Author: Enterprise For KidsTeam

Entrepreneurship Ideas for Students: The Candy Man Entrepreneur

Enterprise For KidsTeam Chayse's Stories, Family Enterprise Stories, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , ,
Entrepreneurship ideas for students shown through Chayse bringing home lollies for his business

Entrepreneurship ideas for students can start with something as simple as a four-year-old, fifty dollars, a supermarket trip and a mountain of lollies.

This is Part 2 of Chayse’s Candy Man story. His business idea had been planned. Now it was time to buy the product, package it properly and get ready to sell.

Entrepreneurship ideas for students with Chayse taking fifty dollars to buy lollies
The Candy Man with his $50.
Chayse outside the supermarket buying lollies for his student business idea
…outside the supermarket!

Entrepreneurship Ideas for Students: The Candy Man Entrepreneur

Enterprise for children can be a lot of fun, especially if it involves a four-year-old and a mountain of lollies! After you read this blog, you’ll understand why Hansel and Gretel gave in to temptation to eat the witch’s candy house.

This post follows on from The Candy Man Planning an Enterprise, where Chayse first planned his lolly bag business and received $50 in start-up capital.

In this part of the journey, Chayse takes his plan to the supermarket and begins turning a simple idea into a real product.

From Planning to Action

Chayse and I headed off to the supermarket with his $50, just as he had planned.

We walked the candy aisle and Chayse picked out the lollies he thought would be the yummiest. He bought everything from snakes and milk bottles to musks, liquorice and lollipops.

Next he added 50 plastic sandwich bags and some packets of brightly coloured balloons to the shopping trolley. His whole investment of $50 was spent in no time.

The checkout lady asked him if it was his birthday. Chayse nodded.

Well, why complicate things when you are four?

Entrepreneurship Ideas for Students Need Real Products

Chayse setting up a lolly bag production line for his entrepreneurship idea
The production line!

Chayse’s brothers and sisters were at the car ready and waiting to escort him into the house and feast their eyes on all his lollies.

Chayse was really enjoying all the attention. He bossed his brothers and sisters around as they bugged him for a lolly and offered to carry his bags.

This is one of the reasons entrepreneurship ideas for students can be so powerful. A child suddenly has a real reason to make decisions, manage resources and take responsibility for something that belongs to them.

The Candy Man Production Line

Lollies being sorted into bags for Chayse's Candy Man business
Sorting the lollies into bags.

It was all hands on deck. Jaxon and Mitchy from next door came over to help out and a production line was organised around the kitchen table.

The lollies and balloons were placed into fifty piles and bagged up.

Chayse’s intention was to sell each bag for $2. So if all went to plan, he should make 100% on his investment.

That is not a bad return for a four-year-old Candy Man!

Learning About Price, Profit and Helpers

Chayse's production line team helping make lolly bags
The production line team!

Cathy and I helped him with a sturdy box to display his product. We attached a strap to the box to help him hold it up and then made up a sign.

Mitchy and Jackson ran off home and immediately returned with money to buy a bag each.

Chayse’s first customers!

98 candy bags to go!

Chayse’s brothers and sisters also wanted to buy a bag each with their pocket money. We had to put a halt to that as it was going to create troubles, especially as Chayse wanted to buy his own lollies too.

So the compromise was that they were able to polish off the leftover lollies. Of course, Chayse was in charge of sharing them out to his drooling family.

Entrepreneurship Ideas for Students Build Confidence

Chayse's first customer buying a lolly bag from his Candy Man business
Chayse’s first customer, Mitchy.

Chayse’s enterprise for children business was now all set to go. His next job was to market and sell his product.

Simple projects like this can become powerful kids business ideas, because children are not just pretending to run a business. They are learning about customers, product value, helpers, pricing, profit and confidence through real experience.

They are also learning the sort of practical money lessons for kids that are hard to teach from a worksheet.

Entrepreneur Cameron Herold makes a similar point in his TED talk, Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs. Children often learn entrepreneurial thinking best when they are encouraged to look for opportunities and create value.

