Kids-in-Biz.com is an excellent resource for entrepreneurial teenagers and for parents of entrepreneurial children. Editor Teresa Smolinski knows first hand how to start and run a successful family business. She and her two daughters have been selling a hot product in the kids’ sports market for several years.

I’m proud to have guest authored an article for Kid-in-Biz: Is a Direct Sales Party Plan Business a Good Choice for a Teen?. Other recent topics include how to sell crafts, helping small businesses with technology, and fundraising.

In addition to providing invaluable skill development, helping kids start a small business is a great way to stay connected.

Are your children interested in running their own business or have they started their own business? Are you a teen in business? Please leave a comment and share your story.
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Kids’ Business Ideas –
How young entrepreneurs can make money.

Image courtesy of adiything.

I received this question from a subscriber to our Choose Your Opportunity mailing list.

“How do I begin a home-based scrapbook business (sell products online)? Where do I get products at wholesale so I can sell them at retail?”

The first step is to determine who you are going to sell to and what they want to buy. This recent post offers tips on defining your niche: Not Sure How to Find Your Niche Market? It’s not specific to scrapbooking, but will give you a good idea of how to narrow in on a market.

Sell a popular product to an underserved market or sell a unique product to a market that is spending money.

For information more specific to scrapbooking, check out How to Turn Your Love of Scrapbooking into a Profitable Business. Even though it’s a couple years old, the information is still current.

Wholesale is not my area of expertise so I can’t be any help there. Sorry. Perhaps becoming a direct sales consultant would suit you. Find information on various scrapbook direct sales companies at ScrapbookingBusinessOpportunity.com

If anyone can suggest a good wholesale resource, please post the information in a comment.

Guest blogger Danielle Chonody offers sound advice on starting a pet sitting business from home.

The popularity of pet sitting is growing at a rapidly. Four years ago when I started my pet sitting business in Dallas Fort Worth many people I spoke to had no idea that pet sitting was an option to boarding their pets when they traveled. Today pet sitting is regularly in the news and the largest pet sitting franchise in the United States opens 4-5 new locations every month.

A pet sitter is someone who visits a client’s home once or several times a day to feed, water, walk and play with pets while clients are at work or out of town. Often pet sitters also perform home services such as mail collection, garbage disposal, and plant watering. Pet sitting is an alternative to boarding and offers the benefit of keeping pets in a familiar environment and maintaining their regular routine. This means that pets are less stressed and avoid coming in contact with other animals from which they can pick up disease. Pet sitting also offers more convenience to owners as they do not have to drop and pick up pets from a boarding facility.

Pricing for pet sitting varies from $14-25 per 30 minute visit depending on region. Some pet sitters charge extra for administering medications to pets, and charge extra for each additional pet. The price that you charge will have to cover your transportation costs to and from visits. You should do some research about the rates of other pet sitters in your area to see what you can expect to earn per visit.

The Pros

I love pet sitting as I get to interact with many different pets and they always greet me with happy faces and wagging tails. I also get to meet owners and share stories about their pets. At a pet sitting visit you are paid to play and spend time cuddling with the pets, what could seem less like work?
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Sorry… this offer has expired, but stop by the site anyway to find information about starting a scrapbook business.

Hurry! You only have a few days to register for your chance for a free Scrap Venture Pro Membership. Learn how to start and run your own successful business creating beautiful scrapbooks for others.

Click here for details.

Mom’s Talk Biz just released a "Step-by-Step Guide to Direct Sales Success," which promises to "help you make the best decisions about starting and running a Direct Sales business from home." Author Kelly McCausey draws on the knowledge she gained from interviewing women in direct sales for her WAHM Talk Radio show and shares what she learned from her own experience in direct sales a number of years ago.

The guide provides an objective look at the benefits of becoming a direct sales consultant and the skills needed to succeed. It steps you through choosing a company. It’s a no-hype look at profit potential and it identifies the tools needed to run a direct sales business. Additionally, it includes ideas for marketing and promoting a new business, gives time management tips, and provides a list of other helpful resources.

The “Guide to Direct Sales Success” is a solid foundation for starting and building a direct sales business from home.

Grab your copy here.

Already know you want to go into direct sales? Get help choosing the right business for you at ChooseYourOpportunity.com.

Links in this post are affiliate links or our product link (Why tell?)

Maybe you’ve read about people who are making money online with affiliate marketing, but you aren’t sure what it is or how to get started…..

Or perhaps you’ve even joined a couple of affiliate programs and placed a banner or link on your website and you’re wondering why the commision checks haven’t started rolling in…..

“Quick Guide to Affiliate Marketing” will tell you what affiliate marketing is and show you how to start earning with affiliate programs.

Click here to download your free “Quick Guide to Affiliate Marketing.”

If you already know the basics and are ready to move on to more advanced affiliate marketing, check out Affiliate Marketing Sweetie and take your earnings to the next level.

It’s a common question on the work at home message boards… “We’re broke. How can I work from home and start making money right away.”

There are some home businesses you can start that will bring in money fairly quickly, but if you need a steady income right away in order to save your home or to put food on the table for your children … Continue Reading

It’s something that every household needs – tools for their kitchen. Whether it’s storage, cookware, tableware or time-saving gadgets, every kitchen can use a little help. If you love cooking and enjoying good food, a kitchen tools business might be for you.

Kitchen Tools Can Include:
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If you love food – who doesn’t – a gourmet foods business might be right for you. With a consumable product that people will buy over and over again, there are tremendous opportunities available to you.

You might try your hand at creating delicious gourmet mixes like: Continue Reading

Two moms are finding business success by offering a unique service. One runs a beauty treatment business and the other is a psychic medium. Together they offer home parties where guests get a beauty treatment and a psychic reading.

Find out more about their parties at
www.heavensentdirect.com or
www.theamberretreat.co.uk

Partnering with another work at home mom is a great way to build your business. Look for someone who offers complimentary, but not competing products and services and approach her with a plan.

Tell us about your unique joint venture.