Blog Tour: Starting a Micro Business for Teens By Carol Topp

Micro Business for Teens

KCWC Blog Tour - April 11-15

Blog Giveaway - See Below!

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1

Retail price: $9.95

Starting a Micro Business For Teens is a practical and realistic book written specifically for teens that does not expect you to have a whole lot of capital for start up that others do.  It portray realistic examples beyond the lemonade stand for teens, by teens who have been successful in their micro business. 

A "micro business" is often run by and easily managed by one person, needs little start up money, often home based, and is low risk while teaching many important skills.  What I appreciate about this book is the practical examples given in the book along side biblical principles for starting and financing a business. There are worksheets for developing a marketing plan and financial plan. Pretty much everything you need to know to get started is included in this book.  This book is book one of a series of four books called: Micro Business for Teens.  You have a chance to enter to win the complete set!! Read on to find out!


From the publisher:

(Cincinnati, OH) With unemployment rates high, the teen population is finding it harder and harder to find work. Adults are competing for the same minimum wage jobs. But there’s an alternative—starting a micro business. What is a micro business? It is a very small, one-person business that you can start easily and quickly with what you already know or own. No money needed, low risk and no debt! Students can spend as much time running a micro business as they wish and can even close it down during busy times. The best advantage for teens to own a micro business is that it not only brings in extra cash (often more than imagined), but students end up learning a great deal about business, money and themselves. It may lead to an entrepreneurial life or at the very least, prepare students for higher learning opportunities.


Starting a Micro Business will help teenagers earn money while learning how to start their own business. A micro business is simple to start, usually home-based, low risk, educational and easy for a busy student to run. This book offers ideas, a business plan, starting with no debt, pitfalls to avoid and resources to get a teenager started making money running their own micro business.

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners though her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Spring Cleaning: A Time For a Teenager to Make Money

by Carol Topp

Here are some ideas for a micro business a teenager can start this spring:
•House cleaning: Offer to tackle large jobs like washing windows, moving furniture, etc. Many people are grateful for a young, strong teenager to help them with heavy lifting. What is easy for you might be very difficult for them, especially if they are an older person.
•Routine house cleaning: Some customers need regular house cleaning and may hire you on a weekly or monthly basis. Don't wait for them to ask: offer to come weekly or twice a month and see what they say.
•Attic cleaning: Offer to help people do a job that they put off, such as cleaning an attic.
•Garage cleaning: A big job that can earn you big bucks!
•Yard cleanup: Offer to trim bushes, pull weeds, plant flowers and spread mulch to spruce up a yard.
•Car and van cleaning: People spend a lot of time in their automobiles and their cars and vans need frequent cleaning. Melissa gladly paid to get her van cleaned inside and out every week because her four children could really make a mess in it. You can make some cash by offering to clean a van inside and out.
•Organize. Organize a house, playroom or garage. Charge the customer for any bins, tubs and labels that you purchase for them and then add on the value of your time. Take before and after photos to use on your advertising fliers.
•Declutter: Do you love HGTV shows on organization? You might be able to find someone to hire you to declutter their house like you see on TV.
•Garage sales: Advertise, organize and run a garage sale for your neighbors. Get several neighbors to participate together and really earn the bucks!
•eBay sales: Offer to sell your neighbors' stuff on eBay and take a cut for yourself. Combine the decluttering, garage sale and eBay tasks into a full package to help your customers profit from their excess stuff.

(This is an excerpt from Carol's article. Full article available at docstoc.com)

Win the complete set of books in

Micro Business For Teens Series!

(Winner will receive the four books shown below)



Money and Taxes in a Micro Business

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-3-2

Retail price: $9.95

The Micro Business for Teens Workbook

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-2-5

Retail price: $14.95

Starting a Micro Business

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1

Retail price: $9.95





Running a Micro Business

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-1-8

Retail price: $9.95

Everyone who leaves a comment below (however brief) will be entered into contest by the publisher for a complete set of these books.   Please sign in to leave a comment so I can see your email address.  You will be notified by email by April 22, 2011 if you have won.

Book received from Kathy Carlton Willis Communications for free for my honest opinion of the book and promotion on this blog.

BLOG TOUR: The Me Project by Kathi Lipp



 The Me Project -

21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

ISBN-10: 0736929665, ISBN-13: 978-0736929660

Release Date: February 1, 2011

Paperback: 224 pages, Retail: $12.99

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Wow! This is my first blog tour and what a great book to start with.  The Me Project by Kathi Lipp. I was so impressed that this book was able to bring out the uniqueness that God has put into all of us so that we can find His unique plan for our lives.  Read through this blog post and you will find out how to enter on my blog to win a Starbucks gift box from the publisher.