The Candy Man Business Series

This post is Part 2 of Chayse’s Candy Man journey. You can follow the full series here:

Key Takeaway: Entrepreneurship Ideas for Students Can Start Small

Key takeaway: Entrepreneurship ideas for students do not need to be big, polished or complicated. Chayse’s Candy Man business started with $50, a trip to the supermarket and a family production line around the kitchen table.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed Chayse’s Candy Man story, you may also like:

The Candy Man Planning an Enterprise Read how Chayse first planned his lolly bag business. Business Ideas for Students: Chayse the Candy Man See how Chayse sold his lolly bags and made his first profit. Young Entrepreneurs: Flynn’s Honey Turns to Gold Follow another family enterprise story about product, selling and profit.

Next up, we’ll tune in with Kit the Dog Whisperer and see whether his enterprising idea has evolved.

We would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.

Flynn’s Honey Investment Continued……

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Flynn's Stories, Money Lessons for Kids , , , , , , , , ,
Money lessons for kids shown through Flynn pouring honey for his business

Money lessons for kids become much more powerful when children experience them in real life. For Flynn, that meant negotiating with his Grandad, harvesting raw honey, making an investment and learning what it really takes to grow a small business.

This is Part 2 of Flynn’s honey business story, where his idea moved from plan to action — complete with bee suits, honey frames, sticky hands and a very serious investment for a twelve-year-old.

Money lessons for kids with Flynn and Grandad collecting honey frames for a business project
Flynn with Grandad collecting honey frames for his honey business.

Money Lessons for Kids: Flynn’s Honey Investment Continued

You may remember from a previous blog that Flynn’s Enterprise for Kids plan was to buy honey at wholesale and sell it at retail. All he needed was a good source of cheap, quality honey that he could buy in bulk.

If you missed the beginning of the story, you can read Part 1: Honey Pot of Gold, where Flynn first explained his honey business idea.

Finding a Product for Flynn’s Honey Business

Flynn’s Grandad has kept bees for over twenty years and had a number of hives which he regularly harvested honey from. The honey produced from his bees is very light in colour and tasty, as the bees forage over the Mid West fields of Paterson’s Curse and coastal gums.

Flynn knew that he had a good quality product.

His plan was to pay a visit and strike up a deal with his Grandad.

Flynn’s Grandad saw that Flynn had thought through his plan. He was more than willing to support Flynn with his new honey enterprise. Flynn negotiated a good price per kilogram, however, the deal included Flynn having to help his Grandad rob the honey from the hives.

You can listen to Flynn explaining the deal he made with his Grandad in his own words.

Money Lessons for Kids Through Real Work

Flynn putting on bee protective gear for money lessons for kids through real work
Flynn donning his gear.

Flynn was up for the challenge. He donned a pair of overalls, gloves, boots and bee veil. Then he and his Grandad disappeared for the morning, returning later in the day with a heavy load of honey supers in the back of the ute.

They were carted around to the rear of the house and quickly stacked in the garage. Already the local bees were honing in on the honey, hoping to pinch it for their own hives. The garage door was closed to keep the bees out.

This is where money lessons for kids become very real. Flynn was not just talking about business. He was helping collect the product, understanding the effort behind it and learning that profit starts long before anything is sold.

For families in Western Australia interested in bees and beekeeping, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has useful information about beekeeping in Western Australia.

Extracting the Raw Honey

Flynn slotting honey combs into the extractor for his honey business
Flynn slotting the honey combs into the honey extractor.
Extracting honey from the honey combs for Flynn's honey business
Extracting the honey from the honey combs.

Grandad sliced the caps off the honey combs with a hot, special-purpose electric knife and Flynn slotted them into a honey extractor.

The extractor uses centrifugal force to extract the honey from the combs. It was Flynn’s job to spin the extractor, which proved to be a lot of fun. Although everything nearby became sticky with escaping honey, including Flynn!

Preparing the Honey for Sale

Checking the temperature of raw honey for Flynn's business project
Checking the temperature of the honey.
Raw honey prepared for Flynn's honey enterprise and money lessons for kids
Yummy raw honey — a great enterprise venture.

