Cynthia John

Entrepreneurship education is the new subject of Indian K-12 education. Several progressive schools across the country are offering programmes in entrepreneurship development, including the Delhi state government which has recently launched an ‘Entrepreneurship mindset curriculum’ in all its public schools. The objective: to develop children’s entrepreneurship skills including communication, risk-taking, networking, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and business management.

In this edition of Kidzone, we provide children guidelines to encourage them to start their own small business during the summer holidays.

The concept/idea
To begin with, you need a good business idea. It can be something new or tried and tested, but most importantly it should address and solve a problem/need of people and be marketable i.e, people should be willing to pay for it. It can be either a product or service.

Here is an example:
Need. Families living in your apartment complex love to keep potted plants in their balconies, but don’t have the time to maintain them.
Business idea. You could offer to buy suitable potted plants for them and maintain them for a monthly fee.

Business plan
Once you have chosen a business idea, you need to prepare a business plan. Here are some pointers:

1. Nature of business. Detail the type of business. For instance, selling art and craft items, offering babysitting services, potted plants management etc.

2. Budget. What is the amount of seed money you need to start and sustain the business? List out likely expenses and incomes. Check if you can spare money from your piggybank/ pocket money savings, or if someone is willing to lend the seed money. Keep the initial investment small.

3. People. Do you want to start your business alone or with friends? If you are working with friends, be careful to maintain detailed rules and records for profit-sharing. It’s enjoyable to work with friends, but ensure they share a passion for the business.

4. Workplace. Is there a spare room in the house or garage you can use as your workspace? Where would you sell your products? For instance, if you are selling lemon juice to children in your housing society every evening, after playtime, you could set up a small table on the terrace.
For safety reasons, avoid visiting neighbouring homes to supply/sell any product unless accompanied by an adult.

5. Marketing. What marketing and sales strategies will you adopt to make the business succeed? For instance, you can create leaflets advertising your product/service and drop them in the postboxes of all neighbouring homes. Or you could list it online in a free classifieds services website.

6. Your resources. Do you have a computer and printer at home? Can friends pitch in when needed? Will your parents allow use of the home landline/mobile phone regularly?

Once the business plan is ready, discuss it with your parents and solicit their suggestions. Ensure you have their permission before giving out personal phone numbers and/or home address for business purposes.

If your business has got off to a good start, you may need to work on an expansion plan. On the other hand, if it is not doing too well, work on strategies to promote it or change the business altogether. Whatever happens, starting and running a business — no matter how small — is a great practical learning experience in entrepreneurship.