Teen Business Strategy Guide



Teen Business is awesome; having fun, making money and fine-tuning incredibly useful skills for later life. But there’s a big problem for teen entrepreneurs. No one really knows or understands us - who’s really promoting teen entrepreneurship?

Teens contact me and ask “I’ve been trying this out... not really sure what to do next. Any suggestions?!?”. They’re clearly going places, with a little guidance... but is there anything out there for them already?

Most Business Advice is for Re-Educating Older Folks

One of my favourite business books 'Rework' spends the first few pages undoing the damage of previous bad advice. But teens are fresh slates; we just need the good stuff!

So I wrote this guide for teenagers, like myself, who want to start their own teen business, putting everything I know that’s relevant to us that I know about business. Over the next couple of pages, you’ll see some of the best videos, guides and tips I’ve found.

Maybe you can help? Add your teen business advice here

The whole guide is based loosely around some of these ideas in Richard St Johns; inspired after being asked by a high-school student “what leads to success?” he went out and researched the field. Seven years, and 500 interviews later, this is his answer. Its short, and its funny.

Inside the Teen Business Strategy Guide

You can use the nav bar on the right to click between chapters,

  1. Your Vision
    How dreaming big sets the goals for success, and how to make those dreams a reality.

  2. Personal Strengths
    How to leverage your strengths to make your business more profitable and more successful

  3. Passion
    How to identify what you really care about, and work that into your teen business.

  4. Resources
    How to find and implement everything you need to run your business day-to-day

  5. Business Mentors
    How to find incredible business mentors to guide you with your ventures.

  6. Masters of Marketing
    Master the art of marketing with the help of these guides and experts

  7. Make It Happen!
    How to turn your ideas and vision into a profitable reality.


What would you say to a teenager,
fascinated by business?

Hundreds of teenagers are desperate for your advice; and its difficult to find good, relevant help for teen entrepreneurs on an internet dominated by business "re-education".

Here's your chance to add your suggestions and advice; picture the hundreds of teens who visit this site, pawing through what you're about to write.

Your speaking to the next-generation of entrepreneurs, employers and CEOs. You've got the chance to make a profound impact on hundreds, even thousands of young people. So make your suggestions awesome - only the best will be published as a standalone page, and linked into the guide.

You can upload pictures, and add videos (just paste a link I can embed the video from) and links to other relevant sites on the net.

Also, add a short bio, Twitter profile and link to your blog or website if you like. You'll almost certainly find savvy young entrepreneurs itching to talk to you.

Thank You.

If you've got lots of different ideas, its best to submit them in different articles. Shorter, focused articles are better than long jumbled ones.

What Others Have Posted

Here's some of the best contributions other visitors have submitted. You can comment and rate each of these articles too.

a business that is new and different 
I want to create a business that will let me and others express their feelings and emotions in any sort of way. I want this business to help people open …

how to start a babysitting service 
We watched a teen business video and we decided to try to start up our own. Myself and three of my close friends have come to an idea that we would like …

Small Clothing Company Not rated yet
Hello, I'm 15 and I've been trying to start a business that will make me profitable, so I joined a program, and chose a custom clothing company. I'm not …

Record Labels Not rated yet
I've always been passionate about music and I want to be able to help musicians and bands get signed and help them find revenus and help them build a fan …

Click here to write your own.


Return from Teen Business Strategy Guide to Your Teen Business





Go to the Next Chapter

  1. Your Vision
    Why dreaming big can have such a huge impact on your business, but how "getting real" is what will make your dream a reality.

  2. Personal Strengths
    How and why to build a business based on your personal strengths, why you should embrace your limitations and how to maximize your talents.

  3. Passion
    Passion is that unusual force that means you wake up in the morning; here, you'll learn why money doesn't equal passion, how to find your passion and what to do with it.

  4. Resources
    How to get all the people, the money, the kit and the training you need to make your business actually happen. Without this, you'll be forever frustrated.

  5. Business Mentors
    Having experienced experts guiding you through this whole "business" landscape is the single fastest-accelerator for your teen business. Discover the secrets to successful networking here.

  6. Masters of Marketing
    Marketing is the single most misunderstood part of everyday business. Here, get introduced to the Masters of Marketing who will really teach you how to win customers.

  7. Make It Happen!

    Its great having a strategy to this elaborate business of yours, but its another thing to actually make it happen. This is your guide to getting things done


teen business forum

Join the community of teenage entrepreneurs at Teen Business Forum - and be sure to check out the Teen Business Forum blog too.

rework


The ideas in this guide were inspired by lots of different books and videos, but none more so than Rework. Written by the guys at 37signals

Here's a quick summary by Jason Fried of what's in the book

It was also heavily influenced by Cameron Herold's TEDxTalk on Raising Kids to Be Entrepreneurs