Flynn’s brother Jai, and a family friend Jack, stopped by to lend a hand. Many hands made light work and before long, after warming and sieving the honey, it was sealed into 10kg buckets.

Angry bees do not take too kindly to people robbing their hives. It was pretty amazing that Flynn managed to do all this work without getting stung. His Grandad and Dad were not so fortunate though!

A Big Investment and Money Lessons for Kids

Enterprising Flynn paid cash for 80kg of honey from his Grandad. He loaded it all up in our car to take it back to his home.

It was a large investment for a twelve-year-old and Flynn, knowing its value, took great care to ensure that the honey was well sealed and cushioned for the long trip home. He did not want it spilling, nor did he want any ants finding their way into his containers.

This was one of the most important money lessons for kids in the whole project. Flynn had to understand cost, risk, value and responsibility before he even made his first sale.

Flynn filling honey tubs with Grandad as part of money lessons for kids
Filling tubs with Grandad.

Flynn wanted to sell his honey at retail. He had done his research and found that honey generally sold in shops for around $12 or $13 a kilogram.

He had a unique product. It was tasty, raw and full of enzymes, which are generally destroyed during commercial pasteurisation processes.

Learning About Presentation and Retail Value

Flynn had also searched online for plastic honey pots. We discussed with him that people would pay a premium for his product if it looked professionally bottled and was not sold in recycled jam jars.

New plastic honey pots were not cheap. The larger the order, the better the price.

Flynn made his order over the phone and bought five hundred 500ml pots. These were delivered by mail within a few days, arriving in a massive cardboard box.

Flynn ordered honey jars and lids for his honey business
Flynn ordered honey jars and lids.
Honey jars ready to be filled for Flynn's honey enterprise
…ready to be filled.

So now he was all set to go with his Enterprise for Kids project. He had his honey and honey pots and had spent every cent that he had.

It was a huge investment and Flynn had no choice but to make it work. He had overcome fear and had taken a calculated risk with his business. All he had to do now was bottle, market and sell his honey.

And this will all be revealed in a later blog!

Flynn’s Honey Business Series

This article is Part 2 in Flynn’s honey business series, a family enterprise story about money lessons for kids, family business ideas, product value and learning by doing.

These posts show how family enterprise stories can teach children lessons that are hard to learn from theory alone.

Key Takeaway: Money Lessons for Kids Need Real Experience

Key takeaway: Money lessons for kids become much more meaningful when children handle real products, make real decisions and take real responsibility. Flynn’s honey investment gave him practical experience with cost, risk, quality, presentation and enterprise.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed this part of Flynn’s honey business story, you may also like:

In our next Enterprise for Kids blog, we check back with Candy Man Chayse and see how his enterprise has been progressing.

Buy and Sell for Profit: Amber’s Rabbit Hutch Flip

Enterprise For KidsTeam Amber's Stories, Family Enterprise Stories, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Buy and sell for profit with Amber's rabbit hutch flip

Buy and sell for profit sounds simple, but it teaches children a lot. They have to spot an opportunity, understand value, negotiate a price, improve the item, advertise it well and then complete the sale.

“`

This is the second article in Amber’s New From Old series. After planning her enterprise idea, Amber wasted no time putting it into action — and her rabbit hutch flip became a wonderful first success.

“`

Amber contemplating how to buy and sell for profit through her New From Old enterprise
Amber contemplating her next New From Old enterprise opportunity.

Buy and Sell for Profit: Amber’s Rabbit Hutch Flip

Amber didn’t waste any time jumping into her New From Old money-making enterprise.

She bugged me to take her to the Dardanup Tip to see what she could find. So, after her Saturday soccer game, we paid a visit.

At the tip there was a salvage area where anything that could be recycled was put aside and sold. The current Shire of Dardanup Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Centre information still shows how recycling and Tip Shop-style reuse can be part of local waste recovery.

Almost immediately, Amber spotted an opportunity.

She saw a damaged rabbit hutch. We looked over it and could see that it was generally in good structural condition and could easily be repaired. However, it did need a paint job.

So Amber went up to the tip man and struck up a deal.

She bought the cage for $10.

Ten dollars was a real bargain! We looked up the exact same cage sold online in kit form and saw that people were paying around $180 for them.

