Teaching It, Learning It, Doing It!
Starting a business over your summer vacation could make your summer the most fun one you’ve ever had! Getting started, is the hardest part according to most kids when asked. Here are some ideas of where you can get started on making your fortune in your own business over the summer.
BE SURE to start planning your summer business at least a month before the end of school. If your plan is ready to go the day that school’s out for summer, you can start making money at your own business sooner!
Grab a “Biz Buddy”! Two people working your summer business can get far more done than one working twice as hard. It could get boring, or really tough at some point to keep your own business afloat, but with a buddy in business with you, there’s always someone there to encourage you. It also makes working your business twice as fun! Watch ‘The Babysitter’s Club’ and see how several girfriends had a ton of fun over summer break working a babysitting business!
Tip: Write out your business plan at the very beginning, outlining exactly what part each of you is to play, HOW you are going to divide the profits, and your plan if one of you wants to drop out. Think of it as a “friendship insurance plan”. Make 3 copies, one for you, one for your partner, and one for an impartial but trusted 3rd party.
Decide what you want to do. Duh. Seems like a no-
Write your business plan. See our ‘Super Simple Business Plan’ outline for a general format to follow. This is really important and you will see why as you go along, I promise. Remember, you can always revise it as you go along, so don’t get stuck with too many details. Print out or draw a large calendar of your vacation, mark out the days you or your family has other plans, and write some basic goals on each week. TIP: Write the goals in pencil...it will most likely change as you go along!
Be open to suggestions. Don’t let anyone discourage you, just remember that Michael Jordan’s high school basketball coach told him he wasn’t good enough to be on the team! That aside, listen to people’s ideas and criticisms thru your ‘customer service’ filter. You want to provide the best possible service, so you can get ideas from just about any comment. Be balanced and thick skinned.
Print out business cards, brochures or flyers. It’ll be a good idea to have this done before summer vacation starts, and is a fun thing for you and your partner to start on after school.
Plan your work and work your plan. Summer vacation is definitely a time to have fun, so a balance of work and fun goes without saying...even tho I just said it. (sorry). However, if you don’t plan what you want to accomplish each day, the days will evaporate and before you know it, school is starting again and you are still broke!
Now that you’ve done all the basics….GO! ‘Just do it’. (it worked for Nike…)
Of course, there’s a lot more to starting your own business this summer , but I said I was just giving you ideas to get started, so that’s what I did. From here, you will want to keep working on the plan you wrote out, keep good records, and be the best at what you do.
Always try to be a blessing, and you will find the blessings flow back 100-
One last thing. Write me and let me know what and how you did, no matter the outcome. Never be afraid of failure, it is the best teacher of life. Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness” was rejected over 100 times before it became a best seller!
I’m also happy to answer any questions if I can! Email me.
Reprint rights available on request.
Start a Business Over Summer Vacation!
- Grab a “Biz Buddy”! (remember to write out your ‘agreement’!)
- Decide what you want to do
- Write your business plan.
- Be open to suggestions
- Print out business cards, brochures or flyers
- Plan your work and work your plan.
- Go for it!
