Inspiring Business Stories for Kids

Inspiring Kid Entrepreneurs

Deciding what you are going to do with your life is a daunting task for anyone, formally educated or not. Some homeschoolers are apprehensive about their future. Will they attend college, technical school, apprentice, or jump right into the world of business? Of course, any and all of those are great options. But, imagine if you started a business before you graduated. Imagine if you could use the profits from your business to fund your future endeavors. As entrepreneurs, we're always looking for inspiring business stories for kids. The most important tip is to follow your passion.

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If you ever watch Shark Tank, you've probably seen the flops and the successes. The most inspiring business stories are always the ones that start with a kid with an idea and a family who rallies behind them with support. After all, a successful entrepreneurship relies upon a team that believes in the project. Mark Cuban offers tips on how to help children with an idea for a business start up.

Inspiring Business Stories for Kids

Most kid entrepreneurs start with a lemonade stand and then move onto something else. Jack Bonneau did that, but expanded on the idea. He operates lemonade stands at farmers' markets and malls. You can get in on the action by starting your own Jack's Stand.

Origami Owl is a direct selling business founded by 14 year old, Bella Weems, with the support of her mother, Chrissy Weems. This is truly an inspiring business story, because as a dba jewelry company, you can earn extra money by becoming a designer (sales associate) or earn products by hosting your own show.

Leanna Archer wanted to share her grandma's recipe for all natural products. She started making the products and giving them away to friends and family. Now, Leanna's Essentials are sold worldwide.

Have these kid business stories inspired you? If you need more inspiration, check out these 50 inspiring business ideas for kids.

Now, that you've been inspired by these business stories, create a plan of action. Whether, you want to use it as a homeschool lesson or as the beginning for your inspired business plan, brainstorming and writing out a plan is a great way to get started. If you aren't' quite ready to write out a business plan, start with a list of things you know how to do best or things you absolutely love (your passion.)

The best small businesses start with something that is unique to you. You may not even see it as something special because it is part of your everyday activities, but to someone else with a different life experience and skill set, your hand knitted daisies, handmade fleece afghans, or grandma's applesauce, could be just the thing they need to enrich their lives.

Here at Kids Creative Chaos, we love birds, birds of all kinds and all sizes. Our entrepreneur list includes lots of ideas for things to do with birds. We started out raising chickens and giving away the eggs. Think about the possibilities! We can sell eggs, raise hatchlings to sell, sell egg based products... the possibilities are endless.


What will you do?


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Inspiring Kids to be More Creative can Boost Self Esteem

 Different Ways to Inspire Creativity in Your Child 

As a parent, it's often challenging to see your child struggling, especially with their creative endeavors. It's essential to inspire children to explore their passions and interests. For young girls, especially, it can be difficult not to get pulled along by peers and lose sight of personal interests and passions. One way to help all kids find their voice and unique passion is to inspire their creative flow with lots of creative activities. Encourage your boys and girls to try something outside of their comfort zone!

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School plays are a creative outlet that builds self-confidence
 and life long friendships.

If you follow along on this blog, you know that kids being creative is our lifeblood. Kids Creative Chaos is not only our name, but our mantra. Creativity is often a chaotic event, but it needs to take place! Never choose a clean house over letting a child explore their creativity. Squelching creativity can have unwanted outcomes. Empower your kids to be themselves, explore their creativity, and improve their self-esteem in the process! And never, never, fall into the old stereotypes of labeling activities for boys or for girls. Without even knowing it, you can be killing a child's self-worth and dreams. As we always say, let them try, try try!

Inspiring creativity is a challenging tasks for most parents. Kids often choose not to do something simply because their parents have suggested it. Other times, they may feel insecure about trying something new. Try to encourage different creative pursuits as an outlet for self-esteem, fellowship, and mental health. Here are a few simple ways on how to cultivate your child’s creativity. 

Mayhem in a school band production.

