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Advice for Starting a Company as a Teenager
Are you interested in starting your own business and becoming a teenpreneur? Whether it’s pet sitting, computer repair, or product sales, it’s never too early to set up shop and be your own boss. Here are some reasons running your own business can be beneficial and a few tips for getting started.
Learn Money Management
To open a business, you first need enough money to cover the costs related to getting started. If you’re opening a physical store in Minneapolis, you need to have money set aside for a down payment on commercial space and any equipment you require. Whether you have a business with a physical presence or you conduct your business solely online, you may need to pay to have a website professionally developed if you don’t have the skills to do this yourself.
Set a budget and use online resources, such as Upwork, to hire support from outside professionals to help you get your business off the ground. Additionally, connect with the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce to learn more about entrepreneurship and to network with the business leaders in your community.
Develop Your Online Presence
Social media is a great asset to have in your marketing mix. Make sure your social media handles are prominently displayed on your website and packaging. Post regularly on all channels, and ask satisfied customers if they’re willing to post positive reviews on social media. Be creative, but also develop a written plan for your social media to ensure consistency across your content. For example, you can start a series in which you do an in-depth video each Friday about a different product or service your business offers.
Pursue Higher Education as a Business Owner
If you’re thinking of obtaining a college degree, being a business owner can give you an advantage over other applicants as it shows admissions counselors that you’re a risk-taker with great discipline and drive. Keep a detailed journal of everything related to your business venture, including wins, failures, and anything you learn along the way. This lets you craft a compelling narrative about yourself as an entrepreneur and explain how a college degree can help you achieve even greater success in the future.
Start a Corporation
The more successful your business becomes, the more attention it attracts from potential customers and potential investors. To make your business an appealing choice for investors, consider registering your business as a corporation. This type of entity is preferred by investors, and it’s much easier to bring in shareholders to a corporation than it is to confer LLC membership interests. The way you register your business also has important implications for your tax liabilities and legal protections.
Check with Minnesota’s rules and regulations regarding setting up a corporation before proceeding. Rather than doing it yourself, you may want to use a formation service to handle the paperwork. This option is also less costly than using an attorney.
Open Your Business Today
Starting a company can be daunting for anybody but especially for a young person. However, you have the benefit of time being on your side, and you have plenty of opportunities to learn and grow as an entrepreneur.
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Jason Kenner is just a dad who loves sports and adores his kids, who’s trying to be a good parent. The thing he realized as he started researching challenges he was facing with his own children, is there are a lot of similarities between sports and parenting. So with On-Par Parent, he’ll share his best advice about both, but he won’t pretend to be a pro in either. And he promises to go easy on the sports puns!