Biz in a Boxx is a patent-pending, experiential business tool that teaches kids and teens the practical fundamentals of starting and running a business in the real world. It’s designed for independence, allowing each young entrepreneur to gain valuable skill sets like strategic planning, calculated risk taking, money management, creativity, decision making, accountability and more. Each age-appropriate workbook that comes with the kit becomes a working business plan with an explanation of the topics and a section to form their ideas and business structure. Biz in a Boxx doesn’t limit a kid’s ideas or creativity and any type of business they wish to form can be incorporated into the workbook.
Topics include everything from coming up with a business idea to structuring the entity and hiring personnel, pricing, target markets, marketing and advertising and customer service. They learn about supply and demand, needs and wants and how their product or service solves problems and makes people’s lives better.
Each kit comes with the age-appropriate workbook that includes an accounting ledger, calendar and investor contract. An executive padfolio with calculator and notepad, receipt book, executive pen and blank business cards are also included. Every Biz in a Boxx entrepreneur has free access to the Biz in a Boxx website where they can design their business cards and participate in the secure forums to share ideas and get extra support.
The idea for Biz in a Boxx came in April 2008 as a result of my own frustration with my then 12-year-old daughter who wasn’t doing well in school. We were at odds with one another over her school work and the fact that she was failing to turn her homework in on time. No matter how I tried to talk to her about it, my words just fell upon deaf ears.
My goal is to get her through college, but what if school isn’t her thing? Not only do I have to teach her how to be accountable, but I also need to prepare her for the reality of the real world.
At the time I was creating a series of marketing exercises that I was presenting to some local small business owners on a weekly basis. The format I created for the exercises worked really well and I was able to take a specific topic and allow each professional to customize a marketing strategy that fit their particular business.
Then it hit me. What if I could use the same format I was using for my marketing exercises and create a product that would teach my daughter how to start and run her own business? If she could have something that was completely her own and not a micro-managed activity, then perhaps she would learn to become more accountable. That developed skill set she gained from running a business would then transfer over to her school work. As an added benefit, entrepreneurship would open up a whole new avenue for her and broaden her future opportunities.
I had no idea whether I could pull it off at first, let alone create a product that was conducive for the marketplace until I saw what it did for my daughter and the other kids who tried it. My daughter ended up forming three businesses over a year and a half. She makes her own money and her own decisions. She even opted to foot the entire bill for her 14th birthday party. Best of all, she’s made the honor roll at school ever since.
After I created the first workbook, I spent a year developing the other ones and getting the pieces needed to make it a complete package. What I learned along the way was how important it is to teach kids how to earn a living and to practice business skill sets in the same way they practice math, science, language and other school courses. The difference is that they aren’t being taught business acumen in school and yet they need the knowledge as adults whether they become employees or employers. The need for entrepreneurship education also spills over to the community. The US Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, estimates that 17 million jobs need to be created over the next decade to make up for the ones currently lost and the jobs needed due to population growth. And jobs are created through the development of small businesses, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Inventor: Melissa Rose
I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, but they didn’t necessarily teach me about entrepreneurship. What I got from them was a sense that I could create anything I wanted if I put the effort into it.
I started my first legal entity, a marketing company, at the age of 20 while in college where I created marketing collateral for some small businesses. I had no idea what to do with my business and after graduating college I got a job writing marketing plans for a healthcare consulting firm. That stint lasted about two years when I eventually landed a long-term client with my marketing company. I remained self-employed for the next 18 years.
I earned my BA in Journalism from the University of Arizona in 1991 and my MBA in 2003. I remain active in my community where I’m a member of the Scottsdale Workforce Development Committee and STEM committee and I help run a UA alumni chapter and business development group. I serve as an Ambassador to the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce and am an elected precinct committeeman.
While writing the first workbook for my daughter and her friends, I spent time observing what they were interested in and what their attention spans could hold. One topic the books cover is hiring personnel and the benefits of doing so. The girls learned that if they hired someone, they didn’t have to pay them the entire amount that they were charging their customer. For example, if the service charged was $10 and the girl’s employee completed the job, they could opt to pay the employee less than the $10. It was a concept the girls really liked.
One of the girls, Shelby, who is inquisitive but conservative, approached me about a half hour after they learned this lesson. Shelby said, “Ms. Melissa, this thing about paying our employee less than what we charge the customer, is it legal?” When I told her that it was, she ran to the other girls yelling, “it’s legal.” Immediately, they got on the phone and within an hour they hired four employees and worked out the commission scale.
Lou Renarde says:
Jan 20, 2010 at 3:04 pm
What a great product! I went to www.bizinaboxx.com and bought one for my 11-year old. She now is running her own business and has developed more confidence and seems to be handling her earned money quite sensibly. Nice to have a young entrepreneur in the … more house.
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Blanche says:
Jan 16, 2010 at 11:39 pm
This is a great product. My grand daughter has it and its amazing what she has learned and how her confidence and self esteem have improved.
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Carmelyn Calvert says:
Jan 16, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I'm not a kid or a teen. But I think this is a great teaching tool for anyone without business experience. I think this product would be purchased by self-employed parents wanting to teach their offspring about how to run the family owned business.
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Brett says:
Jan 15, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Girls & Boys having fun while learning something!! Fantastic, step by step guide they can read and do without parents. Skills that last a life time,every kid will improve in a lot of areas, math, speaking and responsibility, to name a few.
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Thomas says:
Jan 15, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Who would buy this ...
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