade stand motivates your kid to do better. Once they get a taste of achievement, your kid will want to do bigger things and even better. This will encourage them to try out new business ideas which could range from making a great product or organizing a sale etc. 2. It puts their imagination to work It takes hard work and commitment to put up a lemonade stand. It also takes their imagination at work to make it a reality. The posters, signs or flyers created are all form a point of imagination. All of these are efforts that they put in to make the lemonade stand attractive. And then kids have to think of ways to attract customers. These just put them on the spot all the time. It is important to always nourish your child’s imagination. 3. It helps them understand finance With all of the planning and sales conducted, understanding finance is a benefit your kid will surely get from the lemonade stand. And this benefit is lifelong because as they grow up, in everything they do, there must be finances tied to it. With the lemonade business, they will get an early understanding of the way in which money is acquired and controlled. They will get to appreciate money and see how hard it is to earn it. Of course, your kids will look forward to the money that they will make from their sales. Earning coins will teach your children at an early age all about commerce and economics. 4. It builds independence and self-confidence If you can help it, let your kids do all the work and just support them by giving advice unless of cause if you just have a single kid. But try to limit your involvement if you can help it, they will learn to be capable and how to work towards a goal and achieve great things. Your child will certainly be empowered each time a customer says “thank you,” or “wow, this is some really good lemonade.” Also, running a lemonade [...]

Summer is drawing near and you are thinking of an activity you can all do together as a family but something that’s also profitable, then garage sale could be the best option to select. Just like other summer activities like pool parties and barbecues, garage sales bring the family together and there is a lot of fun and memories shared. So if your kid is urging you to help him or her have a garage sale, do not hesitate because it isn’t as hard as it sounds and you will help your kid get some money for himself. You might be wondering how your kid will help out in a garage sale or if they could actually do anything at all? Well, they have a lot to help out with and so, you can do the sale together. If the sale is mainly about your kid's stuff especially if the sale is about his items then, he has a lot to learn and do as well. Here are some ways that you and your kid can work on a garage sale. 1. Have your kids pitch in You can ask your kids to help in pricing the items they want to sell. They could even tagitems with their prices. This will make them be a part of the sale from the onset. They will know how to price things and keep it simple, not too expensive or confusing. For example, younger children can be asked to put a particular size of an object in a cart that’s already tagged with a price. 2. Matching your child’s funds One of the ways to motivate your kid's participation in the garage sale could be by offering to match up whatever they make from the sale. You will see your kid bringing out all their old stuff from every nook and cranny just to make the sale a success. It is also a way to reward your kids effort too. 3. Teaching your kid to give So, it is a fact that garage sales will bring cash for you and your kid but it is not just about making money. It is also a way to teach your kid how to give charity or to invest in something else other than just buying new items again. Garage sales are not too easy and involves a lot of commitment to make it a success. Therefore, it is a great way to teach your kid about mindful spending and using the money to put into a worthy cause. Your leftover items may be donated too so that there is nothing left to waste. So when planning that garage sale for your kid, you should take into account a lot of details as the success of your sale depends on it. You may want to take your kid along for some survey around your neigbourhood to get some ideas from other garage sales.  However, there is a plan that you can follow to help you conduct an [...]

Confidence in children gives them the ability to go for more or reach their best selves. They are also able to face challenges and can do incredible things when they are confident. So, it is one of the best attributes a child should have. If your kid lacks confidence, then you need to do something about it in order to help your kid be the best he or she can be. There are so many things that may cause your kid to be less confident of him or herself and before taking any step to help him, you need to know the cause of his lack of confidence and how to help him to get more confidence. Some of the causes can be based on the following: 1. Disapproving Authority Figures Growing up thinking that your actions were not good enough or never appreciated can lead to low self-esteem. If parents continue to criticize no matter what your kid does then it would give the kid the impression that his or her efforts are worthless and that can bear a negative consequence on his mind leading to low self-esteem. It becomes difficult for your kid to feel confident and comfortable in their own skin later. 2. Uninvolved/Preoccupied Caregivers Kids are attention seekers and if you do not pay them any attention, they believe that their achievements are not noticeable and with time they will lose confidence and start to close up. This scenario often results in feeling forgotten, unacknowledged, and unimportant later. If they feel that they do not belong, they will feel uncategorized as a result of their belief that they are supposed to feel sorry for their existence.  They would just feel that no one cares and such they would feel the urge or desire to do anything. 3. Authority Figures in Conflict If a child is raised in a home where his or her parents or care giver fight, they absorb the negative emotions and hateful atmosphere. This becomes very negative because it is a disorganized, overwhelming and scary atmosphere where the kids fear to makes any move because they do not want to be faced with mommy or daddy’s wrath. When a child is exposed to excessive conflicts between authority heads, they can feel like they contributed to the issue. This feeling of being the cause of everything can taint their mind and they can even carry it on to adulthood. 4. Bullying (with Unsupportive Parents) This can be very detrimental to a kid's self-esteem when he or she does not have anyone to help them from bullies. Imagine a kid who already felt unsafe at home and now is being bullied at the school, there sure is to be a very negative lasting effect. Later on in life, the kid would feel like anyone trying to be his or her friend is trying to do him a favour because he or she believes that they are not capable of being loved or don’t feel worthy. [...]

