school business plan ideas

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The Best 36 Business Ideas for Students on a Budget 2024

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When you are a high school or college student, you generally have huge batches of free time. There's no better way to spend them than becoming a student entrepreneur...

In the past decade, the world has seen many incredible businesses being started by college students (Facebook, just to name one).

Is it Possible to Start a Business While Being a Student?

The internet has removed many barriers that once prevented students from starting businesses. These days, there are no legal, financial, or knowledge restrictions holding you back from launching a side hustle while in school.

School and university demand many of your hours, but if you stay organized and make the best use of your hours, you will find time to both study and run your startup.

Best 36 Business Ideas for Students

1) sell used books.

Difficulty : Low

Investment : Low

Description : You finished your academic year, congratulations! Now check your desk… you have a pile of used books, right? In many cases, they end up in your house’s trash bins. However, there’s something better to do with them: sell them to younger students at a cheaper price than what a new copy is.

You'll probably, at least, make enough money to purchase the books needed for your next semester. The best of this idea is that it doesn’t require either any investment or much time.

Resources : Here’s an article on the 6 best places to re-sell old books and some tips on how to do it.

2) Flip Websites

Difficulty : Medium

Investment : High

Description : You buy websites that are exiting for a low price, grow them in 6 months to 2 years, and sell them at a much higher price for a profit. There are people who work full-time on this and make millions per year with their sites.

The key here is to buy a high-quality website at a low price. There’s a ton of information on what you should consider and check when doing it. At the same time, there are all kinds of free digital marketing courses that you will find useful if growing one of these websites.

Resources : Flippa , Empire Flippers, and Micro Acquire are three website marketplaces. Besides that, you should check out this article on how to find, evaluate and buy websites , as well as this review we've written about Micro Acquisitions course , which goes all about buying, growing, and selling sites.

3) Re-Selling

Investment : Medium

Description : There’s an ethical unresolved issue around re-selling sneakers, tickets, or whatever, but I’ve personally seen many people make loads of money buying items at a low price and selling them at a higher one. Re-selling works best with limited items (such as the mentioned tickets and some exclusive sneakers), as those who haven’t been able to purchase them are willing to pay more than their original price to have them once the item is out of stock.

The key when re-selling is understanding the market and anticipating which items will people be more willing to pay for once they run out. Note that it can be pretty risky; I know of a guy who bought 10 tickets for a concert and couldn’t re-sell them. He ended up inviting all of his friends for free with a huge loss.

Resources : This is a really inspirational article on how to re-sell sneakers and make a profit.

4) Writing Services

Description : Start a website that offers all kinds of writing services to students or businesses. It could be anything from sales & marketing copy, SEO content, essay writing, academic papers, or even simple proofreading.

There are already many trustworthy services online, and before starting out your own writing service, it is a good idea to work as a professional essay writer for a top website. After you have gained some valuable experience doing this, you can move on to creating your own essay-writing service. You could charge per hour or project.

+1 if the website invites other fellow students to offer such writing services and you charge a fee ;)

Resources : This article will help you decide whether you should or should not start freelance writing. If yes, make sure to check this one, which teaches you how to do it.

5) Play Cupid

Description : Set up a website or an app, exclusively for your college campus or local area, to let the singles meet. This will be much appreciated by the community and, with a small fee, the app could kick-off and be the Tinder of your campus or neighbourhood.

The app could, instead, be focused around networking. People could use it to meet other people and make new friends.

Alternatively, the app could also be focused around professional networking.

Resources : This Bubble template is a great and cheap point to start a dating app.

6) Motivational Apps

Difficulty : Hard

Investment : Medium 

Description : Motivational apps have a broad scope range. They could be for anything from academics to mental health.

Consider academics. The app could show events, seminars, or lectures and let the user log the attendance to these, getting award points in exchange. Such apps encourage improved productivity among students in a positive and fun way.

These rewards could be in the form of vouchers, coupons, or deals for any local service. For the sponsors, this would be a worthwhile advertisement option among the clientele too.

Similar apps could be designed for fitness, gym attendance, and other activities too.

The easiest way to monetize such an idea would be through ads.

Resources : There are many tools out there to build apps cheaply and fastly (even without coding). Check our Tools page .

7) Babysitting

Description : There will always be demand for babysitters and nannies. With both parents working and maternity and paternity leave shrinking in length, the market for this is only widening. If you have a knack with babies and have a pleasing personality, you are already good to go.

Resources : Here is a detailed article on how to properly set up your babysitting business and make the most of it.

8) Babysitting Network

‍ Difficulty : Medium

Description : You can create a sort of marketplace for babysitting. Other prospective babysitters could sign up for it and offer their babysitting services. Parents could select between the available babysitters and hire them through the platform. You could keep a commission.

Even if you are not able to do the babysitting job due to lack of time, you'll still make a commission from fellow babysitters who have signed up for the program.

Resources : Here is a long article on how to build and grow a nanny app.

9) Pet Sitting

Description : What’s better than babysitting? Pet sitting! Who doesn’t want to spend the whole day playing with dogs? There are busy workers and families taking holidays who need someone to take care of their loved pets.

There are two main ways to face this business idea. The most common one is to take pets for a one/two-hour walk every day/every two days. The second one would be to take care of pets of people taking holidays, for one to four weeks.

Resources : The Balance Careers has a huge series of resources for pet sitters.

10) Local Reviewer

Description : Every time we want to buy a product, the first thing we do is to look online for product reviews. Sure enough, all big cities have their own dedicated websites for such reviews from multiple sources. But what about small places or even campuses? There’s a huge opportunity there.

Start a website that reviews the local accommodations. You can make this exclusive for the campus itself or other accommodations in the area that students could rent out. This would work as a credible source rather than just word of mouth. There could also be options added to include listings and discussion forums. You can monetize this through advertising.

Resources : WPBeginner has a long article on how to build a review site using WordPress, which would probably be the cheapest and fastest way to do it.

11) Swap Website

Description : Swap websites are used to swap, sell, and borrow goods and services. For example, if a person needs something but only for a single use, it is best to rent it out rather than buy one.

On campus, there is more than one person who is willing to do that, but it is lacking a way to find that person. Such a website would simplify this while enabling people to save a few bucks.

Call it a new age barter system; especially on campus, there would be a lot of demand for this. Start this locally and then expand it later. There are loads to borrow and exchange from academic services, bikes, books, and even clothes. You can monetize it through advertising.

Resources : Here’s a list of 36 bartering and swapping websites to get some inspiration. We’ve also interviewed the founder of a shutdown swapping site who shared all the mistakes he made throughout his journey.

There are loads to borrow and exchange from academic services, bikes, books, and even clothes. You can monetize it through advertising.

12) Design Services

Description : All kinds of businesses have design tasks. So, you can create a site that offers different types of design services, such as logos, flyers, packaging, or even websites, and niche down to local businesses or even other students starting their own startups. This is a great startup idea for students and you could charge per hour or per project.

When you are a student, it can be hard to get businesses to trust you. There are many ways to achieve it, such as showing them previous high-quality work, offering one free project, and connecting them with your previous clients.

Resources : You may be asking how to build a portfolio if you’re just starting and have never had clients, right? Here’s a tool that generates fake client briefs for you to design and showcase in your site.

13) Digital Marketing Services

‍ Difficulty : Hard

Description : Digital marketing has grown a lot in the last decade, with the emergence of eCommerce and online businesses. The businesses that don’t digitalize themself and ignore working on their internet profile and presence are missing a huge percentage of clients.

There probably are many local businesses looking for help on their digital marketing strategies. You can reach their owners and provide them with a free consultation to show you know about the subject. You could help them with local SEO , social media management , and Google Ads / Facebook Ads campaigns, among other strategies.

Resources : Make sure to check out Acadium , a tool connecting businesses looking for digital marketing work to be done, and students who are willing to learn and do that work. They provide great free digital marketing courses on different topics.

14) Development Services

Description : Having a website is a must for any kind of business, and most local ones tend not to have one. There’s a huge opportunity there.

Learning to code is super accessible for everyone. There are thousands of free development courses, books, articles, and videos, so “I don’t know how to code” is definitely no longer an excuse. And if you don’t want to learn, you can even build a website without coding. This site was built with Webflow , a powerful visual web design tool.

Resources : Google “free web development course” and you will get 3.2B results… I think that’s enough ;) You should also check this complete guide on web development freelancing.

15) Cleaning Services

Description : Publish an online ad offering cleaning services in your neighborhood. Do a great cleaning job and build trust with your clients. Ask your clients for a referral and you will soon be cleaning the houses of all your neighbors.

That’s actually what Kisten Hadeed did and the origins of Student Maid, a really successful cleaning company in Florida. You can charge per hour and keep initial investment really low by asking clients to supply you with the needed equipment. 

Resources : This article from Entrepreneur.com teaches how to get started in this industry.

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16) Pool Cleaning Services

Description : Cleaning pools is an alternative to the already mentioned cleaning neighbor’s houses business idea. It’s definitely not as easy, as it requires to be educated on what you’re doing. You might even need legal permissions to work on it, depending on where you are based. On the side, it requires some investment in equipment and products to be able to carry out the job.

Both the difficulty and investment issues come with a big chance of making great money. You can easily get paid $40-60/hour. Note that the business would mainly run during the summer seasons.

Resources : This article provides detailed information on how to set up and grow a pool cleaning business.

17) Moving Service

Description : Both neighbors and students need moving services eventually, whether it's because the academic year has finished and the student is moving back to their homes, or because a neighbor has rented a new house. You can make money (at least $200/moving) if you find it easy to pack items and move boxes.

Resources : Here’s a long article on how to start a moving company, some tips for growing it, and the recommended price you might want to charge.

18) Transcription Services

‍ Difficulty : Low

Description : Transcription services are needed in all kinds of fields, such as law, medicine, and businesses. It also doesn’t require either fixed hours or many skills. On the side, there are many forms of transcription, including video podcasts and recorded lectures, so you will probably be able to select the niche that interests you.

No formal training is needed in order to be able to do transcription services. Good listening abilities, great knowledge of English grammar rules, and fast typing skills would be a perfect combination to get high-quality work done fast.

Resources : Here’s a motivational story on how Benjamin Walker grew a transcription business to +$1M/year.

19) Translation Services

‍ Difficulty : High

Description : Offering translation services isn’t as easy as offering transcription ones. You will need to be bilingual in both languages and know the grammar rules of the two of them. Businesses may not be really willing to offer advanced translation work to students, but they might be if it is basic and unimportant translations.

You could start by translating lectures, books, and articles for professors. There’s a ton of high-quality content in other languages - professors might want to share it with their students but they can’t as it isn’t in the student’s native language. That’s where you can help and charge per word translated.

Resources : Here’s a whole content site dedicated to the business of translation.

20) Photography Services

Description : If you love taking photographs, you can take your hobby and talent into a photography freelancing business. Both students and local businesses may need your services whether because they want to update their Tinder profiles or because they are looking to promote their recently-launched products.

In the beginning, you can start offering all kinds of services, but as you grow the business, you will probably realize there’s a ton of competition and you will need to niche and focus on one segment or one specific photography service in order to be different than the rest.

The biggest issue for this kind of business is the cost of the photography equipment, which, if you’re moving from one place to another, can break and make it even more expensive.

Resources : Make sure to check this guide from Bplans on how to start a successful photography business.

21) Photography Portfolios

Description : Good photography skills need to be appreciated before they get lost in that Instagram page. Any campus will have a few fellows with exceptional skills in photography and videography. It would be easy to make a database of students who are interested in and create a platform to sell their work to others.

The platform could charge a fee to either the photographer or the customer. On the side, it could also work hand in hand with a photography club giving more chances and connections to both sellers and buyers by offering more exposure.

Resources : Here’s a no-code template to build such an app.

22) Food Delivery Services

Description : Create a platform to deliver quick eatables, like sandwiches and smoothies, made by local businesses. Start by targeting firms with employees in younger age groups, who often go out to grab a meal during lunch breaks. This is a gold mine, with food deliveries for simple items that don't break their wallet, the business would be exponential. With options to schedule deliveries made earlier to arrive at lunchtime, this could actually be a problem solver for the firms.

Take a step further and make these homemade too. This way, it is not necessary to rely on multiple third-party services. The food will be authentic, tasty, and have a personal touch to the service.

Resources : Steven Long was the founder of Chowdy, a Toronto-based food delivery startup making $110k/month which had to shut down due to some legal issues. Ali Jiwani is the founder of MealSurfers, a Canadian food startup that made an exit when it was making $7k/month. Make sure to check those two stories and learn from both the wins and mistakes of each.

23) Deliver Food Hampers

Description : How often have you thought about that mac and cheese your mom makes so deliciously. Or even wondered when you are finally going to eat something healthy?

Well, the lack of time or will to go to a grocery store and cook something is in the least probable category. And the parents are well aware of this too. So design an app where parents can make such orders for kids that would be delivered to them. 

This will have the personal touch and love of a package coming from home itself. You could monetize it by taking a shipping fee.

Resources : Entrepreneur.com has a complete article about food hamper businesses. You should check it out!

24) Blogging

Description : Is there anything you really enjoy talking about? Are your friends tired of listening to you talk about it? Then start a blog about that topic, build an audience, and monetize it through ads and premium content.

 The startup costs of building a blog are super low nowadays (with a domain and hosting would be enough, so less than $50/year) and the information to grow such a site is free all over the internet.

When we started this site, we had 0 knowledge of how to grow it. Nowadays, it receives +150k users every month from all over the world. Note that it took us 3 years to build such an audience. Consistency is key when blogging.

Resources : GrowandConvert is a content marketing agency that has an amazing blog related to creating and publishing content on the internet. Backlinko is another blog that publishes content-related articles, particularly about the search engine optimization of these. 

25) Video Classes

Description : Visual media often makes things easier. That is precisely the reason why we are all so hooked up on Youtube, without having a clue why we are watching a cat playing piano at 3 am. The thought is simple, won’t lectures be so easy to understand with such visuals? With a creative mind and some graphic design skills, it could be put to use for this.

The idea is to make a visual representation of any lectures and offer them to tutors and students. It would make studying so much better and more straightforward. You could monetize it by pricing every video or through a monthly subscription.

Resources : Here’s a great guide on how to make videos look professional without investing much money.

26) Class Notes

Description : We all know those students who are pretty lazy to actually take notes or those others who tend to miss classes under any kind of excuse, right? Those students would be your niche market if you set up a class note business.

There are some people who are really great at taking lecture notes, being able to summarize the information in a nice-looking and concise way. If you are that kind of person, you should consider re-selling your notes to other students. You could sell them independently per class or in packages of all the notes related to one exam or to one semester.

Resources : Make sure to check this well-known book , in which Sönke Ahrens shares his unique technique to take smart notes that are easy to study and learn from.

Description : Where there are students, there are tutors. If you stand out in one subject, you can probably teach it to someone else who struggles to understand it. A common trouble-maker subject is Maths, but note that there are many math tutors as well.

Schools and professors tend to be helpful with students starting their tutor businesses. Some schools even have a database of tutor students, so make sure to check if there is one in your school. The monetization model would be per hour; you can charge anything between $10-$100, depending on the subject, the concepts taught (how advanced they are), etc.

Resources : This article is super inspiring for anyone starting a tutoring business. The writer shares how he is making $1,000/week as well as lots of recommendations and mistakes you should avoid.

28) Organize Trips

Description : It is a known fact that most of the group plans for a trip but never happens. The WhatsApp groups have seen hundreds of failed plans. It is the time that someone takes responsibility and get things done.

Organize trips to various destinations which could be for events, festivals, or even just weekend trips. You can charge a commission or a fixed amount for an all-inclusive deal.

Resources : Here’s a detailed guide from Bplans on how to start a travel agency.

29) Event Organizer

Description : Lots of students enjoy parties and socializing, so why not capitalize on it? Everyone is willing to spend $10, $30, or even much more on a great party. These can take all forms and shapes, from organizing a small meetup at a nightclub to running Project X 2.

What will you need? Excellent communication skills to convince everyone they can’t miss such a party (social media is a MUST to promote it!) and advanced organization abilities to make sure everything is in the right place at the right time.

Resources : Here’s a long article from Capterra explaining how to turn those small parties/events you have maybe carried out in the past, into a profitable business.

30) Campus Newsletter

Description : This is quite a unique business idea for students. If your campus doesn't have a newsletter already, it is time to start one. The source of money from this could come from advertisements from local businesses or even other student startups.

The newsletter could be sent as emails rather than printed versions or both. As a third party, a student can even make a deal with the college to create brand awareness among potential students using the letter. It could be used for promotional purposes, branding, and lead generations outside the campus too.

Resources : Here’s an article on 7 tips to create a school newsletter.

31) Campus Podcast

Description : Instead of a campus newsletter, you could do a podcast. It could be an interview podcast, talking with students and professors, or more like a solo podcast, talking about the news, events, and things going on in the campus.

The equipment needed is pretty cheap, with the possibility of recording even with your phone. As for monetization, it could be done through sponsorships from local businesses or premium content for those who love the podcast.

I haven’t personally seen this on many campuses, which makes me think this is one of the most innovative and unique business ideas for students on the list.

Resources : Here’s an article on the 5 steps required to start a school podcast.

32) Language Course

Description : Do you excel in any language? Do you enjoy teaching other people? Then you should set up a Skype language course and sell classes to people from anywhere in the world while staying in your home. You could easily charge $20-$60/hour and work part-time on it.

Growing your client base is all about building an online presence and getting referrals from your existing customers. In the beginning, you could boost your initial customers by providing them with a free 1-hour call.

Resources : Here’s a long guide for beginners on how to make $30/hour teaching languages and 6 places to get your first clients.

33) Bookkeeping

Description : You don’t need to have a finance degree in order to be able to manage a local business’s bookkeeping records. An online course or even just some Youtube videos would be more than enough to start with. As all businesses require such work to be done, you probably won’t have big issues finding your first customers.

The initial investment costs are super low, as you can ask the business owner to supply you with the needed tools. As for monetization, most bookkeepers charge per hour and the amount depends on the complexity of the tasks ($30-$100 or more).

Resources : Here’s a detailed video on how to start a bookkeeping business in 2021.

34) Jewelry Business

Description : This is a great startup idea for students because jewelry making isn’t as hard as it sounds. You can easily learn about it through online courses and Youtube tutorials. You will then need to practice a lot until you start getting great results. Profit margins can be really high when you achieve a nice looking product.

There’s a ton of competition in the jewelry space so you will have to identify a niche. Social media (particularly influencers) are among the most usual strategies carried out by this kind of businesses.

Resources : Shopify has a detailed guide on how to start such businesses. Besides that, a few years ago we interviewed , on this site, the founder of a jewelry business that shut down and then emerged again with a new business model just to start making +10k/month.

35) Baking Business

Description : Selling cakes, cookies, bread or other baked goods can be another startup business idea for students. You can easily post an online ad or some leaflets around your campus. Make a client happy, and you will have 3 new ones. The food industry works a lot with word of mouth.

There are two main ways to monetize this. The first would be to prepare the goods based on requests from customers. The second could be to produce 100 cookies, rent a bike, and wander around the campus and neighborhood looking for hungry people. The chosen price for the cookies would be cheaper than if it’s a requested job.

Resources : Here’s a detailed article on how to set up and grow such a business. You should also watch this video from the founder of a “late-night cookie delivery service” in his college city.

36) Youtuber

Description : Becoming a YouTuber looks like a easy and lucrative career. Many see it as a great business plan idea for students because you make videos on a niche that you enjoy and then make money off them through ads and sponsorships. But the reality is that becoming a well-known YouTuber is not an easy feat. 

Behind every famous one, there is a long, painful journey of hard work. Start by creating content and keep iterating from there with the help of your audience. It won't be an overnight success, but if you keep going for some time, you'll see amazing results.

Resources : Here’s an article about a checklist to become a successful Youtuber.

How Can a Student Start a Business?

Or in other words, how do you become a student entrepreneur?

The list of business plan ideas for college students mentioned above is nonsense if you don’t now take action toward the chosen business.

If you are a Business student, you probably have an idea of what are the steps that involve setting up and launching a business. However, all kinds of students read this article, so here are some common steps that entrepreneurs carry out:

1) Decide on the idea

All of the business ideas for college students on the list are really interesting ways of making money, but you definitely can’t work on them all.

To decide which to focus on, make sure to think about what you enjoy doing in your free time, what you excel in, and what would you be willing to keep doing even if it doesn’t bring money (or it means negative numbers). We have compiled a list of both online business ideas and offline business ideas so you can pick the one that best suit your needs and skills. We hope we came up with some innovative startup business ideas for students that you would have never imagined.

Make sure to also consider your initial investment. Some featured in the list are business ideas for college students without investment or little resources, while some others will require a few hundred or thousands to start.

Note that some of the above are business ideas for students in university (or would work better with them) and others are business ideas for students in school (those that don’t require much money and getting physically involved).

2) Decide on a niche

Nowadays, there are businesses of all sizes and shapes. Building one has become so easy that the internet is full of websites, millions of videos are uploaded to Youtube every second, and thousands of LLCs are formed every day.

This means that there’s a lot of competition in any industry. The best solution for students who don’t have enough resources to invest in research and development and build a unique product or don’t have the capital required to set up a huge factory and win over competitors through economies of scale (= low pricing), is to focus on a niche.

A common niche could be to geographically limit the business so that you just focus on people within your neighborhood or your college campus. Another could be to focus on people with certain interests and likes.

3) Choose a name and a brand style

Here’s a detailed article on how to choose a name for your startup. The key is to brainstorm many, evaluate each option, and ask for feedback from your partners.

As for branding, here’s another article on how to build the brand of a business. There are free tools to do it. Don’t spend much money/time on it, at least at the beginning.

4) Launch the business

It’s now time to push the LIVE button for your business.

This needs to happen as fast as possible so that you quickly validate whether it is worth it to keep pushing towards that business idea or it’s better to move to a new one from the above list of entrepreneurship ideas for students.

There’s a common issue entrepreneurs face when launching new startups that’s called “ paralysis by analysis ”. They keep improving the product, adding features, changing the design, etc, and spend months and months without launching it.

This is exactly what you need to avoid, especially if this is your first business. 90% of startups fail (I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this), so you need to launch fast, validate early, and move to another business if it didn’t work.

5) Market your business

You pushed the LIVE button and you didn't get any sales, right?

The “build it and they will come” phrase is a completely unreal myth . It will take you blood, sweat, and tears to get your first clients.

Do some advertising, go outside your home and deliver leaflets (there actually are some unique business ideas for students at home above, in case you’re too lazy), knock on your neighbor’s doors, send cold messages to potential customers that you found on Facebook groups, etc.

6) Make sure your customer is happy

Many of the college business ideas tend to market themselves by word of mouth and referrals. That is why it’s essential to make sure that each of your clients is happy with the results.

Interact with your customers, ask them what they think you could do better next time, provide them with a discount if any parts of the job were done incorrectly… there are so many ways to make your client happy, even if the price of the service is high or the quality of the work wasn’t the best.

If the business is going well, you will soon find yourself with many tasks under your belt and little time to work on them, along with studies and extracurricular activities.

That’s when you might start considering hiring your first employee. In order to avoid the risks of going into negative numbers during a bad month, you can work on a commission-based wage.

In this stage, the selection of new team members is essential. Remember that word of mouth can be a key way of promotion and marketing. If you hire someone who has zero knowledge of the tasks they are required for, delivers low-quality work, or mistreats clients, you will soon find yourself ceasing operations.

Now It’s Your Turn!

There is no direct and simple answer to the question of how to start a business in college.

As smooth as the above startup ideas for students may sound, they will all inevitably require a lot of dedication and perseverance.

There is an abundance of resources at your fingertips, from valuable classes to school technologies, and access to professors. So make use of them in the best way possible, and if the idea still doesn’t seem feasible, lay the groundwork for it.

You would be getting practical knowledge and work experience before finishing the course. Even if it fails. Remember that college is the time to blossom and experiment, and it is only the beginning of your life journey.

If you have any questions, have other small business ideas for students you think we’re missing, or want us to help you with your new startup, make sure to reach us at [email protected] !

Which Business is Best For Students?

Here are some of the best businesses: flip websites, re-sell sneakers or tickets, baby or pet sitting, deliver writing, design or development services, start a blog, sell your class notes, become a tutor, organize others’ trips, organize parties, and create a campus newsletter or podcast.

What Kind Of Business Can a Student Start?

Students can start all kinds of businesses, but it’s really common that they start a service-based one, such as house cleaning, pool cleaning, food delivery, content writing, content transcription, graphic design, and website development, among others.

First, decide your business idea and choose the segment of the market that you’ll be serving. Then, choose a business name and design your business’ brand. Once it is launched, market your business in your neighborhood or campus. Finally, hire employees and scale it!

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School Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

School Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your school business plan.

We have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their schools.

Sample Private School Business Plan

Below is a school business plan template to help you create each section of your own education business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Southside Academy, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a private school that has been providing quality education to the community’s school children since 2017. Southside Academy teaches elementary, middle school, and high school students in a wide range of subjects including mathematics, science, and history. We aim to provide a welcoming and inviting environment where every student can reach their highest potential.

We promote academic, artistic, and athletic excellence in a close-knit learning environment, with a challenging curriculum that cultivates intellectual curiosity. Furthermore, we offer a low teacher-to-child ratio, where teachers can build close connections with their students as they help them excel. We develop confident, continual learners by establishing behavioral supports and the social culture needed for students to achieve social, emotional, and academic success.

Service Offering

Southside Academy offers a premium private education at an affordable tuition fee. We provide a challenging education where students can explore their true potential and a safe space where they can freely discover and express themselves. Our students range from 1st grade to 12th grade and we teach a wide variety of subjects including:

• Basic Mathematics
• Physical Education

Customer Focus

Southside Academy primarily serves families within a 5-mile radius of the school’s location. The area is home to thousands of middle and upper-class families looking for high-quality education for their children. Before the school was built, the area was underserved and many children had to travel far to attend quality private schools.

Management Team

Southside Academy’s founder is Mike Brown who has been working as a teacher for more than 20 years. Mike has taught at several public schools in the region but saw a great demand for private education. He noticed that the current location of the school was underserved and set out to create a school to serve this population. Mike Brown has successfully led Southside Academy as its principal since the school’s inception and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Mike Brown is supported by a team that has experience teaching students, managing finances, and running businesses. Specifically, our team has solid experience in being effective teachers, connecting to different types of students, and achieving key goals.

Success Factors

Southside Academy is able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Location: Southside Academy’s location is near the center of town, giving members of our community easy access for parents and their children.
• Passionate and Skillful Teachers: Southside Academy hires teachers with strong academic backgrounds who are skillful in handling all types of children.
• Low teacher-to-student ratio: We provide a low teacher-to-student ratio so that every student gets personal attention from teachers to reach their highest potential.
• Affordable, quality education: Most of the schools in the area offer their services at a very expensive price. Our fees will be moderately low so that good education is accessible to all families.

