Author: Anthony Delmedico
Contributing Writer/Editor: Angela Delmedico
Consulting Editor: Richard Callahan
Copy Editor: Claire Preston Huss
Book Design: Dina Barsky
Photography: Drew Crozier
Illustrations: Fuzzy Duck Design
Published in eBook format by:
Copyright © 2011 Del Visionaries, LLC.
Converted by eBookIt.com
All rights reserved.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
First Edition October 2010.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0612-1
Dedicated to my daughter, Bella Mia, and any kid with a dream.
This book is for kids to become whatever it is they desire and to create the world around them, not just live in it.
Thank you to all the kids from our early focus groups, especially those who proved to their parents that, yes, they could accomplish a goal statement exercise, start their own business and earn money on their own!
This book is dedicated to a new generation of kids, a new way of thinking, as we are entering a new age: The age of the Entrepreneur.
Carpe Diem.
INTRODUCTION
Letter to Kids
Hi, my name is Anthony, and I wrote this book. I wrote it for kids, and the reason why goes back to something that happened to me when I was about eight years old ...
A kid named Bobby lived down the street, and his parents had just bought him a brand-new mini-bike. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen! The first day he had it, all the neighborhood kids went to his house just to watch him ride it up and down the street. The way they crowded around him, telling him how great it was, you would have thought he was giving away free pizza and ice cream!
But me? I didn’t go to Bobby’s house that day — I sat in my driveway, wishing it was me who had that cool mini-bike and all the kids crowding around me. So I went to my mom and asked her if she’d buy one for me. But she was a single mom who worked hard to support herself and my two sisters and me. There wasn’t any extra money in our house.
My mom talked to me that day about how I’d have to save my allowance and the money I earned by doing chores, and wait until I’d saved enough to buy the mini-bike on my own.
But I knew I didn’t want to wait — I wanted that mini-bike right away!
Even though I was only around eight, and I didn’t know a thing about business, I decided that day I had to find a way to earn the money I needed. So over the next couple of weeks I thought and thought about how to reach my goal. I pictured myself riding that mini-bike, and tried to figure a way to get it.
Well, I started out with a lemonade-and-ice-cream stand on a busy corner in our neighborhood. It began making money, so over the next few months I tried some other kid-sized businesses — I sold snacks, flowers, holiday gift baskets and arts and crafts from that little neighborhood stand, earning more and more money.
Did I ever get that mini-bike? You bet I did!
If you’re reading this right now, chances are you’re the same kind of I kid was — smart, focused, and ready to succeed. I created The Little Green Money Machine interactive learning system so that you can make your dreams come true by earning your own money. You don’t need to depend on your parents for money to buy the things you want if you have the skills to do it yourself!
But before we get started, I’d like to answer three questions that kids have asked me about starting their own businesses.
Can I really make money on my own?
Yes!
Thousands of kids across the world are starting their own businesses, and the number of business owners under the age of 20 is amazing.
People who organize, manage, and take the risks of starting new businesses are called entrepreneurs (on-treh-preh-noorz), and there’s no minimum age to become one. This book will teach you how to become a young entrepreneur. It will give you the tools, examples and templates to start your first business and start earning your own money. You’ll also have a lot of fun doing it, and be able to bring your friends in on the action, too.
Where do I start? Which business do I choose?
The interactive chapters of this book will take you through the simple steps of starting your first business, including goal-setting, selecting a business, sales, marketing, and how to manage all the money you’ll be making. Many sections include fun worksheets that will help you get started and keep track of your new business. There are also several different business ideas that you can launch through our LGMM Business Stand.
The popular storefront stand (sold separately) allows you to apply what you learn from each chapter of the book directly to your business. You can also go to our website and create your own banners, flyers, signs, and business cards for your new business to use with the LGMM Business Stand.
Do I need money to start a business?
Most of the kid businesses we offer in this book require very little money to start. But every business does have some startup costs and needs some preparation. The book will explain the easiest, simplest and most cost-effective ways to get your new business rolling.
So let’s get started, have some fun, and make some money!
~ Anthony Delmedico
Letter to Parents, Educators, and Mentors
Hello, my name is Anthony Delmedico. As an entrepreneur and a father, I want to share some important information with you — information that will help our kids become more self-reliant, self-confident, and financially independent.
Most kids don’t know much about earning and saving money yet want