As kids grow, they develop an interest in various activities like games, sports and sometimes even business. In this fast developing world, kids are capable of so many things once they are given the opportunity and aid by adults, most especially their parents. A kid who loves pet may be very excited at the prospect of taking dogs on long walks. This could be a great avenue to help your kid to start a business. The opportunities involved in dog walking are numerous and your kid will continue to reap the benefits from it even as he or she grows. This business offers a lot of benefits to your kid and here are some of them: Dog walking can pay much more than a dog sitting and can become a regular job for your kid if he bonds with the dog. Kids can always have clients because dogs are very common household pets and so many families have them but they sometimes would need a dog-walker who loves dogs and can bond with their dog to take it out. Dog walking is a great summer job for your kid when schools are on vacation. He or she can also walk dogs during school days but this has to be according to schedule. Kids could walk the dog after school or during weekends. Walking dogs can also be a fun exercise for your kid and the dog as well. It usually does not take much time and your kid will be able to do his homework and other activities at the same time. You would not have to worry about the job affecting their studies and other extra curriculum activities. It is a homely business and so, it does not require you to spend money on getting it started. You won’t have to pay for uniform or any other thing. You also do have a boss over your son that will be hauling policies, etc. Although you will have to invest a little, it would not be much. Unlike other jobs, dog walking is suitable for kids of various ages. So if your kid is below fourteen and wants to start a business and he loves dogs, this would be a good option for him. Here are a few other things that your kid can learn and gain from dog walking: 1. Goal setting and achievement They will learn to set goals through the business. For instance, they can set a goal to acquire a certain amount of profit in a particular period. By achieving such a goal, they would have learnt the importance of goal setting. 2. Reliability There is an agreement between your kid and the client and so your kid is aware that his services are relied upon and knows of the consequences of failing to be reliable. 3. Self-motivation and organization This will have to do with the ability to be able to manage the existing clients and finding new clients. 4. Responsibility They learn this by caring [...]

A baking business is a good way to engage your kid who loves to bake. If your kid enjoys baking or anything that has to do with mixing, kneading, and so on, then why not put that passion into a business, and put those skills to work. You will help your kid make a profit out of his or her desire to create beautiful and delicious recipes and, who knows, they might want to be a chef someday or perhaps just learn other skills along the way. Whichever way, you need to help them do something by following the steps laid out in this article. There are a variety of baked goods and you can never run out of ideas. Starting a home-based bakery could be so much fun and work at the same time but do not be discouraged, because with the following steps you can easily start a bakery at home. But before getting into that, here are just a few reasons why you should support your kids' passion for baking: 1. You will give them an opportunity to do what they love to do There is no greater joy than having supportive and helpful parents who understand them and help them to harness their potential. You express the love you have for them by showing them that you will be with them as they grow. 2.  It is a means of expression for your kid Baking is about measurements, ingredients and various recipes and so, kids may want to express their unique ideas through their own developed recipes. They could just put a twist on their baked goods. 3. It is easy to start Because you do not need to rent a kitchen or take up classes for the food you already know how to make. You probably just spend little on the start-up if you intend to buy ingredients that you don’t have. 4. There is always a ready market People love food, especially good looking and tasty food. Your kid can sell the baked goods locally or online depending on your investment and how big you want the business to be. Now that you know how beneficial baking can be to your kid, your kid will need certain skills to make sure that they are fit and ready to start. Some of these include: A high knowledge and skill in food preparation and other ideas on food safety. You could help with such directions or invest in cooking classes during the summer that your kid can benefit from. If you have a retail or food service background, you could help with some guidelines. For example, you need to tell your kid to disclose if there are peanuts in your kitchen to warn consumers who are allergic to nuts. You may need to have a regular shopping schedule with which to get your items and good suppliers too. Store your food items and equipment from the personal ones. Get an understanding of your competition and how [...]