Financial Highlights

Southside Academy is currently seeking additional donations of $600,000 in order to fulfill our mission. The breakdown of the funding may be seen below:

• Salaries: $200,000
• School Materials (books, toys, desks, chairs, etc): $180,000
• Administrative Expenses: $120,000 to pay for lease costs, ongoing operational expenses, and marketing.
• Working capital: $100,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Southside Academy.

Company Overview

Who is southside academy, southside academy’s history.

Southside Academy started as an idea from a group of school teachers, including Mike Brown. The teachers were university pals who are passionate about teaching and children. They have seen the gaps in education in St. Paul, Minnesota, and wanted to create a school that elevates the academic environment for the children of this area.

Their plans to build a school started in 2015, but it was only until April 2016 that they finally completed all the paperwork and met the legal requirements. Since then, Southside Academy has achieved the following milestones:

• Found a location and built the school
• Developed the school’s name, logo, and website
• Determined curriculum
• Hired teachers and other key employees

Southside Academy’s Services

Industry analysis.

Education is an essential foundation for a thriving society. It’s more important than ever before that every child has access to affordable, high-quality education. While public schools are an essential option for many low-income families, the education provided by private schools often results in higher test scores and more students moving on to top-tier universities.

The private school industry has experienced steady growth in the past five years. The key industry drivers are economic growth, the rise in numbers of K-12 students, an increase in the number of families with both parents working, and government initiatives to support education.

According to Polaris Market Research, this growth is expected to continue with a forecasted compound annual growth rate of 6.6% from now until 2030. This shows that Southside Academy has great potential to keep growing and expanding. We will have ample opportunities to grow our curriculum and offer services to students that help them reach their highest potential.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Southside Academy serves the families and children of St. Paul, Minnesota. The area is mostly populated by young couples and new families that have disposable income and can pay a premium for their children’s education.

The precise demographics of the town in which our location resides are as follows:

Customer Segmentation

We primarily target the following three customer segments:

• Young children
• Young couples

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Southside Academy faces competition from other schools with similar profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.  

Waters Independent School

Founded in 1968, Waters Independent School is a non-profit and tax-exempt independent school system. The school is governed by an independent Board of Trustees and offers preschool through eighth-grade programs. WIS is accredited by the state’s Council of Independent Schools (FCIS).

Waters Independent School has small class sizes with low student-to-teacher ratios. Further, WIS’ Programs include a strong academic foundation coupled with programs in the arts, physical education, media/technology, foreign language, and extracurricular areas.  

Hill Preparatory School

Founded in 1923, Hill Preparatory School is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school. It offers PK-12 programs in a safe, student-centered environment. HPS supports its students through the challenges of the school year with one-on-one attention from dedicated faculty, robust services like The Learning Center and the College Center, and the most advanced educational technology. The campus spans 28 acres and has a new 60,000+ square foot facility.  

Future Leaders Preparatory School

Founded in 1968, Future Leaders Prep is a private school for PreK3-8th grade. FLPS offers preschool, elementary school, and middle school programs and offers the International Baccalaureate program of study for all students. Teachers are endorsed in gifted education through a master’s level grant with [local University]’s College of Education Gifted Program. In addition to the school, Future Leaders offers community programs such as music, dance, art, and theater lessons through the Community School of the Arts, youth sports in the Community School for Sports, and the 7-week summer camp.

Competitive Advantage

There are many schools in St. Paul, Minnesota but none of them provides the same quality of education that Southside Academy provides, specifically the following:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

The Southside Academy brand will focus on the school’s unique value proposition:

• Providing premium education at an affordable price
• Providing a supportive and challenging place for children to learn
• Giving parents the assurance that their children will reach their full potential

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Southside Academy is as follows:

Social Media

Southside Academy will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The school will utilize social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Publications

The school will place print advertisements in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and business newsletters. Additionally, Southside Academy will print brochures and place them in specific locations frequented by target individuals.

Website/SEO

Southside Academy will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the features and benefits of Southside Academy. It will also invest heavily in SEO so that the school’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Direct Mail

Southside Academy will blanket neighborhoods with direct mail pieces. These pieces will provide general information on Southside Academy and incentives to enroll.

Southside Academy prices its tuition at a moderate price so our students and their families feel they are getting great value when choosing our school.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Southside Academy.

Operation Functions:

• Mike Brown is the school Principal. He manages the teachers, directs the direction of education, and serves as the head of the school.
• Mike is joined by Amanda Johnson who acts as the Administrative Assistant for the school. She helps Mike with the operations of the school as well as the marketing and administrative functions.
• Mike has hired an extensive team of highly qualified educators. Together, they teach dozens of subjects, including biology, chemistry, social studies, and mathematics. Every teacher that works for Southside Academy is passionate about education and pushing their students to reach their highest potential.

Milestones:

Southside Academy expects to achieve the following milestones in the following six months:

• 3/202X Kickoff of promotional campaign to attract new students
• 4/202X Start donation campaign
• 5/202X Hire new teachers for the upcoming year
• 6/202X Achieve donation/funding goal
• 7/202X Finalize list of incoming students for next year
• 8/202X Start next school year

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

Southside Academy’s revenues come from student tuition fees and donations from both individuals and corporations.

The major costs for the company will be staffing, marketing expenses, location maintenance, equipment, and materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Southside Academy is currently seeking additional fundraising and capital of $600,000 in order to fulfill our mission. The breakdown of the funding may be seen below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan.

• Year 1: 200
• Year 2: 300
• Year 3: 400
• Year 4: 500
• Year 5: 600
• Tuition rate per year: $10,000

Financial Statements

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, school business plan faqs, what is a school business plan.

A school business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your school business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your School business plan using our School Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of School Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of school businesses, some examples include: private K-12 school, charter school, virtual schools, independent schools, primary school, secondary education, or preschool.

How Do You Get Funding for Your School Business Plan?

School businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a School Business?

Starting a school business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A School Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed school business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your school business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your school business is in compliance with local laws.

3, Register Your School Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your school business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your school business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary School Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your school business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your school business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful school business:

• How to Start a School

Other Helpful Business Plan Templates

Nonprofit Business Plan Template

• New Hamphshire
• Add Your School
• Start a Private School
• Free Resources
• Articles & Resources

Business Plan & Budget

Documenting your vision.

A business plan is an essential part of the planning process, helping identify goals and metrics and your plan to achieve them.

• Starting with your objectives
• Business plan vs. a budget
• Business plan types
• Creating your business plan
• Creating your budget

Planning for Your New School

Your business plan and budget are important tools for two reasons:

First, before you invest your time, energy and money in opening a school, it is important that you have a plan for yourself that you can believe in. Opening any business is hard work and carries risk - schools are no exception! Having a plan can allow you to move forward with confidence.

Second, your plan can be helpful to help others understand how you expect to turn you vision from dream to reality. From recruiting staff to recruiting financial backing, a solid plan allows you to build confidence in others, too.

In this section we look at the fundamentals for school business plans and budgets, and how these are derived from your vision and objectives.

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Parent Communications

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Websites & Admissions

A high-impact website attracts students while Twine makes admissions easy.

School Management

Twine makes it easy for teachers and administrators to do everything they need to do.

Online Classrooms

Educate, collaborate, and discuss with integrated online classrooms powered by Twine.

Every School Needs Great Software

Twine helps schools simplify their administration, automate scheduling/staffing, and lesson the load placed on teachers and administrative staff. Twine also helps with enrollment, marketing, and more. See what Twine can do:

Websites & Admissions

Starting with your objectives.

As Lewis Carroll so playfully points out: you need to first know where you want to go, and then you can build a plan to get there.

If you’ve not already started with the work outlined in the school identity section of this guide, now is a great time to review the topics on core values and mission. Once your core values and mission are clear, you can begin to set objectives by examining questions such as:

Who are the students and families you want to serve? There are any number of ways you might think about this: are you intending to provide services for an underserved population or a group with particular needs that aren’t being met in your community? Are you wanting to bring together families with a common interest or ideology, whether that is an academic focus, religious conviction, academic philosophy, or opportunity for particular experiences?

What is the ideal size for your program? Even knowing you won’t get there right away, do you ultimately want to remain a small community of 18 or 24, or does your objective require a population of 300 or 500 or 1000 students to support the diversity of programming, staff expertise and varies programs you’d like to offer?

What role do you want to create for yourself? This can be a particularly tricky question, but it is crucial to step back and consider as part of your plan. If your first love is working in the classroom, you should have a plan that allows you classroom time. That may mean splitting time between administrative tasks and a small class workload, or it could mean having a large enough enrollment to bring in a full-time administrator. If you are excited by strategy and operations, and enjoy building a team, recruiting parents, and overseeing the day-to-day running of the school, keep yourself in an administrative role. There are dozens of roles you might choose to play: why not use this opportunity to ensure you put yourself in your dream job?

Once you’ve worked through your objectives (and written them down!) you’re ready to move on and begin planning.

Business Plan vs. Budget

A common misconception is that a well-defined and detailed budget is essentially the same as a business plan. While a solid budget is an important component of a business plan, a true business plan looks beyond just the projected income and expenses to answer questions about both strategy and tactics. 

The Role of a Business Plan

Business plans can seem daunting if you’ve never had to write one before. It is a must-have document, though, as it serves as a road map for your new school. Although there are many things that are going to be a part of the business plan, it is there to explain what you hope to accomplish with your school and how you are going to accomplish it. Additionally, business plans serve as important documentation for financial institutions or investors to see whether your school is worth investing in.

The Role of a Budget

Budgets, on the other hand, are primarily internal documents you’ll use to track your income and expenses and determine where your spending should take place. If you need new textbooks or want to give someone a raise, your budget will guide you through your decisions and help you determine if you have the money to do so, or what you need to accomplish to make it happen.

Business Plan Types

Creating a business plan can take time, but the good thing is that they tend to follow a consistent format – so you can basically work from a template to create yours. There are two common approaches used today:

Traditional "Full" Business Plan

A traditional, full business plan tends to be comprehensive and detailed. Creation of a full business plan can be time consuming but going through the process will help identify areas of planning that you may not have considered, and the resulting plan should provide sufficient details to be used when talking with banks or investors. For full business plans, the US Small Business Administration has a great  step-by-step guide  that walks you through each section of your business plan, along with some examples to look at.

Start-Up "Lean" Business Plan

An alternate approach is the lean start-up plan, which is faster to write and focuses more on high-level plans and a few key elements. Lean plans can be a good place to start, with the assumption you will update and revise the plan frequently.  Particularly if soliciting funding, you may require additional time and detail later. Tim Berry, one of the leading experts on lean business plans, provides a good overview in his  What's a Lean Business Plan  article.

Creating Your Business Plan

There are lots of options for online business plan templates and most share a lot of common characteristics. There’s nothing wrong with picking one based on personal taste. Any of the following are excellent options as a starting point:

growthink (non-profit business plans)

Rocket Lawyer

My Own Business Institute

InvoiceBerry

US Small Business Administration

That there are many internet-based companies that offer business plan writing or editing, specifically. Here are just a few that you might want to check out:

Cayenne Consulting

Go Business Plans

Wise Business Plans

Many of the same companies that provide the business plan templates we highlighted are business consultants, not just business plan writers. Consultants can help you in your overall plans, particularly in areas where you may need guidance.

Professional organizations and associations for private schools, as well as your local chamber of commerce are also great resources for finding business consultants to assist you in creating your business plan and beyond.

Creating Your Budget

Understanding your costs.

The costs you’ll incur as a new school are really dependent on the choices you make in facilities and staffing. You’ll find a lot of useful information in those sections of this guide and they will help you get a clearer picture of the various expenses you’re going to face as you open up your school.

One of the great things about a budget is that, as long as you can easily read and understand it, the format isn’t going to make or break you. That said, staying organized and keeping track of everything takes a good system. One of the most popular methods is using a spreadsheet or system of spreadsheets to plan your income and expenses. Smartsheet has an excellent business budget template that you can modify to meet the needs of your school.

Once you are up and running, insight into actual income and expenses can be generated by your accounting software. Some accounting packages include budgeting tools as well, easing the work of comparing your plan to your actual numbers.

Tools to Assist With Budget Creation

Several excellent resources exist that can help you develop a budget, including:

The American Association of School Administrators has put together a  School Budgets 101  document that outlines common expenses and budgetary considerations for schools

The Guardian published  A beginner's guide to planning and managing school budgets in 2016, which explains several important budgeting principals.

Helping Educators Do the Work That Matters

Guide Quick-Nav

Introduction

We’ve developed these 10 topics to help you along the way. Take them all in at once, or start with the areas most relevant right now.

School Identity

There’s plenty you can do to develop your own brand, starting right from your personal ideals and goals for your school.

Our curriculum pages include ideas on where to go to find materials, and different associations and educational models you may want to consider.

Legal & Operating Requirements

You need to know the requirements at both the federal level and for your state. Here are the basic details for every state.

Funding & Finance

Here we share ideas for possible funding sources, and ways you might be able to start with less than you thought necessary.

Having a plan for how you’ll operate and a budget to predict and allocate funds is critical for all businesses, schools included. We’ve pulled together resources here to help with both.

What facilities are right for your school? We encourage new schools to get creative, and have compiled some considerations to take into account.

How can you find and recruit the right talent for your school? What qualifications or certifications are required?

Policies & Procedures

Thinking about more than just a student handbook and conduct code, we've included recommendations & templates to help you develop your school policies & procedures

Marketing & Online Presence

Associations

46 Best Startup Ideas for Students

• Startup Ideas
• Best Startup Ideas
• Student Entrepreneurs

Last Updated: January 12, 2024 By TRUiC Team

Whether you’re in high school, community college, or university, it can prove challenging to juggle a 9-to-5 job while finishing school. Launching your own startup company as a student offers the flexibility of creating your work schedule to align with a busy school schedule.

The first step involves selecting the right business idea for you based on your interests, the overall startup costs, and the amount of time you can dedicate to your business. This guide highlights the most unique and innovative startup business ideas for students to help you find the right one for you.

Recommended: Find more inspiration by checking out our list of the best startup ideas and top startups to watch in 2024 !

Startup Business Ideas for Students

Some of the most successful startups in history were created by students. Even if you are only looking for a little side-hustle income while you study, an innovative concept will undoubtedly set you apart from the get-go. Here are some of the best startup ideas for students we've sourced.

1. Tutoring

Are you proficient in a specific subject or do you have a unique skill? If yes, you can help other students by starting your own tutoring business. Any subject in which you excel — like math, English, or science — can provide a potential tutoring opportunity.

Tutoring businesses can charge by the session or the hour. You can easily market this type of business within your school, at the public library, or in community centers. Best of all, this startup idea has virtually no startup costs. 

2. App Development

While it might seem like there’s already an app for everything, the potential to create millions of apps for entertainment purposes or to solve everyday problems still exists. This startup idea can ideally suit tech-savvy students, but anyone can create a popular app with the right support during production and a great idea.

If you don’t currently have an app idea, don’t worry. Start brainstorming ideas by conducting an audit of daily tasks or problems an app could simplify or solve. Many of the most popular apps solve a common problem, making them more likely to have widespread appeal.

3. Freelance Writing

If you’re a skilled or talented writer, freelance writing might provide a great way for you to make money as you pursue your education. Freelance writers of all kinds are in demand by businesses and publications looking for temporary employees to write blog posts, articles, and other content.

One of the biggest benefits of freelance writing at a younger age is that you’ll gain experience that can help you later on as you establish a career. Sites like Upwork® and Writer Access® provide a secure platform for businesses and freelancers to connect.

4. Podcasting

Next up on our list of business ideas for students is podcasting. As the popularity of podcasts continues to grow , it’s an ideal time to start a podcast of your own. In fact, the podcast industry was valued at $18.52 billion in 2022 . The most successful podcasts feature engaging hosts and a specific topic that can attract interested listeners. You also must feel comfortable with interviewing and public speaking before you start a podcast.

Moreover, it’s best to choose a topic for which you have a passion and can see yourself dedicating a good amount of time to researching. For example, if you’re passionate about sustainability, your podcast could focus on interviewing other entrepreneurs who currently work to fight climate change.

Launching your own company? Build your startup website today with GoDaddy !

5. Tech Support

Do you have a knack for solving technical problems? If so, you may want to consider launching a tech support startup. You can run these types of online businesses entirely from your home and market it by posting flyers at schools, coffee shops, and libraries. You just need a phone, a website, and some technical experience. You also can charge by the job, the hour, or the type of device.

In this type of business, customers typically call or email with a technical issue and you, the tech support person, walk them through how to fix that issue. Alternatively, you can request your customers drop their computers off so you can take a first-hand look.

Check out our full list of tech startup ideas .

6. Digital Textbook

Digital textbooks are educational ebooks that provide a much-needed alternative to traditional textbooks in terms of both price and sustainability. With the introduction of ereaders and other devices, the market for digital alternatives to educational materials continues to grow. Whether you plan to write a digital textbook or start a website that’ll house popular digital textbooks, this startup idea can enable you to earn a profit while you provide a service to students and the educational system.

Online learning continued to gain popularity in the past year. Providing additional tools for students — or people who just want to brush up on a subject — by developing an educational technology (edtech) startup can make education more accessible to a larger fraction of society. Startup costs for this business idea can range from $12 to $27,209 , depending on the business model. 

Whether you plan to develop an app, create online courses, or build an online tutoring resource for students, you must first identify your target subject and platform. Additionally, successful edtech startups tend to offer a product that’s both effective and intuitive. Remember to consider those criteria during your product development process.

See our interview below with the co-founders of edtech startup Trashbots !

8. Meal Delivery Service

Faced with fewer dine-in options, people increasingly turned to food delivery services in the past year. In fact, the market is expected to experience a 14.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2032. Starting your own meal delivery service can help small local businesses meet delivery demand, enable customers to enjoy their favorite restaurants, and provide a business opportunity that’ll work with your busy schedule.

To compete with the big names in meal delivery, connect with your local restaurant owners. Many popular food delivery apps and websites charge a substantial fee to deliver for restaurants. Your business can gain a competitive edge by offering quick delivery times and lower fees.

Check out our full list of  startup ideas for food lovers .

9. College Care Package Business

Going away to college often represents an exciting adventure. For families and friends seeking to support their favorite college students, a college care package business can take the guesswork out of what to send them with thoughtfully curated packages.

One benefit of starting this type of business is that you can operate it completely online. That’ll reduce your overhead costs and give you more freedom for your busy schedule. Offering a variety of packages for different types of students with customizable options will set your college care package business apart from the competition.

10. Ebook Writing

Today, you can accomplish almost everything virtually — even publishing a book. Ebooks provide an alternative to traditional publishing, making them cheaper for both authors and readers. Moreover, ebooks are far more sustainable than paper books.

To get started, you’ll need writing experience and a topic idea for your ebook. Whether you choose to write a novel or a cookbook, the ebook market offers a huge profit potential while requiring minimal startup and overhead costs. Especially considering that ebooks made up over 10% of book sales in 2022 . That makes this type of business a great choice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

11. Social Media Influencer

A successful social media influencer almost always understands how to create and effectively market a brand. If you think you’re up to the challenge, this can make a lucrative and exciting startup idea. Social media influencers with between 10,000 and 25,000 followers make $100-$250 per post , on average. 

Influencers earn money through brand deals. Because every industry has influencers, you’re more likely to generate a large viewership and build a strong brand if you focus on a specific industry or niche for which you have a passion. In addition, you’ll need to feel comfortable with public speaking and connecting with your audience in order to attract brands that want to work with you.

12. Mobile Coffee Cart

Many students work in coffee shops and cafes while pursuing their education. A mobile coffee cart offers a flexible schedule and the opportunity to network within your community. It also provides a relatively low-cost alternative to opening a brick-and-mortar cafe with many mobile coffee carts costing between $2,000-$5,000 to start. 

Customers typically hire mobile coffee carts to work events like corporate retreats, school events, and even weddings. Make your business stand out by offering a customizable drink menu that can complement customers’ event themes.

Feeling inspired? Learn how to launch your own company with our guide on how to start a startup .

13. YouTube Channel

Launching a YouTube channel is next up on our list of startup business ideas for students. YouTube has billions of subscribers worldwide, which means the platform offers a great opportunity for new channels and video content. Starting your own video channel can represent another form of blogging (called “vlogging”) or provide a space for you to teach a skill or share a hobby. If you have a passion for ceramics, for example, you could start an entire channel about your process from clay to kiln.

Social media platforms focus on making connections, and YouTube is no exception. Every industry or hobby has the potential to connect with thousands of YouTube subscribers, which you could parlay into a lucrative business venture. Especially considering the average YouTuber in the US makes $33 per hour on average. 

14. Review Website

Like most people, you probably search online for reviews before you spend your money at an unfamiliar business. Review websites hold businesses accountable by giving people insights about them so potential customers can make an informed decision.

You can easily start and manage this kind of website with a minimal budget, making it perfect for student entrepreneurs. In order to run a successful review website, you’ll need to gain credibility with customers and differentiate your site from larger review sites like Yelp.

15. Social Media Platform

Many social media users seek new platforms to explore so they can connect with others. Starting your own social media platform can provide a space to foster a sense of community as well as a potentially lucrative business venture. Moreover, it offers a flexible schedule — especially during the initial stages of operating your site.

To entice users to join your social media platform, focus on developing ideas that’ll make your site feel distinct from other platforms. For example, you could opt to cater to a specific demographic like gamers or musicians.

16. Livestreaming

If you already spend a lot of time playing video games, why not make it a business venture? Livestreaming essentially involves broadcasting live footage of your game as you play, using a platform like Twitch or Smashcast. Once you obtain the minimum number of followers (e.g., 500 on TWITCH), you can become a partner of the livestreaming site and begin to make money based on the traffic your streams generate.

17. Graphic Design

Many businesses and organizations need graphic designers to create visual branding for use on everything from signage to marketing materials. Because graphic design is a fairly broad industry, having a multifaceted skill set can prove extremely beneficial. For example, proficiency in logo design as well as typography or web design can help you book more clients and build your portfolio.

18. Dropshipping

If you like the idea of an ecommerce startup but don’t have the room to store items to sell, dropshipping could be the perfect solution. Dropshipping startups simply take customer’s orders online, but instead of filling orders themselves, they are sent to a third-party retailer for fulfillment. Essentially, your startup consists of customer experience management, marketing, and curating items for your dropshipping business. On average, dropshippers make $3,414 per month , according to ZipRecruiter. 

19. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a popular side hustle , but it can be a profitable business idea if you do it right. Through affiliate marketing, you will earn a commission on sales you drive for brands you partner with. What makes this idea particularly good for college students is that there is a relatively low barrier to entry. Be sure to pick products you're already known for, associated with, and to which you have market access. 

20. Website Development

Building websites can be a great way to make money as a student, particularly if you're studying something related. Almost everyone, from businesses to individual entrepreneurs, needs a website, and if you do a great job on the first few projects, you'll start getting business through word of mouth. This is another space with a pretty low barrier to entry as there are many open source tools available for developers.

21. Virtual Assistant

You don’t have to be in an office to help businesses and fellow entrepreneurs get organized. A virtual assistant startup is a great business idea for organized, task-oriented individuals. If this sounds like you, it is easy to get started by utilizing sites that can help you find work you’re interested in. Get a competitive edge by diversifying your skill set to make yourself eligible for a litany of job opportunities. Plus, this flexible position brings in $24 per hour on average in the US, according to ZipRecruiter.

22. Web Design

Web designers focus predominantly on the user experience aspect of web pages. If your field of study relates to design (or even if this is just a passion for you), a web design startup might be your best bet for a student business. To really hook the clients, pair up with a friend in the development space and offer your services as a package.

23. Handcrafted Products

Handmade, artisanal goods never go out of style. Plus, the market for handmade goods is expected to see moderate growth from 2023 to 2030 at a CAGR of 4.7% . Selling handcrafted products offers you the flexibility of selling your goods online, in established retailers, or at local markets. The first step involves determining the product(s) you’ll make. This could include food products, pet toys, wooden furniture, or many other items. To successfully sell handcrafted products, remember to focus on product quality and cater to the right niche market.

24. Cleaning Services

Next on our list of the best business ideas for students is cleaning services. You can start a successful cleaning startup in several ways. For example, you could start a house-cleaning business, an office-cleaning business, or a graffiti-cleaning business, among others. 

This type of startup has low initial costs and flexible hours. You can schedule as many clients as you can manage based on your availability. Overhead costs for cleaning services include marketing materials, cleaning supplies, and vehicle expenses, which means it'll cost very little to launch your cleaning startup. Notably, in the US, cleaning business owners make $127,973 per year on average , making this a lucrative business for students. 

25. Moving Company

If you ask people if they enjoy moving, most will answer with a firm “no.” That can make a moving company startup a potentially lucrative business idea. Not to mention, the industry has grown by 11.4% in 2022, meaning the demand for moving companies is increasing. You’ll need to hire a team and purchase a vehicle large enough to move furniture so this type of business has higher startup costs than other business ideas. But, that initial investment can pay off once you start booking jobs and generating positive reviews.

26. Planner and Journal Business

The right planner or journal can help even the most disorganized people manage their time more effectively. Journals also can serve multiple purposes, making them a valuable tool for many. Starting a planner and journal business can help fulfill the demand for these products while offering you a potentially lucrative business venture.

Planner and journal businesses can sell their products online or in established retailers like bookstores and novelty shops. To make your products stand out, consider giving them distinctive features like including time-management tips inside your planners or manufacturing your journals from recycled materials.

27. Social Media Marketing

If you're already spending a lot of time on social media platforms and you have a good understanding of the marketing end, why not turn that into a startup? Anyone with a product or service, especially local businesses, to sell today needs to be on social media, and many business people do not have the skills or the time to pull it off well. The multiple free scheduling and design tools available today also make this a pretty low-cost industry to enter.

28. Website Flipping 

Another website-based startup you can try is website flipping. People often allow their websites to go dormant either because they've closed their business or just aren't interested anymore. This is an opportunity for you to purchase this website at a relatively low cost, optimize it, increase the traffic, and flip it at an excellent profit when it is worth far more than it was.  

29. Motivational Apps

Mobile apps are really popular, and if they make you feel good and improve your life, all the better. Apps geared toward motivation do very well in most app stores, and they're relatively simple to build and maintain. You will need to come up with an innovative idea, though, but thankfully, there are many spaces to work within — meditation, mindfulness, inspiration, and productivity, to name a few. If you plan to develop an app of your own, you can also take advantage of university-led incubators or startup accelerators such as Techstars Mobility or Plug and Play Tech Center. 