Introduce kids to different types of crafts

Introducing your child to different ways to be creative allows their mind to develop away from the rigid confines of the creativity taught in many schools. It shows children the art of critical thinking and developing passions beyond the ordinary. Ask your child what interests them, but also give them options and ideas to inspire their creative and critical thinking.

If you wonder what this might look like, consider introducing your kids to different expressions of art that inspire creativity. For example, listen to music with them, discuss musical instruments and let them try one. Many cities have musical petting zoos or other opportunities to test an instrument.

Activities for Creative Expression

Jake in an adaptation of Brother's Grimm.

You can also show your kids different forms of creative expression with painting and other arts and crafts. Allow them to play and explore. The earlier kids start experimenting with creativity, the better chance it will have an affect on their emotional stability and self-esteem. So, be sure to take your kids to museums, the theater, and to music concerts to inspire their senses and allow them to engage in all sorts of artistic pursuits. If you want to learn more about that, here's an article from Berkeley on why the arts matter.

On a side note, always remember to read with your children and encourage critical discussion on the book and its themes. A child with a curious mind will find it easier to access their personal creativity. 

Surrealist Art Activity for Elementary Children

Give Kids creative gifts

Giving a child and exciting gift that isn't clothes or a video game, might inspire them to think creatively or get actively moving and making art. If you're struggling for ideas for your daughter, there are many gifts for girls to choose from that don't need to sit within the confines of gendered stereotypes. For example, you could buy her a zine-making kit. Firstly, making things helps kids to be more creative, but secondly, creating their own magazine can encourage kids to use their voice for good. Zines are a great way for children of all ages and genders to write and be creative. Click here for gift ideas that are targeting boys but can work for either gender. My daughter always hated to be excluded from toy cars, trains, and Transformers and my son loves to use hot pink as an accent color for sunglasses, hats, or other accessories. He gets a kick out of people giving him a hard time. Self-confidence at work!

Books about the Arts for Kids

Allow kids to explore 

Finally, one of the most important ways to inspire creativity within your child is to allow them to explore on their own. For a child, exploring comes in many shapes and forms, from creative play to fashion. If you want your child to develop a unique identity and a sense of themselves, they have to learn what they like and don't like.

See how we encouraged our daughter to dress however she pleased.

Kids have to try out activities and get things wrong. Making mistakes is an excellent way for a child to learn, and this can also be applied to their creative endeavors. So, give your kids some paint or a dress-up box and encourage them to explore. Then, stay engaged in their exploration and find out more about what they are doing and why, but never force it- being an over zealous parent can backfire. Play it cool, and watch your kids have fun with the skills you helped to create.

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Free Online Relationship Counseling

Are you Struggling to get Along with your Family?

For the next series of posts, we're going to stray a little bit from our regular article topics. We often talk about parenting and share advice for parenting teens, but we've rarely talked about the relationship between two parents. Whether you're married, living together, or co-parenting after a separation, that relationship is a key factor in your parenting success. We want to model healthy, mature relationships for our children, but that is often easier said than done, especially, when you throw in all the expenses of raising a family. However, there are online sources that can help with most of life's struggles. If you're looking for free online relationship counseling, we've got your back.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Is it time to take a look in the mirror?

As you know, we have a series of mommy bloggers who contribute posts to this website, they also help with our Digital Marketing business. As we get new clients,  we sometimes discover that different clients' needs are better suited to one staffer as opposed to another. Sometimes, it's due to work ethic, ability to communicate on a particular topic, or even a staffer's personal passion (or lack thereof)  for a subject. As the editor-in -chief of this website I also have faced conflict of interests, time constraints, or personality clashes with certain clients' content topics. One that particularly comes to mind, is what, at the time, I saw as a lack of interest in the subject matter. 

