How to start a Business as a Teenager
No experience needed
The first thing that you should know about starting a business as a high school student is that it is going to be a lot of work. The second thing that you should know is that it will likely be the most meaningful and important learning experience of your teenage years. Many adults dream of being their own boss, but feel too established in their job to leave, too senior to learn a new industry, or too tired to put the hours in to begin their own venture. One of the best parts about starting a company as a young person is that you have time on your side—you aren’t established in your career yet so there’s really nothing to lose. Teenage businesses come in all shapes and sizes from lemonade stands to military-grade drone empires, so no matter what your ambition or interests may be, there is likely a way to grow it into a company. Here are some useful tips on how to create, grow, and sustain your business as a young person.
Choosing your Industry:
If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and are serious about creating your own company, the first question you should be asking yourself is what type of company do I want to start? If it’s not immediately clear to you then you may want to consider these preliminary guiding questions: What am I passionate about? What are my areas of expertise? What are the services, products, and brands I like to interact with? What are the needs of my community? Where can I make a difference and add value?
Let’s say that for as long as you can remember you’ve been interested in law enforcement and detective work. You’ve spent hours watching CSI and Law & Order and even though you’re not a so-called “expert” you are more knowledgeable than most of your peers. Being a private detective requires extensive training and isn’t something that you’re going to be able to do while you’re in high school. However, perhaps there is a niche for you. Do you walk by signs of missing cats and dogs in your neighborhood? Maybe you could consider creating a personal database of missing pets in your local area and offering a service to investigate their whereabouts in order to collect rewards. Admittedly, this is a little far fetched, but it’s the type of creativity and passion that it takes to enter an industry that wasn’t designed for you.
If you choose to take on a more traditional route with a smaller barrier to entry, you should still be putting a spin on your company that leverages your skillset. Don’t be afraid to let your inner-kid shine through!
Building your Business Model:
Once you’ve picked the industry, you will have to figure out how exactly you’re going to create value and get people to pay for it. There are 3 basic types of businesses that you have to choose from: Services (examples include music lessons, babysitting, and tech support), Merchandise (examples include selling used clothes, reselling sports tickets, and hosting garage sales) and Manufacturing (examples include hand knitting scarves, building birdhouses, and, yes, lemonade stands).
Primarily, services are the simplest business models because they don’t require much overhead and are a very direct and simple way of doing business—I am good at photography so I take photos at events and charge per image & per hour fees. It’s the quickest way to monetize an idea and the profit margins are usually really good since there aren’t many expenses.
If you choose to sell merchandise or a manufactured product, you’re going to have to be more strategic because there are operating costs and expenses that make turning a profit a bit more of a challenge.
Non Profits:
The is one other type of “business:” a nonprofit. This is a class of business registered under the IRS as a 501c3. All of the other rules & advice applies, but there are extra steps like registering as a nonprofit and choosing a beneficiary. That’s because these types of businesses are considered charitable organizations and therefore don’t have to pay taxes on their income. This type of business makes money, just not for your own personal gain.
Acquiring Clients:
What do all successful businesses have? Clients! You can have the best product or idea in the world, but with no one to buy it your company won’t last long. This is one of the most common pitfalls companies fall into; they either fail to reach enough customers or pay way too much money to do it.
In your case, acquiring clients and building brand awareness should mainly take time, not money. Building a website is a great place to start and there are plenty of free or inexpensive website design templates on sites like Squarespace. Once you’ve picked out a template and reserved a unique domain, you’re well on your way to publishing your own website. Always remember to keep it simple. Overwhelming sites are hard to navigate and in the early stages of your company you really want to do one thing well instead of offering tons of services and options.
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