Amber’s New From Old Series

This post belongs in Amber’s New From Old series, where she learns how to find second-hand items, improve them and sell them for profit.

Repairing the Rabbit Hutch

Arriving home, there was a buzz of interest as the neighbouring kids headed around to see Amber’s rabbit hutch. They were really curious to see what she was up to.

Amber bought a couple of paint brushes for $5. Then, using some old house paint she found in the shed, she and her friends set to work painting.

She also employed her brother Flynn and his mate Dan for $2 each to fix the broken part of the cage.

They thought that would be awesome!

Enterprise for Kids was now becoming infectious in the neighbourhood.

Chayse helping Amber repair the rabbit hutch for a buy and sell for profit project
Chayse helping Amber repair the rabbit hutch.
Amber fixing the door latch on a rabbit hutch to sell for profit
Amber fixing the door latch.

Learning to Add Value

This was a wonderful real-world money lesson.

Amber had not simply found something to sell. She had found something that needed attention, repair, paint and presentation before someone else would see its value.

That is one of the big lessons in learning to buy and sell for profit.

Profit often comes from seeing value that other people miss.

Amber was learning how to:

  • spot a bargain,
  • research the value,
  • negotiate the purchase price,
  • make repairs,
  • use help wisely,
  • advertise the item,
  • and sell for a profit.
Amber employing Flynn to help repair her rabbit hutch for a resale project
Amber employing Flynn to help her fix the rabbit hutch.

Pricing and Advertising the Rabbit Hutch

It was all great fun and, in no time at all, the cage was ready to be sold.

Amber continued her research into what to sell the cage for. She spoke with Darcy’s Mum about cages and also to Nicolette from next door. Both had owned rabbit cages and understood their value.

Finally, Amber decided that she would ask $90 for the bunny hutch.

Her next job was to put a free advert on the local Buy and Sell Bunbury Facebook page.

She put her ad up with a photo and waited for a response.

Amber photographing her rabbit hutch before advertising it to sell for profit
Now for the picture for Amber’s Facebook advert.
Amber's finished rabbit hutch ready to sell for profit
Amber’s finished enterprise idea.

Sold for $90!

You wouldn’t believe it!

Within ten minutes, the cage was sold for the full $90.

In fact, two other people had their hand up to buy the cage if the first deal fell through.

Amber met and thanked the man who came around to pick the cage up and eagerly took the cash payment.

She really did pull the money bunny out of the hat!

Amber’s Profit

All up, it was an outstanding result.

In only a few days, Amber’s profit was $71 after costs.

She was well on the way to attaining her goal.

With her money jar now looking very full, she was rearing to go for another visit to the tip!

She had already begun developing an enterprise mindset around business and money, and her financial IQ was growing.

What Amber Learnt About Buying and Selling

Amber’s rabbit hutch flip was not just about making $71.

It taught her that she could take an idea, act on it, solve problems, ask for help, make decisions and sell something successfully.

That kind of learning is powerful.

She also learnt that buying and selling for profit is not only about finding something cheap. It is about understanding value.

She had to ask:

  • Is this item worth fixing?
  • Can it be repaired easily?
  • What will the costs be?
  • What are similar items selling for?
  • Who might want to buy it?
  • How should I photograph and advertise it?
  • What price should I ask?

These are real business questions.

Buy and Sell for Profit: The Bigger Lesson

For children, a simple resale project can teach lessons that are difficult to learn from a worksheet.

Amber learnt through action.

She learnt that opportunity can sometimes be sitting at the tip, waiting for someone with imagination to notice it.

She learnt that old things can become valuable again.

She learnt that money can be created through effort, creativity and follow-through.

Most importantly, she learnt that she could do it.

That belief is one of the most valuable outcomes of all.

Key Takeaway: Buy and Sell for Profit Starts With Spotting Value

Key takeaway: buy and sell for profit projects can teach children how to spot value, negotiate, repair, research prices, advertise and complete a sale. Amber’s rabbit hutch flip showed that one small second-hand item can become a powerful real-world money lesson.

Where to Next?

