How to Start a Business Today

This class is an open conversation to spark student imaginations and not a lecture. Indeed, enrollments are small to focus on each student's interest in a free-flowing style to concentrate on their talents and motivation.

The 45-minute class has five topics:

1. Choosing a business. Possible topics for young entrepreneurs are grass cutting/landscaping, babysitting, a lemonade stand or bottled water, pet sitting, washing or walking, plant sitting, baked goods, tutoring, jewelry design and gift wrapping. For older students, IT work for older neighbors needing help with their iPhones or social media.

2. Deciding costs and fees. How much should they charge based on costs. For example, a bottle of water can be bought for 25 cents and sold for $1 or $2. Cutting grass might cost $1 in gas per yard versus $25 overall for manpower. For service-oriented businesses, we discuss how much they'd like to make per hour based on their age and skills.

3. How to find customers. Word of mouth, social media and good old-fashioned flyers find customers near and far. With social media, I suggest a parent become first contact for safety reasons. 

4. Growing the business. Too much can be a good thing. How to get friends to work for you in exchange for a piece of their profits. If your grass-cutting business becomes too much, hire friends to cut yards and keep some of the profits as a manager. 

5. Your next business. The first business is just the start. How to learn from its successes to keep growing with new ideas.