After working with the client for several weeks, I came to realize it wasn’t a lack of interest that I was facing, but a lack of personal courage. While speaking to the client each week, I enjoyed the conversation and even felt a kindred spirit with her. On the flip side, I dreaded our weekly consultations. I'd find a dozen reasons to put off those weekly calls. I was consulting her on the best way to promote her articles, so calls were a necessary part of the work week. I felt miserable after our calls. I was trying to avoid that feeling. The client was a divorce consultant... 

Every week, she had shiny, new articles to share and we’d discuss the best way to market them. As I read the articles to prep the marketing strategy and create striking image text, I’d become depressed. These articles were hitting home. I soon realized, I was her target demographic. I didn't like the way it made me feel. It was a slap in the face, a weekly reminder that I needed to make a change in my own life.

I also didn’t like that I was broke. I could easily benefit from utilizing her services, but I couldn’t afford it - or wouldn’t. The fee for the program was $1000.  Most of us don’t have the budget for an unexpected $1000 monthly expense. If we do, our budget considers it an emergency fund  for broken water pipes, a new furnace, or other homeowner’s expenses. The kind of things that  you and your partner would share the blow of the expense. “Sorry, Honey,  I used our emergency money for a divorce consultant.” Yeah, that’s not going to go over well for anybody, right? Keeping those kinds of secrets is exactly why you need a relationship consultant. So, most of us suffer in silence, hoping it will all work itself out. It won’t.

Fast forward two and half years later, here I am. Those articles were the catalyst I needed to start the process of removing myself from a very broken relationship. This meant shaking up the lives of many people, making difficult decisions, and hoping that I was doing the right thing. In the end, I made the right choice. Things aren’t easy, life comes at you way too fast, but emotionally, I’m in a much better place. If only I’d taken advantage of other free online marriage counseling or the many online mental health services sooner, I could’ve avoided some issues and been more prepared to help my children deal with the upheaval it placed on their lives. 

We’re still working out the bugs, but all in all, it was the best decision for everyone involved. Sometimes, you just have to step back and evaluate your situation. Change is scary. If three years ago, someone would've told me that I’d own my own home, be responsible for the note on two cars, two houses, and all the other expenses that take their toll on a head of household, be a single parent with two teenagers in public school, and working outside the home, I would’ve told you that you that I couldn’t do it. Me, the advocate for “You can do it!” would’ve said, I’m not strong enough or capable enough to pull off the life of a professional single mother. I would've rather rolled up in a ball and never got out of bed. 

At the time, I didn’t realize that I was depressed. I had a series of health setbacks. I’d become comfortable in my unhappiness. It was a mess, but at least I knew how everyday was going to play out. Ugh. They all played out the same way. There was no hope for the future, only hope to make it through to the next day- to survive another day. My kids had been feeling the same way. Are we all Disney happy now? No, far from it but, even in these trying times, we all have hope for the future. Stay tuned for more on this story.

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Autism Jobs Awareness: Crafter's for Life

Jobs for Autism?

If you have Autism or know someone who does, the idea of a job may seem daunting or impossible. Just like anyone else, you can make your own destiny. That is exactly what the family behind Crafter's for Life did. They created Autism jobs and in doing so, they are promoting Autism Awareness. You can support Autism by purchasing an item handcrafted by people with Autism. Enjoy!

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Homeschooling Advice from Becky Hunt

Homeschooling Advice 

This guest post on homeschooling advice is by Becky Hunt from Experienced Mommy. Becky has homeschooled four kids (including one with special needs) for the past 20 years. Listen up!

This post contains affiliate links.

In case no one ever told you, homeschooling comes with making a lot of decisions.

Some moms are super-fast decision makers. They do a little research. They pick a book or a curriculum, or a study group, they buy stuff and BANG they are done.

No regret, no second guessing, no wringing the hands, no worry that they are going to ruin their kid forever.

Except I don’t actually know any of those moms.

I’m not saying every homeschooling mom friend of mine is a basket case, but let’s just say the vast majority of moms, especially those just getting started, do way too much stressing out.