30. Organization Service

Few people naturally possess strong organizational skills. If you’re one of those few, an organization service may represent the perfect startup idea for you. Professional organizing services not only help customers tidy up cluttered spaces, but also help them develop the organizational skills they need to maintain order going forward. One of the benefits of starting this type of business is you can operate it either in person by visiting customers’ homes and offices or virtually by conducting video consultations.

31. Errand-Running Service

Busy professionals, small businesses, and seniors typically need help running errands they can’t get to themselves. This could involve going to the post office, picking up dry cleaning, or taking a pet to a vet appointment.

To get started, you just need a vehicle, a phone, and some spare time. You can operate your errand-running business from home and market your services on bulletin boards at community centers, senior centers, or anywhere you can post a flier with your information. While this business idea isn’t the most lucrative, on average, errand runners make $15 per hour . If you can manage a fleet of errand runners, the earnings can add up. 

32. Language Learning Startup

If you’ve learned a foreign language, you know it’s difficult, especially for adults. However, knowing a second language is not only a fun pastime, but it opens up job opportunities and helps people connect with other communities. A language learning startup can be any product or service that helps people learn a new language, such as an app, instructional website, or written guides.

To make your startup stand out, focus on making learning a new language fun for users so that they want to reach for your product or resources again and again. If you opt for a tech-related language learning model, consider utilizing an edtech incubator to help develop your idea such as Berkeley SkyDeck, FasterCapital, or ASU Venture Devils. 

33. Virtual Event Planning

With businesses and organizations grappling with social distancing requirements in the last few years, the virtual events space has exploded, and hosting events online has actually become a game-changer for many businesses. As a result, a new critical skill has emerged: the need to plan these events. If you have great digital skills and you're pretty good at organizing people, look into virtual event planning as a startup. Again, there are many open-source tools available that make breaking into this space relatively cheap.

34. Clean Beauty Products

Green or “clean” beauty products are increasing in popularity across the US as we learn more and more about the harmful effects of some ingredients in traditional beauty products. In fact, the global clean beauty market is currently valued at $8.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $15.3 billion by 2028 . A green beauty product startup provides a better alternative, whether it’s clean skincare or cosmetics — the key is to create a product that is as effective as traditional products without the same damaging ingredients.

35. Software Startup

A software development startup is responsible for creating, distributing, and maintaining the programs that businesses use every day. This industry is experiencing exciting growth with annual revenue of $238 billion per year and an annual growth rate of 3.9% , which means this startup idea holds a tremendous amount of opportunity for entrepreneurs.

36. Snack Company

Do you have a go-to homemade snack that you know other people would love as well? If so, take your tasty treats to the next level by starting a snack company . Consumers are always looking for delicious new snack options with special ingredients or a twist on a classic snack. Growing your audience can be done by going to farmers' markets or local events and letting people try your delicious new snack!

37. Robotics Startup

It's not uncommon for robotics startups to be founded by students or recent graduates, especially if they are studying in the field at one of the more prestigious colleges with well-backed programs and grants for research. College can be an amazing place to discover new technology and brainstorm with fellow students, but you also want to ensure that you understand the industry you're trying to get into before you get too far ahead of yourself. 

With that said, definitely use the resources at your disposal if you're in a great robotics program and see where it can take you and your startup. Or, consider joining an incubator or accelerator such as AlleyCorp, MARL 5G Accelerator, or Buildit Accelerator to help develop your startup. 

38. Fintech

If you have a good understanding of both the financial and technology spaces, you may want to consider a fintech startup as your niche. Historically, student fintech startups that have focused predominantly on student financial issues have done really well. It's vital to understand your market, after all. When you start to delve into the world of finance, though, you'll need to ensure that you are complying with any state laws that govern the industry. After you've ticked that box, your fintech startup will be ready to go. For a startup idea like this, you may want to consider seed stage venture capital firms such as Precursor Ventures that have a history of deploying capital into promising fintech companies. 

39. Marketplace Website

Become the platform your community uses to sell and exchange goods and services by creating a marketplace website startup. Elevate the startup idea by prioritizing user experience and safety protocols. The key to a successful marketplace website is to create a positive experience for users that makes buying and selling items seamless and safe.

40. Sustainable Clothing Line

Fashion is one of the most wasteful industries on the planet. If you’re thinking about starting a clothing line, consider making it a sustainable one! Plus, the demand for these businesses is growing and is projected to continue that trajectory, forecasted to grow from $7.8 billion in 2023 to $33.05 in 2030 . A sustainable clothing line can make an impact by creating thoughtful garments that are long-lasting and ethically made out of sustainable materials such as linen or hemp.

41. Virtual Meeting Platform

With the virtual events space growing so considerably, the need for virtual meeting services has increased proportionately. This might mean anything from scheduling software for end-to-end management or perhaps even add-on apps that assist large companies with the management of various meetings simultaneously. There are several open-source tools available to help you break into this space.

42. Beverage Startup

If you have a great drink recipe or an idea for a special ingredient or function that will entice customers, start a beverage company ! A competitive edge in this industry is well-designed packaging that is catered to a target demographic and, of course, a delicious beverage inside. If you’re more of a connoisseur of beverages, a beverage distribution company is another lucrative startup idea that can be focused on a specific type of beverage such as beer, soda, or wine. Keep in mind that if you start a beverage company, you may benefit from a founder community such as Foodbevy to connect with other entrepreneurs in the space and grow together. 

43. SEO Services

Search engine optimization ( SEO ) is an essential tool for online marketing. However, to achieve a successful SEO service, you need to dedicate time and effort to creating content and staying on top of changes in search trends. Starting an SEO services startup offers customers an opportunity to cash in on this powerful internet marketing tool without spending too much of their own. To create a successful SEO services startup, you will need a deep understanding of SEO tactics and the software to do effective research. 

Looking for more inspiration? Check out our list of the top startups to watch in 2024 !

44. Online Courses

Online courses are a great way to use your existing knowledge to help college students, professionals, or anyone looking to expand their skill set in a niche market. This startup idea, on average, can bring in roughly $82,500 per year , according to ZipRecruiter. To create an online course, you will likely want to join an online course platform such as Udemy or Skillshare and utilize digital marketing strategies to get the word out about your course. However, a great online course can be one of the less laborious but still profitable business ideas for students.

45. Translation Services

If you speak more than one language, offering translation services can be a great way to leverage your skills to start your own business. A translation services business is often responsible for translating various documents while maintaining client confidentiality. This can be done to either provide grammatical and spelling help or to ensure the content of the translation matches the original document.

46. Become a Reseller

With the rise of apps such as Poshmark, Vinted, and Depop, reselling clothing, shoes, and even home goods has become a popular side hustle for students. While some sellers opt to resell items from their own closets, others choose to upcycle garments or scour local thrift stores for deals on items. This idea involves keeping an eye on trends as well as offering items seasonally to ensure you are selling an item when demand is at its peak. 

How to Choose a Business Idea

Starting your own business as a student can mean additional cash and valuable experience. However, choosing a profitable business idea can be challenging, here's a few tips to find the right business idea for you.

Research Time Dedication

Whether you're in high school or college, school is your number one priority. Therefore, you need to seek business ideas that will be doable with your current school load. Many online business ideas for students provide time flexibility and allow you to work on your entrepreneurial goals during spare moments.

Pull From Your Skill Set

What are you already well versed in? Pulling from your skill set allows you to build a strong foundation early on and capitalize on your existing knowledge. This could mean launching a tutoring business if you're highly educated in one subject or doing freelance work doing strategy for other local businesses getting started on social media platforms.

Follow Your Passion

Above all, when you're starting your own business you should choose business ideas that you're excited and passionate about. If you are passionate about your business idea, there is a higher chance you will dedicate the time and effort necessary to make it a profitable, sustainable startup. 

Explore More Startup Ideas

• Online Startup Ideas
• Startup Ideas for Social Entrepreneurs
• Sustainable Startup Ideas
• Startup Ideas for Education Entrepreneurs
• Startup Ideas for Teens
• Startup Ideas for Animal Lovers
• Tech Startup Ideas
• Startup Ideas for Food Lovers
• Side Hustle Startup Ideas
• Ecommerce Startup Ideas
• Low-Cost Startup Ideas
• Software Startup Ideas
• Profitable Startup Ideas

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Home » Sample Business Plans » Education » School

How to Write a Private School Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a private school (nursery, primary or high school)? If YES, here’s a complete sample private school business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a private school.

We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample private school marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for private schools. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Private School?

One of the best things that can happen to anyone is to have a private school. This is one very lucrative business that will continue to rake in money for its owners. As an aspiring entrepreneur who is looking towards starting a business, you should ensure that whatever business you intend to start, you make sure that it is located in an appropriate place.

For example; if you want to start a private school, it will be a wrong business judgment if you decide to site the school close to an industrial area or close to a market. Aspiring entrepreneurs therefore are urged as a matter of necessity to ensure that they carry out a thorough market research and feasibility study of the industry they intend to go into before investing their hard earned money and time.

It is known fact that the demand for private schools is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every students or potential students in a given geographical location. In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for private schools.

If you think starting a private school business sounds like what you want to do. Then you may want to use the business plan below as a guide.

A Sample Private School Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Private schools which is also known in the united states as independent schools, non-governmental, or non – state schools are schools that are not administered by either the local, state or the federal governments; hence, they have the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition fees, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding.

Some private schools have structure in place that offer scholarships to some students, which makes the cost cheaper, depending on a talent such as sport scholarship, art scholarship, academic scholarship the student may be brining to the private school, financial need, or tax credit scholarships that might be available.

The Private Schools industry comprises of primary that is kindergarten through sixth grade and secondary that is seventh through 12th grade) educational institutions that are predominantly funded through enrollment and tuition fees from students and of course from other private sources.

Recent reports released by IBISWORLD shows that the revenue for the Private Schools industry is expected to increase, as the economy continues to recover. The indicated that during the five years to 2016, enrollment decreased, which was a trend attributable to rising costs and competition from charter schools.

However, going forward, in the next five years, household income is anticipated to increase, making it easier for families to afford private-school tuition. Additionally, enrollment declines will lesson, resulting in more stable demand for private schools

In the United States of America and of course in most countries of the world, The Private Schools industry is indeed a large and thriving industry. Statistics has it that The Private Schools industry in the United States of America, is worth $52 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 0.1 percent.

There are about 25,742 registered and licensed (accredited) Private schools scattered all around the United States of America and they are responsible for employing about 644,320 people.

Aside from Catholic schools, which is the second largest sector after government schools, with around 21 percent of secondary enrollments, no other private school can boast of dominating the market; every player in the industry can comfortably compete in the industry.

It is important to state that the barriers to entry into the Private Schools industry are high. As a matter of fact, the private school industry is an industry in which it is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the private school is of utmost importance, as private schools that have a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

With this, it is obvious that a new entrant in to the private school industry cannot offer this. Reputation indeed is imperative to parents’ decisions when shopping for private school for their wards. This is so because the quality of education cannot be assessed until well after it is complete. As a major marketing tool, schools need to show parents a track record of admission to elite colleges and universities.

Even though this might seem like a saturated industry, the industry is still pretty much open for aspiring school proprietors and proprietress to still come in and compete. As a matter of fact, if you conduct your research and feasibility studies very well before starting your own private school couple with impressive profile of your faculty members, you are likely going to struggle less to make headway in the industry.

2. Executive Summary

Rolland Gyros International Private School is an international private school that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Ashville – North Carolina, United States of America. We are a standard private school that is composed of primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade) educational institution that will be predominantly funded through tuition fees and levies from students and of course from other private sources.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is a client-focused and result driven private school that provides broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pockets of our clients (students and parents alike).

We will offer standard and professional teaching services in a highly secured and conducive learning environment to all our students that is primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade). We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our students’ expectations and educational goals whenever they enroll in our tutorial college.

At Rolland Gyros International Private School, our students’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professional educationist cum teachers in various subjects who are well experienced and passionate in imparting knowledge to students at various learning ladder.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will at all time demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as an educational organization, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our students’ needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our students.

We have plans to offer learning platforms to people with both learning disability and physical disability (especially the blind, the dumb and the deaf). Our overall business goal is to position our private school to become the leading tutorial brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 30 private schools in the United States of America within the first 12 years of operations.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Ashville is the right place to launch our private school.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is founded by Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros and family. She is an educationist per excellence and she has won many awards in the education sector in the United States. Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros has both the academic qualifications and experience to run a private school that can favorably compete with other leading private schools not only in Ashville – North Carolina, but also throughout the United States and Canada.

3. Our Products and Services

Rolland Gyros International Private School is going to offer varieties of educational services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our private school is to soundly educate people in various subjects and of course to make profits from the education cum private schools industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goal.

Our service offerings are listed below;

• Teaching basic literacy and numeracy
• Establishing foundations in science, mathematics, geography, history and other social sciences
• Constantly working hard to meet regulatory accreditation standards
• Administering private funding efforts
• Providing access to extracurricular activities
• Retailing of Educational Books and Materials

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a highly competitive private school that will become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina.
• Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional and conducive learning environment to students at different level of learning.
• Our overall business goal is to position Rolland Gyros International Private School to become the leading private school brand in the educational cum private school industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 30 private schools in the United States of America within the first 12 years of operations.

Our Business Structure

It is a known fact that, the success of any business is to a larger extent dependent on the business structure of the organization and the people who occupy the available roles in the organization. Rolland Gyros International Private School will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our private school.

We will ensure that we hire competent hands (teaching and non – teaching staff members) to help us build the private school of our dream. The fact that we want to become one of the leading private school brand in the industry in the whole of the United States of America makes it highly necessary for our organization to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

We will work hard to ensure that we only attract people with the right mindset to help us achieve our business goals and objectives in record time. Below is the business structure that we will build Rolland Gyros International Private School;

• Head of The Private School(School Proprietress)

School Administrator

Tutors for Various Subjects – Secondary (seventh through 12th grade)

Tutors for Various Subjects – Primary (kindergarten through sixth grade)

• Accountant / Bursar
• Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer

Security Officers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Tutorial College / School Coordinator:

• Responsible for providing direction for the college
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the tutorial college
• Coordinates all arms of the tutorial school (tutorial center, adult education, home tutors and special education)
• Evaluates the success of the tutorial college
• Reports to the board of the tutorial college
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the tutorial school
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for tutors (teachers)
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily activities of the private school.
• Effectively teach subject / subjects as assigned by the school administrator
• Accesses the progress of students under their care
• Ensures that students abide by the rules and regulations of the private school
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the private school
• Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
• Handle any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.
• Ensure that students abide by the rules and regulations of the school administrator
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator.

Marketing Executive

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new students, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the school

School Bursar (Accountant)

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Serves as internal auditor for Rolland Gyros International Private School

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes / receive parents and students by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with parents and students (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the parents and students with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with parents and students on the phone, uses every opportunity to build parent’s interest in the schools’ products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the HR and Admin Manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to parents and students when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Distribute mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the School Administrator.
• Responsible for cleaning the school facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the schools facility
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school administrator
• Ensures that the school facility is secured at all time
• Controls traffic and organize parking
• Gives security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Submits security reports weekly
• Any other duty as assigned by the school administrator

6. SWOT Analysis

Rolland Gyros International Private School engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring with bias in the education sector to assist us in building a well – structured private school that can favorably compete in the highly competitive education cum private schools industry in the United States.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Rolland Gyros International Private School. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Rolland Gyros International Private School;

As a private school, our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the educational sector. We are well positioned in a community with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of students from the first day we open our doors and welcome students for enrollment.

As a new private school in Ashville – North Carolina, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance via reputation in the already saturated education cum private schools industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the education cum private schools industry is massive considering the number of parents who would want their wards to perform excellently well in their education and go ahead to be admitted in Ivy league colleges. As a standard and international private school, Rolland Gyros International Private School is ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes her way.

Every business faces a threat or challenge at any part of the life cycle of the business. These threats can be external or internal. This shows the importance of a business plan, because most threats or challenges are to be anticipated and plans put in place to cushion what effect they might bring to the private school.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a private school operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies that might affect private schools, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects spending / purchasing power.

There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the private school line of business is that the key to attracting students is the educational performance and the pass rate of their students in national exams. Any private school that has good records will always thrive. The demand for private schools is driven by the fact that most public cum government owned schools cannot accommodate every students or potential students in a given geographical location.

In some cases, students with special needs cannot cope in public schools hence the need for private schools. The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of education.

The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, your advertisements, and on insurance policy cover. Lastly, it is trendier to find private schools engaging in extra – curricular activities and as a matter of fact, a private school that thrives in sports can leverage on that to attract students who are sports inclined.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard and international private school, Rolland Gyros International Private School is going to offer varieties of educational services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our private school is to soundly educate people in various subjects and of course to make profits from the education cum private schools industry

Our target market as a private school cuts across people (students) of different class and people from different culture background whether African, White, Caucasian, Latinos, Indians, and Asians. We are coming into the education cum private schools industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the students at different learning stages residing in and around Ashville – North Carolina.

Our competitive advantage

Indeed the private schools industry is highly competitive and the entry barriers are high. As a matter of fact, the private school industry is an industry in which it is pretty difficult for new entrants to establish themselves. So also, the reputation of the private school is of utmost importance, as private schools that have a good history of getting students into prestigious colleges often have the best reputations hence good enrollments.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the education cum private schools industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, your students should be able to experience remarkable difference and improvement and you should be able to meet the expectations of both students and parents alike.

Rolland Gyros International Private School might be a new entrant into the education cum private schools industry in the United States of America, but the management staffs and owners of the private school are considered gurus. They are people who are core professionals, licensed and highly qualified educationist / teachers at various levels of learning in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees (teaching and non – teaching staff members) will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups private school in the United States) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Rolland Gyros International Private School is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the education cum private schools industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract students on a regular basis.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will generate income by offering the following tutorial services;

• Teaching High school students various subjects in our private school

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be parents and students who would need the services of private schools to be able to achieve their educational goals and as such the services of private schools will always be needed.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Ashville – North Carolina and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the private school and our student base.

We have been able to critically examine the private schools cum education market in the United States of America and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast.

The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Ashville – North Carolina. Below is the sales projection for Rolland Gyros International Private School, it is based on the location of our tutorial center and of course the wide range of tutorial services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year-: $250,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $450,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $750,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor (private school) offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition amongst private schools in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing concerns. Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the private school.

We will also ensure that our students’ excellent results from national exams and other exams speaks for us in the market place; we want to build a standard and first – class private school that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients (both individuals and corporate organizations).

Our goal is to grow our private school to become one of the top 30 private schools in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Ashville – North Carolina but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Rolland Gyros International Private School is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our private school by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to schools, parents / household and key stake holders in Ashville – North Carolina.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in schools, libraries and even student organizations.
• Creating a website, allows parents to be able to look you up, and also allows you to post general study tips, giving you an added advantage.
• Use friends and family to spread word about our private school
• Introduce Rolland Gyros International Private School to learning specialists, school coaches, school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors especially as they are with students everyday
• Post information about Rolland Gyros International Private School on bulletin boards in places like schools, libraries, and local coffee shops.
• Placing a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Using tutorial referral networks such as agencies that will help match students with Rolland Gyros International Private School
• Joining relevant association or body that will enable you network and meet others in same industry.
• Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google Adwords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
• Advertise our private school in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are aware of the potency of a good publicity strategy hence we have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our private school. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Rolland Gyros International Private School;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Ashville – North Carolina.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas in and around Ashville – North Carolina
• Passing general information via our school’s social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
• Ensure that all our teaching and non – teaching staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Private schools in the United States of America and of course in all the parts of the world charge students per tem / per session and students have the options of either paying their tuitions before resumption or during the school session.

Private schools generally charge students based on loads of factors, locations, services offerings and extra – curricular activities et al At Rolland Gyros International Private School we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our students by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.

In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals. We are aware that there are some students that would need special assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such students’ needs.

• Payment Options

At Rolland Gyros International Private School, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up a private school business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by acquiring a large facility, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are taken care of, and that your private school’s environment is conducive enough for the students to learn.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a private school business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us to start Rolland Gyros International Private School in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring a large facility that will accommodate the number of block of closes, playing field, staff offices and parking lots et al (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $350,000.
• Equipping the classes and office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $50,000
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• The budget for the payment of salaries for the first three months of operations: $120,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $15,000

Going by the market survey and feasibility studies conducted, we came to the conclusion that we will need an average of $750,000 to start a small scale but standard private school in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Rolland Gyros International Private School

Rolland Gyros International Private School is a family business that will be owned and managed by Dr. (Mrs.) Irene Rolland Gyros and her immediate family. They are the sole financial of the private school which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the private school to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $250,000 (Personal savings $200,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $500,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is a known fact that the future of any business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and of course the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Rolland Gyros International Private School is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers (students and parents alike) over is to ensure that we offer nothing less than the best, to offer quality education to all our students so much so that they can favorably compete with students all over the United States and gain admission to Ivy League colleges.

Rolland Gyros International Private School will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

More on School

How to Start a School

Starting Your Own School

Anyone can start a school. All you need is an idea and the drive to make it happen. But there are a few things you need to know before you get started. In this article, we will outline the steps you need to take, the permits and licenses you need, and how to find funding.

Importantly, a critical step in starting a school is to complete your business plan. To help you out, you should download Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template here .

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

14 Steps to Starting a School

Choose the name for your school.

The first step to starting a new school is to choose your school’s business name.

This is a very important choice since your business name is your brand and will last for the lifetime of your business. Ideally you choose a name that is meaningful and memorable. Here are some tips for choosing a name for your school:

• Make sure the name is available . Check your desired name against trademark databases and your state’s list of registered business names to see if it’s available. Also check to see if a suitable domain name is available.
• Keep it simple . The best names are usually ones that are easy to remember, pronounce and spell.
• Think about marketing . Come up with a name that reflects the desired brand and/or focus of your school.

Develop Your School Business Plan

One of the most important steps in starting a school is to develop your business plan. The purpose of a business plan is to ensure that you fully understand your market and your strategy. The plan also provides you with a roadmap to follow and if needed, to present to funding sources to raise capital for your school.

Your business plan should include the following sections:

• Executive Summary – this section should summarize your entire business plan so readers can quickly understand the key details of your school.
• Company Overview – this section tells the reader about the history of your school and what type of school you operate. For example, are you a private school, religious school, charter school, boarding school, Montessori school, or a type of trade school such as a cosmetology school or welding school? You should also include information about the grade levels of your students.
• Industry Analysis – here you will document key information about the education industry. Conduct market research and document how big the industry is and what trends are affecting it.
• Customer Analysis – in this section, you will document who your ideal or target students are and their demographics. For example, how old are they? Where do they live? What do they find important when paying for educational services like the ones you will offer?
• Competitive Analysis – here you will document the key direct and indirect competitors you will face and how you will build competitive advantage ({i.e., small class size, new facilities, low tuition fees, unique mission or curriculum, etc.)
• Marketing Plan – your marketing plan should address the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotions and Place.
• Product : Determine and document what products/services you will offer
• Prices : Document the prices of your products/services
• Place : Where will your school be located and how will that location help you increase sales?
• Promotions : What promotional methods will you use to attract students to your school? For example, you might decide to use pay-per-click advertising, public relations, search engine optimization and/or social media marketing.
• Operations Plan – here you will determine the key processes you will need to run your day-to-day operations. You will also determine your staffing and faculty needs. Finally, in this section of your plan, you will create a projected growth timeline showing the milestones you hope to achieve in the coming years.
• Administrative Team – this section details the background and key qualifications of your school’s administrative team, key staff members and faculty members and their job descriptions.
• Financial Plan – finally, the financial plan answers questions including the following:
• What startup costs will you incur?
• How will your school make money?
• What are your projected sales and expenses for the next five years?
• Do you need to raise funding to launch your school?

Choose the Legal Structure for Your School

Next you need to choose a legal structure for your school and register it and your business name with the Secretary of State in each state where you operate your school.

Below are the five most common legal structures:

1) Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business entity in which the owner of the school and the business are the same legal person. The owner of a sole proprietorship is responsible for all debts and obligations of the business. There are no formalities required to establish a sole proprietorship, and it is easy to set up and operate. The main advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is simple and inexpensive to establish. The main disadvantage is that the owner is liable for all debts and obligations of the business.

2) Partnerships

A partnership is a legal structure that is popular among small businesses. It is an agreement between two or more people who want to start a school together. The partners share in the profits and losses of the business.

The advantages of a partnership are that it is easy to set up, and the partners share in the profits and losses of the business. The disadvantages of a partnership are that the partners are jointly liable for the debts of the business, and disagreements between partners can be difficult to resolve.

3) Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A limited liability company, or LLC, is a type of business entity that provides limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners of an LLC are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The advantages of an LLC for a school include flexibility in management, pass-through taxation (avoids double taxation as explained below), and limited personal liability. The disadvantages of an LLC include lack of availability in some states and self-employment taxes.

4) C Corporation

A C Corporation is a business entity that is separate from its owners. It has its own tax ID and can have shareholders. The main advantage of a C Corporation for a school is that it offers limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners are not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business. The disadvantage is that C Corporations are subject to double taxation. This means that the corporation pays taxes on its profits, and the shareholders also pay taxes on their dividends.

5) S Corporation

An S Corporation is a type of corporation that provides its owners with limited liability protection and allows them to pass their business income through to their personal income tax returns, thus avoiding double taxation. There are several limitations on S Corporations including the number of shareholders they can have among others.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Secure startup funding for your school (if needed).

In developing your business plan, you might have determined that you need to raise funding to launch your new school.

Secure a Location for Your School

Having the right space can be important for your school, particularly if you’d like to meet clients there.

To find the right physical space, consider:

• Driving around to find the right areas while looking for “for lease” signs
• Contacting a commercial real estate agent
• Doing commercial real estate searches online
• Telling others about your needs and seeing if someone in your network has a connection that can help you find the right space

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Register Your School with the IRS

Next, you need to register your school with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will result in the IRS issuing you an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Most banks will require you to have an EIN in order to open up an account. In addition, in order to hire employees, you will need an EIN since that is how the IRS tracks your payroll tax payments.

Open a Business Bank Account

It is important to establish a bank account in your school’s name. This process is fairly simple and involves the following steps:

• Identify and contact the bank you want to use
• Gather and present the required documents (generally include your company’s Articles of Incorporation, driver’s license or passport, and proof of address)
• Complete the bank’s application form and provide all relevant information
• Meet with a banker to discuss your school’s needs and establish a relationship with them

Get a Business Credit Card

You should get a business credit card for your school to help you separate personal and school-related expenses.

You can either apply for a business credit card through your bank or apply for one through a credit card company.

