Start It Up: The Complete Teen Business Guide to Turning Your Passions Into Pay

by Kenrya Rankin, Eriko Takada (Illustrations)

Do you have a passion you want to turn into pay? Or maybe you are looking for a way to make some extra cash in high school? Start It Up shows teens how to turn their hobbies and talents into full-fledged businesses. Inside you’ll find comprehensive and fun information on how to • know what’s the best business for you,
• pull together a company, and
• sell your product and let the world know about it! Whether your business is cake baking, dog walking, website design, or house painting, Start It Up offers the A-Z on getting it going and making it successful. Also featured are quotes from other successful teen entrepreneurs who turned their dreams into dollars.

Genres: Business, Young Adult

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Kenrya Rankin a.k.a. Kenrya Rankin Naasel

Kenrya Rankin is an award-winning author, journalist, and editorial consultant whose insight has been tapped by leading outlets, including the New York Times, the Huffington Post, and ThinkProgress. She creates dynamic content that amplifies the lived experiences, advocacy, and work of people of color and shifts the narrative around who deserves liberation, justice, and dignity in America. A 20-year veteran in the editorial space, she is also Executive Producer and Co-host of The Turn On podcast and Principal at Perfectly Said Studio. As a journalist and editor, her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including Fast Company, Essence, Glamour and Reader's Digest. She is the author of five books, including "How We Fight White Supremacy" and the forthcoming "Anti-Racism: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas." Kenrya earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Howard University and her master’s degree in publishing from New York University. She is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio, and currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her brilliant artist daughter. Find her online at Kenrya.com and @Kenrya on all of the things.

Reviews

[Sue Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Start it Up is a guide for teens that are interested in working for themselves rather than someone else. It is an all encompassing, entrepreneurial start up book for teens, with nearly every aspect of operating a business covered. Interspersed between information and exercises are real-life teen entrepreneurs sharing their story and offering advice. These glimpses of teen business owners work well as encouragement and as examples of success.

This is an amazing book for teens, and adults, interested in starting an online business. Whether for pocket money, that first car, or college, this book can lead the way to recurring income. I found it impressive in the depth of topics covered and the resources available for teens. By following the first chapters on the basics through to the final chapters on sustaining and expanding, any teen with a desire and a passion can become an entrepreneur.

Topics covered include developing a business plan, money matters, hiring the right people, customer service, and giving back to the community to reference a few. Most entrepreneurs think of the Internet first. Start it Up covers both virtual and physical start ups. This text is valuable at any stage of a business.

Start It Up is the text for teens with a desire to start a business. It is at the top os the list at Amazon for teens and business, and rightfully so.

Book received from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher.

[Bekka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, not just for teens, but for anyone looking to start a business. The explanations are straightforward and clear, and it give great advice on all aspects of creating a start up. Its got the best worksheet for a business plan of any book I've read!

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Mauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion the book “Start it Up” is a great book, it has a lot of sections that are helpful to teach how people can turn their passions into profit. The book also shows how to do business work and what does a person needs to make a profit out of doing something that makes you happy. I would recommend this book to people who would love to make money and having through all the processes, and also people who are interested in the economy and want to know all the processes to make a business work by creating a business plan. This book has several examples of people who start a business, not by creating something new; just by making more easily the process of doing something facilitating other people's lives and the result was a lot of profit for those who start a business. My favorite part of the book is when it explains how collaboration and assistance might result in a beautiful process. Working with a member of your family or a friend might help your business work, and making it even more creative and fun.

[Kimberly Bower MLIS (gladeslibrarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. There are a few good books out there aimed at teens who want to start their own business but none are as valuable and engaging as this one. Without authentic language the message is lost. Rankin’s language rings true. Without pinpointing passions, strengths and weaknesses the reader may blindly grasp at anything just to get a project up and running. Rankin provides checklists, quizzes and brainstorming sessions so a reader can find a project that matches one of their passions with something that other people really need. Rankin provides a sample business plan linking each section of the plan to a chapter in the book that explains it. Young entrepreneurs need to document sources of their capital investment, gather a board of advisors, determine pricing, prepare a budget, and provide a marketing analysis and strategy. Each chapter ends with a list of online resources for further research. For any teen with a passion, an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to make some hard-earned money, this is the book for you.

[Kimberly Bower MLIS (gladeslibrarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. There are a few good books out there aimed at teens who want to start their own business but none are as valuable and engaging as this one. Without authentic language the message is lost. Rankin's language rings true. Without pinpointing passions, strengths and weaknesses the reader may blindly grasp at anything just to get a project up and running. Rankin provides checklists, quizzes and brainstorming sessions so a reader can find a project that matches one of their passions with something that other people really need. Rankin provides a sample business plan linking each section of the plan to a chapter in the book that explains it. Young entrepreneurs need to document sources of their capital investment, gather a board of advisors, determine pricing, prepare a budget, and provide a marketing analysis and strategy. Each chapter ends with a list of online resources for further research. For any teen with a passion, an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to make some hard-earned money, this is the book for you.

[Gretchen Voit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a great book for any person wanting to start a business. It gives you all of the basic information needed and is written with no nonsense language. It incorporates many specific examples from teenagers sharing their thoughts, struggles, and successes. A great read for anyone really.