The Kids' Guide to Business

The Kids' Guide to Business

Second Edition

Introducing, Preparing, and Launching Kids into Business

by Jeff M. Brown

First Edition Copyright © 2003, Jeff M. Brown

Second Edition Copyright © 2013, Jeff M. Brown

Smashwords Edition

Published by TeachingKidsBusiness.com

Proceeds from this book are being used to further develop the social venture of TeachingKidsBusiness.com. Proceeds will help provide kids with programming and opportunities to learn about business.

Revised December, 2013

ISBN 978-0-9936192-2-9

eISBN 978-0-9936192-3-6 (ePub)

eISBN 978-0-9936192-4-3 (Kindle)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo copying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

Visit TechingKidsBusiness.com for additional business activities and opportunities for kids.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1: KID'S INTRODUCTION

OVERVIEW FOR KIDS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, WHO WAS A KID

THE FUN SIDE OF BUSINESS™

HOW KIDS CAN APPROACH BUSINESS

WHAT THIS BOOK CAN DO FOR YOU

CHAPTER 2: ADULT'S INTRODUCTION

OPPORTUNITY TO START TALKING ABOUT BUSINESS

TEACHING KIDS BUSINESS IS A SOCIAL CAUSE

BUSINESS IS IMPORTANT TO LEARN

ADULT OVERVIEW

OUR UNIQUE APPROACH TO TEACHING KIDS BUSINESS

WHY WE CHOSE THE TITLE THE KIDS' GUIDE TO BUSINESS

HOW PARENTS CAN ENGAGE KIDS IN BUSINESS

AN APPROACH FOR TEACHERS TO TEACH KIDS BUSINESS

CHAPTER 3: WAYS TO USE THIS BOOK

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS

EXPLORATION OF BUSINESS

DEVELOP A BUSINESS (DAB)

DISCOVERING AND DEVELOPING TALENTS, SKILLS, AND INTERESTS

INTEREST IN READING

FUN AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

DEVELOPING YOUR IMAGINATION AND PUTTING IT TO WORK

HOME SCHOOLING AND TUTORING

KIDS' BUSINESS CLUB

COMPETITION OR CONTEST

DEVELOPING COMMERCIAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS

CHAPTER 4: INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOP A BUSINESS (DAB)

THE BUSINESS CASE OF JOHNNY AND THE LEMONADE STAND

DAB (DEVELOP A BUSINESS) EXPLAINED

HOW DAB CAN HELP YOU SUCCEED IN BUSINESS

LET'S START TO DEVELOP A BUSINESS

THE FUN SIDE OF YOUR BUSINESS

DEVELOPING YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

NAMING YOUR PRODUCT, CREATING A BRAND

NAMING YOUR BUSINESS

CHAPTER 5: LOCATION, DESIGN, AND OPERATION OF YOUR BUSINESS

LOCATION OF YOUR BUSINESS

BUILDING/FACILITIES DESIGN

HOURS OF OPERATION

CHAPTER 6: MARKET FOR YOUR PRODUCT

MARKET

GOING GLOBAL

COMPETITION

CHAPTER 7: MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT

MARKETING

PACKAGING

PRICING

ADVERTISING

SOCIAL MEDIA

PROMOTION

SPECIAL EVENTS

WORD OF MOUTH

REPUTATION

PUBLICITY

PRESS RELEASE

MARKET RESEARCH

FOCUS GROUPS

CHAPTER 8: OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION OF YOUR BUSINESS

CUSTOMER SERVICE

DISTRIBUTION

SUPPLIES

QUALITY CONTROL

SAFETY

SECURITY

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

CHAPTER 9: MANAGING PEOPLE

STAFF SCHEDULING

SUPERVISION

MOTIVATING PEOPLE

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM)

CHAPTER 10: MONEY SIDE OF YOUR BUSINESS

FINANCING A BUSINESS

BUDGETING

MONEY MANAGEMENT

PAYMENT TERMS

ACCOUNTING

ADVANCED ACCOUNTING

CHAPTER 11: OTHER IMPORTANT BUSINESS CONSIDERATIONS

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

EXTERNAL FACTORS

CHARITY, PHILANTHROPY, NON PROFIT, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

MERGERS

ACQUISITIONS

FRANCHISING

PARTNERSHIPS

BUSINESS LAW

REGULATIONS

THE END OF DAB

CHAPTER 12: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO HELP YOU IN BUSINESS

KID'S BUSINESS CONTEST

WEB SITE RESOURCES

INSPIRATION FROM ANECDOTES

BUSINESS CASE OF THE LEMONADE STAND

HOW DO YOU TEACH KIDS BUSINESSTM WITH HOW WAS YOUR DAY?

KID'S BUSINESS CLUB GUIDE

BRAINSTORMING TIPS

BUSINESS PLAN FRAMEWORK

BUSINESS TERMINOLOGY OR DICTIONARY

CLOSING COMMENTS

OTHER BOOKS

TEACHING KIDS BUSINESS: WHY, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW & IMPACT

STRATEGIES FOR PARENTING: THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE

Introduction

This book takes a unique approach to discussing business. The author talks to parents and kids and hopes both will participate in the activities and discussions throughout this book. A key to teaching kids business is to respect kids and include them in discussions about business. The book talks to both kids and adults as equals and helps them work together. The author combines business consulting with coaching and teaching techniques to help both parents and kids consider a variety of ways to learn about business.