When you’re applying for a business credit card, you’ll need to provide some information about your school. This includes the name of your school, the address of your school, and the type of school you’re running. You’ll also need to provide some information about yourself, including your name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits

Every state, county and city has different business license and permit requirements.

Nearly all states, counties and/or cities have license requirements including:

• General Business License : getting your Articles of Incorporation as discussed above
• Sales Tax License or Tax-Exempt Status : for selling products and/or taxable services or to establish if you are a nonprofit organization
• Zoning Approval : typically at the city or county level, this provides authorization for construction or use of a school building or land for a particular purpose
• Food Service, Processing and/or Warehouse Licensing : to ensure safe food preparation
• Health Facility Licensing & Certification : to ensure safe rendering of healthcare services
• Fire Department Approval : a process by which the local fire department reviews and approves the installation of a fire alarm system.

Get Business Insurance for Your School

Other business insurance policies that you should consider for your school include:

• General liability insurance : This covers accidents and injuries that occur on your property. It also covers damages caused by your employees or products.
• Commercial auto insurance : If a vehicle is used in your business, this type of insurance will cover if a vehicle is damaged or stolen.
• Workers’ compensation insurance : If you have employees, this type of policy works with your general liability policy to protect against workplace injuries and accidents. It also covers medical expenses and lost wages.
• Commercial property insurance : This covers damage to your property caused by fire, theft, or vandalism.
• Business interruption insurance : This covers lost income and expenses if your business is forced to close due to a covered event.
• Professional liability insurance : This protects your school against claims of professional negligence.

Buy or Lease the Right School Equipment

The equipment and tools you need will depend on the type of school you start. In general, you will need to buy or lease:

• Classroom furniture and equipment, such as desks, chairs, measuring tools and other items that are necessary for your students
• Lab instruments and equipment, such as microscopes, telescopes, beakers and other supplies that are required to perform experiments in science classes
• Teaching aids for your elementary school teachers
• Office equipment, including computers, printers and other tools that are useful for administration
• Laptop or desktop computers for your students to use in the classroom

Develop Your School Marketing Materials

Marketing materials will be required to attract and retain students to your school.

The key marketing materials you will need are as follows:

• Logo : Spend some time developing a good logo for your school. Your logo will be printed on company stationery, business cards, marketing materials and so forth. The right logo can increase customer trust and awareness of your brand.
• Website : Likewise, a professional school website provides potential students with information about the products and/or services you offer, your company’s history, and contact information. Importantly, remember that the look and feel of your website will affect how students and families perceive your school.
• Social Media Accounts : establish social media accounts in your company’s name. Accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or other social media networks will help students and others find and interact with your school.

Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your School

Most schools need accounting software and student information systems to manage and track their student enrollment, grades, and schedules.

For accounting, you will need software that can generate invoices and track inventory and expenses. Your software should also allow you to create purchase orders and track vendor discounts. While there are many different software options available, some of the most popular programs for accounting include QuickBooks and Xero.

Most schools require their teachers to use a student information system (SIS). An SIS is a centralized database that manages class rosters, attendance records, grades, and more.

The right SIS will make your job as a school administrator easier, improve the efficiency of record keeping and reporting, and provide valuable insights into your students’ learning experiences.

Open for Learning

How much does it cost to start a school.

In general, the costs for starting a new school can range from $200,000 to $1,000,000 depending on the type of school you are starting.

The cost of starting a school will generally include:

• Inventory and equipment rentals for traditional lab-based classes
• Curriculum design and books
• Marketing expenses
• Licenses and permits
• Business insurance
• Administrative overhead (salaries for your administration team, staff and faculty, computers, software licenses)

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

See in 90 seconds how LivePlan simplifies

financials for students: Watch

Garretts Bike Shop

Provide real–world business plan examples for your students, inspire confidence in future entrepreneurs and easily create your class syllabus using industry–best business plans., liveplan gives students access to actual business plans so they can practice business planning in and outside of the classroom., it's not just a classroom project. it's your students planning for their futures..

Teach by example

LivePlan's examples of actual business plans show students how they can identify opportunities, meet challenges, and plan their path to profits. Just like real-world entrepreneurs.

No spreadsheets necessary

With all–in–one spreadsheet–free forecasting and pitching tools–students can use LivePlan to build a realistic business plan with accurate projections and compelling pitches. Analyze scenarios. Track progress. Set goals. All in LivePlan.

Works seamlessly with your classroom setup

With LivePlan you can simplify syllabus creation. LivePlan can also be used alongside classroom tools such as Blackboard and Canvas. LivePlan's optional instructional resources can enhance your syllabus with materials that introduce lean planning principles, growth metrics, financial forecasting, and more.

Instructors looking for a great tool to help students develop business plans need to look at Live Plan. The step–by–step process walks students through the entire process from Pitch to Financials. As the Instructor you can also have online access to their plan and provide feedback and comments as the plan develops.

Mike Allen Business Instructor, North Idaho College, Coeur d'Alene, ID

Bring out the best in every student

LivePlan's business plan examples help students turn ideas into top–notch business plans for class projects and startups. The tools, features, and instructional content allow you to focus on bringing out the best in your students for every plan and project.

Before using LivePlan, my students were intimidated by the business planning process. LivePlan breaks it down into manageable steps and takes the mystery out of developing a business plan.

Amy Schulz NACCE Vice President of Education, Membership and Associate Faculty, Feather River College, Quincy, CA

I used LivePlan to develop a business plan for a class project. Turns out, the project became part of a business plan competition where I placed second out of over 200 entries.

Sheila Austin Student

LivePlan provides your students with the tools to

Know the competition

No business operates in a vacuum. LivePlan incorporates real–world industry data, so students can better understand competitors, plan businesses around industry realities, and confidently execute data–driven strategies.

Build business dreams together

From sharing feedback and engaging in discussions, to simultaneously working on different parts of the plan, students can easily collaborate in groups using LivePlan.

Create a plan that fits their needs

Whether small or big, LivePlan can build out the right–sized business plan for your classroom projects. In LivePlan, students can develop a simple lean plan that focuses their ideas, or create a full business plan with all the details and steps necessary to persuade investors, attract partners, and turn their idea into a profitable reality.

With so much happening in the classroom, you need a tool that works with you, not one that makes you do extra work. Used by educators, consultants, entrepreneurs, and students all around the world, LivePlan has been regularly improved and streamlined so it's easy to use.

Develop confidence in their plan and themselves

It's one thing to plan a business. It's another thing to know how to talk about a business plan. Students can develop talking points and practice their pitch in LivePlan so they can discuss their enterprise with confidence and authority.

With LivePlan your students exceed expectations

With LivePlan, students create business plans that:

• Guide them from concept to actionable plan
• Build the confidence necessary to be entrepreneurs
• Combine pitching, forecasting, and collaboration

LivePlan streamlines projects for educators

LivePlan eases project management in the classroom, so instructors can:

• Pinpoint feedback and suggest improvements
• Monitor project progress
• Teach business planning instead of managing multiple apps

Go beyond business plan examples

LivePlan easily integrates into business courses, includes all materials and curriculum to support classroom business projects, and comes with free phone, email, and chat technical support.

The students very much appreciate the guidance the LivePlan program offers. I love the ability to act as a contributor to their plans. The help resources are phenomenal and easy to navigate.

John Shaw Assistant Professor of Management, Davis College of Business – Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, FL

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LivePlan really facilitated communication between students who were in a team on the business plan project. Students could comment on sections of their business plan and collaborate on what to change in their plan without having to meet face–to–face.

Amy Valente Assistant Professor of Business, Cayuga Community College, Auburn, New York

LivePlan helped us easily set up the business plan for our startup during our MBA. As soon as the other students saw it, they also wanted LivePlan. The time we saved on planning we could use for operational tasks. It was the ideal solution for us.

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How to write a business plan for a private primary school?

Putting together a business plan for a private primary school can be daunting - especially if you're creating a business for the first time - but with this comprehensive guide, you'll have the necessary tools to do it confidently.

We will explore why writing one is so important in both starting up and growing an existing private primary school, as well as what should go into making an effective plan - from its structure to content - and what tools can be used to streamline the process and avoid errors.

Without further ado, let us begin!

In this guide:

Why write a business plan for a private primary school?

What information is needed to create a business plan for a private primary school.

• How do I build a financial forecast for a private primary school?

The written part of a private primary school business plan

• What tool should I use to write my private primary school business plan?

Having a clear understanding of why you want to write a business plan for your private primary school will make it simpler for you to grasp the rationale behind its structure and content. So before delving into the plan's actual details, let's take a moment to remind ourselves of the primary reasons why you'd want to create a private primary school business plan.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

It's rarely business as usual for small businesses. The economy follows cycles where years of growth are followed by recessions, and the business environment is always changing with new technologies, new regulations, new competitors, and new consumer behaviours appearing all the time...

In this context, running a business without a clear roadmap is like driving blindfolded: it's dangerous at best. That's why writing a business plan for a private primary school is essential to create successful and sustainable businesses.

To write an effective business plan, you will need to take stock of where you are (if you are already in business) and where you want the business to go in the next three to five years.

Once you know where you want your private primary school to be, you'll have to identify:

• what resources (human, equipment, and capital) are needed to get there,
• at what pace the business needs to progress to get there in time,
• and what risks you'll face along the way.

Going through this process regularly is beneficial, both for startups and existing companies, as it helps make informed decisions about how best to allocate resources to ensure the long-term success of the business.

To maintain visibility on future cash flows

Businesses can go for years without making a profit, but they go bust as soon as they run out of cash. That's why "cash is king", and maintaining visibility on your private primary school's future cash flows is critical.

How do I do that? That's simple: you need an up-to-date financial forecast.

The good news is that your private primary school business plan already contains a financial forecast (more on that later in this guide), so all you have to do is to keep it up-to-date.

To do this, you need to regularly compare the actual financial performance of your business to what was planned in your financial forecast, and adjust the forecast based on the current trajectory of your business.

Monitoring your private primary school's financial health will enable you to identify potential financial problems (such as an unexpected cash shortfall) early and to put in place corrective measures. It will also allow you to detect and capitalize on potential growth opportunities (higher demand from a given segment of customers for example).

To secure financing

A detailed business plan becomes a crucial tool when seeking financing from banks or investors for your private primary school.

Investing and lending to small businesses are very risky activities given how fragile they are. Therefore, financiers have to take extra precautions before putting their capital at risk.

At a minimum, financiers will want to ensure that you have a clear roadmap and a solid understanding of your future cash flows (like we just explained above). But they will also want to ensure that your business plan fits the risk/reward profile they seek.

This will off-course vary from bank to bank and investor to investor, but as a rule of thumb. Banks will want to see a conservative financial management style (low risk), and they will use the information in your business plan to assess your borrowing capacity — the level of debt they think your business can comfortably handle — and your ability to repay the loan. This evaluation will determine whether they'll provide credit to your private primary school and the terms of the agreement.

Whereas investors will carefully analyze your business plan to gauge the potential return on their investment. Their focus lies on evidence indicating your private primary school's potential for high growth, profitability, and consistent cash flow generation over time.

Now that you recognize the importance of creating a business plan for your private primary school, let's explore what information is required to create a compelling plan.

Writing a private primary school business plan requires research so that you can project sales, investments and cost accurately in your financial forecast.

In this section, we cover three key pieces of information you should gather before drafting your business plan!

Carrying out market research for a private primary school

Carrying out market research before writing a business plan for a private primary school is essential to ensure that the financial projections are accurate and realistic.

Market research helps you gain insight into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies and other key factors which can have an impact on the commercial success of your business.

In particular, it is useful in forecasting revenue as it provides valuable data regarding potential customers’ spending habits and preferences.

You may discover that parents are increasingly looking for private primary schools with flexible learning options. They might be interested in schools with after-school programs and extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, art, and language classes.

This information can then be used to create more accurate financial projections which will help investors make informed decisions about investing in your private primary school.

Developing the marketing plan for a private primary school

Before delving into your private primary school business plan, it's imperative to budget for sales and marketing expenses.

To achieve this, a comprehensive sales and marketing plan is essential. This plan should provide an accurate projection of the necessary actions to acquire and retain customers.

Additionally, it will outline the required workforce to carry out these initiatives and the corresponding budget for promotions, advertising, and other marketing endeavours.

By budgeting accordingly, you can ensure that the right resources are allocated to these vital activities, aligning them with the sales and growth objectives outlined in your business plan.

The staffing and equipment needs of a private primary school

Whether you are at the beginning stages of your private primary school or expanding its horizons, having a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) is vital to ensure your business's success.

To achieve this, both the recruitment and investment plans must align coherently with the projected timing and level of growth in your forecast. It is essential to secure appropriate funding for these plans.

Staffing costs for a private primary school might include salaries for teachers, administrators, janitors, and cafeteria staff. Equipment costs might include computers, textbooks, desks, and other educational materials.

To create a financial forecast that accurately represents your business's outlook, remember to factor in other day-to-day operating expenses.

Now that you have all the necessary information, it's time to dive in and start creating your business plan and developing the financial forecast for your private primary school.

What goes into your private primary school's financial forecast?

The financial forecast of your private primary school's business plan will enable you to assess the growth, profitability, funding requirements, and cash generation potential of your business in the coming years.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a private primary school are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement ,
• The projected balance sheet ,
• The cash flow forecast ,
• And the sources and uses table .

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

The projected P&L statement

Your private primary school forecasted P&L statement enables the reader of your business plan to get an idea of how much revenue and profits your business is expected to make in the near future.

Ideally, your reader will want to see:

• Growth above the inflation level
• Expanding profit margins
• Positive net profit throughout the plan

Expectations for an established private primary school will of course be different than for a startup. Existing businesses which have reached their cruising altitude might have slower growth and higher margins than ventures just being started.

The forecasted balance sheet of your private primary school

The projected balance sheet of your private primary school will enable the reader of your business plan to assess the overall financial health of your business.

It shows three elements: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: are productive resources owned by the business, such as equipment, cash, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: are debts owed to creditors, lenders, and other entities, such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers).
• Equity: includes the sums invested by the shareholders or business owners and the profits and losses accumulated by the business to date (which are called retained earnings). It is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Analysing your private primary school projected balance sheet provides an understanding of your private primary school's working capital structure, investment and financing policies.

In particular, the readers of your plan can compare the level of financial debt on the balance sheet to the equity value to measure the level of financial risk (equity doesn't need to be reimbursed, while financial debt must be repaid, making it riskier).

They can also use your balance sheet to assess your private primary school's liquidity and solvency:

• A liquidity analysis: focuses on whether or not your business has sufficient cash and short-term assets to cover its liabilities due in the next 12 months.
• A solvency analysis: takes and longer view to assess whether or not your business has the capacity to repay its debts over the medium-term.

The projected cash flow statement

A cash flow forecast for a private primary school shows how much cash the business is projected to generate or consume.

The cash flow statement is divided into 3 main areas:

• The operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the operations (running the business)
• The investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.)
• The financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to investors and lenders

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to ensure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

It is also a best practice to include a monthly cash flow statement in the appendices of your private primary school business plan so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The initial financing plan - also called a sources and uses table - is an important tool when starting a private primary school.

It shows where the money needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be allocated (uses).

Having this table helps understand what costs are involved in setting up the private primary school, how the risks are distributed between the shareholders and the lenders, and what will be the starting cash position (which needs to be sufficient to sustain operations until the business breaks even).

Now that the financial forecast of a private primary school business plan is understood, let's focus on what goes into the written part of the plan.

The written part of a private primary school business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

• The executive summary
• The presentation of the company
• The products and services
• The market analysis
• The strategy
• The operations
• The financial plan

Throughout these sections, you will seek to provide the reader with the details and context needed for them to form a view on whether or not your business plan is achievable and your forecast a realistic possibility.

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

In your private primary school's business plan, the first section is the executive summary — a captivating overview of your plan that aims to pique the reader's interest and leave them eager to learn more about your business.

When crafting the executive summary, start with an introduction to your business, including its name, concept, location, how long it has been running, and what sets it apart. Briefly mention the products and services you plan to offer and your target customer profile.

Following that, provide an overview of the addressable market for your private primary school, current trends, and potential growth opportunities.

Next, include a summary of key financial figures like projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Finally, in the "ask" section, detail any funding requirements you may have.

2. The presentation of the company

The second section in your private primary school's business plan should focus on the structure and ownership, location, and management team of the company.

The structure and ownership part provides an overview of the legal structure of the business, who the owners are and how much each has invested and owns. If you are seeking financing it is important that the reader gets a clear picture of which legal entity is receiving the funds, and who controls the business.

The location part should give an overview of the premises from which the company is operating, and why that location is of particular interest (catchment area, accessibility, amenities nearby, etc.).

When describing the location of your private primary school to a third party financier, you could emphasize its accessibility and proximity to other amenities. You could mention that the school is situated in a safe, residential neighborhood, and that it is conveniently located near public transportation hubs, shopping centers, and other key attractions. You could also point out that the school is close to recreational activities that could be attractive to parents, such as parks, lakes, and museums. Additionally, you could emphasize that the school is within a reasonable distance of major cities that could provide employment opportunities to graduates. Finally, you could highlight that the school is in an area with a good reputation for quality education and that it could be a great investment opportunity for the financier.

Finally, you should introduce the management team. Explain each member's role, background, and experience.

It is also important to emphasize any past successes that the members of the management team have achieved, and how long they've been working together, as this will help potential lenders or investors understand why they should trust in their leadership.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your private primary school business plan should include a detailed description of what your company sells to its customers. 

For example, your private primary school might offer a variety of educational services, such as small class sizes, a focus on individual learning styles, and an emphasis on 21st century skills. It may also offer extracurricular activities like music and art lessons, sports teams, and field trips. Finally, it might provide additional services such as before and after school care, tutoring programs, and summer camp programs. All of these services are designed to help students develop academically, socially, and emotionally.

The reader will want to understand what makes your private primary school unique from other businesses in this competitive market.

When drafting this section, you should be precise about the categories of products or services you sell, the clients you are targeting and the channels that you are targeting them through. 

4. The market analysis

When presenting your market analysis in your private primary school business plan, you should detail the customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and any regulations that may apply.

The goal of this section is to help the reader understand how big and attractive your market is, and demonstrate that you have a solid understanding of the industry.

You should start with the demographics and segmentation subsection, which gives an overview of the addressable market for your private primary school, the main trends in the marketplace, and introduces the different customer segments and their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

The target market section should follow and zoom on the customer segments your private primary school is targeting, and explain how your products and services meet the specific needs of these customers.

For example, your target market might include young families with children aged 5-11. These families may have the financial means to pay for a private school education and be looking for a school with a strong academic reputation. They also may be looking for a school with extracurricular activities, like sports or music, to further their child's development.

Then comes the competition subsection, where you should introduce your main competitors and explain what differentiates you from them.

Finally, you should finish your market analysis by giving an overview of the main regulations applicable to your private primary school.

5. The strategy section

When you write the strategy section of your private primary school business plan, remember to cover key elements such as your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

In the competitive edge subsection, elaborate on what makes your company stand out from competitors. This becomes especially important if you're a startup, aiming to carve a place for yourself amidst established players in the marketplace.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you plan to maintain profitability while offering competitive prices to attract customers.

Outline your sales & marketing plan, detailing how you'll reach out to new customers and retain existing ones through loyalty programs or special offers.

For the milestones subsection, outline your company's achievements to date and your main objectives for the future, complete with specific dates to set clear expectations for progress.

Lastly, the risks and mitigants subsection should address the main risks that could affect your plan's execution. Explain the measures you've put in place to minimize these risks, assuring potential investors or lenders.

Your private primary school could face a range of risks. For example, there may be a risk from a financial standpoint. Your school could experience a decrease in enrollment that could lead to a decrease in revenue. It could also be at risk of mismanagement of funds, which could put the school's operations in jeopardy. Additionally, there may be a risk of liability. Your school could face legal action if any of its students, staff, or visitors were to experience an injury on the premises. It might also be liable for any damage to its property or its neighbor's property.

6. The operations section

The operations of your private primary school must be presented in detail in your business plan.

Begin by addressing your staff, specifying the main roles and your recruitment plan to support the anticipated growth. Outline the qualifications and experience needed for each role and discuss your recruitment strategies, which may involve using job boards, referrals, or headhunters.

Next, clearly state your private primary school's operating hours, allowing the reader to gauge the adequacy of your staffing levels. Additionally, mention any considerations for varying opening times during peak seasons and your approach to handling customer queries outside regular operating hours.

The key assets and intellectual property (IP) required to run your business should also be highlighted. If you rely on licenses, trademarks, physical structures like equipment or property, or lease agreements, ensure they are well-documented in this section.

You could have some key assets such as the physical building and its grounds, as well as any specialized equipment you may have. Furthermore, the school could also have intellectual property such as the curriculum, the logo, and the school name which could all be protected.

Finally, provide a comprehensive list of suppliers you intend to collaborate with, along with a breakdown of their services and main commercial terms, such as price, payment terms, break clauses and contract duration. Investors often seek insight into the reasons behind your supplier choices, which may include a preference for higher-quality products or established relationships from past ventures.

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will include the financial forecast we discussed earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes into a private primary school business plan, let's look at some of the tools you can use to create yours efficiently.

What tool should I use to write my private primary school's business plan?

In this section, we will be reviewing the two main options for writing a private primary school business plan efficiently:

• Using specialized software,
• Outsourcing the drafting to the business plan writer.

Using an online business plan software for your private primary school's business plan

Using online business planning software is the most efficient and modern way to create a private primary school business plan.

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here .

Hiring a business plan writer to write your private primary school's business plan

Outsourcing your private primary school business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are skilled in creating error-free business plans and accurate financial forecasts. Moreover, hiring a consultant can save you valuable time, allowing you to focus on day-to-day business operations.

However, it's essential to be aware that hiring business plan writers will be expensive, as you're not only paying for their time but also the software they use and their profit margin.

Based on experience, you should budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a comprehensive business plan, and more if you require changes after initial discussions with lenders or investors.

Also, exercise caution when seeking investment. Investors prefer their funds to be directed towards business growth rather than spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services and other consulting services should be insignificant compared to the amount raised.

Keep in mind that one drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself; you only receive the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business planning software. This can make it challenging to update the document without retaining the consultant's services.

For these reasons, carefully consider outsourcing your private primary school business plan to a business plan writer, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of seeking outside assistance.

Why not create your private primary school's business plan using Word or Excel?

Using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write a private primary school business plan is a terrible idea.

For starters, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is very technical and requires both a strong grasp of accounting principles and solid skills in financial modelling.

As a result, it is unlikely anyone will trust your numbers unless - like us at The Business Plan Shop - you hold a degree in finance and accounting and have significant financial modelling experience in your past.

The second reason is that it is inefficient. Building forecasts on spreadsheets was the only option in the 1990s and early 2000s, nowadays technology has advanced and software can do it much faster and much more accurately.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Also, using software makes it easy to compare actuals vs. forecasts and maintain our forecasts up to date to maintain visibility on future cash flows - as we discussed earlier in this guide - whereas this is a pain to do with a spreadsheet.

That's for the forecast, but what about the written part of my private primary school business plan?

This part is less error-prone, but here also software brings tremendous gains in productivity:

• Word processors don't include instructions and examples for each part of your business plan
• Word processors don't update your numbers automatically when they change in your forecast
• Word processors don't handle the formatting for you

Overall, while Word or Excel may be viable options for creating a private primary school business plan for some entrepreneurs, it is by far not the best or most efficient solution.

• Having an up-to-date business plan is key to maintaining visibility on your future cash flows.
• A business plan has 2 parts: a financial forecast highlighting the expected growth, profitability and cash generation of the business; and a written part which provides the context needed to interpret and assess the quality of the forecast.
• Using business plan software is the modern way of writing and maintaining business plans.

We hope that this guide helped you to better understand how to write the business plan for a private primary school. If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• How to write a 5 years business plan
• Business plan myths

Know someone who owns or wants to start a private primary school? Share this article with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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Plan template bundle, education business plan template bundle, 25+ school business plan templates in doc | pdf, 1. bible school business plan template, 2. school business plan template, 3. music school business plan template, 4. simple middle school business plan template, 5. free self-sufficient school business plan template, 6. free primary school business plan template, 7. free basic school business plan worksheet, 8. free sample primary school business plan template, 9. free school admission business plan template, 10. free basic primary school business plan, 11. community school business plan with executive summary, 12. free preschool daycare / childcare business plan, 13. free students secondary school business plan, 14. free business plan for charter schools template, 15. free independent public school business plan, 16. free draft quarterly school project business plan, 17. hospitality school business planner with introduction, 18. free senior high school business plan template, 19. nursery & primary kindergarten kids school business plan, 20. free school management & business continuity plan, 21. free school education improvement business plan, 22. free school business continuity plan form, 23. free charter school business plan outline, 24. free private school business plan template, 25. free school business lesson plan template, how to create a highly effective preschool business plan, step 1: create the cover page, step 2: create a summary of what you want to build, step 3: give an analysis of the market, step 4: propose how you wish to achieve your goals, step 5: calculate and estimate the costs, what is a perfect business plan, how to make the perfect business plan, step 1: make a proper analysis, step 2: mention purpose, step 3: make a government outline, step 4: try to make an execution, step 5: keep your financial statement, step 6: follow the appendix, plan templates.

A business plan helps you with a new project, product, service, or system when managing a company. Students, teachers, and administrative members can also improve their education for secondary school, primary school , or other preschool kids. Moreover, you can also launch a new course for your private high school and secondary school subjects like music, art, and any lesson. We understand that the content and research take time, so we provide you with school business plan templates .

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40+ Fun And Profitable Unique Business Ideas For School Project

Are you a student looking for a unique and engaging school project idea that goes beyond traditional assignments? Exploring innovative business ideas within the field of school projects opens doors to creativity and practical learning. It is an avenue where students merge education with entrepreneurship, encouraging skills and knowledge beyond the classroom. A school project business idea involves conceptualizing, planning, and executing a business venture within the school’s framework, allowing students to gain hands-on experience.

In our blog, we will provide the significance of these ventures, highlighting the advantages considerations when selecting ideas, and presenting a comprehensive list of 40+ unique and profitable business ideas tailored for school projects. We’ll guide you through the steps of idea development, offer success tips, address implementation challenges, and provide strategies to overcome them. 

Stay tuned with us to explore the world of unique business ideas for school project.

What Is A School Project Business Idea?

Table of Contents

A school project business idea is like a special plan students create for their school work that’s all about starting a small business. It’s a way for students to bring their ideas to life, by thinking, planning, and doing something like running a business, but within the school. These projects can be about selling products, offering services, or even organizing events. They’re a chance for students to learn by doing, applying what they’ve learned in class to a real-life situation.

