Having a small business during your childhood can have great advantages. It helps you obtain skills that can be used throughout your adulthood. Skills such as business management, customer service, and scheduling/time management can all be learned just to name a few. Below are some examples of small businesses a kid/teen might have and what “real world†skills they can learn from them.
Lemonade Stands
A lemonade stand is a popular childhood business venture with much to be learned. Customer Service skills are obtained when interacting with the consumer and fulfilling their needs. You will have to learn Money Management when counting profits and figuring out how much money it will take for you to run your stand each day.
Babysitting/Care giving
Many kids don’t realize that they are learning responsibility and management skills when caring for others. They must schedule their time in a fashion that will get a lot of things done in a short amount of time. Bottle feeding, changing diapers, play and nap time are all a part of scheduling and time management. The family of the child they are caring for will more than likely have a schedule that must be followed. It is up to you to maintain that schedule as requested.
Paper Routes
Lots kids take on the responsibility of a paper route. A paper route teaches time management more than anything. You must get up very early in the morning, therefore; you must get to bed at a decent hour to ensure you are able to get up in the morning on time. You must be a responsible individual and good with time management as the papers have to be delivered by a certain time each day. Nothing is worse than stepping out on the porch in your bathrobe only to find that your newspaper isn’t there yet.