So you want to be an entrepreneur?

I started my business, Charmed Cake-Pops, when I was in 8th grade, and it has been one of my biggest learning experiences.

It’s important to find something that you feel passionate about making or doing. A business idea might come to you when you’re least expecting it.

I had no intention of starting a business at the beginning; it was more to just bake something because I love all baking and cooking shows.If you’re going to start a business, you need to have a way of marketing yourself and getting your business out there. That could be a social media page, a flier, business cards, or a website. After I had some customers, I started doing ads on emails to anyone who had ever ordered from me.

Using just a Google Doc and some backgrounds I found online, I started printing business cards that listed my business name and website. I eventually upgraded to stickers,which can be created through companies online with prices usually starting at a little over a dollar per sticker.

Knowing what to charge customers for your product or service is a process, especially as a teenager.

I started by looking at other more developed websites and businesses around Omaha to see what they were charging for similar products, which was typically about $2 a cake-pop.

At the beginning, I offered cake-pops a bit on the cheaper end, pricing them at about $1.25 each. I’ve now upped the price, but it still averages less than $2 per cake-pop depending on the size of the order. I’ve added upgrade fees for special designs or additional colors because they end up being more work.

I also felt, with more experience, I had become more skilled, so the price increase made sense. I did face one customer reaching out to me asking about my price increase, but she still ordered from me again, so I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker or will lead to significant loss of customers.

Connections you already have will help with building a business. People you know may help you to develop your business.

I started giving cake-pops to friends and family, and one of my mom’s family friends has become one of my most loyal customers and supporters. About two years after starting my business, I had an old middle school Spanish teacher reach out to me because she had found my website.

I have multiple stories of people discovering me just because they found my website and wanted to support a younger business owner.

Finding the balance between taking a risk and seeing it pay off is a chance you sometimes have to take.

Once, a wedding customer wanted a specialized bride and groom cake-pop design, and I had never even attempted something like that before. My mom got upset with me when it was the day before the order was due, and I still had to do these intricate designs.

That wedding design ended up looking elegant and worked out, but I also have to find the balance with saying no at other times, such as declining a customer request to have cake-pops mailed to them.

One thing I had to do for myself was putting limits on how far in advance someone needs to put an order in. People ordering on my website have to do it a week in advance, although there is some wiggle room if someone reaches out to me and I’m able to accommodate them, because I am still a high schooler and cake-pops take multiple days from planning, baking, and designing.

If you’re thinking you might want to start your own business, don’t restrict yourself on your idea of what is possible or what you’re capable of.

The most astonishing thing that happened to me was when I received an email from Boys Town one year into starting my business. This surprised me on its own, but the inquirer of an order for 1,000 cake-pops almost seemed unapproachable. I’m in marching band at school, and it was the middle of the season. Still, I accepted the order. It took me multiple weeks of coming home right after school and getting to work and asking my parents for help, but I did successfully make those 1,000 cake-pops.

Never stop expanding your business. Especially after you’ve built yourself up, getting orders from customers, and hopefully have some money – keep growing.

Selling at different craft fairs and summer markets would be the next step I would want to take in my business endeavors.

Most importantly, don’t put too much stress on yourself to be perfect or have everything figured out.

For me, not having the internal pressure or expectation of anything huge coming out of this business and just doing it for my enjoyment ultimately has carried my passion and growth for my business.