These projects are not just about making money; they’re about learning. Students figure out how a business works, how to manage money, how to talk to customers, and how to solve problems. It’s a fun way for students to be creative and develop skills that can help them in the future, teaching them about responsibility and teamwork along the way.

Benefits Of Starting A Unique Business Ideas For School Project

Here are some benefits of starting a unique business ideas for school project:

1. Hands-on Learning

Starting a unique business idea for a school project provides practical learning experiences. It’s like doing things instead of just reading about them, offering a real taste of how business works, teaching students more than just facts.

2. Skill Development

It’s like a playground for skills. Students learn how to talk to people, work in a team, handle money, and solve problems. These skills aren’t just for the project; they’re important skills for life.

3. Applying Classroom Knowledge

Things learned in class become real in these projects. For example, if they’re studying math, they can use it to manage their project’s money or understand profit and loss.

4. Understanding Business Concepts

Students get a peek into how businesses run. They learn about making products or providing services, advertising, and dealing with customers, which helps them see how real businesses operate.

5. Boosting Confidence

By doing a project and seeing it succeed, students feel confident about their abilities. It’s like a high-five for their hard work, helping them believe in themselves and their skills.

Factors To Consider When Choosing A School Project Business Idea

Here are some factors to consider when choosing a school project business idea:

1. Interest and Passion

Choosing a project idea that students are excited about and love doing is really important. When they’re passionate, it feels less like work and more like fun. It helps them stay motivated and committed to the project.

2. Resources Available

Students need to think about what they have access to—like materials, time, and support. It’s about being realistic and choosing an idea that fits what’s available. For example, if they have limited funds, choosing a costly project might not be the best idea.

3. Target Audience

Knowing who the project is for is vital. Students need to think about who will be interested in what they’re offering. Comprehending the requirements and inclinations of their target audience aids in customizing their project for enhanced success.

4. Feasibility and Scalability

The project idea should be doable within the given time and resources. It’s good to start small, but also to think if the idea could grow bigger if things go well. Starting small helps understand how to expand.

5. Educational Value

The project should not just be about making money; it should teach something. Students need to consider what they can learn from the project and how it aligns with their educational goals.

40+ Fun & Profitable Unique Business Ideas For School Project

In this section we provide 40+ fun and profitable unique business ideas for school project:

1. Pet Sitting Services

Pet sitting services provide a convenient solution for pet owner who need someone to care for their furry friends while they are away. This project requires minimal investment in advertising, basic pet care supplies, and transportation. 

Finance Required

Skills required.

• Basic knowledge of pet care
• Responsible and reliable nature
• Good communication skills

2. Customized T-Shirt Printing

Customized t-shirt printing allows individuals to express their creativity by designing and printing unique t-shirts. This project requires a t-shirt printing machine, blank t-shirts, and various printing supplies.

• Graphic design skills
• Knowledge of t-shirt printing techniques
• Marketing and customer service skills

3. Organic Gardening and Produce Sales

Organic gardening involves growing fruits and vegetables without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Students can sell the organic produce they grow at local farmers’ markets or through a subscription-based service. This project requires gardening tools, seeds, and marketing materials. 

Low to Moderate

• Gardening and horticulture knowledge
• Marketing and sales skills
• Understanding of organic farming practices

4. Event Planning Services

Event planning services involve organizing and coordinating various events, such as birthday celebrations,corporate gatherings and weddings. Students can offer their services by creating customized event packages and coordinating with vendors. This project requires excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage budgets effectively.

Low to Moderate 

• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills
• Attention to detail

5. Handmade Jewelry Design and Sales

Handmade jewelry design and sales involve creating unique and artistic jewelry pieces using various materials, such as beads, gemstones, and metals. Students can sell their creations online, at local craft fairs, or through consignment in retail stores. This project requires jewelry-making tools, materials, and marketing materials. 

• Creativity and design skills
• Basic knowledge of jewelry-making techniques

6. Mobile App Development

Mobile app development involves creating applications for smartphones and tablets. Students can develop apps for various purposes, such as gaming, productivity, or education. This project requires programming skills, access to a computer or laptop, and software development tools. 

Low to High (depending on app complexity) 

• Programming skills (such as Java, Swift, or HTML)
• Problem-solving and analytical thinking
• User interface design knowledge

7. Eco-friendly Cleaning Products

Eco-friendly cleaning products are becoming increasingly popular as people seek environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional cleaning supplies. Students can create and sell their own line of eco-friendly cleaning products, such as all-purpose cleaners, laundry detergents, and dish soaps. This project requires research on eco-friendly ingredients, packaging materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of eco-friendly ingredients and their benefits
• Basic understanding of chemistry

8. Language Tutoring Services

Language tutoring services involve teaching others to speak and understand different languages. Students can offer one-on-one tutoring sessions or group lessons either in person or online. This project requires proficiency in the chosen language, teaching materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Fluency in the chosen language
• Teaching and communication skills
• Patience and adaptability

9. Local Tour Guide Services

Local tour guide services involve providing guided tours and showcasing the attractions and landmarks in a particular area. Students can create customized tour packages and offer their services to tourists or locals. This project requires in-depth knowledge of the local area, good communication skills, and marketing efforts. 

• Extensive knowledge of the local area
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills
• Ability to manage and coordinate tours

10. Upcycled Furniture Design and Sales

Upcycled furniture design and sales involve transforming old and discarded furniture into unique and stylish pieces. Students can acquire old furniture, refurbish and redesign them, and sell them to customers looking for sustainable and affordable home decor options. This project requires furniture restoration tools, materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Basic knowledge of furniture restoration techniques

11. Personalized Gift Creation

Personalized gift creation involves designing and creating customized gifts for various occasions, such as birthday parties, weddings, and anniversaries. Students can offer personalized items, such as engraved jewelry, custom-made photo albums, or monogrammed accessories. This project requires crafting materials, design software, and marketing efforts. 

12. Vintage Clothing Resale

Vintage clothing resale involves sourcing and selling vintage and retro clothing items. Students can curate a collection of unique and fashionable vintage pieces and sell them online or through pop-up shops. This project requires sourcing vintage clothing, marketing efforts, and packaging materials. 

• Knowledge of vintage fashion trends
• Basic understanding of clothing sizing and alterations

13. Personal Fitness Training

Personal fitness training involves providing customized fitness plans and guidance to individuals looking to achieve their health and fitness goals. Students can offer one-on-one training sessions or group fitness classes. This project requires fitness certifications, fitness equipment, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of exercise techniques and fitness principles
• Motivational and coaching skills

14. Virtual Assistance Services

Virtual assistance services involve providing administrative and organizational support to individuals or businesses remotely. Students can offer services such as email management, scheduling, social media management, and data entry. This project requires a computer or laptop, internet access, and marketing efforts. 

• Excellent communication and computer skills

15. Homemade Soap and Bath Product Creation

Homemade soap and bath product creation involves making natural and luxurious soaps, bath bombs, and body scrubs. Students can create their own unique formulations and sell these products online or at local markets. This project requires soap-making ingredients, molds, and packaging materials. 

• Knowledge of soap-making techniques and ingredients

16. Online Reselling

Online reselling involves sourcing and selling second-hand or discounted items through online platforms. Students can find items at thrift stores, garage sales, or clearance sales, and resell them at a higher price. This project requires an online selling platform account, packaging materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of market trends and popular items
• Basic understanding of online selling platforms

18. Photography Services

Photography services involve capturing moments and creating memorable images for various occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, or family portraits. Students can offer their photography skills for hire and provide digital or printed copies of the photographs. This project requires a camera, photography accessories, and marketing efforts.

• Knowledge of photography techniques and equipment
• Creativity and an eye for composition

19. Outdoor Adventure Guide Services

Outdoor adventure guide services involve leading and organizing outdoor activities, such as hiking, tracking, or camping trips. Students can create adventure packages and offer their services to adventure enthusiasts. This project requires knowledge of outdoor activities, safety equipment, and marketing efforts.

  Low to Moderate 

• Extensive knowledge of outdoor activities and safety protocols
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Ability to manage and coordinate group activities

20. Social Media Management

Social media management involves managing and maintaining social media accounts for individuals or businesses. Students can offer services such as content creation, posting schedules, and interaction with followers. This project requires knowledge of social media platforms, content creation tools, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of various social media platforms
• Excellent communication and writing skills
• Basic understanding of content creation and marketing

21. Handmade Candle Making

Handmade candle making involves creating unique and scented candles using various waxes, fragrances, and molds. Students can sell their handmade candles online, at local markets, or through consignment in retail stores. This project requires candle-making supplies, fragrance oils, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of candle-making techniques and materials

22. Computer Repair Services

Computer repair services involve diagnosing and fixing hardware or software issues on computers and laptops. Students can offer troubleshooting and repair services to individuals or businesses in need. This project requires knowledge of computer hardware and software, repair tools, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of computer hardware and software troubleshooting

23. Healthy Meal Prep Services

Healthy meal prep services involve preparing and delivering nutritious and ready-to-eat meals to individuals or families. Students can create customized meal plans based on dietary preferences and deliver the meals on a regular basis. This project requires meal prep containers, cooking equipment, and marketing efforts. 

• Culinary skills and ability to prepare nutritious meals
• Time-management and organizational skills

24. Graphic Design Services

Graphic design services involve creating visual content for various purposes, such as logos, brochures, websites, or social media posts. Students can offer their graphic design skills for hire and provide customized designs based on client needs. This project requires graphic design software, a computer or laptop, and marketing efforts. 

• Proficiency with graphic design programs (like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop)
• Attention to detailed information and ability to understand client requirements

25. Personalized Stationery Design and Sales

Personalized stationery design and sales involve creating and selling customized stationery items, such as notepads, greeting cards, or planners. Students can offer personalized designs based on client preferences and sell them online or at local markets. This project requires stationery materials, printing equipment, and marketing efforts. 

• Knowledge of printing techniques and materials

26. Handmade Home Decor

Handmade home decor involves creating unique and artistic home decoration items, such as wall art, pillows, or ceramics. Students can sell their handmade creations online, at local craft fairs, or through consignment in retail stores. This project requires crafting materials, design tools, and marketing efforts. 

• Basic knowledge of crafting techniques and materials

27. Music Lessons

Music lessons involve teaching individuals to play musical instruments or improve their singing skills. Students can offer one-on-one lessons or group classes either in person or online. This project requires proficiency in the chosen musical instrument or vocal training, teaching materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Proficiency in the chosen musical instrument or vocal training

28. Freelance Writing Services

Freelance writing services involve providing written content for various purposes, such as articles, blog posts, or website copy. Students can offer their writing skills for hire and provide customized content based on client requirements. This project requires good writing skills, research capabilities, and marketing efforts. 

• Excellent writing skills
• Research and information-gathering abilities
• Marketing and client communication skills

29. Eco-friendly Product Retail

Eco-friendly product retail involves sourcing and selling environmentally friendly products, such as reusable water bottles, sustainable clothing, or zero-waste items. Students can create an online store or sell products through pop-up shops. This project requires sourcing eco-friendly products, marketing efforts, and packaging materials. 

• Knowledge of eco-friendly products and their benefits
• Basic understanding of online retail or pop-up shop management

30. Online Fitness Classes

Online fitness classes involve providing workout sessions and fitness guidance through virtual platforms. Students can create customized fitness programs, conduct live or pre-recorded classes, and offer personalized coaching. This project requires fitness certifications, video recording equipment, and marketing efforts. 

• Ability to create engaging and effective workout programs

31. Social Media Influencer

Social media influencing involves building a following on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok and partnering with brands for sponsored content or collaborations. Students can create engaging and relevant content to attract followers and monetize their social media presence. This project requires content creation skills, social media management, and marketing efforts. 

• Creativity and content creation skills
• Familiarity with social media platforms and trends
• Marketing and negotiation skills

32. Online Language Courses 

Online language courses involve creating and teaching language courses through virtual platforms. Students can offer courses for various levels and languages, providing study materials, exercises, and personalized feedback. This project requires fluency in the chosen language, teaching materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Ability to create engaging and effective language learning materials

33. Arts and Crafts Workshops

Arts and crafts workshops involve organizing and conducting creative workshops for individuals or groups. Students can teach various art techniques, such as painting, pottery, or jewelry making. This project requires art supplies, workshop space, and marketing efforts. 

Finance Required 

 skills required.

• Proficiency in the chosen art technique
• Ability to create engaging and educational workshop content

34. Online Coaching and Mentoring

Giving advice and assistance to people looking to advance personally or professionally is the goal of online coaching and mentoring. Students can offer coaching services in areas such as career development, life skills, or academic success. This project requires expertise in the chosen coaching area, coaching materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Expertise in the chosen coaching area
• Active listening and communication skills

35. Personalized Home Organization Services

Personalized home organization services involve helping individuals declutter and organize their living spaces. Students can offer organizing services for specific areas, such as closets, kitchens, or home offices. This project requires organizing tools, transportation, and marketing efforts. 

• Attention to detail and ability to create efficient systems

36. Digital Marketing Consultancy

Digital marketing consultancy involves providing expert advice and strategies to businesses looking to enhance their online presence. Students can provide services such as social media marketing, search engine optimization, or content creation. This project requires knowledge of digital marketing strategies, marketing tools, and client communication.

• Knowledge of digital marketing strategies and tools
• Analytical thinking and problem-solving skills

37. Eco-tourism Guide Services

Eco-tourism guide services involve leading and organizing environmentally friendly tours in natural or conservation areas. Students can create eco-tourism packages and educate participants about wildlife, ecosystems, and sustainable practices. This project requires knowledge of eco-tourism principles, safety equipment, and marketing efforts. 

• Extensive knowledge of local ecosystems and wildlife
• Ability to educate and engage participants in sustainable practices

38. Virtual Reality (VR) Experience Creation 

Virtual reality experience creation involves developing immersive and interactive virtual reality content for entertainment or educational purposes. Students can create virtual reality experiences and offer them for rent or provide on-site experiences at events. This project requires virtual reality equipment, software development skills, and marketing efforts. 

Moderate to High 

• Knowledge of virtual reality technology and software
• Programming and software development skills
• Creativity and storytelling abilities

39. Online Tutoring Services

Online tutoring services involve providing academic support and guidance to students in various subjects. Students can offer one-on-one tutoring sessions or group lessons through virtual platforms. This project requires expertise in the chosen subject, teaching materials, and marketing efforts. 

• Proficiency in the chosen subject
• Ability to adapt teaching methods to individual learning styles

40. Custom Cake Design and Baking

Custom cake design and baking involve creating unique and customized cakes for special occasions, such as birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries. Students can offer their baking and cake decorating skills and provide personalized designs based on client preferences. This project requires baking supplies, cake decorating tools, and marketing efforts. 

• Baking and cake decorating skills

41. Online Yoga and Meditation Classes 

Online yoga and meditation classes involve providing virtual sessions for individuals seeking relaxation, mindfulness, and physical well-being. Students can create customized yoga and meditation programs, conduct live or pre-recorded classes, and offer personalized guidance. This project requires yoga certifications, video recording equipment, and marketing efforts.

• Proficiency in yoga and meditation techniques
• Ability to create calming and engaging sessions

Steps To Develop A Unique Business Idea

Here are some main steps to develop a unique business idea:

Step 1: Identify Interests and Problems

Step 2: Research and Brainstorm Ideas

Step 3: Define Target Audience and Needs

Step 4: Create a Unique Solution or Product

Step 5: Plan and Test Your Idea

Read More 

• Business Intelligence Projects For Beginners
• How To Use Business Intelligence To Make Better Business Decisions

Tips For Successfully Completing The School Project Business

Here are some tips for successfully completing the school project business:

Tip 1: Plan and Organize

Create a plan and keep things organized. Planning helps to know what to do, when to do it, and what materials are needed, while being organized makes the project easier to manage.

Tip 2: Communicate Well

Good communication is essential. Talking to team members and customers helps everyone know what’s going on, preventing misunderstandings and keeping the project on track.

Tip 3: Stay Flexible

Being flexible helps to adapt to changes or problems. Things might not always go as planned, so being open to changes and new ideas is important.

Tip 4: Learn from Mistakes

Mistakes happen, and that’s alright. Learning from them helps to improve. Instead of feeling bad, see mistakes as chances to do better next time.

Tip 5: Celebrate Achievements

Celebrate progress and success. Recognizing accomplishments, big or small, keeps motivation high and shows how much has been achieved.

Challenges While Implementing Unique Business Ideas And How To Overcome Them

Here are some challenges while implementing unique business ideas and how to overcome them: 

1. Limited market acceptance

One of the challenges in implementing unique business ideas is the limited acceptance of new concepts in the market.

How To Overcome: Businesses can conduct market research to understand the target audience’s needs and preferences, and then tailor their unique idea to meet those demands effectively.

2. Lack of funding

Another challenge is the lack of funding to bring unique business ideas to life.

How To Overcome: Individual investors, venture capitalists, crowdsourcing, and even bootstrapping are just a few of the funding possibilities available to entrepreneurs. Additionally, in order to draw in possible investors, they can write an engaging business plan.

3. Resistance to change

Implementing unique business ideas often faces resistance from employees, customers, or even stakeholders who are comfortable with the status quo. 

How To Overcome: Businesses should focus on effective communication and change management strategies. They can involve employees in the decision-making process, provide training and support, and demonstrate the benefits of the new idea to gain buy-in from all stakeholders.

4. Competitive landscape

Unique business ideas may face intense competition from existing players in the market. 

How To Overcome: Businesses should differentiate themselves by emphasizing their unique selling points and value proposition. They can also focus on creating a strong brand identity and building customer loyalty through exceptional service and innovative marketing strategies.

5. Uncertainty And Risk

Implementing unique business ideas involves a certain level of uncertainty and risk.

How To Overcome: Businesses can conduct thorough market research, analyze potential risks, and develop contingency plans. They can also seek advice from industry experts and mentors to gain insights and guidance throughout the implementation process.

After exploring unique business ideas for school project is an engaging path toward practical education . Students discover the significance of hands-on learning, navigating the ropes of entrepreneurship within their educational sphere. Considering passion, resources, and audience, 40+ creative business ideas cater to school projects. 

Understanding how to develop unique ideas and implementing essential success tips equips students with practical skills. Challenges become stepping stones, encouraging adaptability and resilience. These projects foster growth, shaping young minds for future ventures. Embracing creativity and learning from experience, students find inspiration and valuable lessons, laying a solid foundation for their entrepreneurial journey.

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New School Business Plan

Step 1: school overview, step 2: executive summary, step 3: school services.

• Literacy services
• Numeracy services
• Meeting accreditation standards
• Foundations in science and mathematics
• Foundations in geography and history
• Giving extracurricular activities
• Giving books and school materials

Step 4: Mission Statement and Vision Statement

Step 5: job description, step 6: swot analysis.

• Strengths – What is the ace of your school against your competitors?
• Weaknesses – On what aspects are your school lacking?
• Opportunities – Where does your school excel in teaching?
• Threats – What can make a student leave your school?

Step 7: Market Research

Step 8: sales plan, step 9: publicity plan, step 10: school budget, share this post on your network, you may also like these articles, 40+ sample agriculture business plan in pdf | ms word.

When running an agricultural business, you'll need a comprehensive plan to make sure that all steps you're taking are on the right track. Like any other business, this agriculture…

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Whether it is kindergarten, elementary, high school, college, or even graduate school, action plans can be applied to any educational level. School action plans are tools that offer direction…

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160+ Business Ideas for High School Students

This content may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Check out our affiliate disclosure and our editorial standards .

High school students are often in search of opportunities to gain practical experience while learning crucial skills for their future careers. One of the best ways for young individuals to acquire these skills is through entrepreneurship.

By exploring various business ideas tailored to their interests and abilities, high school students can develop essential skills such as problem-solving, effective communication, and financial management.

There is no shortage of business ideas suitable for high school students. Some of these may even be initiated with low investment and from the comfort of their own homes.

With the right attitude and dedication, students can successfully balance their academic pursuits and their entrepreneurial journey, leading to long-term benefits like expanded networks and professional growth.

As contemporary technology continues to advance, high school students are well-positioned to capitalize on emerging trends, creating innovative solutions to everyday challenges.

Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset at a young age can prove to be invaluable, equipping students with the tools necessary for navigating the ever-changing professional landscape.

Business Ideas For High Schoolers

Here’s a list of business ideas for high school students. While all of these won’t be a perfect fit for everyone, hopefully some of them will serve as inspiration for your next idea!

• Lawn Mowing Service
• Babysitting
• Dog Walking
• Car Washing
• Tutoring in a Subject They Excel In
• Selling Handmade Jewelry
• Social Media Management for Small Businesses
• Video Editing Service
• Web Design Service
• Baking and Selling Cookies or Cupcakes
• House Cleaning Service
• Pet Sitting
• Creating and Selling Artwork
• Personal Shopping Service
• Bicycle Repair Service
• Personalized Greeting Card Creation
• Creating and Selling Handmade Candles
• Custom Smartphone Case Design
• Freelance Writing for Blogs or Magazines
• Creating YouTube Video Content
• Selling Vintage Clothing Online
• Mobile Phone Repair Service
• Teaching Computer Skills
• Organizing Community Events
• Making and Selling Custom T-Shirts
• Home Organizing Service
• Running Errands for Elderly Neighbors
• Makeup Artist for Events
• Custom Illustration and Design Services
• Handmade Soap and Bath Bomb Making
• Game Development
• Growing and Selling Organic Produce
• Personal Fitness Training
• Making and Selling Hair Accessories
• Recycling Service
• Snow Shoveling Service
• Holiday Decoration Service
• Academic Research Assistant
• Custom Gift Basket Creation
• Thrift Store Flipping
• Tech Setup and Troubleshooting
• Adventure Tour Guide in Local Area
• Resume Writing Service
• Home Theater Setup Service
• Aquarium Cleaning Service
• Local History Guide
• College Application Consulting
• Mobile DJ Service for Events
• Drone Photography Service
• Creating and Managing a School Newsletter
• Henna Tattoo Artist
• Mobile Gaming Party Host
• Party Planning for Teens
• Local Sports Coaching
• Selling Handmade Paper Crafts
• Online Language Tutoring
• Yard Sale Organizer
• School Supply Resale
• Handmade Furniture Upcycling
• Scrapbooking Service
• Personalized Mug Printing
• Providing Music Lessons
• Creating and Selling Stickers
• Board Game Rentals
• Pool Cleaning Service
• Teaching Dance Classes
• Creating and Selling Handmade Pottery
• Making and Selling Personalized Bookmarks
• YouTube Tutorial Creator (e.g., Makeup, Gaming)
• Event Photography
• Making and Selling DIY Science Kits
• Creating and Selling Study Guides
• Plant Nursery Business
• Tailoring and Alterations
• Mobile Skateboard or Rollerblade Repair
• Online Comics and Art
• Aquarium Design and Maintenance
• Custom Cake Decorating
• Refurbishing Old Electronics
• Knitting and Selling Scarves and Hats
• Offering Calligraphy Services
• Beach Cleanup Service
• Mobile Bicycle Tune-Up Service

Social Media Influencer

• Assisting in Local Organic Farms
• College Scholarship Research Service
• Adventure Travel Planning for Families
• Homemade Jam and Jelly Making
• Vintage Clothing Restoration
• Custom Airbrushing Service
• Assisting with Local Charity Events
• Mobile Car Detailing
• Organic Pet Treat Making
• Nature Guiding and Education
• Local Magazine Contributor
• Teaching Origami or Craft Classes
• Designing Custom Desktop Wallpapers
• Smartphone Photography Classes
• Hosting Local Trivia Nights
• Creating and Selling Herbal Teas and Remedies
• Personal Shopping for Seniors
• Creating and Selling Mobile Phone Cases
• High School Memory Books Creator
• Seasonal Lawn Decoration Service
• Building and Selling Birdhouses
• Fitness Classes for Other Teens
• Designing Custom School Spirit Wear
• Indoor Plant Care and Consultation
• Providing Tech Support for Seniors
• Popcorn Making and Selling
• Comic Book Flipping
• Creating and Selling Greeting Cards
• Collectible Toy Reselling
• Hosting Video Game Tournaments
• Personalized Jewelry Making
• Offering Meditation and Yoga Classes
• Developing Personalized Workout Plans
• Selling Hand-Painted Sneakers
• Providing Resume and Job Interview Coaching
• Organizing Community Sporting Events
• Teaching Painting or Drawing Classes
• Custom Phone Ringtone Creation
• Hosting Themed Movie Nights
• Selling Handcrafted Candles
• Producing and Selling Vegan Snacks
• Making and Selling Natural Skincare Products
• Organizing Local Cleanup Efforts
• Hosting Cooking Classes for Kids
• Building and Selling Terrariums
• Writing and Selling E-Books (e.g., Fantasy, Adventure)
• Organizing and Leading Hiking Trips
• Creating Personalized Home Decor
• Making and Selling Quilts or Blankets
• Teaching Digital Art and Design
• Building and Selling Miniature Models
• Offering Sports Equipment Rentals
• Designing and Printing Custom T-Shirts
• Hosting DIY Craft Workshops
• Building and Selling Custom Fish Tanks
• Providing Language Translation Services
• Conducting Local History Tours
• Creating and Selling 3D Printed Items
• Personalized Meal Planning and Prep
• Teaching Basic Coding and Programming
• Personal Stylist and Wardrobe Consulting
• Developing and Selling Mobile Apps
• Designing Custom Stationery
• Providing Childproofing Services
• Teaching Robotics Workshops
• Hosting and Organizing Art Exhibits
• Tailoring and Alteration Service
• Creating and Selling Board Games
• Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books
• Teaching Dance or Music Lessons
• Building Custom Gaming Computers
• Designing and Making Prom Accessories
• Creating Educational YouTube Videos
• Making and Selling Garden Decorations
• Hosting Virtual Reality Gaming Experiences
• Offering Peer Academic Tutoring
• Hosting Charity Fundraisers
• Providing Makeup and Beauty Tutorials
• Creating and Running Escape Room Experiences
• Designing Custom Laptop Skins
• Building and Selling Remote Control Vehicles
• Offering Bicycle Maintenance and Repair
• Providing College Application Assistance
• Developing and Selling Educational Apps
• Creating and Organizing Community Talent Shows

Essential Business Concepts

Starting a business as a high school student can be an exhilarating and educational experience. To succeed, young entrepreneurs should be well-versed in a few essential business concepts. These concepts cover the various stages of business development and management, ensuring smooth-sailing from the inception to scaling.

Before embarking on the entrepreneurial journey, it is crucial to develop a clear business plan . A solid plan outlines the product or service being offered, target market, growth strategy, and financial projections. This document will not only serve as a roadmap for the startup but also helps in soliciting investment and support from potential backers.