Everyone knows how beautiful a greeting card is and how happy you feel when you receive one from someone you love. It is a good way to put a smile on someone's face. Your kid wants to start a business and thinks of a greeting business, don’t discourage them; in fact, you can help them a long way as they start. Or maybe you were thinking of a business your kid may go into and you just were not sure, greeting cards would be great especially if your kid loves art and is creative. One of the ways to select the kind of business your kid would strive in is to identify his or her skill and if your kid is good at colouring, painting, and drawing then they could go into it. Here is why you should help your kid start a greeting card business: 1. Little financial investment Since the business would be home-based, you will just need a small financial investment. It is a small scale business that your kid can handle and you can supervise because it involves low risk. You can easily buy supplies at a low rate through online stores or your local supply store and at times, one can even improvise. So, you don’t have to make 1000 copies, all you need do is make according to demand. If you create a line of handmade cards, you would not get stuck with lots of expenses if they don’t sell. And the good news is that you can adjust them at times. Concerning the supplies, you do not need to buy every supply you think you should have, only buy the supplies that you need at the time. 2. Easier to sell Well, did you know that handmade business cards are easier to sell? This is because it is unique and quite different from the usual printed cards. Homemade cards has and artistic advantage and appeal more to people because of its originality and realistic touch. Secondly, if you are in the homemade cards business, you do not compete with the big companies. This is because the market is different. Some people like commercial cards while others prefer homemade greeting cards. There are more printed cards than homemade cards and depending on your area, this will serve you well because your card will stand out. 3. Being their own boss Helping your kid start a home business means that they are their own boss. They won’t be under another or having to work according to schedule or follow orders and because of this, they will learn to discipline themselves if they want their business to succeed. Being independent means they have more responsibility to ensure that they do what's right and at the same time, they will also learn to be accountable for their actions. Because it is their business, they will train themselves to work according to their schedule and timing, this would mean deciding when to design cards, how to distribute them, [...]

There are grasses in almost everybody’s lawn and a lot of people do not usually have time to mow their lawns. This is why there is always going to be a demand for those who offer the services. Lawn mowing is hard work and it takes a lot of care and diligence when doing it. Your kid will learn a lot apart from making money from the lawn business. There is no shortcut in mowing, your kid will know what it means to give customer satisfaction and will reap the rewards of his labour. Lawn mowing business will help your kid to harness their entrepreneurship skills and other capabilities. So, if your kid wants to start a lawn business, don’t discourage them; you should rather help them to start one. You might not know what they will get from it in the long run. Did you know that it is a great business and that it serves as a part-time business for some cops, firemen, and so on? Since your kids business will be within the community or neigbourhood, your kid does not need to worry about commuting to long distances. Also, it incurs a small start-up cost that will not require you to put in too much money. Another good thing is that grass keeps on growing so you do not have to worry about any recession because they always need to be cut. According to statistics, there are 1.25 million people employed as ground maintenance workers. And as time proceeds, this amount is estimated to increase. So there is a demand market for lawn business and this is how you can help your kid start one. Just follow the steps below: 1. Plan Yes, this is the very backbone of every business. Planning with your kid will give you both the chance to set out your detailed approach to the business. It will answer the pertinent questions as to how, who, when and where? This will include the type of equipment you will need, the size of the lawn you will be working on, your dedication, time schedule as to when you will work, neigbourhood size etc. 2. Identify your goals and create a mission statement The first step is to identify your long-term goal. What does your kid want to achieve from the business? This will help him arrange the business in such a way that it would come out just the way he plans it to. This will determine the effort or commitment he gives to the business, as to whether he will work full time or part-time. Whether he plans on getting a team if he plans to run the business for a longer period of time. By defining this, he will begin to think outside the box and create a mission statement that will guide him and remind him of who he is and why is doing what he does. Your mission statement should be designed to help give purpose to your work and [...]

