Small Business. help me out!

[Sarah E. Ford]

hey guys!
i want to start my own small business for practice before i get into collage (i'm in middle school). I have a problem about that though. see i'm not about to do a lemonade stand (ugh!) so what do i do? and further more, i don't want a website because i just want it local, but flyers aren't allowed in my neighborhood. what can i do
would love ideas!

[rpermana]

first, i think you are still not experience enough to open your own business...

how about getting a part time job, get some experience, learn from there, and see what interest you..

[Lili Cruchelow]

Sarah-What is a service that you can provide to your community? Think about stuff like babysitting, dog walking, yard care, and running errands. Once you pick a service that is needed, then you need to market. If flyer's are not allowed, then you need to self promote. Find people that need your service through word of mouth. Once you get a few customers and do a good job, the word will spread. You might also consider advertising you your local paper or local website.

Lili Cruchelow, Your Passion Can Be Your Entrepreneurial Success

[lockman]

Is your neighborhood the only place you want to provide service to? If so, this is just a thought. Try to find out who your community representative is and talk to them about what you plan to do, and he/she may be of some assistance. You could also get some of the kids in you community that go to your school to bring flyers home to their parents. You may also try the surrounding area communities if it's within your distance. Like others have said. if you do a good job and are very reliable, the word will get out. Parents look to other parents for suggestions on who they use for various services. You may also try talking to a store owner in your community and get permission to place flyers (try to stick to post card size) in his/her business. There are many ways to go about doing this, the main goal is to get your name or business name to people often enough that if they need the type of service your providing, your name will come to mind. Good luck and your never to young to reach for your goals.

[Sarah E. Ford]

thanks for the advice! i will definitely try these out!

[questeds]

HI Sarah,
Your main focus should be practicing business wherever possible. Take babysitting as an example. Simple, effective service that local people need. What you need to do is treat it like a real business. Consider marketing, keep reciepts for travel expenses, and even issue reciepts for fees you charge. Try to negotiate your rates for 'peak times' lake saturdays, public holidays etc.
People may think of it a bit funny, but it is the experience you need. Hey, people probably thought Richard Branson was silly trying to start up his own airline!!!!

[Southern_Lenders]

I would agree with the other poster who said to get some experience first. If you dont, you'll make a lot of mistakes along the way, piss off a good number of people, ruin your reputation, and soon be out of business. Good news is that your young and still live at home, so you have time to try again, and you have little living expenses.

Middle School isnt even high school yet, so you run the problem of people not trusting you because of your age. Also your going to have to reply on your parents to get to and from "jobs", and probably for funding.

No matter what, running a business is a challenge no matter what age. My parner and I have been planning our business out now for months before we risk a dime (however we did scoop up the domain names). Fail to plan...plan to fail.