One key aspect of entrepreneurship is identifying the ideal business model . The model determines how a business will generate revenue, and it may evolve over time to adapt to market trends or customer preferences. For instance, popular models include the subscription approach, freemium offerings, and direct sales.

Product and service development is vital for any startup. Young entrepreneurs must focus on meeting customer needs by providing unique, value-added solutions. Conducting market research, studying competitors, and gathering customer feedback are essential steps in creating a compelling offering.

When starting a business, it’s essential to have a strong management structure in place. Efficient management involves organizing resources, delegating tasks, and overseeing operations to ensure the business runs smoothly. Strong leadership skills, communication, and a willingness to learn from mistakes are vital traits for a successful entrepreneur.

Finally, planning the launch of the startup business is a critical step. This includes finalizing the product or service, securing the necessary permits or licenses, creating a marketing strategy, and establishing operating processes. Proper planning and execution during the launch phase can help young entrepreneurs build a solid foundation and set their businesses on a path to success.

To sum up, mastering essential business concepts is vital for high school students looking to embark on their entrepreneurial journey. From crafting a business plan to developing a successful launch strategy, these concepts will guide young entrepreneurs in making informed decisions and turning their business ideas into thriving ventures.

Business Ideas For High School Students

Starting a business during high school can be an excellent way to learn valuable skills, develop a strong work ethic, and potentially earn some extra money. With minimal investment and flexible working hours, these business ideas for students and teens can become rewarding side hustles . Let’s explore some business ideas that are suitable for high school students.

Freelance writing and editing can be an ideal opportunity for students who are passionate about writing or have strong grammar skills. Students can offer their services for a fee, creating content or proofreading for clients like bloggers, businesses, and authors. Freelance writing platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr can be an excellent starting point.

Tutoring is another feasible option for high school students who excel in a particular subject or skill. Tutoring services can be offered to younger students, classmates, or adults looking to learn something new. Online platforms like Tutor.com or Wyzant can help connect tutors with potential clients. Alternatively, students can promote their services through local community centers, schools, and social media.

If a student possesses a talent for arts and crafts , they can turn their hobby into a small business venture. Handmade jewelry, clothing, paintings, stationery, or home décor items can be sold online through marketplaces like Etsy or at local craft fairs and community events.

Pet sitting and dog walking services can cater to busy pet owners who need assistance in taking care of their furry friends. This business idea requires little to no investment and provides the added benefit of getting regular exercise while walking pets. Promoting services via social media, local pet stores, or dog parks can help attract clients.

Lastly, high school students with an interest in technology and gadgets may consider starting a tech support and repair service . Offering assistance with software installation, troubleshooting, or even repairing smartphones and laptops can be a profitable business idea. To promote this service, students can pitch to their classmates, family friends, or community members looking for tech support.

These are just a handful of potential business ideas for students and teens looking to start their entrepreneurial journey. By investing time, effort, and dedication, high school students can successfully launch their businesses and gain valuable experience in the process.

Service-Based Business Ideas

Tutoring services.

Starting a tutoring business is a great opportunity for high-achieving high school students. By offering one-on-one or group sessions, you can help other students improve their academic performance.

Focus on subjects where you excel, such as math, science, or languages. To attract clients, create flyers, social media pages, or leverage your school’s bulletin board. As you gain experience and clients, consider expanding your services to online tutoring platforms.

Child Care Services

Offering child care services is a flexible way to earn money after school or over the weekend. Whether it’s babysitting, providing after-school care, or even organizing playdates, your services can be valuable to busy parents.

Make sure to obtain necessary certifications, such as child and infant CPR, and create a professional online presence to showcase your skills and experience.

Pet Care Services

If you love animals, starting a pet care business might be the perfect fit. Offer services like pet sitting, dog walking, or even grooming sessions.

To set yourself apart from competitors, consider obtaining certifications from organizations like Pet Sitters International or the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. Advertise your services through local classifieds, social media, or word of mouth in your neighborhood.

Errand-Running Services

Helping others with their daily tasks can be a lucrative business idea for high school students. By offering errand-running services , you can assist busy parents or elderly neighbors with grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning, or dropping off packages.

Build your client base through personal connections, social media advertising, and local online community groups.

Outdoor Maintenance Services

Lawn care businesses are ideal for high school students who enjoy spending time outdoors. Services may include mowing lawns, raking leaves, trimming bushes, or even small landscaping projects.

Invest in good-quality equipment and learn proper techniques to ensure outstanding results. Create professional flyers or online ads to attract potential customers, and consider offering package deals for ongoing maintenance.

Car Washing Services

Offering car washing services can be a profitable business venture for enthusiastic high school students. Provide services like washing, waxing, or interior cleaning, and work on developing efficient techniques and using eco-friendly products. To build your client base, advertise through social media, local classifieds, or word of mouth, and consider offering discounts for referrals or repeat customers.

Online Business Opportunities

Blogging and content creation.

Developing a blog can be a great way for high school students to start their online business journey . A blog enables students to share their passions, interests, and knowledge with the world while generating income through advertising or affiliate marketing.

Content creation is not just limited to writing; multimedia, such as videos and podcasts, can also attract an audience. Combining various content formats with proper search engine optimization (SEO) allows young entrepreneurs to grow their online presence over time.

Freelance Writing and Design

High school students who have a knack for writing or designing can offer their services to clients through platforms like Upwork . Freelance writing covers a broad range of topics, from blog articles to technical documentation and teaching materials.

Similarly, design projects can include graphic design, logo creation, and website templates. These opportunities allow budding writers and designers to build their portfolio, gain experience, and earn money working around their school schedule.

Website Development and Design

Web development and design are in high demand, making them excellent online business options. Students who have skills in website development or web design can create and sell their services to clients.

Aspiring web developers can create custom websites for businesses and individuals or develop themes for popular platforms like WordPress. Meanwhile, web designers can focus on creating visually appealing and user-friendly designs for clients. Establishing a strong portfolio through multiple projects helps attract potential customers and showcase their expertise.

The rise of platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube has given way to the social media influencer phenomenon. High school students who can build a following around their interests or talents can eventually monetize their content.

This can include sponsored posts, product endorsements, or creating and selling their merchandise. Developing a niche and unique content style is crucial for standing out in a competitive online space. By consistently posting high-quality content and engaging with their audience, high school influencers can potentially turn their passion into a profitable online business.

Creative Business Ideas

Photography business.

If you have a passion for photography and an eye for capturing stunning images, starting a photography business could be an excellent opportunity.

To begin, invest in quality camera equipment and learn essential photography techniques and editing software. Then, you can offer your services for events, portraits, or even as a freelance photographer for local publications. Don’t forget to create an online portfolio to showcase your work and attract clients.

Graphic Design Business

For students with exceptional design skills, a graphic design business could be an exciting venture. Develop your skills in programs like Adobe Creative Suite, and create a portfolio showcasing your artwork in various categories, such as logos, marketing materials, or web design.

Connect with local businesses, clubs, or nonprofit organizations in need of design services. Networking and word of mouth are essential for growing this business, so don’t hesitate to spread the word about your services.

Online Game and App Development

In the world of technology and entertainment, creating an app or online game might be the perfect business idea for tech-savvy students. You can develop games and apps for mobile devices or specific platforms, such as iOS or Android.

Learn programming languages such as C++ or Java, and familiarize yourself with development tools, like Unity or Unreal Engine. Begin by creating small games or apps to build your portfolio, then expand your project ideas and market your products on various online platforms.

Music Lesson Services

If you are a talented musician, offering music lessons can be a lucrative and rewarding business for high school students. First, determine the instruments or music styles you are proficient at and wish to teach.

Next, create lesson plans and teaching materials tailored to different skill levels and age groups. Advertise your services in local community centers, schools, or social media platforms, and be prepared to offer lessons either at your home, clients’ homes, or virtually. Don’t forget to be patient and flexible, as students learn at different paces and may require personalized attention.

Overall, by focusing on your strengths and interests, you can tap into exciting business opportunities, while gaining valuable experience, skills, and connections. Whether you choose to pursue photography, graphic design, game development, or music lessons, remember to remain dedicated, curious, and professional every step of the way.

Planning and Management

When considering business ideas for high school students, it’s essential to start with well-structured planning and management. Creating an account for your business is a key first step, as it helps to separate your personal finances from your business assets. This not only adds credibility to your venture but also makes it easier to track expenses and income.

Budgeting plays a crucial role in managing your high school business. It helps you identify and control expenses, ensuring that you don’t overspend on unnecessary items. Proper budgeting also ensures you have enough funds to cover unexpected expenses and expand the business.

As you develop your business idea, carefully consider your competition . Analyze the market, identify your competitors, and understand what sets your product or service apart from others.

Implementing strong time management skills will lead to the success of your venture as a high school student. Balancing schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and your business is challenging, but with proper planning and organization, you can prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively.

When it comes to business projects , selecting a project that aligns with your interests and passions is important. For example, you could start a food truck simulation project or offer an errand running service for people pressed for time. Experimenting with different ideas helps you gain experience in various fields and learn valuable skills along the way.

Finally, having a well-thought-out plan for your high school business ensures that goals are met and continuously assessed. Develop a clear action plan that outlines goals, strategies, and milestones, while also being prepared to adapt when faced with unexpected challenges.

Marketing and Promotion

When it comes to launching a business as a high school student, effective marketing and promotion play a crucial role in its success. Understanding various marketing strategies will help you create a strong brand, communicate effectively with your target audience, and build a loyal customer base.

To begin with, branding is key to differentiating your business from competitors and establishing an identity. An impactful logo, unique color scheme, and consistent messaging across all platforms solidify your brand presence, making it more recognizable and memorable.

Social media offers an accessible platform to promote your business. Utilizing popular apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook enables you to showcase products or services, interact with potential customers, and foster a sense of community. Engaging regularly and sharing user-generated content helps you to organically promote your brand.

Paid ads can supplement organic growth, as platforms like Google AdWords and Facebook Ads offer targeted advertising solutions. By investing in these services, you can reach an even wider audience, targeting specific age groups, interests, or location demographics.

Effective communication is essential in building trust and fostering relationships with your customers. Prompt and courteous responses to inquiries demonstrate professionalism and concern for their experience. Additionally, employing a clear and engaging tone helps in connecting with potential customers and retaining their interest.

Networking is another powerful tool for promoting your business, as it allows you to connect with other entrepreneurs and potential clients or collaborators. Participating in events, clubs, and professional networks can lead to new opportunities, valuable resources, and broader exposure for your brand.

Lastly, devising creative marketing strategies tailored specifically to your target audience will make a lasting impact. Contests, collaboration with influencers, or limited-time promotions attract attention, while optimizing SEO and investing in content marketing initiatives can increase website traffic and brand visibility.

Overall, a well-rounded approach to marketing and promotion—covering branding, social media, ads, communication, networking, and targeted marketing strategies—lays the foundation for success in your high school business ventures. Remember to adapt and refine your tactics as you grow and learn more about your audience’s preferences and habits.

Resources and Support

Starting a business as a high school student may seem challenging, but various resources and support networks can make it more manageable. One key resource for young entrepreneurs is the education system.

Many high schools today offer business education programs or courses focused on entrepreneurship, management, marketing, and finance. These courses can provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop their business ideas.

For those who wish to delve deeper into specific topics, such as technology or social media marketing, online platforms like Study.com offer courses in various business-related fields. Moreover, college and university summer programs can provide advanced students with the chance to learn from industry professionals and gain valuable experience before embarking on their entrepreneurial journey.

High school libraries serve as important resources for students looking to start a business. Books, magazines, and online databases can offer essential insights into marketing trends, business management, and other relevant topics.

Additionally, libraries often host workshops and seminars that cover important aspects of business education and professional development. These events can also provide excellent networking opportunities for students.

Mentorship plays a crucial role in the success of young entrepreneurs. High school students can seek out business-savvy mentors from their local community, school alumni, or entrepreneurial organizations. These mentors can offer guidance and advice on navigating the business world and often share their valuable experiences.

When it’s time to launch a business, potential investors and funding sources may become an essential part of the process. High school students can explore options such as crowdfunding campaigns, local business competitions, and grants specifically designed for young entrepreneurs. These options can help students secure the necessary capital to grow their ideas into successful ventures.

Overall, various resources and support options can empower young entrepreneurs, providing them with the knowledge, guidance, and funding to turn their high school business ideas into reality. With determination and the right resources, there’s no limit to what high school students can achieve.

Challenges and Solutions

High school students often face various challenges when trying to start a business. One such problem is the lack of experience in dealing with real-life situations that involve time management, decision-making, and leadership, among other skills. However, by engaging in entrepreneurship activities, students can develop these essential life skills, laying a strong foundation for future success (Crimson Education) .

Financial constraints pose another challenge for young entrepreneurs. The availability of cash is critical for any startup, but students may find it difficult to secure the necessary funds. A possible solution to this issue is the students’ initiative in seeking support from family, friends, or even crowdfunding platforms. Additionally, participating in business competitions can give students the chance to win seed money and establish their startups.

The pandemic has also made it more difficult for high school students to pursue their business ideas. Traditional face-to-face interactions and activities have been limited, forcing young entrepreneurs to adapt and innovate.

Fortunately, the virtual world offers numerous opportunities for students to pivot and explore different business avenues. For example, promoting and selling products via social media or creating online services tailored to pandemic-induced needs.

Problem-solving is critical for any entrepreneur, and high school students need to understand how their ideas can address community needs and make an impact. Real-world projects are an excellent way for students to apply design programs and problem-solving skills towards addressing compelling issues (NGLC) .

In summary, high school students can overcome the challenges of starting a business by enhancing their skills through entrepreneurship experiences, securing financial support, and embracing the virtual world for problem-solving and innovation.

Stock Market Knowledge

For high school students interested in business ideas, gaining a solid understanding of the stock market can be invaluable. The stock market is a platform where investors buy and sell shares of public companies. It acts as a critical driver of economic growth and a reflection of the overall health of an economy.

To begin with, it’s essential for students to learn about the basic concepts of economics . They should familiarize themselves with supply and demand, the forces that determine the prices of goods and services in the market. Grasping essential economic indicators, such as inflation, GDP growth, and unemployment rates, can offer insights on how external factors affect the stock market.

Moreover, understanding inflation is also crucial because it influences the purchasing power of money and, in turn, affects investment decisions. When inflation is high, cash loses value, prompting investors to seek assets that can hold their value, such as stocks. However, if inflation spirals out of control, it can lead to economic instability and, consequently, impact the stock market negatively.

To gain hands-on experience, students can participate in stock market simulations or investment clubs in their schools. These activities allow them to practice buying and selling stocks with virtual money and enhance their understanding of market mechanics. They can also learn about various investment strategies, risk management, and portfolio diversification.

Additionally, students should follow financial news to keep up-to-date with market trends and company performances. By watching financial market indicators like the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, they can observe how different factors affect stock prices.

Ultimately, stock market knowledge enables high school students to make informed investment decisions in the future. The skills they acquire can help them achieve financial success and contribute to economic growth on a broader scale.

Skills and Personal Development

Developing various skills and experiences throughout high school is essential for students exploring entrepreneurial opportunities. Gaining leadership experience aids in managing teams and projects effectively.

Students can participate in extracurricular activities, such as clubs, sports, and volunteering, to develop leadership skills. Obtaining leadership roles also allows them to build a network with like-minded peers that may lead to future collaborations.

In terms of entrepreneurial experience , engaging in small business ventures such as selling used books or starting a car washing business is an excellent way for students to gain hands-on experience. These relatively low-risk ventures expose them to business management, financial planning, and risk assessment.

Developing flexibility and time management skills is another crucial aspect. Juggling academics, personal life, and business requires a student to have flexible hours and the ability to prioritize tasks. They must also learn to adapt to changing circumstances, such as market conditions or customer needs.

A solid foundation in research is integral to success in any business endeavor. Embarking on a research project related to the business idea allows students to gather information, analyze market trends, and identify potential competitors. By doing so, they develop problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, and become more informed decision-makers.

Moreover, technical and practical skills specific to the chosen business field are necessary. For instance, starting a food truck business simulation project demands culinary abilities, marketing strategies, and financial planning.

In summary, high school students have plenty of opportunities to develop the skills and qualities needed to thrive in entrepreneurial ventures. A balance between leadership, entrepreneurial experience, flexibility, research proficiency, and technical abilities is essential. By focusing on personal development, students can pave the way toward success in their future business endeavors.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are low-cost business ventures high school students can pursue.

Low-cost business ventures suitable for high school students may include providing tutoring or coaching services, creating and selling handmade crafts, or setting up a car wash. These businesses often require minimal initial investment and can be tailored to a student’s skills, interests, and available resources. Moreover, they can be expanded by leveraging social media and word-of-mouth advertising.

How can students start an online business with no initial investment?

Starting an online business with no initial investment is achievable through various means. Students can create a blog, utilize affiliate marketing, or offer creative services like graphic design and content writing. These online businesses often rely on digital platforms that require little to no financial commitment, such as free blogging platforms and social media networks.

What are some creative business projects for young entrepreneurs?

Creative business projects for young entrepreneurs can include designing and selling custom clothing or merchandise, launching a subscription box service, developing mobile applications or software, conducting workshops, or curating themed events. These projects allow young entrepreneurs to express their creativity and passion while generating income.

What types of businesses can a teenager run from home?

Teenagers can run various types of businesses from home, such as social media management, freelance writing, photography or video editing services, pet sitting, or lawn care. These businesses offer flexibility with minimal overhead, allowing teenagers to balance their school work and entrepreneurial pursuits effectively.

Which business ideas are successful for teenage girls?

Business ideas successful for teenage girls can range from creating unique fashion or beauty products to organizing community events or workshops, offering tutoring, or starting a digital marketing agency. These ideas are not limited by gender and can be adapted to suit the interests and skills of any individual.

How can a high school student start a business with limited funds?

Starting a business with limited funds involves careful planning to determine low-cost opportunities and leveraging personal assets or skills. Students can tap into their existing network, conduct market research, and utilize free resources to avoid incurring unnecessary expenses. They may also consider partnering with other students or seeking mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs to help build a solid foundation for their business.

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Business Plan Template for Middle School

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Teaching middle school students about entrepreneurship is an incredible opportunity to shape young minds and foster a passion for business. But where do you start? ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Middle School is here to help you guide your students through the exciting process of creating their own business plans.

With this template, you can:

• Introduce fundamental business concepts in a structured and engaging way
• Guide students through the step-by-step process of developing a comprehensive business plan
• Provide a hands-on learning experience that encourages creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills

Empower the next generation of entrepreneurs with ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Middle School. Start their entrepreneurial journey today and watch their ideas turn into reality!

Business Plan Template for Middle School Benefits

When using the Business Plan Template for Middle School, educators and mentors can provide students with an invaluable learning experience by:

• Teaching fundamental business concepts and skills in a structured and comprehensive manner
• Empowering students to think critically, problem-solve, and make informed decisions
• Fostering creativity and innovation as students develop their own unique business ideas
• Building confidence and leadership skills as students present their business plans to their peers and mentors
• Equipping students with transferable skills that can be applied in various future endeavors

Main Elements of Middle School Business Plan Template

If you're an entrepreneurship educator or business mentor looking to guide your middle school students in creating comprehensive business plans, ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Middle School has you covered! Here are the main elements of this template:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of each section of the business plan with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add relevant information and organize different aspects of the business plan.
• Custom Views: Navigate through different views such as Topics, Status, Timeline, Business Plan, and Getting Started Guide to easily access and manage specific sections of the business plan.
• Collaboration: Collaborate with students by assigning tasks, leaving comments, and using ClickUp's sharing features to ensure a smooth and engaging learning experience.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Middle School

Creating a business plan for middle school students can be a fun and educational experience. Here are four steps to using the Business Plan Template for Middle School in ClickUp:

1. Choose a business idea

First, encourage the middle school students to brainstorm business ideas that they are passionate about. It could be a lemonade stand, a tutoring service, or even a handmade craft business. The goal is to choose a business idea that excites them and aligns with their interests and skills.

Use the Board view in ClickUp to create a list of potential business ideas and have the students vote on their favorite one.

2. Define the business details

Once the business idea is chosen, it's time to define the details of the business. Help the students think about important aspects such as target market, pricing strategy, product or service description, and marketing plan. This step will give them a clear understanding of how their business will operate and what sets it apart from competitors.

Create tasks in ClickUp to break down each aspect of the business details and assign them to the students for research and completion.

3. Set goals and milestones

To keep the students motivated and focused, it's important to set goals and milestones for their business plan. These could include financial goals, marketing goals, or even personal development goals. By setting specific targets, the students will have a clear roadmap to follow and can track their progress along the way.

Use Goals in ClickUp to set measurable objectives for each student and track their progress towards achieving them.

4. Create an action plan

Now that the business idea, details, and goals are established, it's time to create an action plan. Help the students break down the tasks and steps needed to start and grow their business. This could include tasks such as creating a logo, designing a website, conducting market research, or even preparing a sales pitch.

Use the Gantt chart in ClickUp to create a visual timeline of the action plan and assign tasks to each student with due dates.

By following these four steps and utilizing the Business Plan Template for Middle School in ClickUp, students will gain valuable entrepreneurial skills and have a structured plan to turn their business idea into reality.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Middle School

Entrepreneurship educators and business mentors in middle schools can use the Business Plan Template for Middle School to guide students in developing comprehensive and structured business plans.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to teach students about business planning:

• Use the Topics View to organize different sections of the business plan, such as Executive Summary, Market Analysis, and Financial Projections
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do
• The Timeline View will allow you to set deadlines for each section and visualize the overall timeline of the business plan
• The Business Plan View provides a comprehensive overview of the entire plan, allowing students to see how all the sections fit together
• The Getting Started Guide View offers step-by-step instructions and tips for students who are new to business planning
• Utilize custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add additional information and track important details
• Monitor and analyze the progress of each student's business plan to provide feedback and ensure they are learning key business concepts.
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50 Best Business ideas Suitable for a School

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Education Industry

Do you want to start a business to raise funds and score high in your school project? If YES, here are 50 small business ideas suitable for a school project.

Schools require that students carry out projects at certain intervals as part of their overall assessment. Such projects can be carried out in varied subjects, and the students are more often than not allowed to pick a topic that interests them most.

The idea of profit and making money can spark interest in school projects from otherwise disengaged students that is why schools also organize business projects. Business projects can be used to teach students analytical skills, personal finance, the nature of credit and debt, incentives, economics and fiscal policies.

Many schools allow their students to come up with their own products/services, plan the materials and resources they will need, propose an allocation of expenses, project their profit based on a given budget, and advertise and sell their products/services. These projects may be done regularly, like once in a term or quarter.

Most of these ideas are brought about to teach children about money, making profits, and how to save. Experiencing how to save, spend, earn money and keeping a budget at the same time are great ways for kids to develop a grasp of economics at a young age.

In this way, they also develop a sense of responsibility and will find out early on the essence of spending money wisely and saving for emergency purposes in the future.

For the student with an entrepreneurial spirit who may wish to choose a viable and profit making idea for his school project instead of doing the usual research that is normally done by students, here are 50 that would be just great for a school project.

Best Business ideas Suitable for a School Project

1. make cookies.

Quite a lot of people love cookies. And not just cookies but deliciously baked edibles like cupcakes, pound cakes, pretzels and just about anything home-baked. When used as an income source, cookies and baked goods are easy to make, easy to transport and pretty easy to sell.

Kids can learn to find the best quality ingredients at the cheapest price and come up with ways to streamline the production process so the business requires minimal time investment. Get a handful of good cookie recipes, some cute, inexpensive packaging and start churning out delicious treats that will help line your pockets.

2. Jewelry making

Kids who have an eye for fashion or who love to be creative can find jewelry making a rewarding and profitable business. It doesn’t have to be complex pieces with semi-precious stones. Wooden beads, painted glass and hemp bracelets are hot sellers.

Designed pieces may be sold online or at local trade shows and church bazaars and even to fellow students. This is also a suitable business idea that can be continued after school.

3. Get artistic

A lot of students are very talented and creative. Such students can take advantage of such creativity to produce various things that can be used for a school project. Young artists can design a variety of creative pieces, from canvassed art work to hand-designed greeting cards, which they can sell to make money.

Additionally, you can offer Logo design, brochure layouts and web design for people and small businesses in the community. It is a fact that a lot of people are making a living from selling their artworks.

4. Greeting cards

Teachers could leverage on the talents of students by letting them produce and sell handmade greeting cards. Greeting cards generally employ several creative and technical skills – poetry, prose, visual art and layout. Whether one kid does it all or several kids work together to deliver the goods, a greeting card business in these days of ecards, text and emails will be especially valuable around the holidays.

5. Gift baskets

Assembling and designing gift baskets are a great way for kids to express their creative side while sharpening their ability to identify what the market wants and finding innovative ways to provide them. The contents of a gift basket are as varied as the people who order them.

Whether a child sells pre-made baskets or accepts orders for custom baskets, the business comes with natural busy seasons like Easter, Mother’s Day, Christmas etc.

6. Recycling project

Another idea is to start a neighborhood recycling center that can be run on the weekends from a local park or right from the family garage. Recycling is big in the united states and many people are making a living from it.

7. Make candy

Making and selling candy is another lucrative but cost effective school project. Students can test their entrepreneurial legs by deciding to sell snack-sized candies to their peers between classes or during recess at school. Though some schools may be critical about this, but once your teacher approves, then you are good to go.

8. MultiMedia Rental

As a teacher, you can turn one corner of your classroom into a mini multi-media rental place. You may ask the class to bring the books, magazines, computer and video games, audio CDs, and DVDs that they are willing to have rented out to the other students in the school. Then teach them to come up with a code for each kind.

For instance, books can be coded with the letter B. Tape appropriate codes on all the items and record them all on a master list.

This will let you keep track of which ones are rented out and which ones may be missing. Next, also make sure to remind the students to place a rental card at the back of each item, which the borrower fills out with his name, grade level, section, and contact number.

This card shall be left with your student. When all of these things have been prepared, then it is now time to fix them attractively on shelves with labels and advertise the venture to the rest of the school community. This is a good way students can make money, and it is also a good business idea in the outside world.

9. Photo Booth

One hip service that kids of all ages will surely love is the photo booth. If you have enough of a budget, you may rent a real one to use and just charge more for each photo, but if the class budget is low, you can choose to rent or borrow from someone.

An alternative way, though, is to set up a good digital camera and a huge backdrop tarpaulin with a cool design that can go with a theme.

Do not forget to provide tons of funny, cute, and trendy props, wigs, and hats. You can fix your rates to be on a “per copy” basis. After your photo booth time, guide the students in uploading all the pictures in a computer and print them out. Now they are ready for delivery.