Here is a brief description of The Me Project from the publisher:

 

"As women, we forget the goals and dreams of our younger years. The busyness of everyday life gets in the way. To-do lists replace goals. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in our hearts. Kathi Lipp’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor motivates women to take daily steps toward intentional goals. The end result? We get back our lives and enjoy living in the confidence of a purposeful life in spite of our chaotic schedules. "

"This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving our goals each day for three weeks. A woman experiencing the exhilaration of a rediscovered life offers more as a wife, mother, friend, volunteer, career woman."
 
Here is a great article by the author with tips to start living your dreams today...
 

Three Super-Simple Kick Start Living Your Dreams
– in the next 15 minutes

by Kathi Lipp

Is there a dream that God has given you, but you are waiting until the kids are grown and you have money in the bank before you get started?

You may not be able to enroll in a month long pastry making class or take a week off of work to get started on your novel, but today you can take three little baby steps to making your dream a day-to-day reality.
1. Go Public with It

It’s a little scary to tell the world what you want to do when you grow up—but this is one little step could get you closer to living your dream than almost any other. Plus—it takes very little time and you don’t have to raid your kid’s college fund to make it happen.

When you gather up all your courage and tell your best friend, “I want to learn how to paint,” suddenly she remembers an old art book she has laying around she would love to give you, or her friend from church who teaches art classes. The people you know and love want to be a resource. Give them the privilege of being a part of making your dream happen.
2. Join an Online Group

This is one of the simplest—and cheapest—ways to start exploring your passion. Find out who else is talking about restoring antiques and listen to their conversation. Start by Googling your interest along with the term “online groups.” You will be amazed with the number of people who want to talk about the proper way to care for 1950’s lunchboxes as much as you do.
3. Don’t be Afraid to Pray

I remember the first time I put an offer in on a house—I wanted it more than I had wanted almost anything else in my life. While I knew that I had dozens of other people praying on my behalf, I was too scared to pray.

I didn’t want God to tell me no. I was afraid to pray until my co-worker Kim asked me (in a loving, kind way), why I didn’t believe that God wanted His best for me. Don’t be afraid to pray—as with anything amazing in my life, the path is never what I expected, but it has always been obvious that God’s hand has been on it the whole way.

Kathi Lipp

Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker, currently speaking each year to thousands of women   throughout the United States. She is the author of The Husband Project and The Marriage Project, serves as food writer for Nickelodeon, and has had articles published in several magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman and Discipleship Journal. Kathi and her husband, Roger, live in California and are the parents of four teenagers and young adults. For more information visit her website: http://www.kathilipp.com/
 
 
 
Between Feb. 24th and March 1st leave a comment on my blog to this post.  I will choose a name randomly from those who comment and leave either a email address or have a google profile with contact info in it so I can send there info on to the publisher.  On March 7th the publisher will draw a name from all entries received from the blog tour. 

The Grand Prize Giveaway is:


Deluxe Starbucks Coffee Gift Basket

Three 2.5-oz. bags of Starbucks coffee

(Sumatra, House Blend, and French Roast)

Tazo black tea

Starbucks marshmallow cocoa

Almond roca

Almond roca buttercrunch toffee cookies

White chocolate and raspberry cookies

2 Starbucks mugs

Keepsake black bamboo basket

$62 value
 
(Book received free of charge for my participation in this blog tour)

Schoolhouse Expo Online - October 4-8 2010

It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes.


Save $5 per ticket! Register between August 16 and midnight August 22, and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free E-Books.

You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright,Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!

A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely want to listen to these special sessions. We've also planned a special focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your homeschooling years.


Don't forget, MP3 copies of each session comes with your LIVE event ticket.


Two special preconference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!

Register starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 16.

 The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our children's education to best meet their needs.


If you cannot make the Live event, then the October Expo To Go is just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This week only, pay just $14.95!


You can visit either of these links to get more information.

http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com/

or

http://bit.ly/aWHFiL

TOS Crew Review: Lobster Network

LobsterNetwork.com

If you want it, chances are someone else already has it, and they may be willing to lend it, sell it, trade it or even give it to you. Give LobsterNetwork a try!

Wow! What a concept! Invented by a Canadian Homeschool Family... Here is a FREE site where you can keep a home inventory online (including pictures!) for either your own personal use or have available for others to be able to borrow. You can post things to sell and you can buy things with the option of searching for items by locality.  Did I mention all of this is free?

All you need to do is set up your FREE account and you are good to go! One thing we need to do is to get the word out.  If we can get people locally to try this out - we can share amongst ourselves.

This is a great place for homeschool resource centers and libraries to post their items that are available.  You can then share items among your own group locally. Also great if you lend out a lot of your homeschool material - you can keep a record of it to recall at anytime.

I think the ideas on how you can use this are endless.  But we need to get the word out about this so we can have things to borrow and someone to buy our stuff, LOL!

To Visit Lobster Network - Click Here!