This is a guide to help kids learn about business and get started in business; it provides them with a framework to explore business. Some kids will use this book as a reference to develop their own businesses and others will use it as an introduction to business. There can be immediate results (do business now) or the start of a long thinking, exploration, discovery, skill development, and experience process.

This book was inspired by résumés submitted to the jobs for kids program at TeachingKidsBusiness.com. I realized that kids do not have a lot of work experiences or business opportunities beyond household chores (i.e., dishwashing, putting out the garbage, cleaning their rooms, and walking and caring for pets). I believe that kids are capable of much more and are ready for the challenge.

The term business is used in this book to cover the commercial activities of companies and career choices. I believe that as you prepare for business, you also prepare for a career in business and buying or interacting with businesses. I would like kids to think of going into business and choosing a career as two things with similar goals that require similar preparation. This book will help kids prepare for careers and explore business opportunities. Learning to develop a business will help kids learn to work in a business. The skills that kids develop for business will help them succeed in their daily lives and in business.

This book is geared for kids in grades K-12, 5-18 years of age, and it aims to make kids feel confident in developing their own businesses. It is written in a way that will help them understand business better by discussing business basics in a kid-friendly way. This reading experience will encourage, empower, challenge, and provide ideas and an excellent learning experience, while taking kids through an approach to developing a business.

Because business is new to many kids, this book demonstrates how to explore business and how adults can use this book to help kids learn about business. Our A to Z approach is really an introduction to business through the development of a business.

The Kids' Guide to Business provides a unique approach by helping kids understand business and encourages adults to take an active role in exploring business with kids. Once we introduce kids to business, we will have given their future a jumpstart. Naturally, this will spark kids' interest, and they will start asking questions and exploring and experimenting in business, which will help them prepare for their eventual future/career in business.

References have been made to the business case of the lemonade stand to show kids about business in a fun and relevant way. Kids will learn about business by applying business basics to the lemonade stand example. I believe that all kids understand the lemonade stand business and will feel comfortable applying even sophisticated business practices to this simple example. Kids may not actually operate a lemonade stand business, and it's not important that they do so, but this approach will allow kids to use their imaginations in developing their businesses with the lemonade stand business in mind. Many kids will think in terms of the lemonade stand example and then actually apply the concepts to their business ideas.

The book's detailed table of contents will allow you to jump around and explore the different sections in the book. The introductory sections should be used to ease you into business, or you can jump ahead to the DAB section, where kids can start to Develop a Business (DAB). The adult and kids introductions are good sections to read to help understand the strategy behind this book.

TeachingKidsBusiness.com's Develop a Business, or DAB, approach takes kids through the many steps used to develop a business. In the DAB approach, kids are introduced to business terms through a two-step process. First, we define the business term and then we explain it through discussion. Secondly, we apply the business term and principle to a lemonade stand business to make the ideas and concepts simple, fun, and easy to understand. We ask many questions to engage kids in discussions about business. Questions help us think about the subject matter and learn from developing answers. The answers kids provide will change over time with more thought, experience, and skills. Kids can then apply this approach to other businesses.

This book has been developed to enhance the programming of TeachingKidsBusiness.com, as proceeds from this book will be used to further develop this social venture and create more business experiences and opportunities for kids. A progression from this book is Teaching Kids Business: Why, What, When, Where, How & Impact.

Let's learn about business while we discuss and develop a lemonade stand business!

Let's plan a stand! Let's develop a business!

Acknowledgements

The important concept behind this book is to involve kids in business and to provide them with business experience. This has been accomplished in a number of ways and the momentum is growing.

I would like to thank Amey Harding, Tyler Brown, and Hayley Brown for perspectives and idea generation support. They have been very instrumental throughout the development of TeachingKidsBusiness.com and The Kids' Guide to Business.

Thank you to the hundreds of kids who have shared their résumés with us on TeachingKidsBusiness.com and provided their perspectives on how they plan to prepare for their future. By looking at the résumés, it became clear to us that kids have career and business ambitions at an early age, but they need help and experience to obtain their goals. Many kids have also offered their comments on the concept of teaching kids business.

Thank you to the many people who have supported the social venture of TeachingKidsBusiness.com. The compliments, encouragement, comments, and programming input have helped create unique opportunities for kids. I would like to thank Tara Sorensen for her support in the initial development of the TeachingKidsBusiness.com web site.

Thank you for buying this book and supporting our teaching kids business initiative. The proceeds from this book will help us grow as a business, demonstrate business to kids, and expand our programming to affect the future of kids.

Thank you, in advance, for taking the time and interest to teach kids business. By taking an interest in this subject matter, you will gain from the wonderful opportunities this book has to offer and from business in general.

It really does take a community to educate a child. I encourage you to share information with us to further develop the subject of this book and TeachingKidsBusiness.com.

Jeff M. Brown

About the Author

Jeff M. Brown, B.A., CMA, is the founder of TeachingKidsBusiness.com and StrategiesforParenting.com; he is an entrepreneur, businessperson, Certified Management Accountant, Internet publisher, parent, and individual who cares about kids' futures. His personal experiences and his 40 years in business have influenced the development of a very original and effective approach to teaching kids business.

As a parent, Jeff recognizes the importance of preparing kids for independence and a future in business. Jeff believes in nurturing and