Should your Special Needs Teen Start a Business?

If you are uneasy about sending your special needs teen off to a job, then have you considered the possibility of starting a home business with your teen?

Think about it. You and your teen can work together. You can help him or her to learn about responsibility, customer service, sales, marketing and book keeping.

Here are some ideas to consider:

1. Pet Sitting or Grooming. If your teen loves animals (and doesn’t have allergies), pet sitting can be the perfect way for your teen to make money and build self-esteem in the process. The only critical thing here is that you have to make sure they are meeting their appointments. Depending on your teen’s level of responsibility, you may be driving and, possibly going with them. An alternative, of course, is to bring the pet to your home, if that’s an option.

2. Yard work. Raking, weeding, spreading mulch. All of these things can pay quite well for a teen. In fact, your teen could easily make more money per hour than many of his classmates who have regular hourly jobs.

3. Pooper scooper. Yes, you read that right. Yards get messy. People are busy. It’s a perfect fit. It’s not the most pleasant work, but, it is work that you can do on your own schedule. It’s flexible and it pays well.

4. Elderly care. Stop by once a day, to bring in their paper, take out their garbage, and check in.

These are just a few of the many ways you and your teen can build a business together.

Please, if your teen can not function in a fast paced job like McDonalds or a Movie Theater, then don’t force it. There are ways to help your child to learn the skills needed to become an entrepreneur instead.