If your smart kid likes helping out his close buddies to finish their homework and then comes to you to help him start a business, tutoring can be a good option. Your kid could be a great help to others around and also develop personal skills. Teaching is one of the oldest profession and is always in demand because we all seek knowledge. Starting a tutoring business for your kid can help build them both mentally and socially.  So, if your kid thinks he or she wants to start a tutoring business, here are a few things to know about guiding them: Why Your Kid Should Start Tutoring 1. Mastery of the subject It is said that practice makes perfect and so while tutoring, your kid will have to explore the subject matter very well. To teach requires that he or she studies the subject matter properly and this means a constant working out of problems especially if it is math. 2. Development and strengthening of skills Your kid may not know it, but as they tutor, they will develop certain teaching skills. These skills will be needed to cope with the different learning nature of kids they come across their tutoring services. For example, some students are visual, auditory or a combination of both and so, it is quite important that a tutor understands how to cope with these styles. Having the ability to teach will help your kid improve on their communication skills and get better at expressing themselves in a clear and logical manner. 3. Flexible hours This is so advantageous compared to other jobs that your kid may want to venture into. Unlike other kinds of work, your kid would not have to bother about schedules or procedures, etc. Tutoring gives you the chance to make a flexible teaching plan for both you and your clients. This will be based on each other’s availability and this will enable your kid to work with various students to create a workable timetable that will suit everyone. A tutoring session does not last for more than two hours, so there is enough time for your kid to do other things too. Therefore, your kid can have a tailor-made timetable for various pupils or even have a group study too. With tutoring, anything is possible. 4. Emotional and intellectual fulfillment Tutoring is not only a job but it is a social good too. Helping to make other people smarter will give your kid a feeling of pride and accomplishment. Tutoring is like rendering help and so, when your kid impacts knowledge on someone, they have a sense of gratification that will motivate them to do better when they get to college. The more your kid tutors, he or she feeds and energizes their mind which is a means to keep them intellectually and mentally stimulated. It brings along a feeling of pride, confidence, and fulfillment. If your kid tutors, he or she is creating a relationship with their clients who are [...]

A paper route business is not an easy task but undoubtedly has a lot of benefits when you venture into it. So if your kid comes to you for your assistance or show interest in starting a paper route delivery service, then encourage them and help them start one. This is because there are so many benefits that they will gain from the activity such as being able to handle money that isn’t theirs. If your child’s newspaper company policy includes that your child make collections, then they will be great with money. Through this, they will learn to be responsible with money that isn’t theirs and be more assertive when dealing with others. Did you ever know that getting into the paper route business is a great form of exercise for your kid? Riding a bicycle almost every morning will be giving him a great workout while he earns money. Furthermore, if he or she does very well, they are sure to receive praises and this can boost self-confidence because of the appreciation they receive. The job demands punctuality, and so your kid will develop the habit of being punctual and respecting time as the success of his job depends on it. Another great advantage of the paper route business is that your kid gets freedom. He or she does not have to dress up to do it, they can also do their routes as quickly and in the manner they want. There are lots of successful people today that started with delivering newspapers. Billionaire John C. Bogle was founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Corp and creator of Index Fund. He was born in 1929 and started delivering newspapers at the age of nine. It is at a young age that we teach our kids lessons and principles in life and help shape the view of the world. Allowing your kid to start a paper route business will instill in him or her value of hard work and responsibility. These are lessons you just don’t teach by word of mouth. Disney’s father owned a newspaper distributorship in Kansas City and Disney was one of the boys who delivered the paper. He received no pay, as his father saw it as an opportunity to help him learn responsibility. Sometimes, kids learn skills that broaden their mindset and help them to be innovative. Small business are the backbone of most economies. For example, in the U.S almost half of its private sector workforce is 49.2% and these are employed by small business. Some of these important innovations have come from scrappy entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs who started Apple from his basement or Mark Zurkerberg who started Facebook while at school. You never know what your kid’s paper routing job might be preparing him for but it sure is going to be something good. So inspire them by playing the role of a supportive parent and instead of teaching them just how to do a chore which of cause is [...]