Organization helping kids build a business, become 'kidpreneurs'

WILLOW GROVE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Some kids are making money by building businesses and there is an organization to help them and their families succeed.

Forget the allowance, the new thing is to be a young entrepreneur or "kidpreneur". Action News recently met one such kidpreneur from Willow Grove, Montgomery County.

"This is a story about a young man named John and his dog Ruffles and their trip to outer space," said John Lambert reading his book.

John is a 10-year-old fifth grader and the author of "John's Journey to Outer Space." He wrote the story when he was five after a trip to a space museum.

"Like I want to be an astronaut when I grow up," he said.

But the budding astronaut is already an entrepreneur, or kidpreneur if you will, with a second book out and a vending machine business.

"I do like candy, sometimes toys," said John.

Tameka Young is the founder of the National Association for Kidpreneurs.

"We support them by offering webinars, workshops, helping them work out a business plan and just providing them different opportunities," she said.

You can offer tutoring, babysitting, something creative or something as simple as walking home a younger child from school.

"If they have a passion for something you can definitely start there," said Tameka.

Whatever your passion, Tameka says kidpreneurs learn real world lessons to help them now and in the future.

"These are problem solving skills, financial literacy skills and even just learning how to talk to people in public, take rejection, so there are so many other lifelong skills that come along with it," she said.

And John has his own advice for aspiring kidpreneurs.

"First of all, you should try your best and you shouldn't give up on the first try and you should be confident about yourself," he said.

He also has a winning strategy for what to do with the money you make.

"You can keep a little for yourself, put a lot in your account, and keep a little for the business so you can get your books produced you can get more ingredients," he said.

John says it's important to keep investing in your business to keep it going. His books retail for $10 and you can find them most place books are sold.