10. Food Festival and Product Bazaar

You may want to have the students go through the process of not only planning but preparing the products by themselves. The easiest food items to make and sell are sandwiches , shakes, juices, burgers, French fries with various dips, and other simple snacks.

You may ask kids to prepare cooked ingredients at home and just bring them to school. Booths can be decorated and set up according to their needs, and kids should have a shifting schedule as to who will be the sellers at a particular time.

However, if there are only a few students involved in one booth, all of them can stay there the whole time and just have different roles assigned.

One can be in charge of the payments, giving of changes, and keeping track of the earnings. Two or three can be the ones to prepare the products. Another one can be in charge of calling customers or going around to give free tastes to people milling about the area.

11. Garage Sale

Another business idea that is suitable for a school project is a garage sale. You can plan and set up a garage sale in school. Have the students bring items from their houses that they do not like or use anymore. Together, you can decide on the prices of the various items which can range from clothes, books, CDs, games, to bags, shoes and accessories.

There are so many things that you can sell, just be sure to monitor the pricing so as to guarantee low prices appropriate for used items. The students can learn to approximate the worth, depending on the kind of item, how old it is, and its present quality.

A space should be set up in a classroom, in the gym, in the cafeteria, or wherever the school will allow you to which the students believe will be a strategically effective location for your business project.

12. Computer Tutoring

Chances are that you have been using a computer for as long as you can remember. You know how to troubleshoot, how to organize files, and how to use Google to find whatever you need. Though these are essential modern skills and not everyone possesses them.

Therefore, you have the opportunity to impart your knowledge by using this as a school project where you can educate fellow students on how to set up a blog, navigate the Web, or sign up for RSS feeds.

13. Pet Photographer

This is can make a very exciting school project for students. You can also start a photography business that specifically caters to pet owners who want photo portraits of their furry friends. They could pay a token for these services.

14. Shoe Shine

In order to take advantage of this business, set one day in a week where students can bring shoe polish and brushes for shoe shining services for the school community.

Promote this project on the bulletin boards all over the school announcing where the shoe shine will be stationed. You may also want to provide a “home service” in which the students offering the shoe shine will be contacted and will then go to a classroom or office to give the service at a certain time.

15. Mobile lemonade stand

In this project, students are made to make the lemonade stand mobile. That is, they prepare the lemonade at home, pack it in a cooler and transport it to where customers want it. Students should create advertising brochures, posters and cards to let the community know their lemonade can be served anywhere.

They must also keep track of overhead costs, such as bulk lemonade mix, ice, disposable cups and gasoline or other transportation costs.

They will need to make sure these expenses don’t exceed revenues. Once they set the price for a cup of lemonade, they can ask each client how many people will be in attendance at the given event, and then calculate projected revenues beforehand.

16. Pet sitting

Kids can be great with animals and can provide short-term walking, feeding and grooming for pets whose owners are out of town. Students should develop their business plan, they should determine how much they’ll charge: either a flat rate for a given amount of time, whether a weekend or a whole week, or an hourly rate that will be fair and competitive.

Have student’s research professional kennels and pet-sitting services in their area to get a good idea of rates. In their advertising efforts, have them specify what services they will and won’t perform.

17. Pie shop

Selling homemade pies is another great business idea for a student’s school project. The students could set up a stand in a busy part of town to produce fries and snacks.

This could be during their practical session class or a time set aside by the school board for students to showcase what they have learnt for a period of time. The likelihood of this idea being successful is very high, especially if adequate hype and publicity is created around it.

18. Websites

For their school projects, and depending on their level of learning, students could undertake to design websites for small businesses or fellow students who have the need of a website. Also, student can create websites for historical movements, scientific theories, or literary concepts

19. Album Covers

An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. Students can create album covers for their school project. The album cover may be connected to a novel and the art work might present a relevant theme in the story.

Another use would be to have students create natural disaster album covers in a science class where the cover would depict and explain the event.

20. Advertisements

Students can create an advertising campaign to sell a particular product or a range of products. The product can be real or imaginary.  This can be used to teach them persuasion, as an assignment for speech class, or to reinforce skills learned in a consumer class.

21. Magazines

Students can create magazines covering large units of study such as the Industrial Revolution or Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, that way many articles can be written. Images may also be drawn or printed and added to the publication. This is a good business skill that if developed properly would be useful after their studies. These magazines can be sold or booked on subscription basis.

22. Inventions

The ability to invent something would always count as a plus for the inventor. Inventing something is a very good school project idea that can also be useful in the business world. Students can be encouraged to think out and create something.

Note that it must not be a new invention as it could be an upgrade of an already existing invention, but it should be something that can address a problem in nature or society.

23. Autobiographies

Students can be encouraged to write the story of their lives as a school project. This assignment may help them learn to write an autobiography, and more importantly to reinforce a broad range of writing skills in them.

24. Comic Strips or Books

Students and kids read a lot of comic strips. Students can be encouraged to create an illustrated comic strip or book representing events from history or a work of fiction. They have a better chance of selling these to fellow students or friends.

Creating a blog is a great idea for a school project. Students can create blogs for literary characters or historical figures. They can equally take it a step further by creating an actual blog for free at blogger .com where they can start developing their own personal blogs.

Alternatively, teachers can just have students write and organize articles on white printer paper if the internet is not available.

Putting up a play is another exciting idea for a school project. Students might adapt an existing story or create original works and plays that can be centered on any event in history. The skills and experience gotten from this project, when developed and honed can be applied in the real world movie industry.

Some very talented students have the ability to create very funny and interesting skits. In the real world, people have been known to make a living out of creating skits. Students can be encouraged to create a short skit to bring a historical event to life for their school project.

28. Poultry Farm Project

Another profitable idea for a school project is to encourage students who are studying Agriculture related courses to setup a standard poultry farm as a project. The bottom line is to ensure that the poultry farm accommodates varieties of birds.

This kind of project can be expensive hence they can access funding from the school authority or any other relevant institution.

29. Furniture Making Project

Students who are studying woodworks or any furniture related courses should be made to produce furniture that can be sold to people. It is another way of making money for the school. The bottom line is that if their finishing and marketing skills are good, they won’t struggle to make sales.

30. Arts and Crafts

Creating arts and crafts is ideal for students studying various art and crafts related courses. Once your students are able to produce quality painting, sculpture or handmade crafts, such can be sold in and around the school community.

31. Vocabulary Quilts

For a school project, you can teach students to create quilts with badges representing the meanings of vocabulary terms. The badges should have an image and a few words. This school project can help the students develop sewing skills for the future.

32. Graphics and Video Editing Project

Another art related projects that you can engage your students in is to advertise for people to bring their graphics and video editing jobs to the school studio and they will get it done at rock bottom prices. The truth is that if your students are pretty good; the project can be self-sustaining.

33. Make f riendship bracelets

Kids love making jewelry, and with inexpensive technologies like Rainbow Loom, they can produce substantial amounts of bracelets and offer them for sale. Making friendship bracelets, matching colored pairs or even embedding letter beads for names or phrasing will differentiate their product.

Explain profit margin and have them set a reasonable price for each bracelet above their raw material costs. They also need to research venues where they can sell the bracelets, such as local craft shows, community meetings or boutique shops.

34. Smartphone consultation

Students can tap into the emerging tech market by selling smart-phone consultation services. Your students will likely be more adept at handling smartphones, including basic operation and social media, than most adults.

Have them set a basic package for clients, such as a 30-minute tutorial, during which they will provide hands-on instruction and demonstration of someone’s phone. These tutorials can be offered for a flat rate. Students can advertise their services through social media, targeting their parents’ friends and other adults who may be struggling with new technology.

Students should specify what they’ll be covering in their tutorials so clients come prepared. Make sure students perform their services in safe, public places, such as in the school library or other community venues.

35. Errand Runner

The more people are pressed for time, the more they hate running errands. Therefore, you can start a business to run errands for those sets of people. For instance, you can pick up groceries, take the dog to the vet, pick up kids from daycare, and chauffeur older kids to the mall or to a friend’s house.

You need to be a jack-of-all-trades, but it is actually rather easy work, and it pays well. Seniors, upper-middle class families, and busy parents are all part of this target market. The student may or may not need a reliable car depending on the neighborhood, since it is a small school project, but a car would come in very handy.

You might also want to consider offering a “seniors discount” to get your foot in the door, or even working for free for the first few jobs in order to get some great testimonials.

36. Moving Assistant

Moving is stressful, especially when you have a lot of possessions or a large house to organize. A student can comfortably offer up services as a moving assistant to give people a hand. This is a popular service, especially for seniors who find packing and moving to be physically and emotionally difficult.

37 . Babysitter

One of the most popular part time jobs for students is babysitting, and this business can comfortably be taken up as a school project.

All you need is a great reputation or great references, and the ability to find local parents. Post fliers in your neighborhood advertising your services. Keep in mind that if you have special skills, such as CPR training you will stand out from the pack.

38. Scrapbooker

This is another exciting idea that students can use for a school project. The students can offer custom scrapbooking services to people who want to preserve their memories in a special way without doing the work themselves.

39. Home check

You can request to make or perform home checks for a small fee. While people are out of town, you can stop by their house and check to make sure the house is in good condition, give it a lived-in look, check light bulbs, flush toilets, and more. It is quite easy and can be done weekly for a flat fee, such as $20.

40. Leaf Removal

Leaf removal, just like snow removal, is a seasonal business, but that notwithstanding, it pays good money and it can also be used as a school project. During the fall, because of the leaf rain, you can offer leaf removal services to those who don’t want to rake their yards on their own.

41. Calendars

Students can take up creating calendars charting the dates of key events. This can be applied to an historical event (like a famous battle), a scientific event or the sequence of events in story. With the aid of good graphics design or drawing skills, the calendars can be made to be very attractive and colourful in order to bring in buyers or subscribers.

42. Snow Removal

If you want to earn some extra cash during the winter months, you can offer to shovel snow for local homeowners for a small fee. This business can be comfortably offered as a school project as it won’t take up much time of the students, and more importantly, they would get paid for it.

43. Personal Shopper

For those who enjoy shopping, you can build a business as a personal shopper and help others pick out the best items for them.

Students can also use this business idea as a school project. To get started, you need to figure out your demographics which may likely be seniors or people who are fashion handicapped and offer this service to them at your convenience and for a fee.

44. Picking up dry cleaning

You can decide to run to the cleaners for those who are too busy to handle this chore. This is a business idea and it can as well pass for a school project if you have a question you want to find an answer to or if there is a problem you are seeking to find a solution to. Example, what is the demographics of people who mostly request laundry pick up services?

45. Create a board game

There are lots of board games in the market and online, but that notwithstanding, you can create a board game for a school project, and if it is interesting, people would be willing to pay a token to play it. Putting the game online can save you on overhead costs. This project demands a lot of creativity before you can come up with something passable.

46. Graphic Designer

Depending on the class and if you have the skills, graphics design is a great business idea that could also be used for a school project. You can offer your services designing logo for both online and offline clients, but you have to make sure that you are very good at it.

47. Documentary

Some students who have portable camcorders could put it to good use for a school project. With adequate planning, preparation and skills, you can put together a documentary on any niche of your choice. You can record a documentary on the difference between how football was played in the 70s and today, or you can put together a video recording of how plants or animals behave in an unfamiliar environment.

48.  Aquaculture

An agriculture related project that can be given to students to do in a school in a bid to raise money is starting a fish pond.

The school authority can provide space for students to build their ponds. The students can choose to raise fish, shrimps, crabs, toads etc. in their ponds in a controlled environment. Aquaculture is a very profitable business in the real world so any training on it is very valuable.

49. Chemical Production Project

Students studying chemical engineering should be made to produce chemicals that can be sold in an around the school communities as part of their projects. Chemicals like pesticides, bleach and paints etc have a good number of buyers. The truth is that if their product is well branded and packaged it can compete for market share in their community.

50. Hatchery

Students can set up a mini hatchery where they can attempt to hatch the eggs of different birds to observe the process. They can equally decide to innovate a special brand of hatchery that is unlike the normal one used in the industry, or try to replicate the natural hatching process. A lot of findings still can be made from hatchery and the students can try to discover them.

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Personal Finance

12 small business ideas in 2024.

Our evaluations and opinions are not influenced by our advertising relationships, but we may earn a commission from our partners’ links. This content is created independently from TIME’s editorial staff. Learn more about it.

Small businesses—those with fewer than 500 employees—aren't really that small when you consider their collective impact on the economy. Some 33.2 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 99.9% of the nation's companies and employ 61.7 million people or 46% of all private sector employees according to recent data from the U.S. Small Business Administration .

A record-breaking 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021—an average of almost 15,000 per day—with nearly as many (5.1 million) filed in 2022.

If you're considering joining the ranks of entrepreneurs but aren't sure where to start, here are 12 small business ideas to consider.

12 small business ideas to profit from in 2024

Bookkeeping.

A bookkeeping business might be a good option if you're good with numbers, well-organized, and detail-oriented. As a freelance bookkeeper, you'll record financial transactions, reconcile bank and credit card statements, generate invoices, manage collections, prepare budgets and forecasts, manage payroll, prepare financial statements, gather tax data, and more. Managing someone's finances does come with inherent risks, so consider forming an LLC if you go this route.

Auto detailing

High car prices are compelling people to drive their vehicles longer, bolstering the demand for auto detailing services to keep those cars looking new. According to Grand View Research , the global car detailing market was valued at $37.91 billion in 2022, and it's expected to grow 5.5% annually through 2030. Depending on your business plan, you can offer mobile detailing services or have customers visit you. While you don’t need any formal training, completing a certificate program, such as the ones offered by the International Detailing Association , can help you stand out from the competition.

Cleaning services

A house cleaning business is a good option if you're detail-oriented and have strong time management skills. Depending on the client, you might sweep, vacuum, mop, dust, clean the kitchen and bathrooms, remove garbage and recycling, change the bed linens, tidy the living areas, and clean the windows. Some clients will provide the cleaning supplies, while others expect you to bring your own. You don't need formal training or certifications to clean homes—but being bonded and insured indicates a level of professionalism.

Elderly care

By 2034, older adults are expected to outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau . The rapidly aging population will create greater demand for in-home caregiving. As an elderly care provider, you'll provide companionship, monitor medications, prepare meals, help with household chores, schedule medical appointments, provide transportation, and assist with basic needs, including eating, bathing, and grooming.

Event planning

Event planners help individuals and companies plan and execute special events like weddings, birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, conferences, and fundraisers. An event planning business can be very rewarding if you're highly organized, meticulous, have strong communication skills, and know how to stick to a budget.

While you won't need any special licensing or credentials, it helps to have a network of vendors and professionals to help you successfully pull off each event. If you prefer not to start your business from scratch, consider using an online marketplace such as Flippa to buy an existing online business, app, or blog.

Freelance copywriting

If you have a knack for creative or technical writing, freelance copywriting could be a rewarding business opportunity. Copywriters create content for websites, newsletters, social media captions, blog posts, graphics, billboards, magazines, brochures, instruction manuals, and more. You'll need a computer and a good internet connection to get started, and a proofreading tool like Grammarly can help you hone your craft.

Handyman services

A handyman (aka odd-jobber, fixer, or contractor) performs various repair and maintenance tasks to keep homes and businesses in good condition. Depending on your skill set, you might concentrate on odd repair jobs, such as installing fixtures and cleaning the gutters, or specialize in a specific area, such as electrical, plumbing, or HVAC systems. Your state may require a general contractor license for larger projects and specific licensing if you perform electrical, plumbing, or HVAC work.

Online tutoring

According to the Education Recovery Scorecard , math, reading, and history scores from the past three years show that students learned much less during the pandemic than average. With so many kids falling behind in school, online tutoring is in high demand—and it's expected to grow. While you don't need any specific certifications, tutors generally have a college degree or relevant real-life experience in the subject area(s) they offer.

Pet care services

If you love animals, there are several pet care business opportunities worth considering. One option is a dog walking business, where you provide companionship and exercise for your customers' furry friends (you can work with one dog or several at a time). Another possibility is a mobile or brick-and-mortar pet grooming business, where you keep dogs looking (and smelling) great. Alternatively, you could offer pet-sitting services to care for animals while their owners are away on business trips or vacations.

Real estate

There are many ways to turn your passion for real estate into a thriving business, whether you want to open a real estate agency, flip houses, work as a property manager, or invest in rental properties. You'll need a state real estate license to act as an agent, broker, or property manager. Otherwise, there are no specific requirements to flip houses or rent out properties you own, though it's wise to study the local laws and regulations to avoid legal trouble.

Rideshare driver

If you have a valid driver's license and own a vehicle, you can work a side hustle or even a full-time gig as an Uber or Lyft driver. As a rideshare driver, you can choose your own hours, drive as much as you want, and earn cash from fares, tips, and promotions. You must meet minimum age requirements and have a clean driving record, proof of vehicle insurance, and an eligible car. DoorDash is an option if you like driving but prefer transporting groceries and restaurant meals instead of people.

Virtual assistant

Many business executives depend on virtual assistants (VAs) to help with administrative tasks like answering phone calls, monitoring email accounts, scheduling appointments, coordinating travel, ordering supplies, and managing social media profiles. Successful virtual assistants are detail-oriented and have excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong organizational and time management skills, and proficiency in a broad range of computer programs.

What to know before starting your small business

Starting a small business requires a lot of planning and paperwork. Some tasks you'll need to tackle include writing a business plan, figuring out financing, choosing a business structure, getting a federal tax ID, applying for licenses and permits, opening business bank accounts , getting a business credit card , and choosing the right business software.

According to the SBA, about 38% of small businesses use specialized software in their business operations. Here are some options for managing your company's finances, taxes, and legal responsibilities.

Financial tools

A big part of running a small business is managing the finances. Platforms like Lili offer tools to streamline your business operations so you can easily handle banking, accounting, invoicing, payments, tax preparation, and more. Lili also supports joint banking access—a big plus if your business has multiple owners.

The most common small business taxes include income, self-employment, employment, and excise taxes (only imposed on certain goods, services, and activities). Several online tax software providers like TurboTax and TaxSlayer Self-Employed make filing accurate tax returns that comply with the most up-to-date tax laws easier. Once you start turning a profit, wealth management apps such as Playbook can optimize your investments and income taxes and help you set goals to build wealth.

You'll have to file paperwork to establish and operate your company. Platforms like LegalZoom eliminate the guesswork and make it easy to register, manage, and protect your business. With LegalZoom's tools, you can form your business with the proper structure, stay compliant, protect your intellectual property (IP) with trademark and copyright services, and get professional help when needed.

TIME Stamped: When starting a business, recognize your strengths and weaknesses

While anyone can make a few extra bucks with money-making apps such as Survey Junkie or Swagbucks, starting a small business is a more significant and rewarding endeavor. When choosing a path, you need to consider your strengths and weaknesses so you know where to focus your attention.

Small business owners wear a lot of different hats, but you might need help in certain areas. Recognize what you do well—and what you don't—and turn to family members, business partners, independent contractors, and employees when you need help.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is the best business checking account.

Whether you're a solopreneur or manage a small business with employees, keeping your personal and business finances separate is essential. A business checking account lets you make deposits and withdrawals, write checks, process electronic payments, and use a debit card to make purchases—all for your business. The best business checking accounts have low fees, workable minimum balance requirements, excellent customer service, and convenient access to your cash.

How can I start a business with 10K?

If you have a $10,000 budget to start a business, focus on ideas with low startup costs that you can scale into something bigger. For example, you can launch a cleaning services business for just a few hundred dollars. Eventually, you can put more cash into marketing, build your client base, and hire staff to meet customer demand. If you don't have the money to start or grow your business, consider a small business loan , crowdfunding, or venture capital funding.

How can I make a website for my business?

A polished website conveys professionalism and engages potential customers. You can hire an expert to make a website for you or take the DIY approach and save some money. You must pick and register a domain name and then choose your design and hosting providers. Website builders like Squarespace offer hundreds of low-cost templates you can customize with your content and link to your social media profiles.

How do you write a business plan?

A business plan guides you through each phase of starting and managing your business. There's no right or wrong way to write a business plan, but it should include details about your business goals, the products or services you'll offer, a marketing and sales plan, and financial projections. The SBA outlines two main types of business plans (traditional and lean startup), which can be helpful if you’re starting out.

The information presented here is created independently from the TIME editorial staff. To learn more, see our About page.

City Politics | Hampton plans to test speed cameras in school…

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City politics | hampton plans to test speed cameras in school zones, target motorists who block intersections.

HAMPTON — Motorists who speed through school zones in Hampton may soon find themselves with a $100 fine, as the city government plans to install speed cameras in these areas this fall.

City Manager Mary Bunting said Wednesday during a City Council work session that aggressive speeding is “at an all time high in our region.”

“We’re hearing complaints from residents asking that we do more to try to slow traffic down,” she said. “School zones are in particular an area of concern, because we have such young students and drivers and school buses all congregating at one time — either at the drop-off time or the departure time.”

Public Works Director Jason Mitchell said school zones are designated with a posted speed limit of 25 mph with flashing warning signs to indicate that children and pedestrians are actively crossing the city’s roadways. He said the Public Works Division wants to establish a year-long pilot program that would install speed cameras at 12 locations at the beginning of the next school year.

While the city has yet to determine the locations, Mitchell said they would be chosen based on data pertaining to speeding, accidents and traffic volumes. Before installing the cameras, Bunting said the council would need to pass an ordinance allowing the photo enforcement.

Mitchell said there would be a 30-day warning period after the speed cameras are installed at each location. After the warning is over, drivers caught going 10 mph or more over the posted speed limit will be fined up to $100.

A law enforcement officer will review and affirm all violations issued through technology, and a citation will be processed and mailed to the vehicle owner. Mitchell said the photo-enforced violations can be challenged and are subject to court procedures, as a Hampton General District Court Judge determines the final decision.

While the pilot program is slated to last a year, Bunting said if it is successful within the first few months, the city might want to expand the speed cameras to all 34 school zones in Hampton.

“If we find that it’s working the way we intended, i.e., it’s changing behavior, or slowing people down, or we’re getting a lot of tickets which say that a lot of people are speeding, which means we probably have a lot of people speeding in other places, and we want to change that behavior — we want to be able to start sooner,” she explained.

The Virginia General Assembly  approved legislation in 2020  that allows state and local police to set up speed cameras at highway work sites and school crossing zones. Under that law, only motorists caught going at least 10 mph over the speed limit would be ticketed.

Numerous other cities in the region have already used speed cameras, including  Chesapeake,   Portsmouth  and  Norfolk.

Bunting plans to budget $3.4 million in the upcoming fiscal year to cover the cost of the pilot program and the possible expansion of the speed cameras in all 34 school zones. The program is expected to pay for itself, as the money collected from speeding would offset the cost of the cameras. Mitchell said there would be two cameras for every school zone.

“Don’t block the box” cameras

The City Council also took action Wednesday to expand the use of traffic cameras in other ways. The council unanimously approved an ordinance allowing the city to install traffic cameras that would catch and ticket motorists who block major intersections. Some of the intersections to be targeted are along Settlers Landing Road and in Phoebus.

Last year, the council approved an ordinance allowing the city to install red light cameras. But Bunting said there was no existing legislation at the time to enable the city to use the same technology to ticket people who violate “Don’t block the box” signs and stop vehicles in the middle of an intersection.

The new ordinance would allow the city to install the cameras at “any intersection the city manager deems to be negatively impacted by traffic due to” the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion and express lanes project. Drivers will initially receive one warning, but subsequent violations will be subject to a $50 civil penalty.

The city’s ability to penalize people for “block the box” violations would only be in place until July 1, 2027, or whenever the HRBT expansion is completed, whichever is earlier. Bunting said while the “block the box” enforcement has a sunset date, the city would still be allowed to enforce red light violations beyond 2027.

Despite voting to allow red light cameras last year, Bunting said the city hasn’t started using them. She said the red light cameras will likely begin to go into effect in late May or early June. The first few red light cameras expected to go live include two on Mallory Street — one near Segar Street and one near the bridge — and one at the intersection of Settlers Landing Road and William R. Harvey Way.

Josh Janney, [email protected]

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Trending nationally.

Huawei Plans Lowest Dividend Payout Per Share Since 2019

The logo of the Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is seen outside its headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -Huawei Technologies' parent company plans to pay 77.095 billion yuan ($10.65 billion) in dividends to current and retired staff, it said in a Shanghai Clearing House filing on Tuesday.

That suggests Huawei Investment and Holding Co, with roughly 51.3 billion shares outstanding, would pay a cash dividend of 1.5 yuan per share, the lowest since 2019, Reuters calculations and checks of previous dividend payout plans showed.

A total of 151,796 current and former workers had been involved in the shareholder scheme as of end-December, according to the company's 2023 annual report released last week. The company is private and wholly owned by its employees, it said.

The Tuesday filing did not break down the dividend distribution. It also did not specify the period it relates to though normally that would relate to last year.

Huawei Investment and Holding Co's revenue rose nearly 10% last year, with the consumer business being a major contributor. The Shenzhen-based conglomerate shrugged off U.S. sanctions with shipments of 5G versions of flagship models like iPhone rival P60.

The United States has since 2019 restricted Huawei's access to U.S. technology, accusing the company of being a security risk, which Huawei denies.

($1 = 7.2359 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Brenda Goh; Editing by David Goodman and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

Tags: dividends , Asia

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Authorities investigate if glasses found belong to Sebastian Rogers; no foul play suspected

SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. ( WSMV /Gray News) - The search for Sebastian Rogers, a missing teenager with autism, continues.

The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference Tuesday to reaffirm their diligence in finding Sebastian and to answer questions as the search for the 15-year-old enters its sixth week.

“Our commitment to finding Sebastian Rogers remains,” Sumner County Chief Deputy Eric Craddock said during the press conference.

Sebastian was last seen on Feb. 26 after his parents said he left their home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, in the middle of the night.

“My hope and prayer is that Sebastian is still alive,” Craddock said.

Craddock confirmed that a pair of glasses were found in the last few days, but they are still investigating whether or not it is connected to Sebastian.

At the moment, there is no evidence of foul play or indication of criminal activity in connection to Sebastian’s disappearance, according to authorities. TBI reported that his parents have been cooperating with law enforcement since he went missing.

Craddock also said they have not ruled anything out.

In the weeks following Sebastian’s disappearance, state and local authorities have used helicopters, drones and search-and-rescue dogs, along with massive search parties, to look for him. Waterways and even a landfill in Kentucky were searched for signs of the missing teenager.

The Tennesse Bureau of Investigation said during the press conference that while the searches have been scaled back, they are still doing everything they can to advance the investigation even if it does not appear as “visible.”

