Confidence

[KyleByrne]

Hello all!

I've recently finished school (16 years old) and am wanting to start my own business for local people.

I'm not sure what business but I was thinking something like dog walking, gardening etc.. But I don't feel I have the confidence to actually go out and talk to my neighbours and ask if they'd be interested in my services.

I don't know what to do, I have 4 month off before I go to Sixform and i'd like to use that time to develop and start a business.

Thanks for reading

[jawzishere]

Well you got yourself a couple solid options.

1. Team up with one of your friends who is great at talking to people and have him drum up the business and you can manage the backend like scheduling and stuff and you could both share the workload of whatever is you plan on doing.

2. You can simply market your services via newspaper ads or flyers, this doesn't involve talking with people yet can generate business

3. You could just go out and try talking to people anyway. What have you got to lose? You might suck at it and it might be tough but you'll definitely grow so much. I promise that you'll be happy you worked to grow your interpersonal skills people skills now down the road because it is so critical to achieving success in almost anything.

Best of luck.

[SuccessNow1]

I would have to agree...especially if you do not like face-to-face, get your friends to help you print some flyers, and maybe you can even include them in your business. If you do though, make sure you create some type of written contract. If not, then just go out and advertise yourself. You can make business cards, and place door hangers in your neighborhood advertising your services!

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great!

"Create the life you deserve.
Let's all help each other to succeed!"

[Milkerz]

I hate talking to people face-to-face or over the phone, but I just think to myself - every person that I don't speak to is a potential missed sale. Try and remember this and just force yourself to get out and do it! If you are planning on actually doing either of those things, why not practise on friends and family - that way you can practise both your practical ability and also run through your business procedures.

Luke

[napoleonwill]

Hello all!

I've recently finished school (16 years old) and am wanting to start my own business for local people.

I'm not sure what business but I was thinking something like dog walking, gardening etc.. But I don't feel I have the confidence to actually go out and talk to my neighbours and ask if they'd be interested in my services.

I don't know what to do, I have 4 month off before I go to Sixform and i'd like to use that time to develop and start a business.

Thanks for reading

You sound very aware for a 16 year old. Start with a simple business to learn how business works. Then you can move onto bigger projects. You hit the bullseye. You could go door to door getting clients who want their grass cut for the summer. Get tons of clients, more than you can handle. Then you can hire your buddies to cut the grass while you get more clients.

Business doesn't have to be difficult. Keep it simple.

[jamesaroy]

KyleByrne,

Any successful entrepreneur has got to be good at networking with people. It's just an absolute must. When I first started out in business, I absolutely sucked at talking to people about what I did! But I was so fired up that I just didn't care; and over time, I've gotten a lot better. We all have to start somewhere, right?

If you just cannot do it, then take the advice from the other comments; rubberband flyers to mail boxes (don't put them inside the mailbox, unless you'd like to get arrested) , make business cards and stick them in your neighbors doors or under the windshield wipers of their cars, use social media to tell your people and tell all of your family and friends what you're doing so they can spread the word for you also. (you get the idea right?)

Just never give up on your dreams. If you always push yourself to push forward, you will make it.

Good Luck Kyle! Let us know how you progress over the summer!

[KyleByrne]

Thanks definatley helped, all of you. Going to order some flyers/business cards and post them through neighbours letterboxes!

[jamesaroy]

You should always follow up to! If you're not getting calls from your flyers, its an ice breaker to knock on their doors maybe a couple of days later and just politely ask if they received it and if there was anything you can help them with.

The fortune is in the follow up!!

Good Luck!

[The ENTREPRENEUR]

Go into each meeting with someone thinking what is the worst that could possibly happen... they say "no thanks" thats it. life goes on. Build confidence with friends and family first, then move to your neighborhood.

[Curtis_Szajkovics]

Kyle, you sound like a really motivate 16 year old! Keep it up! Back when I was 16 I ended up spending about $100 or so on a car washing business, where I would go around and detail and wash peoples cars at their houses. Ended up losing most of my money on that one, but it was a good experience. IMO there no substitute for trying to start a business because you will learn something, it may be small, but it will add up over time and soon you will have a ton of experience that will help you succeed.

Anyway, enough of my random ranting, about your question. Fliers are a good option. Try to make them really stand out, and be sure to say you are a kid in the area because most people would rather pay someone they feel connected to over the next landscaping business that happens to come along.

Also, try asking you parents to email their friends in the neighborhood and see if they have any work for you. Use their network to help you. A lot of business comes down to simply asking someone for help, and most of the time people are more than happy to give it. Its also a great sales technique because your not directly asking for their business. One thing you may want to try is call up, or talk to the parents of some of your friends. Just tell them you want to start a business but need help finding clients, tell them what you want to do and ask if they know anyone who might be interested in having some work done. (who knows, THEY might even want to hire you).

Hope it goes well! IF nothing else you'll have some experience under your belt that you'll be able to pass on to someone else on these boards next year when they are trying to start a summer business :-P

Best of luck!

And let us know how it goes!

-Curtis Szajkovics