The Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Video Competition

Running from early April 2008 to May 2008, the Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Video Competition is a global search to select two entrepreneurs under the age of 16 to be profiled in the 2008 Charity Book Project, alongside big names like Ben Casnocha - who started a software business at the age of 13, which became a Silicon Valley start-up before he finished high school.

Cash-Smart Kids is the brainchild of Jenny Ford, a financial educator from Sydney, Australia. The website includes a program for parents who want to teach their kids about money and business. Jenny recognises that parents often need almost as much help as their kids with some money and business principles!

Jenny was selected from a global field of applicants to co-author the 2008 Charity Book Project with best-selling business author Peter Economy. The topic of the book will be teaching kids about money and business, and the proceeds of the book will go to microfinance charity.

Seven young entrepreneurs, who started businesses before the age of sixteen, will be profiled in the book, which will be released worldwide by a major publishing house in early 2009. Two of the profiles will be the two winners of the Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Video Competition.

Runners up will also get exposure, with their names and the URLs of their websites listed in the book, and their stories being told in more detail in various marketing activities around the launch of the book.

Full details and instructions on how to enter are on Jenny's blog at Raising Entrepreneurs, but this is her summary:

If you know anyone under sixteen who has a business - or is about to start one - this is a golden opportunity to kick that business to a new level!

Publicity, new clients, mentors, business opportunities - so much can come of just a little bit of exposure, as we have found with my daughter Rachael's business.

So, how do you put your hand up for some of these goodies?

Just make a 2-minute video and put it on YouTube, tagged "cash smart kids". (Make sure you read the instructions below, especially the part about getting your parents' permission.)

FAQs About The Competition

What If My Child Hasn't Started A Business Yet, But Has A Business Idea?

You can still enter - just get into action with the idea, and video (or take photos) as you go.

Most business ideas for kids a pretty simple to start, and it doesn't take much in the way of revenue to keep a young entrepreneur happy!

What If I Don't Have a Video Camera?

Don't worry - you can shoot your video on anything from a cell phone to a digital still camera. You can even use Camtasia or similar software, or a webcam, to record it on your computer. YouTube will accept a wide range of formats.

You can use the free video editing software which comes with Windows to edit video and add titles, if you choose.

And if you absolutely, positively can't make a video, the competition rules allow you to make an entry by creating a page here at HubPages about you (or your child) and your business (or their business). Have a look at Jason O'Neill's Hub to see how this works.

Just make sure that the entry still contains all the required information listed in the competition rules on Jenny's blog.

Why The Age Limit of 16?

This competition is aimed at discovering kids who started a business when they were too young to have a regular job. Depending on where you live in the world, there may be no legal restrictions to having a job at any age, or there may be some limitations (like not being allowed to work during school hours), or there may be a complete ban until a certain age, and those ages may vary.

Sixteen is a compromise age to deal with all the possible combinations in various parts of the world.

A Sneaky Thought

Proof of age will only be required if you actually win, so smart sixteen and seventeen year-olds could benefit from the publicity by making videos anyway.

Another Sneaky Tactic

Just because you have made and uploaded a video, doesn't mean you have to sit and wait for it to get noticed. There is nothing to stop you from making a Hub as well, and even including your video in a video capsule on your Hub.

If you check out Rachael Ford's Hub you will see how videos can be included in a Hub.

If you had trouble keeping your video down to two minutes in length, a Hub can help you to display some of that extra information!

In 2007, business writer Peter Economy decided that it was time to make a difference in the world. A big difference. Something long-term and significant, that would leave the world a better place.

Peter chose to do what he does best - to write.

Each year, starting in 2008, he would write a book, for free, with a co-author, and donate the proceeds to charity. Each year, he would invite proposals, have a selection committee choose the one with the potential to make the greatest difference, and ask that co-author which charity they would choose to receive the donation.

His selection committee chose Australian financial educator, Jenny Ford, to be his first co-author.

Jenny's topic for the book was teaching kids about money and business, and her chosen charity was microfinance.

Microfinance charities make small loans to entrepreneurs living in poverty. The loans are used to start or improve their businesses, and with the increased income from the new or improved business, they repay the loan.

This enables a single donation to be used again and again, over time helping dozens of families to rise above the poverty line.