Does your kid have a business idea? Have them do these two things.

Let’s face it — you wouldn’t be here if your kid wasn’t at least a little bit interested in business.

And there are a zillion different approaches (touted by a zillion different gurus) on how to nurture entrepreneurial spirit in a young person.

So today, I’m going to cut through the noise and give you two practical exercises that your kid can do any time they have a business idea. 👇️ 

1. Build a landing page

2. Craft a P&L

No other exercises will help them think more critically (or faster) about the viability of their idea.

Building a landing page 🖥️

Your kid doesn’t need to know how to code to build a landing page.

And they don’t even need to pay for a platform — most are free to build on. You don’t need to pay anything until you want to connect a domain and go live.

My favorite no-code / drag-and-drop landing page builders are:

• Wix

• Squarespace

• Carrd

They have hundreds of templates to easily get started.

But Ivy — why are they doing this? Isn’t this something that’s typically done when a business is ready to launch?

This landing page isn’t for your kid’s customers — it’s for your kid.

It will force them to articulate their core value proposition and identify their target audience in a way that’s fun and practical, not daunting and homework-like.

For example, say your kid wants to start a dog-walking service. 🐶 

Their landing page should explain what makes their service unique. Do they offer extra-long walks, pet-sitting, or training tips? 

They also need to think about their audience. Are they targeting busy professionals, elderly pet owners, or families?

Encourage them include the following elements on their landing page:

• A clear and catchy headline

• A brief description of their flagship product(s)

• Key benefits and unique selling points

• A design scheme that aligns with the people they want to sell to

This exercise will help them clarify their business idea early in the process.

Crafting a P&L 💰

What defines a business? 

In the most basic terms, a business needs to make money.

So before an idea gets too far along, it’s important to map out some basic “napkin math” to make sure that your kid’s idea is, actually, a business.

A basic P&L (or Profit & Loss) projection is the best way to do that.

Using Excel or Google Sheets, your kid can create a basic P&L to project their income and expenses.

Start with these three simple categories:

💰 Revenue: How much money will they make from their business? For our dog-walking example, this could be the price per walk multiplied by the number of walks per week.

💸 Operating Expenses: These are regular costs needed to run the business, such as advertising, website hosting, or supplies.

👍 Net Profit: This is the revenue minus the operating expenses. It shows if the business idea is profitable.

By laying out these figures, your kid can see whether their idea has the potential to be profitable. 

⭐ BONUS: This is a great way to teach them about budgeting and financial planning.

Pulling it all together

Once the landing page and P&L statement are ready, it's time to review. 

👉 Does the landing page clearly communicate the business idea and appeal to the target audience? 

👉 Does the P&L statement show a potential for profit?

Encourage your kid to think critically:

• Feedback: Share the landing page with friends and family to gather feedback.

• Adjustments: Revisit the P&L. Are there any costs they missed? Can they increase their revenue by tweaking their pricing or services?

There’s no “one size fits all” approach to launching a business, but I guarantee these two exercises will help your kid flesh out their idea. 👊