Learning How to Deal with People

Customer relationship

Image by Claudio Cicali via Flickr

Something that all business owners need to master is the art of great customer service. Without a good grasp of human nature and how to deal with it, your business may bite the dust quite quickly. Or it may not go under, but it will certainly never reach its full potential if you don’t practice excellent customer service.

Teens are notorious for being either very outgoing or very shy. If you happen to fall into the shy category you will need a little work to get you accustomed to talking confidently to people. Your business, whatever you may choose to do, will depend on you being able to communicate effectively with your customers or clients.  Try taking part in some activities that will encourage you to speak to people. This can be an organization such as Toast Masters where the members write and deliver speeches at the meetings, or a simple debate class or club with other homeschool friends. [Read more...]

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Learn by Helping

Bud, WV, July 26, 2001-- "Youth Works&quo...

Image via Wikipedia

Something that is important to learn for teen entrepreneurs is the way to organize and conduct day to day business tasks. This is a vital skill that needs to be mastered prior to the beginning of a business of any type. The good news is that teens all over the world are finding ways to do just that while also providing needed items to other teens in poverty stricken areas of the world.

There are many ideas for ways to do this. One such idea thought up by teens was to fill backpacks with an assortment of school supplies and send them to teens all over who have no way to afford their own supplies. This is totally non profit and is done through donations and volunteers. [Read more...]

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Gift Basket Business for Teens

Gift Basket

Image by Betty B via Flickr

A very fun, creative, and profitable business that teens can organize and run all by themselves is the ever popular gift basket business. Teenagers tend to be much more artistic than adults and this is a talent that can be used to come up with many different ideas to be used in crafting gift baskets. This is also a business that, once begun as a teenager, can easily expand into quite a profitable operation the longer it’s tended.

Gift basket businesses are quite simple to start. You will, of course, need baskets of all types and sizes. That’s the first supplier you will need to locate. Something to check is if you may have a basket factory located near you. This is a great place to get quality baskets at bargain basement prices. If this isn’t an option, you can always hit your local dollar stores and stock up that way, at least in the beginning. [Read more...]

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Expressing Your Opinions Politely

What do teens do?

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Everyone has an opinion about most things in life and they usually have no problem expressing this opinion whether others want to hear it or not. It’s perfectly ok to express your opinion about something but make sure that you know how to do that. This is particularly important when running a business.

If your business is one that makes it necessary to deal with many types of people, you can bet that they are going to have opinions on everything from politics to religion and anything else you can think of. Many of these people are going to be loud in letting others know what they believe about certain things. They can also get obnoxious about it. [Read more...]

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Don’t Be Too Proud

Some Good Rules to Live By

Image by maczter via Flickr

One of the most difficult things to do, it seems, is to ask for help when you need it. This may be especially true if you are a teenager who is running a business from home. You most likely had to beg your parents to let you do this, and you probably had to prove to them that you could handle the responsibility. So, it is little wonder that if you get in a tight spot and need some help to get out of it that you are very hesitant to ask.

Before you panic, stop and take a deep breath. Figure out just what caused the dilemma you find yourself in now and see if you can come up with a few solutions to the problem on your own. If you just don’t see a way out, it’s time to ask someone for advice or guidance. [Read more...]

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Don’t Get Too Big for Your Britches!

Seven Deadly Sins by Rox Steady

Image by dingler1109 via Flickr

An old saying that many parents have used in the past is “Now, don’t you get too big for your britches!” This was typically used when a child or teen was starting to try to act well beyond his or her years. You are probably very familiar with that “I know everything there is to know about everything” stage. As much as you love your teens that has got to be the worst stage they go through.

This is something that you may see magnified if you have a teen entrepreneur who is trying to start a home business. Obviously, if your teen is motivated enough to begin a business so young, there is a lot of intelligence there. Of course, you’re quite proud of your teen and want that to be known. However, be very careful how you go about doing that. You could very well turn your teen into one of the most arrogant creatures you’ve ever met. [Read more...]

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Dressing for Success

Another Business Suit Shot

Image by Anamorphic Mike via Flickr

Something that many teens who are homeschooled as well as running their own businesses from home tend to forget about is the way they look. This isn’t necessarily in the area of hygiene, although that can certainly be a part of it, but they can also neglect to dress nicely most of the time. Why would they worry about it? No one is actually going to be SEEING them, right?

While this may be true, there is still every reason to learn how to dress for success. This means that you will still shop for really cool clothes, shoes, jackets, and coats. You will dress up in these clothes and go out. These nice clothes are appropriate for places such as a nice restaurant, church, shopping, a movie, and other occasions. Take full advantage of dressing up. You are learning to dress for success. [Read more...]

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A Different Sort of Decorating Business

My christmas-decorated window

Image by tbaschim via Flickr

Something that older people and busy people need is a service that will do their holiday decorating for them. This can include such things as putting up outside holiday lights, decorating a tree, and assembling a lawn setting. The truly unique aspect of this business is that a package can be organized that includes both decorating and the taking down of the decorations once the holiday has passed.

Depending on how much decorating is involved, different prices will need to be set according to how much time it will take to do it. Other things taken into account will be transportation as well as any tools you will need to have on hand. Unless you are asked to purchase any decorations, the customers will have what they need and want put up when you arrive. The over head of the business is practically nothing. [Read more...]

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Create Custom Letters: Fun Teen Business

Letter from Santa

Image by Nadia308 via Flickr

A home business for teens that fits in beautifully with their already loaded schedules is creative custom letter writing. Granted, the teen who takes this one on does need to have an interest in creating these letters or it won’t work. But for the teens who enjoy something like this, it’s a perfect way to get their feet wet in running their own home business.

Creative letter writing has become quite popular during the last few years. This is basically writing customized letters to children for their birthdays, from Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or for any other event that children like to celebrate. These letters can make the entire event that much more special to them. These letters are written on stationary that is event appropriately decorated and mailed to the child.

Parents, grandparents, or other relatives and close friends order these letters for the special children in their lives. [Read more...]

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For the Crafty Teen

Candle Making Laura

Image by Katie@! via Flickr

Teens who are craft oriented can usually find all sorts of ways to start their own home businesses. It just depends on what their interests are and how they mesh with the current demand for their products. However, there are usually several outlets for items created by crafting them.

For example, candle making has really taken off in the last few years. With the sudden interest in things like aromatherapy and meditation, candles are especially sought after. Scented candles are of particular interest and sell quite well. These can be made at home by using essential oils in the mix. People use these for many different reasons and they are almost always in demand.

On the subject of aromatherapy and essential oils, if a teen is interested and talented in mixing these, many items can be created for sale. These include bath oils, bath salts, lotions, perfumes, and just about anything else that scent can be added to. Many shops will take these and sell them on consignment or they can be sold directly from a website. [Read more...]

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