Must-Have Tools for Teens Starting a Business

So your teen started a home business? Here are 5 must-have things to help get it up and running.

Once your young adult has established what type of home business he is going to run, it is imperative that he have some tools and plans to create the momentum and establish himself as a “professional”. Here are 5 of the basics to get him going right away.

1. A bank account.

Although it might seem easier to run all the finances through your family bank account, setting up a separate bank account for your child’s business is the best way to keep everything clean and uncomplicated come tax time. Many banks will let you add an additional personal account to your family account for no additional fee. Run all of the finances through this account and make sure your child balances the checkbook monthly. Establish from the beginning any initial investment made for the business by putting it in this account and build a budget around what’s there to help your child run his business toward being debt free and profitable.

2. A separate credit card account.

Your child cannot get a credit card himself if he’s under 18 but you can get a card separate from your family card that can be used strictly for the business. It’s a great way for your child to learn about the dangers of credit card debt in a safe way. Have him pay off the balance on that card immediately when the bill comes from the funds in the business bank account you’ve set up above. Set boundaries regarding the card. For instance, if there is no money in the account, he can’t use the card, the card can never be used for personal use, etc.

3. A website or blog.

Depending on the type of business your child is starting a website might be something that will help him to promote his product or services. Even a small localized business will benefit from a simple website where customers can see that it is a legitimate business. With all the web building tools on the internet, getting a website up and running is pretty simple and your child probably already knows most of the skills needed to make his business look professional on the internet.

Here are the sites we recommend for website building:

Mom Webs — Affordable Web hosting with Family-friendly Values. (This is great for blogging and simple web sites.)

Internet Based Family – Our preferred Site Builder (to get a website up in minutes).

4. A cell phone or separate phone number for the business.

Having a separate phone number for the business helps protect your family and your child. If that number is a toll free number it also adds a level of professionalism to the business that a local number doesn’t and these days you can get an 800 number relatively inexpensively and set it up to a voicemail system via the internet when your young entrepreneur is not available to take calls.

–> Kall8 – for an affordable 800 number.

5. Business cards.

Without a doubt this is one of the easiest “tools” that your new entrepreneur can get to establish himself as a businessman. Business cards are very easy to make on the computer, but you can also get very professional looking cards online (just Google “free business cards”).

Make sure to keep your child safe by not including your home phone or home address on the card. Rather just put the business name, the child’s first name, the separate phone number you got above and either a web address or email address for the contact information.

With these easy to acquire tools your young business owner will be ready to market himself and start making money.