What second-hand item could your child buy, improve and sell for profit?

Coding for Kids: Jai’s Apple App Enterprise Idea

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Jai's Stories, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Coding for kids with Jai’s Apple app enterprise idea

Coding for kids can be more than screen time. For a child who loves technology, gaming, social media and the internet, coding can become a way to create, solve problems and even explore enterprise ideas.

“`

Jai’s interest in technology became the starting point for his Apple app enterprise idea. Rather than only seeing his screen time as a problem, we wanted to help him channel that passion into something creative and entrepreneurial.

“`

Jai using technology as part of coding for kids and his Apple app enterprise idea
Jai loved technology, gaming and the internet — and we wanted to help him channel that interest into enterprise.

Coding for Kids: Jai’s Apple App Enterprise Idea

Jai, like many teenage kids, is fascinated by the internet, social media and gaming.

If you allowed him, he would spend day and night on his computer, iPod or mobile phone chatting to his friends, playing games or searching the net.

We are careful that he is well-rounded, with a balance of activities such as kicking the footy and playing with his family, while at the same time allowing him the opportunity to immerse himself in his passion.

Jai balancing exercise and technology while exploring coding for kids
Jai leads a balanced life.

That balance matters.

Technology can easily become passive entertainment, but it can also become a pathway into creativity, learning and enterprise. This is where coding for kids becomes so interesting.

A child who loves screens may also love designing, building, experimenting, creating games, solving problems or developing apps.

Turning Screen Time Into Enterprise

When we introduced the Family Project to Jai, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

His very grand idea was inspired by a family friend who had developed a hugely successful company based around building iPhone apps.

Let me tell you, in a nutshell, his inspiring self-taught success story.

A friend of ours was originally from Switzerland and had worked most of his life in a newsagency. He also had a passion for windsurfing and would take every opportunity to visit the West Coast of Australia in pursuit of the consistent strong summer winds that make the WA coastline a windsurfer’s heaven.

In Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, the wind is named the Fremantle Doctor because it appears to come from the nearby coastal city of Fremantle and brings welcome relief from the summertime high temperatures.

Our friend then decided to leave his Switzerland home to follow his passion, and the Fremantle Doctor, and set up home permanently in Geraldton, a small coastal city north of Perth.

He literally became a beach bum who spent his afternoons windsurfing and kite surfing. In his spare time, he would play around on his computer.

A Self-Taught App Developer Story

He taught himself how to program apps for Apple iPhones and was able to make a few simple applications which he tried to sell online.

This is where his enterprise kicked off.

From the comfort of his backyard hammock, one of his apps began selling. Sales exploded, and millions of people from all around the world downloaded it. For each download, he received a payment.

His success seemed to happen almost overnight.

This entrepreneur went on to build a multi-million-dollar company with three other partners, all from Switzerland, who incidentally had also followed the Fremantle Doctor to Geraldton.

What this man, with no formal qualifications in the beginning, managed to do in only a few years was mind-blowing.

His story inspired my fourteen-year-old son.

Jai’s Apple App Enterprise Idea

Jai’s enterprise plan was to build an Apple app and sell it online.

How he would manage to do that was not known yet.

All he needed at the beginning was a goal and a rough plan. Then he could focus on and tackle each of the steps one by one.

Maybe Jai too would become an overnight success like our friend!

Jai with hair-raising ideas while exploring coding for kids and app development
Jai often has hair-raising ideas.

The wonderful thing about this kind of enterprise idea is that it starts with a child’s natural interest.

Jai already loved technology. The challenge was to help him move from consuming technology to creating with technology.

That is the opportunity parents can look for.

When a child spends hours on a device, the question is not only, “How do we stop this?”

Sometimes the better question is, “How could this passion become useful, creative or enterprising?”

Why Coding for Kids Matters

Coding for kids can teach much more than computer skills.

It can help children learn:

  • problem solving,
  • creative thinking,
  • logic,
  • design,
  • persistence,
  • testing and improving,
  • and how to turn an idea into something real.

For Jai, coding and app development also connected with enterprise.

An app is not just a piece of technology. It can be a product. It can solve a problem. It can be sold. It can reach people far beyond your own town.