My Story

I have a special needs daughter, Anna, who is 17 but operates at more of a one-and-a-half-year-old level. She is a category all her own and will always keep the nest full.

But I also have two boys and a girl, all three of which I homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade. My oldest son and daughter graduated from Purdue and my younger son is still studying there.

I assembled my own curriculum, didn’t do too much in the way of co-ops or groups, changed things up for each child, and generally made my own way.

The kids all got good scholarships, test scores, etc. and are doing just fine.

But it doesn’t matter how I did it.

The choices you end up making are a lot less important than the process you use to make them. And the key thing about the process is learning to RELAX!

The kids are going to be fine. You aren’t going to sabotage their futures and lives and jobs by choosing A instead of B or X instead of Y.

And that brings me to the first thing you need to relax about:

Relax About Curriculum

Yeah, you have to cover the three R’s, Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic, and yes, you need to work in whatever your state requires especially in high school.

But other than that, don’t sweat it!

Pick something that looks good, that fits with your direction and world view, and relax.

There is no magic prescription for the perfect education. How many expert educators would agree on a curriculum? Um, none.

Education is a long, long term process where we are exposing our kids to principles, ideas, facts and the world.

It is no simplification to say that all we are really trying to do is teach our kids to think. We are teaching them a process for learning.

That’s why the material itself isn’t that crucial. We are basically saying “here are some books and videos and projects: we are going to interact with this pile of stuff.”

We are going to:

• Figure out what the books want us to do
• Understand what the benefit of the content is
• Learn how to get the important parts out of it
• Learn how to skip over the stuff we don’t care about

And each time we go through a course or topic, our minds get better at learning, and that’s the whole point.

Which is also why the coverage isn’t the most important thing.

Relax About Coverage

Lots of text books have 50 chapters and I know so many moms who are stressed every week because their kid didn’t make through the 1.4 chapters necessary to get done by the end of the year.

But if education is about the process of learning, it just doesn’t matter whether you cover all 50 chapters.

What difference does it make if you plow through 10 extra chapters but the kid only remembers 5% of it and everybody is at each other’s throats the whole time?

If you are obsessed over getting a certain score on a standardized test, and the test has stuff on it your kid has never seen before, you have to have a plan for that. But you still relax and chill and be strategic at the same time.

Relax About Milestones

My kids didn’t start writing papers until they were in 5th or 6th grade. Turns out that was perfectly fine. It gave them a chance to have hundreds of really great books read out loud and discussed with them.

Kids don’t have know the alphabet, read, write or do algebra by a certain age. Relax. It will be fine. They will get it when they need to get it.

Not only will they eventually get it, they’ll learn better when they are ready for it.

Relax About the End Results

I wanted it all. I wanted my kids to excel academically, be well rounded individuals and get great jobs. But most importantly I wanted them to become men and women of character who love God and are kind, honest and unselfish.

Credentials flow from character.

And kids learn character from how you behave not from what you say.

So how do you relax about a big list of goals and dreams you have for your kids?

Well that’s a tough one, but you just have to realize that the end results will come from a steady, consistent relationship that you have with your children over a period of years.

You will sit with them, love them, fight and make up with them, learn with them, learn how to learn with them and persevere when you are tired and want to ship them off to school.

And it will all work out. The kids will be fine.

Just relax. - Becky Hunt - Learn more about Becky.

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15 Slumber Party Games and Activities for Teen Girls: Best Sleepover Ever

15 Fun for Teen Girls Activities: A Sleepover, Slumber Birthday Party

A teenage girl sleepover party with fun games, activities, and swag bags is the best slumber party ever! Don't just read these titles and think, been there done that. We've added a little twist to each birthday party activity.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.
UPDATED for 2020 with BONUS BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES.

Slumber Party Sleepover Games and Activities for Teen Girls.