“It’s gone back to good old-fashioned police work,” a representative for TBI said. “Interviewing people, going over leads. We’re checking in with other law enforcement agencies to get advice from them on cases like this.”

Authorities ask the public to continue on the lookout for Sebastian. They asked that people in the area, specifically those with large plots of land, recheck their property for anything unusual that could lead to Sebastian’s location. They also asked for people to check areas where the teenager could have hidden.

“We just want to make sure ... that there is no stone left unturned,” the TBI representative said. “That we want people to make sure that we are looking everywhere we can.”

The TBI representative also warned of inaccurate information that has been spread on social media. They said that the rumors and speculations that “have been advanced” on social media have caused a distraction to their investigation.

TBI reported anyone with information that could lead to Sebastian’s whereabouts can leave a tip at 1-800-TBI-FIND or through email at [email protected].

Copyright 2024 WSMV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem

The former republican national committee chairwoman was hired by nbc and then let go after an outcry..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Today, the saga of Ronna McDaniel and NBC and what it reveals about the state of television news headed into the 2024 presidential race. Jim Rutenberg, a “Times” writer at large, is our guest.

It’s Monday, April 1.

Jim, NBC News just went through a very public, a very searing drama over the past week, that we wanted you to make sense of in your unique capacity as a longtime media and political reporter at “The Times.” This is your sweet spot. You were, I believe, born to dissect this story for us.

Oh, brother.

Well, on the one hand, this is a very small moment for a major network like NBC. They hire, as a contributor, not an anchor, not a correspondent, as a contributor, Ronna McDaniel, the former RNC chairwoman. It blows up in a mini scandal at the network.

But to me, it represents a much larger issue that’s been there since that moment Donald J. Trump took his shiny gold escalator down to announce his presidential run in 2015. This struggle by the news media to figure out, especially on television, how do we capture him, cover him for all of his lies, all the challenges he poses to Democratic norms, yet not alienate some 74, 75 million American voters who still follow him, still believe in him, and still want to hear his reality reflected in the news that they’re listening to?

Right. Which is about as gnarly a conundrum as anyone has ever dealt with in the news media.

Well, it’s proven so far unsolvable.

Well, let’s use the story of what actually happened with Ronna McDaniel and NBC to illustrate your point. And I think that means describing precisely what happened in this situation.

The story starts out so simply. It’s such a basic thing that television networks do. As elections get underway, they want people who will reflect the two parties.

They want talking heads. They want insiders. They want them on their payroll so they can rely on them whenever they need them. And they want them to be high level so they can speak with great knowledge about the two major candidates.

Right. And rather than needing to beg these people to come on their show at 6 o’clock, when they might be busy and it’s not their full-time job, they go off and they basically put them on retainer for a bunch of money.

Yeah. And in this case, here’s this perfect scenario because quite recently, Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee through the Trump era, most of it, is now out on the market. She’s actually recently been forced out of the party. And all the networks are interested because here’s the consummate insider from Trump world ready to get snatched up under contract for the next election and can really represent this movement that they’ve been trying to capture.

So NBC’S key news executives move pretty aggressively, pretty swiftly, and they sign her up for a $300,000 a year contributor’s contract.

Nice money if you can get it.

Not at millions of dollars that they pay their anchors, but a very nice contract. I’ll take it. You’ll take it. In the eyes of NBC execs she was perfect because she can be on “Meet the Press” as a panelist. She can help as they figure out some of their coverage. They have 24 hours a day to fill and here’s an official from the RNC. You can almost imagine the question that would be asked to her. It’s 10:00 PM on election night. Ronna, what are the Trump people thinking right now? They’re looking at the same numbers you are.

That was good, but that’s exactly it. And we all know it, right? This is television in our current era.

So last Friday, NBC makes what should be a routine announcement, but one they’re very proud of, that they’ve hired Ronna McDaniel. And in a statement, they say it couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team. So all’s good, right? Except for there’s a fly in the ointment.

Because it turns out that Ronna McDaniel has been slated to appear on “Meet the Press,” not as a paid NBC contributor, but as a former recently ousted RNC chair with the “Meet The Press” host, Kristen Welker, who’s preparing to have a real tough interview with Ronna McDaniel. Because of course, Ronna McDaniel was chair of the party and at Trump’s side as he tried to refuse his election loss. So this was supposed to be a showdown interview.

From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history. This is “Meet The Press” with Kristen Welker.

And here, all of a sudden, Kristin Welker is thrown for a loop.

In full disclosure to our viewers, this interview was scheduled weeks before it was announced that McDaniel would become a paid NBC News contributor.

Because now, she’s actually interviewing a member of the family who’s on the same payroll.

Right. Suddenly, she’s interviewing a colleague.

This will be a news interview, and I was not involved in her hiring.

So what happens during the interview?

So Welker is prepared for a tough interview, and that’s exactly what she does.

Can you say, as you sit here today, did Joe Biden win the election fair and square?

He won. He’s the legitimate president.

Did he win fair and square?

Fair and square, he won. It’s certified. It’s done.

She presses her on the key question that a lot of Republicans get asked these days — do you accept Joe Biden was the winner of the election?

But, I do think, Kristen —

Ronna, why has it taken you until now to say that? Why has it taken you until now to be able to say that?

I’m going to push back a little.

McDaniel gets defensive at times.

Because I do think it’s fair to say there were problems in 2020. And to say that does not mean he’s not the legitimate president.

But, Ronna, when you say that, it suggests that there was something wrong with the election. And you know that the election was the most heavily scrutinized. Chris Krebs —

It’s a really combative interview.

I want to turn now to your actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

And Welker actually really does go deeply into McDaniel’s record in those weeks before January 6.

On November 17, you and Donald Trump were recorded pushing two Republican Michigan election officials not to certify the results of the election. And on the call —

For instance, she presses McDaniel on McDaniel’s role in an attempt to convince a couple county commissioner level canvassers in Michigan to not certify Biden’s victory.

Our call that night was to say, are you OK? Vote your conscience. Not pushing them to do anything.

McDaniel says, look, I was just telling them to vote their conscience. They should do whatever they think is right.

But you said, do not sign it. If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. How can people read that as anything other than a pressure campaign?

And Welker’s not going to just let her off the hook. Welker presses her on Trump’s own comments about January 6 and Trump’s efforts recently to gloss over some of the violence, and to say that those who have been arrested, he’ll free them.

Do you support that?

I want to be very clear. The violence that happened on January 6 is unacceptable.

And this is a frankly fascinating moment because you can hear McDaniel starting to, if not quite reverse some of her positions, though in some cases she does that, at least really soften her language. It’s almost as if she’s switching uniforms from the RNC one to an NBC one or almost like breaking from a role she was playing.

Ronna, why not speak out earlier? Why just speak out about that now?

When you’re the RNC chair, you kind of take one for the whole team, right? Now, I get to be a little bit more myself.

She says, hey, you know what? Sometimes as RNC chair, you just have to take it for the team sometimes.

Right. What she’s really saying is I did things as chairwoman of the Republican National committee that now that I no longer have that job, I can candidly say, I wished I hadn’t done, which is very honest. But it’s also another way of saying I’m two faced, or I was playing a part.

Ronna McDaniel, thank you very much for being here this morning.

Then something extraordinary happens. And I have to say, I’ve never seen a moment like this in decades of watching television news and covering television news.

Welcome back. The panel is here. Chuck Todd, NBC News chief political analyst.

Welker brings her regular panel on, including Chuck Todd, now the senior NBC political analyst.

Chuck, let’s dive right in. What were your takeaways?

And he launches right into what he calls —

Look, let me deal with the elephant in the room.

The elephant being this hiring of McDaniel.

I think our bosses owe you an apology for putting you in this situation.

And he proceeds, on NBC’S air, to lace into management for, as he describes it, putting Welker in this crazy awkward position.

Because I don’t know what to believe. She is now a paid contributor by NBC News. I have no idea whether any answer she gave to you was because she didn’t want to mess up her contract.

And Todd is very hung up on this idea that when she was speaking for the party, she would say one thing. And now that she’s on the payroll at NBC, she’s saying another thing.

She has credibility issues that she still has to deal with. Is she speaking for herself, or is she speaking on behalf of who’s paying her?

Todd is basically saying, how are we supposed to know which one to believe.

What can we believe?

It is important for this network and for always to have a wide aperture. Having ideological diversity on this panel is something I prided myself on.

And what he’s effectively saying is that his bosses should have never hired her in this capacity.

I understand the motivation, but this execution, I think, was poor.

Someone said to me last night we live in complicated times. Thank you guys for being here. I really appreciate it.

Now, let’s just note here, this isn’t just any player at NBC. Chuck Todd is obviously a major news name at the network. And him doing this appears to just open the floodgates across the entire NBC News brand, especially on its sister cable network, MSNBC.

And where I said I’d never seen anything like what I saw on “Meet the Press” that morning, I’d never seen anything like this either. Because now, the entire MSNBC lineup is in open rebellion. I mean, from the minute that the sun comes up. There is Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring. But if we were, we would have strongly objected to it.

They’re on fire over this.

believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices, but it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier.

But it rolls out across the entire schedule.

Because Ronna McDaniel has been a major peddler of the big lie.

The fact that Ms. McDaniel is on the payroll at NBC News, to me that is inexplicable. I mean, you wouldn’t hire a mobster to work at a DA’s office.

Rachel Maddow devotes an entire half hour.

It’s not about just being associated with Donald Trump and his time in the Republican Party. It’s not even about lying or not lying. It’s about our system of government.

Thumbing their noses at our bosses and basically accusing them of abetting a traitorous figure in American history. I mean, just extraordinary stuff. It’s television history.

And let’s face it, we journalists, our bosses, we can be seen as crybabies, and we’re paid complaining. Yeah, that’s what we’re paid to do. But in this case, the NBC executives cannot ignore this, because in the outcry, there’s a very clear point that they’re all making. Ronna McDaniel is not just a voice from the other side. She was a fundamental part of Trump’s efforts to deny his election loss.

This is not inviting the other side. This is someone who’s on the wrong side —

Of history.

Of history, of these moments that we’ve covered and are still covering.

And I think it’s fair to say that at this point, everyone understands that Ronna McDaniel’s time at NBC News is going to be very short lived. Yeah, basically, after all this, the executives at NBC have to face facts it’s over. And on Tuesday night, they release a statement to the staff saying as much.

They don’t cite the questions about red lines or what Ronna McDaniel represented or didn’t represent. They just say we need to have a unified newsroom. We want cohesion. This isn’t working.

I think in the end, she was a paid contributor for four days.

Yeah, one of the shortest tenures in television news history. And look, in one respect, by their standards, this is kind of a pretty small contract, a few hundred thousand dollars they may have to pay out. But it was way more costly because they hired her. They brought her on board because they wanted to appeal to these tens of millions of Americans who still love Donald J. Trump.

And what happens now is that this entire thing is blown up in their face, and those very same people now see a network that, in their view, in the view of Republicans across the country, this network will not accept any Republicans. So it becomes more about that. And Fox News, NBC’S longtime rival, goes wall to wall with this.

Now, NBC News just caved to the breathless demands from their far left, frankly, emotionally unhinged host.

I mean, I had it on my desk all day. And every minute I looked at that screen, it was pounding on these liberals at NBC News driving this Republican out.

It’s the shortest tenure in TV history, I think. But why? Well, because she supports Donald Trump, period.

So in a way, this leaves NBC worse off with that Trump Republican audience they had wanted to court than maybe even they were before. It’s like a boomerang with a grenade on it.

Yeah, it completely explodes in their face. And that’s why to me, the whole episode is so representative of this eight-year conundrum for the news media, especially on television. They still haven’t been able to crack the code for how to handle the Trump movement, the Trump candidacy, and what it has wrought on the American political system and American journalism.

We’ll be right back.

Jim, put into context this painful episode of NBC into that larger conundrum you just diagnosed that the media has faced when it comes to Trump.

Well, Michael, it’s been there from the very beginning, from the very beginning of his political rise. The media was on this kind of seesaw. They go back and forth over how to cover him. Sometimes they want to cover him quite aggressively because he’s such a challenging candidate. He was bursting so many norms.

But at other times, there was this instinct to understand his appeal, for the same reason. He’s such an unusual candidate. So there was a great desire to really understand his voters. And frankly, to speak to his voters, because they’re part of the audience. And we all lived it, right?

But just let me take you back anyway because everything’s fresh again with perspective. And so if you go back, let’s look at when he first ran. The networks, if you recall, saw him as almost like a novelty candidate.

He was going to spice up what was expected to be a boring campaign between the usual suspects. And he was a ratings magnet. And the networks, they just couldn’t get enough of it. And they allowed him, at times, to really shatter their own norms.

Welcome back to “Meet the Press,” sir.

Good morning, Chuck.

Good morning. Let me start —

He was able to just call into the studio and riff with the likes of George Stephanopoulos and Chuck Todd.

What does it have to do with Hillary?

She can’t talk about me because nobody respects women more than Donald Trump.

And CNN gave him a lot of unmitigated airtime, if you recall during the campaign. They would run the press conferences.

It’s the largest winery on the East Coast. I own it 100 percent.

And let him promote his Trump steaks and his Trump wine.

Trump steaks. Where are the steaks? Do we have steaks?

I mean, it got that crazy. But again, the ratings were huge. And then he wins. And because they had previously given him all that airtime, they’ve, in retrospect, sort of given him a political gift, and more than that now have a journalistic imperative to really address him in a different way, to cover him as they would have covered any other candidate, which, let’s face it, they weren’t doing initially. So there’s this extra motivation to make up for lost ground and maybe for some journalistic omissions.

Right. Kind of correct for the lack of a rigorous journalistic filter in the campaign.

Exactly. And the big thing that this will be remembered for is we’re going to call a lie a lie.

I don’t want to sugarcoat this because facts matter, and the fact is President Trump lies.

Trump lies. We’re going to say it’s a lie.

And I think we can’t just mince around it because they are lies. And so we need to call them what they are.

We’re no longer going to use euphemisms or looser language we’re. Going to call it for what it is.

Trump lies in tweets. He spreads false information at rallies. He lies when he doesn’t need to. He lies when the truth is more than enough for him.

CNN was running chyrons. They would fact check Trump and call lies lies on the screen while Trump is talking. They were challenging Trump to his face —

One of the statements that you made in the tail end of the campaign in the midterms that —

Here we go.

That — well, if you don’t mind, Mr. President, that this caravan was an invasion.

— in these crazy press conferences —

They’re are hundreds of miles away, though. They’re hundreds and hundreds of miles away. That’s not an invasion.

Honestly, I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN. And if you did it well, your ratings —

Well, let me ask — if I may ask one other question. Mr. President, if I may ask another question. Are you worried —

That’s enough. That’s enough.

And Trump is giving it right back.

I tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn’t be working for CNN.

Very combative.

So this was this incredibly fraught moment for the American press. You’ve got tens of millions of Trump supporters seeing what’s really basic fact checking. These look like attacks to Trump supporters. Trump, in turn, is calling the press, the reporters are enemies of the people. So it’s a terrible dynamic.

And when January 6 happens, it’s so obviously out of control. And what the traditional press that follows, traditional journalistic rules has to do is make it clear that the claims that Trump is making about a stolen election are just so abjectly false that they don’t warrant a single minute of real consideration once the reporting has been done to show how false they are. And I think that American journalism really emerged from that feeling strongly about its own values and its own place in society.

But then there’s still tens of millions of Trump voters, and they don’t feel so good about the coverage. And they don’t agree that January 6 was an insurrection. And so we enter yet another period, where the press is going to have to now maybe rethink some things.

In what way?

Well, there’s a kind of quiet period after January 6. Trump is off of social media. The smoke is literally dissipating from the air in Washington. And news executives are kind of standing there on the proverbial battlefield, taking a new look at their situation.

And they’re seeing that in this clearer light, they’ve got some new problems, perhaps none more important for their entire business models than that their ratings are quickly crashing. And part of that diminishment is that a huge part of the country, that Trump-loving part of the audience, is really now severed from him from their coverage.

They see the press as actually, in some cases, being complicit in stealing an election. And so these news executives, again, especially on television, which is so ratings dependent, they’ve got a problem. So after presumably learning all these lessons about journalism and how to confront power, there’s a first subtle and then much less subtle rethinking.

Maybe we need to pull back from that approach. And maybe we need to take some new lessons and switch it up a little bit and reverse some of what we did. And one of the best examples of this is none other than CNN.

It had come under new management, was being led by a guy named Chris Licht, a veteran of cable news, but also Stephen Colbert’s late night show in his last job. And his new job under this new management is we’re going to recalibrate a little bit. So Chris Licht proceeds to try to bring the network back to the center.

And how does he do that?

Well, we see some key personalities who represented the Trump combat era start losing air time and some of them lose their jobs. There’s talk of, we want more Republicans on the air. There was a famous magazine article about Chris Licht’s balancing act here.

And Chris Licht says to a reporter, Tim Alberta of the “Atlantic” magazine, look, a lot in the media, including at his own network, quote unquote, “put on a jersey, took a side.” They took a side. And he says, I think we understand that jersey cannot go back on him. Because he says in the end of the day, by the way, it didn’t even work. We didn’t change anyone’s mind.

He’s saying that confrontational approach that defined the four years Trump was in office, that was a reaction to the feeling that TV news had failed to properly treat Trump with sufficient skepticism, that that actually was a failure both of journalism and of the TV news business. Is that what he’s saying?

Yeah. On the business side, it’s easier call, right? You want a bigger audience, and you’re not getting the bigger audience. But he’s making a journalistic argument as well that if the job is to convey the truth and take it to the people, and they take that into account as they make their own voting decisions and formulate their own opinions about American politics, if tens of millions of people who do believe that election was stolen are completely tuning you out because now they see you as a political combatant, you’re not achieving your ultimate goal as a journalist.

And what does Licht’s “don’t put a jersey back on” approach look like on CNN for its viewers?

Well, It didn’t look good. People might remember this, but the most glaring example —

Please welcome, the front runner for the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump.

— was when he held a town hall meeting featuring Donald J. Trump, now candidate Trump, before an audience packed with Trump’s fans.

You look at what happened during that election. Unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens. A lot of the people —

Trump let loose a string of falsehoods.

Most people understand what happened. It was a rigged election.

The audience is pro-Trump audience, was cheering him on.

Are you ready? Are you ready? Can I talk?

Yeah, what’s your answer?

Can I? Do you mind?

I would like for you to answer the question.

OK. It’s very simple to answer.

That’s why I asked it.

It’s very simple. You’re a nasty person, I’ll tell you that.

And during, the CNN anchor hosting this, Kaitlan Collins, on CNN’s own air, it was a disaster.

It felt like a callback to the unlearned lessons of 2016.

Yeah. And in this case, CNN’s staff was up in arms.

Big shakeup in the cable news industry as CNN makes another change at the top.

Chris Licht is officially out at CNN after a chaotic run as chairman and CEO.

And Chris Licht didn’t survive it.

The chief executive’s departure comes as he faced criticism in recent weeks after the network hosted a town hall with Donald Trump and the network’s ratings started to drop.

But I want to say that the CNN leadership still, even after that, as they brought new leadership in, said, this is still the path we’re going to go on. Maybe that didn’t work out, but we’re still here. This is still what we have to do.

Right. And this idea is very much in the water of TV news, that this is the right overall direction.

Yeah. This is, by no means, isolated to CNN. This is throughout the traditional news business. These conversations are happening everywhere. But CNN was living it at that point.

And this, of course, is how we get to NBC deciding to hire Ronna McDaniel.

Right. Because they’re picking up — right where that conversation leaves off, they’re having the same conversation. But for NBC, you could argue this tension between journalistic values and audience. It’s even more pressing. Because even though MSNBC is a niche cable network, NBC News is part of an old-fashioned broadcast network. It’s on television stations throughout the country.

And in fact, those networks, they still have 6:30 newscasts. And believe it or not, millions of people still watch those every night. Maybe not as many as they used to, but there’s still some six or seven million people tuning in to nightly news. That’s important.

Right. We should say that kind of number is sometimes double or triple that of the cable news prime time shows that get all the attention.

On their best nights. So this is big business still. And that business is based on broad — it’s called broadcast for a reason. That’s based on broad audiences. So NBC had a business imperative, and they argue they had a journalistic imperative.

So given all of that, Jim, I think the big messy question here is, when it comes to NBC, did they make a tactical error around hiring the wrong Republican which blew up? Or did they make an even larger error in thinking that the way you handle Trump and his supporters is to work this hard to reach them, when they might not even be reachable?

The best way to answer that question is to tell you what they’re saying right now, NBC management. What the management saying is, yes, this was a tactical error. This was clearly the wrong Republican. We get it.

But they’re saying, we are going to — and they said this in their statement, announcing that they were severing ties with McDaniel. They said, we’re going to redouble our efforts to represent a broad spectrum of the American votership. And that’s what they meant was that we’re going to still try to reach these Trump voters with people who can relate to them and they can relate to.

But the question is, how do you even do that when so many of his supporters believe a lie? How is NBC, how is CNN, how are any of these TV networks, if they have decided that this is their mission, how are they supposed to speak to people who believe something fundamentally untrue as a core part of their political identity?

That’s the catch-22. How do you get that Trump movement person who’s also an insider, when the litmus test to be an insider in the Trump movement is to believe in the denialism or at least say you do? So that’s a real journalistic problem. And the thing that we haven’t really touched here is, what are these networks doing day in and day out?

They’re not producing reported pieces, which I think it’s a little easier. You just report the news. You go out into the world. You talk to people, and then you present it to the world as a nuanced portrait of the country. This thing is true. This thing is false. Again, in many cases, pretty straightforward. But their bread and butter is talking heads. It’s live. It’s not edited. It’s not that much reported.

So their whole business model especially, again, on cable, which has 24 hours to fill, is talking heads. And if you want the perspective from the Trump movement, journalistically, especially when it comes to denialism, but when it comes to some other major subjects in American life, you’re walking into a place where they’re going to say things that aren’t true, that don’t pass your journalistic standards, the most basic standards of journalism.

Right. So you’re saying if TV sticks with this model, the kind of low cost, lots of talk approach to news, then they are going to have to solve the riddle of who to bring on, who represents Trump’s America if they want that audience. And now they’ve got this red line that they’ve established, that that person can’t be someone who denies the 2020 election reality. But like you just said, that’s the litmus test for being in Trump’s orbit.

So this doesn’t really look like a conundrum. This looks like a bit of a crisis for TV news because it may end up meaning that they can’t hire that person that they need for this model, which means that perhaps a network like NBC does need to wave goodbye to a big segment of these viewers and these eyeballs who support Trump.

I mean, on the one hand, they are not ready to do that, and they would never concede that that’s something they’re ready to do. The problem is barring some kind of change in their news model, there’s no solution to this.

But why bar changes to their news model, I guess, is the question. Because over the years, it’s gotten more and more expensive to produce news, the news that I’m talking about, like recorded packages and what we refer to as reporting. Just go out and report the news.

Don’t gab about it. Just what’s going on, what’s true, what’s false. That’s actually very expensive in television. And they don’t have the kind of money they used to have. So the talking heads is their way to do programming at a level where they can afford it.

They do some packages. “60 Minutes” still does incredible work. NBC does packages, but the lion’s share of what they do is what we’re talking about. And that’s not going to change because the economics aren’t there.

So then a final option, of course, to borrow something Chris Licht said, is that a network like NBC perhaps doesn’t put a jersey on, but accepts the reality that a lot of the world sees them wearing a jersey.

Yeah. I mean, nobody wants to be seen as wearing a jersey in our business. No one wants to be wearing a jersey on our business. But maybe what they really have to accept is that we’re just sticking to the true facts, and that may look like we’re wearing a jersey, but we’re not. And that may, at times, look like it’s lining up more with the Democrats, but we’re not.

If Trump is lying about a stolen election, that’s not siding against him. That’s siding for the truth, and that’s what we’re doing. Easier said than done. And I don’t think any of these concepts are new.

I think there have been attempts to do that, but it’s the world they’re in. And it’s the only option they really have. We’re going to tell you the truth, even if it means that we’re going to lose a big part of the country.

Well, Jim, thank you very much.

Thank you, Michael.

Here’s what else you need to know today.

[PROTESTERS CHANTING]

Over the weekend, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in some of the largest domestic demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since Israel invaded Gaza in the fall.

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

Some of the protesters called on Netanyahu to reach a cease fire deal that would free the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. Others called for early elections that would remove Netanyahu from office.

During a news conference on Sunday, Netanyahu rejected calls for early elections, saying they would paralyze his government at a crucial moment in the war.

Today’s episode was produced by Rob Szypko, Rikki Novetsky, and Alex Stern, with help from Stella Tan.

It was edited by Brendan Klinkenberg with help from Rachel Quester and Paige Cowett. Contains original music by Marion Lozano, Dan Powell, and Rowan Niemisto and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

• April 2, 2024   •   29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
• April 1, 2024   •   36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
• March 29, 2024   •   48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband
• March 28, 2024   •   33:40 The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump.
• March 27, 2024   •   28:06 Democrats’ Plan to Save the Republican House Speaker
• March 26, 2024   •   29:13 The United States vs. the iPhone
• March 25, 2024   •   25:59 A Terrorist Attack in Russia
• March 24, 2024   •   21:39 The Sunday Read: ‘My Goldendoodle Spent a Week at Some Luxury Dog ‘Hotels.’ I Tagged Along.’
• March 22, 2024   •   35:30 Chuck Schumer on His Campaign to Oust Israel’s Leader
• March 21, 2024   •   27:18 The Caitlin Clark Phenomenon
• March 20, 2024   •   25:58 The Bombshell Case That Will Transform the Housing Market
• March 19, 2024   •   27:29 Trump’s Plan to Take Away Biden’s Biggest Advantage

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jim Rutenberg

Produced by Rob Szypko ,  Rikki Novetsky and Alex Stern

With Stella Tan

Edited by Brendan Klinkenberg ,  Rachel Quester and Paige Cowett

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Dan Powell and Rowan Niemisto

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Ronna McDaniel’s time at NBC was short. The former Republican National Committee chairwoman was hired as an on-air political commentator but released just days later after an on-air revolt by the network’s leading stars.

Jim Rutenberg, a writer at large for The Times, discusses the saga and what it might reveal about the state of television news heading into the 2024 presidential race.

On today’s episode

Jim Rutenberg , a writer at large for The New York Times.

Background reading

Ms. McDaniel’s appointment had been immediately criticized by reporters at the network and by viewers on social media.

The former Republican Party leader tried to downplay her role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A review of the record shows she was involved in some key episodes .

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We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jim Rutenberg is a writer at large for The Times and The New York Times Magazine and writes most often about media and politics. More about Jim Rutenberg

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