That was the part that excited him.

Learning to Code and Build Apps

Today, there are many more resources available for children and teenagers who want to explore coding and app development.

Apple’s Swift Playground is one example of a tool that helps beginners learn to code and build apps using Swift.

Apple’s education resources also show how students can move from their first line of code through to building their first app with Swift Playground.

For families, the key is not necessarily to know exactly how the whole pathway will unfold.

The key is to help a child start.

From Passion to Pathway

This post preludes Jai’s enterprise pathway.

He began with a passion for technology, a story that inspired him and a big idea that felt exciting.

He did not yet know every step.

But he had a direction.

That is often how enterprise begins.

A child sees something, hears a story, connects it with their own interests and thinks, “Maybe I could do that too.”

That moment is worth encouraging.

Jai’s Enterprise Pathway

This article is part of Jai’s enterprise journey.

In our next blog, we revisit Amber and see how she is going with her New From Old enterprise.

Key Takeaway: Coding for Kids Can Build Enterprise Thinking

Key takeaway: coding for kids can turn a child’s interest in technology into creativity, problem solving and enterprise. Jai’s Apple app idea showed us that screen time can become more meaningful when children are encouraged to create, build and follow a pathway from passion to possibility.

Where to Next?

What technology interest could your child turn into a creative or enterprising pathway?

Small Business Ideas for Students: Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Enterprise

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Kaitlin's (Kat) Stories, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Small business ideas for students shown through Kaitlin's portrait drawing enterprise

Small business ideas for students often begin with a skill they already love using. For Kaitlin, that skill was drawing — especially pencil portrait sketches.

This is Kaitlin’s creative enterprise idea: using her artistic talent to draw portraits from photos and turn that skill into a simple student business.

Small business ideas for students with Kaitlin planning her portrait drawing enterprise
Kaitlin loves drawing.

Small Business Ideas for Students: Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Enterprise

I admire those very creative people who can draw!

Sadly, I am not one of those people, although there are some very artistic people in my family.

My sister won first prize in one of Australia’s richest art prizes, a $250,000 prize for an artwork she entered into “The Signature of Sydney”, which really kicked off her painting career. Also, my grandparents and aunt on my Dad’s side were respected artists.

So it is not surprising that our eldest daughter Kaitlin has an exceptional skill with drawing, and in particular pencil portrait sketches. From when she was very little, she would draw for hours and, over the years, has honed her skill.

Her Mum, Cathy, also has exceptional drawing skills and has encouraged and taught Kaitlin many of the skills she has today.

Looking at Skills as Enterprise Opportunities

When looking for an enterprise opportunity, it makes sense to look at what someone is already skilled at, then see if there is a need or problem in the community where that skill could be put to use.

This is one of the best ways to find kids business ideas. Rather than starting with the question, “How can I make money?”, children can start by asking:

  • What am I good at?
  • What do I enjoy doing?
  • Who might need this skill?
  • How could I help someone with it?
  • Would someone be willing to pay for that help?

For Kaitlin, the answer was clear. She loved drawing, she was good at portrait sketches, and people often like having personal artwork created from family photos.

That made portrait drawing a natural enterprise idea for her.

Small Business Ideas for Students Can Grow from Creative Skills

Kaitlin's mermaid drawing showing creative small business ideas for students
Kaitlin’s mermaid drawing.

Up-skilling yourself in your area of interest and becoming the best there is in that field will likely increase the demand for your kind of talent and services.

As a result, customers may choose you over your competitors and may be more likely to pay a premium.

I wrote an Enterprise for Kids post on this very topic a number of blogs ago. If you would like to learn more about how up-skilling can create enterprise for kids opportunities, then visit Finding Enterprise Ideas.

Kaitlin’s talent with drawing became the basis of her enterprising idea, and she explains her business plan in this short video.

Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Business Plan

Kaitlin's portrait drawing as a creative business idea for students
Kaitlin’s portrait drawing.

Kaitlin planned on spending $70 to buy the drawing and framing materials she required to run her business.

Her idea was to draw people’s portraits from a photo and sell the finished artwork either framed or unframed.

