HOW TO BECOME A TEENAGE ENTREPRENEUR

Want to know how you can guide and support your aspiring teen entrepreneur? Check out our plan!

Here’s a tip you can share with your girl: Becoming your own boss can happen at any age. If this fact excites and empowers your girl to begin her teen boss career path NOW, then applaud her enthusiasm and talk her through the business planning stage. Use our Startup Roadmap. It breaks down the plan and steps to starting a business, from light-bulb moments to all kinds of learning experiences along the way.

You can also ask your girl questions to complement the roadmap, like the ones below. They’re designed to help your girl realize what it takes to become a teenage entrepreneur and eliminate some of the guesswork.

What are you passionate about?

Start by asking her about her interests, hobbies, and even talents and abilities. For example, she might have a strong interest in STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and math). She could be the next Simone Bridges, the successful teen entrepreneur we featured in our latest book! Whatever your girl’s passion, that’s something she can market. And girls who start businesses based on things they are passionate about are more likely to have fun and stick with it.

What is your business idea all about?

From problem-solving light-bulb moments to passion-based ideas, sudden flashes of inspiration can easily be translated into business concepts. So, encourage your girl to write down everything that pops into her mind. There’s bound to be one (or two) ideas that inspire her most.

Who are your customers?

Your girl is confident that there will be people who are going to love and support her business. But who are these people exactly? The more specific a target audience is, the better.

What does your business do differently?

Is your girl’s business one-of-a-kind? What makes it truly unique? Your girl can develop a unique selling proposition (USP) based on the 4Ps of Marketing: Product: product or service characteristics; Price: high-end or bargain; Place: location, distribution, and customer reach; and Promotion: marketing messages that deliver the brand story.

Does your startup have a catchy name?

Naming a business requires creativity. Your girl can workshop different choices and pick one that conveys her product or service best. The more memorable the better!

How about a snappy slogan?

Your girl can define what her company stands for through a slogan. A slogan is also usually a brief tagline that expresses the brand’s benefits effectively.

What makes your business stand out from others?

The ‘others’ are the competitors of your girl’s business. So, with her USP in mind, she can examine the competition and discover how her business stacks up.

How are you going to make money out of your startup?

Costs can make or break your girl’s business. Make sure she figures out how much she’s going to need (startup and operating costs), how much she’s going to charge (price), and how much she’s going to earn (profit).

Have you done your research?

Your girl believes that everyone is going to love her product or service. But is she sure? And will her customers actually love it? Research is key. And so is product testing. Your girl can then use all comments, survey responses, and candid feedback to improve or tweak her business.

How do you get the word out about your enterprise?

Your girl has to let her target audience know that her business exists. On top of word of mouth, how else can your girl accomplish this? She needs to advertise and promote it on her customers’ preferred mode of communication, such as social media, email, or the community board.

How do you persuade people to buy your product or service?

Your girl needs a sales pitch to persuade her target audience to buy from her. Ideally a few sentences only, a sales pitch allows your girl to describe what her product or service offers, what its USP is, and the problem it solves.

How do you plan on growing your company?

The first sale your girl makes is a milestone, for sure. And she has to decide what she wants to do with her first profits. Does she want to set it aside or invest it in her savings or use it to grow her business further? How will she build on that first sale so that the orders keep flowing?

Are you prepared to move on, just in case?

Some businesses start, grow, shrink, and crash. And this is perfectly normal. If circumstances change and your girl has no choice but to close shop, remind her that mistakes are part of the entrepreneurial journey. She can then move forward with other opportunities and apply what she’s learned. And there will be other opportunities.

Running a business involves many moving parts. The same can be said for becoming a teenage entrepreneur. Our business plan template outlines the essential pieces and gives your girl a chance to take her business idea to the next level. Add your encouragement, and your teen’s startup experience becomes less nerve-wracking and more fulfilling and rewarding.

Has your teenage girl ever started a business? What did you do to guide and support her? Share them with us online!