Teen Business Plan

Wait - don't let your eyes glaze over yet! Every teen entrepreneur needs a teen business plan. There is real value in putting one together, and it doesn't have to be hard to do. You aren't (most likely anyway) trying to get an SBA loan or convince investors to sign up. You just need a good outline to make sure you have the teen business basics covered.



teen business plan

You can do that in 30 minutes or less.

A teen business plan needs to cover these basic things:

  • Description of your business
  • Defining the market for your product or service
  • Determining if there will be employees
  • The money side

First, develop a description of your business. Think of it as if someone asked you "What is your business? What does it do?" A few sentences usually work well here. A business doesn't need to be complex to work. In fact, a couple of simple sentences that your customers can understand in less than 5 minutes will work to your advantage.

Next, figure out your market. What is your product or service and who are you trying to sell it to? Are you selling dog walking services to your neighbors? Is it personalized iPod cases to your friends? Those are 2 very different products with very different customers. Knowing who your market is will make a big difference in how you sell, how much you charge and how you present yourself. A successful teen entrepreneur will be able to identify a solid product or service and the market it fits into. Tons of marketing and selling won't do much good if you miss this step.

After you know your market, determine whether you will need any help or if the business is just you. Even if you are going to be the one doing the majority of things, you might need help with smaller things. This could include hanging up signs or passing out flyers. You might want a website but cannot design it yourself. Make a list and put names by it. If you have 50 things on that list, you likely cannot do all of them. Be realistic or you will burn out fast.

And, finally, look at the money. How is the money going to come in? What prices are you going to charge and are they enough to cover costs as well as generate a profit? What costs will you have? Costs should include your time, transportation and supplies. They can also include paying other people to help out, website fees and copying costs.

Are you ready to get this all down on paper? Great. Here is a simple download to work out the details of your teen business plan that will walk you through the details so you can have all your thoughts in one place. If you have several ideas, this can be a good way to compare them. Fill out one form for each idea and then evaluate them against each other.

Being prepared - from the beginning - is a great way to start on the path to success as a teen entrepreneur.


Return to Jobs for Teens from Teen Business Plan

Go to Teen Money Basics

Return to www.money-and-kids.com