She planned to market her service on Facebook. In our local area, there was a classified Facebook Buy and Sell group for Bunbury, and this gave her a place to start showing people what she could offer.

Her aim was to complete one drawing a week with a sale value of about $30.

In her video, Kaitlin also considers the roadblocks with her business and looks at possible solutions. That is an important part of planning any student enterprise idea.

What Kaitlin’s Idea Teaches About Student Enterprise

This is a good example of how small business ideas for students do not always need stock, tools, complicated technology or large amounts of money to get started.

Sometimes the starting point is a skill.

For Kaitlin, the important business lessons included:

  • recognising a personal talent;
  • turning that talent into a service;
  • working out the cost of materials;
  • deciding whether to sell framed or unframed drawings;
  • thinking about how to find customers;
  • considering roadblocks before starting.

Those are valuable money lessons for kids, because they show that earning money is not only about doing chores or receiving pocket money. It can also come from creating value for someone else.

Creative Enterprise and Real-World Learning

One of the things I love about Kaitlin’s idea is that it connects creativity with real-world learning.

She was not just drawing for fun. She was thinking about how her drawings could become useful or meaningful to someone else.

That is an important shift. It helps children see that their skills can be assets. Their interests can become opportunities. Their creativity can serve other people.

This is also why we believe so strongly in raising entrepreneurial kids. The goal is not simply to make children business-minded. The deeper goal is to help them become observant, confident, capable and willing to try.

The Australian Government’s business planning guidance also highlights the value of thinking through customers, marketing and planning before starting a business. Even though Kaitlin’s idea was small, these same basic principles still applied. Developing a business plan helps clarify what you want to offer and how you plan to make it work.

Key Takeaway: Small Business Ideas for Students Can Begin with Talent

Key takeaway: Small business ideas for students can begin with the skills they already have. Kaitlin’s portrait drawing enterprise shows how creativity, practice, planning and confidence can turn a personal talent into a real business idea.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed Kaitlin’s portrait drawing enterprise idea, you may also like:


Finding Enterprise Ideas
Learn how children can look for problems, skills and opportunities when choosing an enterprise idea.

Chayse Plans a Candy Business
See another child’s simple business idea begin with a plan and a small amount of start-up money.

Kids Business Ideas
Explore more practical business ideas children can try through real-world learning.

So we have covered all our kids’ enterprising ideas except for one. In our next post, we share Jai’s passion for electronics and gaming and how he plans to turn this interest into a money-making enterprise.

We would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.

SEO settings

Dog Walking Business for Kids: Kit Plans His Enterprise

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Kids Business Ideas, Kit's Stories , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Dog walking business for kids shown through Kit Howitt walking a dog

A dog walking business for kids might sound simple, but for Kit it became a real lesson in confidence, problem-solving, service and earning money through enterprise.

This is the story of Kit’s pocket money idea and how he planned to turn dog walking into his first little business.

Dog walking business for kids with Kit planning his first enterprise idea
Welcoming Kit and his entrepreneurial idea.

Dog Walking Business for Kids: Kit Plans His Enterprise

Plenty of kids receive pocket money from their parents. The kids then either save it or spend it. When we used to give pocket money to our kids, they would spend it straight away. Usually, they spent their money on “junky” things that didn’t last long.

This was very frustrating as a parent, so we looked for ways to teach our children to use their money wisely and to build a money mastery mindset for them. From these early days, we came up with some fantastic ideas which we’ll share with you in later blogs.

This particular blog is about Kit’s pocket money idea and how he planned to run his enterprise.

Looking for a Need

Kit saw that there was a need in his neighbourhood for dog walkers. Whilst many people in our community walked their own dogs, there were also elderly or busy people who owned dogs and either didn’t have the energy or time to take their pet for a walk.

Kit figured that he could offer a service where he would take their pet for a walk on a lead.

At first, when he shared his idea, we thought he had gone bananas! Firstly, Kit had always been afraid of dogs and secondly, he was only six years old. Allowing a six-year-old to walk the streets with other people’s dogs was certainly not looking like a good idea.