1. Balloon Charades. Grabs some stationary and write down ideas for Charades. What are charades? How do you play charades? You know, when you act something out, pull on your ear for "sounds like", put two fingers in the air to signify two words, but you never speak. Yeah, that game. So, fold the paper up into skinny rectangles, slide it inside a balloon, blow it up, and use it as a party decoration. When you are ready to play charades give each guest a balloon. Have her pop it - sitting on it is the most fun, read it, and act it out for the other guests to guess. Super Fun!

Yeah, you can do this with "Truth or Dare" too, but oh how I loathe Truth or Dare. Shouldn't it be called "Humiliation or Bullying?"



Bonus Activity: Giant Cupcake Balloon for Party
Want a cool photo op for your social media? Make this Balloon Cupcake with your friends and then use it as a backdrop for your photos! Click here: How to Make Giant Cupcake from Balloons!

2. Sleeping Bag Switch. For this game, each girl brings a sleeping bag or sleeping pad to the party. To start the game, the girls unroll their bags and lay them out on the floor. Then, one girl goes out of the room and the remaining girls pick someone else's bag to hide in. The girl then returns and tries to guess who is who or who is where. You can also have only two girls switch, and see if she can tell who switched. Fun times!

5 Fun Ideas for Teen Birthday Party

3. Crazy Makeovers. Time to pull out the make up, and let the girls give each other makeovers. No peeking until it is done. The beautician can choose to make a crazy makeover or a beautiful, glamorous one. The girl getting the makeup has to guess which type of makeover she got before the big reveal. 

Fun Things to Make at Home

4. Spin the Nail Polish Bottle. Each girl takes a turn picking out a color and spinning the bottle. This works best on a table. Who ever the bottle points to when it finishes spinning paints a nail with that color. Then, she chooses the next color to spin. When everyone has 10 nails painted, take a picture and share them with your friends on Instagram. Make sure you have lots of color choices!

Choose a variety of colors for Nail Polish Spin the Bottle game.

5. Make your Own Glitter Body Scrub. Find small jars that seal tightly, fine glitter, (white is nice) coconut oil, (a wonderful moisturizer for the scrub) scented extract, and sugar or coarse salt. Sugar is best. Salt is great for exfoliating, but bad if it gets in your eyes. Choose an extract: Peppermint, Almond (my favorite) Coconut, or Vanilla. Add a few drops of extract to the sugar and glitter to make a paste. Now you have your own moisturizer and exfoliator. When purchasing coconut oil you want this kind, extra virgin coconut oil.

Coconut Oil for Glitter Scrub.

6. Dress Up Divas. Go to a thrift shop and find evening gowns or formal wear and fancy heels the girls can use to dress up. Place the gowns in a large bag. Before you let the girls see the gowns, have them make blindfolds that double as beauty masks. Once everyone is blindfolded, have them choose a dress by touch alone. After they model the dresses, they can trade and have a fashion show or make up a reality show. Don't forget a full-length mirror.

For a blindfold or sleeping mask tutorial visit Henry Happened blog.

7. Pillowcase Decorating Activity. Purchase pillowcases to decorate. Grab fabric makers, tacky glue, and ribbon. You can also find fun, iron on transfers to embellish. If you plan in advance, you can decorate a large gift bag for each guest. Load it up with all that Birthday Party Swag! 

Birthday Party Activities for Teen Girls

8. Pillow Fight. A classic game. As part of the swag bag items, create mini-pillows. You can often find little pillows at the dollar store or use travel pillows. Decorate them as mentioned above. When it is time for bed, be a cool party host. Tell the girls to grab their mini-pillows. On your mark, set, pillow fight! Just watch out for the lamps! You're going to need a big full-body pillow for this pillow fight!

Bonus Activity: Easy Colorful Cupcake Frosting
Make this easy, colorful cupcake icing and decorate cakes or cookies with your friends! Share on Instagram or other social media with #cupcaketime Get the recipe here: Easy Cupcake Frosting.

