Have you ever noticed that tweens and teens have a natural inclination to suggest solutions to problems? It’s true. Not to mention their eyes light up at opportunities to earn money.
Latch onto their enthusiasm and teach them a real-world, “kidpreneur” money lesson by making them your event consultant at this year’s July 4th BBQ.
Click to read more about 7 things today’s kids really need to know about money.
Here’s the four-step, win-win solution that will have your kids begging to help you out.
Step 1: Invite Them With a Prestigious Title
Perhaps the most important step I encourage you to take in this process is to give your child a prestigious-sounding title (the snazzier the title, the more excited and invested they’ll be in the process).
Steal one of these:
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Party Creator/Designer/Artist
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Social Supervisor/Assistant/Apprentice
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BBQ Architect
Invite your child by handing them their new title and asking them to research what a party planner does. Explain that this will be a “paid” position, with details to come.
Learn: 7 Best Apps to Teach Your Kids About Money
Step 2: Come Up With Their Duties and a Rough Budget
Establish clearly defined expectations for your child, just as you would if you were working with an adult event coordinator.
Here are example tasks to hand over:
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Menu Creation: Creating a menu, downloading the recipes, cooking, etc.
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Guest Management: Invitation creation (use punchbowl.com or create a Facebook Event), keeping up with a headcount/RSVPs, etc.
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Location Management: Decorations, setup, tear-down, etc.
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Information-Gathering: Call around for rental prices, etc.
Come up with an estimated budget you’d like to give them to cover the costs involved, plus a small profit.
Take this number to your consultation meeting.
Food for Thought: How to Throw a Potluck for Under $100
Step 3: Sit Down for a Consultation/Price Negotiation
At this consultation, I encourage parents to deliver your expectations and the tasks your child will be responsible for. Then both parties should be involved in coming up with a price.
Negotiate a price using one of these methods:
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Adult-Dictated Costs, Plus a Profit: You could just give them a budget to work with, that includes a small profit.
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Kid-Negotiated Pay: Don’t be afraid to instead let them negotiate with you. Keep a figure in your mind for what the “market” rate is to pay your event planner (based on your child’s ability, your ability to pay and the duties you’ve handed over). That way, when they come in with a really low or really high price, you can explain your counteroffer.
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Pay a Commission From Discounted Goods: Or you could offer to pay them any money left over after purchasing their needs for the event (in other words, they’ll get paid to find discounts and substitutes while still covering your party needs).