However, one thing we have learnt is to never stifle a child’s enthusiasm and condition them to think their ideas are not good enough. So we decided to play along with his pocket money idea.

Why a Dog Walking Business for Kids Needed a Plan

A dog walking business for kids sounds easy on the surface, but when we talked it through with Kit, there were some very real roadblocks.

This is where the learning became valuable. Kit was not just coming up with a cute idea. He had to think about safety, customer trust, his own confidence, the dog’s needs, and whether the service would be worth paying for.

That is why small kids business ideas can be so useful. Children get to practise thinking through a real situation rather than just talking about business in theory.

Roadblocks and Solutions

We talked through a business plan with Kit and investigated the roadblocks that he might be faced with. Then we investigated the solutions.

The main issue was that he was too young to walk other people’s dogs by himself, so we discussed that he needed an older person to go along with him. This would also provide reassurance to the pet owners that their dog would be looked after. Luckily, his Grandad offered to help out. He reckons he needed the exercise anyway!

The other issue was that Kit wasn’t confident with dogs. So the plan was to carry a pocket of doggy treats to keep the dog happy and obedient. In addition, Kit would provide his own dog lead.

By offering doggy treats and a lead, Kit was “adding value” to his service.

We also talked about being safe and respectful around dogs. The RSPCA WA safety around dogs information is a useful reminder that children should be supervised around dogs and should understand how to behave calmly and safely around them.

Kit’s Dog Walking Enterprise Idea

Kit caring for a dog as part of his dog walking business for kids idea
Dog walking was Kit’s enterprise idea.

Kit’s idea was simple: offer to walk dogs for people who needed help.

That made it a service-based business. He did not need to buy stock like Chayse did with his lolly bags. Instead, Kit needed to offer his time, care and effort.

This gave us a great opportunity to talk about the difference between earning money from a product and earning money from a service. Both can be valuable money lessons for kids, but they teach slightly different things.

With Kit’s dog walking idea, the lesson was not just about money. It was about trust, responsibility and doing a job properly for someone else.

Could Kit Become the Next Dog Whisperer?

Kit with a dog while planning his dog walking enterprise idea
Could this be the next Dog Whisperer?

Kit decided that he would negotiate a walking fee of $5 for a half-hour walk. If he had one customer a day, then he could pocket $35 a week.

So it was on. Kit was now officially a professional dog walker!

And who knows… from these humble beginnings, he may even become the next famous Dog Whisperer!

What Kit Learned from Planning His Enterprise

Even before Kit walked his first dog, the planning process had already taught him a lot.

  • He noticed a need in the neighbourhood.
  • He thought of a service people might pay for.
  • He talked through the risks and roadblocks.
  • He found a way to make the idea safer by involving Grandad.
  • He added value with treats and a dog lead.
  • He thought about a simple fee for his service.

Like many of our family enterprise stories, Kit’s experience was not just about making money. It was about learning to notice an opportunity, solve practical problems and take an idea seriously.

That is exactly the sort of thinking we want to encourage when we talk about raising entrepreneurial kids. It is about helping children notice opportunities, solve problems and back themselves enough to try.

Kit’s Dog Walking Business Series

This post is the planning stage of Kit’s dog walking idea. You can follow the next stage here:

  • Part 1: Kit Plans a Dog Walking Business — Kit notices a need, works through the roadblocks and plans his service.
  • Part 2: The Dog Whisperer! — Kit gets started, walks his first customer’s dog and earns money from his idea.

Key Takeaway: A Dog Walking Business for Kids Teaches More Than Money

Key takeaway: A dog walking business for kids can teach far more than earning pocket money. Kit’s idea helped him think about service, safety, value, responsibility, confidence and solving a real need in his community.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed Kit’s dog walking business idea, you may also like:


The Dog Whisperer!
Read what happened when Kit put his dog walking plan into action.


Chayse Plans a Candy Business
See another simple enterprise idea that started with planning and a small amount of start-up money.


Kids Business Ideas
Explore more practical business ideas children can try through real-world learning.

You can continue with Kaitlin’s Portrait Drawing Enterprise, where Kaitlin turns her creative skills into a carefully planned student business idea.

We would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.