9. Flip Flop Decorating Activity. Find out the Flip Flop shoe sizes of each guest before the party. Get some yarn, baubles, Sharpie Markers, and cloth scraps. Decorate to your heart's desire. Toss them in that swag bag to take home.

Printable Dorm Supply Checklist

10. Cup Stacking. When you are buying party supplies, get some extra cups for the party guests to stack. Take turns to see who can get the most cups stacked in a minute or who has the most creative tower. Even better, everyone can start at the same time. This makes it more nerve wracking and chaotic! Hey, don't knock my tower down!

Minute to Win it Games for a Birthday Party.

11. Minute to Win it Games. Imagine the possibilities! Just like cup stacking, come up with several activities that can be completed in one minute. Everyone grab one of those cups. Set it in the middle of a table, grab a Ping Pong ball, and with only one bounce allowed, bounce the ball into the cup. Hurry! The clock is ticking. Tick Tock. You can also use the a cup to fill a bucket with water (use a colorful sand pail). 

Bonus Activity: Toothpaste Slime

Trick your friends with this toothpaste slime. You'll need 1 C. Blue Hair Gel, 1/2 C. Cornstarch, Water, Super Fine White Glitter.

Slowly add water to 1/3 C. Cornstarch by the spoonful, stir until all is mixed well and becomes pour-able. Then, slowly stir cornstarch mixture into the hair gel. When it all has a thick toothpaste consistency, sprinkle in the super fine glitter. Voila! You have fake toothpaste. See if you can trick your parents with it. Of course, this toothpaste slime isn’t edible!! 

Did you know real toothpaste isn’t edible either? You should always spit it out after brushing. Don’t forget to brush your teeth with real toothpaste every morning (even at a slumber party!) 

Parents,  if you’ve got one of those kids, who doesn’t like to go to the dentist, ABC Children’s Dentistry offers more valuable tips to help you and your child when it comes to oral hygiene. Dental hygiene is something that should be taught at an early age. Why not make it fun?  Here’s a neat sensory toothpaste activity for preschoolers by Still Playing School.

12. Dance Off. Time for the girls to get their dance moves on and have fun. This is great to play after the Dress up Diva game. She who dances the longest wins. Ha! You thought it was a game of skill. Nope. It is a game of "get them tired so they don't put your panties in the freezer!"  Sweet Dreams. What's that? You're dreaming of popsicles?

13. Board Games. Don't think "bored" games. These board games are fun because each girl makes her own game to play or collaborate on one super, cool game. Cereal boxes, paper plates, and the white side of the wrapping paper are great ways to make a board. Paper plates make game spinners. Old, recycled business cards make excellent playing cards or game cards. Stickers are fun too. Fold paper and cut it into a cube pattern to make your own dice. Still boring? Take those balloons and fill them with game topics. For example, "Make a game about Rock Stars" or "Make a Mall Shopping Card Game" or "Make a game of questions." Let your imaginations run wild. This can be especially fun for preteens and tweens.

Cool Games for Holiday Parties

14. Classic Board Games. Find out who your moguls are when you pull out the Monopoly game or start up the giggles with Trouble. But that's boring, right? Pass around a basket of accessories. Think grandma glasses, nerd spectacles, giant clip-on earrings, men's ties, satin gloves, and cowboy hats. Now, play those games in character with silly accents.

15. Slurpin' for Worms. Gummy Worm Game Grab a bag of gummi worms or gummi bears and a can of whipped cream. Place the worms on a paper plate and cover them with the cream. It should look like a fake pie, you know, the kind you get in the face? Yeah, you might want to wear a raincoat for this one, and Mom might want to lay down a painting drop cloth. Players must keep their hands behind their backs at all times. Dive in. This is a great game for "Minute to Win It" too. Who can slurp up the most worms? Who can eat the most?

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