The Kidpreneur Business Plan: Why a little planning goes a long way
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
I heard your kid wants more spending money. Mine does too.
I say let them earn it. Not by dreaming up extra chores around the house (that only goes so far) but by starting a small business. At one point you may have requested my 67 Kidpreneur Revenue ideas. If you didn’t yet ... grab your FREE copy here 👇
Let’s assume they picked an idea or two to try out. GREAT! Before they jump into squeezing lemons or gassing up the mower, encourage them to think through the idea.
A little planning goes a long way - let's talk about the Kidpreneur Business Plan.
Let’s do a brief deep dive (unless that’s an insurmountable oxymoron).
We can go into more depth on any one of these topics another time, but for now, here is the framework. Assuming the idea itself is step 1 - let's move forward.
Goal Setting: Start with why.
Ask them to articulate why they’re doing this and what they want to get out of it. Do they have a specific purchase in mind?
Experts say writing down goals increases the likelihood of achieving them by 40% up to 10x. The physical act of writing clarifies intentions and provides a tangible commitment that beats procrastination. Write it down, be as specific as possible, and post it somewhere conspicuous.
👉 Example: “I want to earn $1,300 to buy a new gaming PC before school gets out for summer.”
Conduct Basic Market Research
This sounds scarier than it is, and it does NOT require a degree. It simply means finding out who the competition is, who the customers are, and how much people are willing to pay.
Launching a pet care business? Check Rover.com for local competition. Google your town’s doggy day care options. Ask the cat lady down the street how much she’d pay for vacation coverage.
👉 Example: “I will ask my neighbors who takes care of their pets on vacation and find out how much they would be willing to pay me instead.”
Feasibility Check
What will it take to make the product or deliver the service? Beyond time and money, does your child have the skills?
What logistical elements need to be figured out, like how your kid will get to work while staying safe interacting with adults, animals, or motorized equipment?
👉 Example: “I will borrow the family’s lawnmower until I can buy my own, and only work with neighbors I can walk to.”
Quick Marketing Plan
Sales and marketing are often the hardest parts of getting a business off the ground. The point is to meet your customer where they are and let them know how your service improves their life.
Brainstorm together. Will they use flyers, business cards, or free samples? Pick just a few channels: don’t spread them too thin out of the gate. It is exhausting.
👉 Example: “I will deliver free samples of my mini-chocolate chip cookies to my neighbors in a pretty package with a small flyer outlining my custom bakery menu.”
Budgeting and Money
With pricing from your research and costs from your feasibility check, have your kidpreneur do some basic math. Estimate the profit from each sale by subtracting expenses from revenue.
Calculate how many sales they’ll need to make to achieve the goal they set.
👉 Example: “I will need $20 to print flyers and buy supplies. I expect to earn $10/week from each customer. I will need 15 regular customers to meet my goal.”
Operational Check
Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest. How will your kid get to their job if it’s too far away to walk, or if the weather is gross, when you’re not available to drive them? What are your safety protocols?
👉 Example: “I will offer dog walking services after school and on weekends. I will only accept jobs for neighbors I can walk or bike to on my own.”
System Set-up
Systems keep things running smoothly. Look for ways to create organization, particularly where it involves time and money.
A shared calendar helps both you and your kid stay on top of commitments and avoid family or school conflicts.
Tracking the money is the fun part: watching the profit number increase in a simple notebook or spreadsheet is the best motivation there is.
👉 Example: “I will set up a notebook to track customer instructions and my daily earnings.”
Check-in
How’s your kid’s small business coming along? Which step seems to be giving them the most trouble? Drop me a reply and I’ll be happy to address it in an upcoming blog.
Interested in the full Kidpreneur Launch Kit, including this 8-Step Kidpreneur Business Plan and more? Check it out here!
Stephanie Lennon is the author of Family Bank Blueprint, GoldQuest, and What Would Water Do? Simple Strategies for Navigating Life's Obstacles. Her titles are available in Paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com.
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