How to help my child get started with a business.

My kid wants to start a business. How can I help?

Running a business online for kids is EXPENSIVE most of the time. And also requires a lot of your time/input, depending on her age and ability. (Technically, if she's under 13, she's not supposed to be MOST places on the web where sales can happen).

Running a business around the neighborhood, and among family/friends is often more doable.

How to do a mix of both, low-tech, safe and cheap:

• encourage her to make a few pieces of inventory
• let her take pictures with your phone (or her phone if she has one)
• let her use your phone to send out texts or messages to people you have approved
• she can make her pitch (writing it down on paper and sending a photo of the handwritten page would be better than straight text), include a sample inventory photo, pricing, and terms--and include a call to action: Call, FaceTime, Text back if you're in the market for a CRAFT ITEM!
  
• have her make up some order forms to deliver to her local audience (have her draw up a map route, too, so that this doesn't take all your time if driving is needed)
  
• center the crafts around Back to School, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, to give customers ample opportunity to find SOME reason to buy. Offer ONE DAY for order pick-up, and/or delivery. Let her design her business model around your boundaries. Do not give her or her customers EVERYTHING.
  
• include many price points.
  
• and the ONE BIG THING I would recommend you help her with is setting up MERCHANT PROCESSING. You'll have to do this for her, because credit card processors are banks and don't mess around with minors. Getting a Card Reader from Staples/Office Depot is a MUST. It pops into your phone and doesn't require a ton of typing on her part! People don't carry cash like they used to, and it is hard for kids to run a business without accepting cards!

Charge her a small fee to use your phone/adult abilities. It's great practice for her! And it will help you stay professional, instead of parental!

[My daughter is 13 and runs multiple businesses now!]