How kids can make money with treasure hunts🗺️
Introduction
Meet Hope, a creative and curious 13-year-old who loves planning and organizing fun activities for her friends. Inspired by books like "The Lean Startup" and "Good to Great," Hope dreams of starting her own business. One day, after organizing a successful treasure hunt for her little brother's birthday, she realizes this could be a fun and profitable business idea.
Jobs to Be Done
Identify the Job: A treasure hunt business for birthday parties fulfills the job of creating memorable, fun, and engaging birthday experiences for kids. Parents are often looking for unique ways to celebrate their child's special day, and a treasure hunt provides an exciting and interactive event that kids will love.
Hope’s Example: Hope sees that her treasure hunts aren't just games—they create unforgettable memories and make birthday parties more exciting. She notices parents are willing to pay for such unique experiences to make their child's birthday special.
Customer Discovery
Importance of Customer Discovery: Understanding the needs and preferences of potential customers is crucial. This helps in tailoring the treasure hunt experiences to what kids and parents want.
5 Questions for Discovery:
What are the most memorable activities you’ve seen at birthday parties?
How much would you be willing to pay for a professionally organized treasure hunt?
What themes or types of treasure hunts would your child enjoy the most?
How long should the treasure hunt last to keep the kids engaged?
What are some concerns you might have about having a treasure hunt at your child’s party?
Unique Tip: Hope discovers that offering a free mini-treasure hunt at local community events helps her gather feedback and interest from parents and kids. This allows her to refine her offerings based on real-world interactions.
Business Model Insights
Refining the Business Idea: Use feedback from customer discovery to develop a business model. This includes identifying key resources, capabilities, and customer segments.
Hope’s Insight: After gathering feedback, Hope decides to offer different themed treasure hunts (pirate, space adventure, jungle safari) and packages (basic, deluxe, and premium) to cater to various budgets and preferences. She also realizes the importance of including small prizes and customized clues to enhance the experience.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Define the MVP: An MVP for a treasure hunt business could be a basic, small-scale treasure hunt event to test the concept and gather feedback without significant investment.
Hope’s Approach: Hope sets up a simple landing page with details about her treasure hunt themes and packages. She promotes it through social media and local community boards to gauge interest. She also offers a few free treasure hunts to gather initial feedback and testimonials.
Understanding Financial Potential: Starting a treasure hunt business for birthday parties has exciting financial potential. By learning some basic financial concepts, you can figure out how much to charge, what your costs will be, and how much profit you can make.
Key Financial Concepts:
Pricing: The amount you charge your customers for the treasure hunt.
Cost: The amount you spend to organize each treasure hunt, including materials and your time.
Profit: The money you make after subtracting your costs from your pricing.
Cost Estimates: To get a clear picture of your potential earnings, let's break down the costs for a single treasure hunt. Here’s an example of what Hope’s costs might look like:
Materials: $20 (maps, clues, small prizes)
Marketing: $10 (flyers, social media ads)
Miscellaneous: $5 (transportation, snacks)
Total Cost per Treasure Hunt: $35
Pricing Strategy: Hope decides to charge $100 for each treasure hunt. This price is set based on the value she believes her service provides and what parents are willing to pay for a memorable birthday experience.
Profit Calculation: To calculate her profit per treasure hunt, Hope subtracts her total costs from her price: Profit per Treasure Hunt=Price−Total CostProfit per Treasure Hunt=Price−Total Cost Profit per Treasure Hunt=$100−$35=$65Profit per Treasure Hunt=$100−$35=$65
Reaching a Profit Goal: Hope sets a goal to make $1,000. To find out how many treasure hunts she needs to sell, she divides her profit goal by the profit per treasure hunt: Number of Treasure Hunts Needed=Profit GoalProfit per Treasure HuntNumber of Treasure Hunts Needed=Profit per Treasure HuntProfit Goal Number of Treasure Hunts Needed=$1,000$65≈15.4Number of Treasure Hunts Needed=$65$1,000≈15.4
Since she can’t sell a fraction of a treasure hunt, Hope rounds up and plans to sell 16 treasure hunts to reach her goal of making $1,000.
By understanding these basic financial concepts and calculations, you can effectively plan and set realistic goals for your treasure hunt business.
Actionable Steps
First Three Actionable Steps:
Create Initial Treasure Hunt Plans: Develop a few detailed treasure hunt plans with clues, maps, and small prizes.
Set Up a Landing Page: Build a simple website with descriptions of the treasure hunt themes and a sign-up form.
Promote Your Business: Use social media, community boards, and word of mouth to promote your treasure hunt business and gather initial customers.
Hope’s Next Steps: Hope creates three themed treasure hunts, sets up a landing page, and starts promoting her business. She offers a few free events to gather feedback and build her portfolio. She’s on her way to making birthday parties unforgettable with her creative treasure hunts!
Bonus: Promoting Your Business on Instagram
Transitioning from these initial steps, let’s explore how you can leverage Instagram to supercharge your treasure hunt business.
Why Instagram is Perfect for Promoting Your Treasure Hunt Business:
Instagram is a visually-driven platform that excels in showcasing fun, engaging, and creative content—making it an ideal place to promote your treasure hunt business. Here’s why:
Visual Appeal:
Pictures and Videos: Capture the excitement of your treasure hunts through vibrant photos and short video clips. Show kids in action, the creative clues, and the excitement of finding treasures.
Stories and Reels: Use Instagram Stories and Reels to share behind-the-scenes looks at your preparation process, live clips from events, and testimonials from happy customers.
Engagement:
Interactive Posts: Create polls, quizzes, and question stickers in your Stories to engage with your audience and get their input on future themes and ideas.
Contests and Giveaways: Host contests or giveaways where followers can win a free treasure hunt for their birthday party, encouraging them to like, share, and tag friends in your posts.
Reach:
Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags like #BirthdayPartyIdeas, #KidsParty, #TreasureHunt, and #PartyPlanner to reach a broader audience interested in birthday party services.
Collaborations: Partner with local businesses, influencers, and kid-focused brands to expand your reach and gain credibility.
Community Building:
Customer Stories: Share testimonials and user-generated content from parents and kids who have enjoyed your treasure hunts. This builds trust and shows potential customers the joy your service brings.
Engage with Followers: Respond to comments and messages promptly to build a strong, interactive community around your brand.
Practical Steps to Get Started on Instagram:
Set Up a Business Account:
Create an Instagram Business account to access valuable insights and promotional tools.
Fill out your profile with a catchy bio, contact information, and a link to your landing page.
Content Plan:
Plan a content calendar with a mix of posts, including photos of treasure hunts, videos, customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes shots, and promotional graphics.
Use Instagram’s built-in tools to schedule posts and maintain a consistent posting schedule.
Engage and Grow:
Follow relevant accounts and engage with their content to increase your visibility.
Host live sessions where you demonstrate how a treasure hunt works or answer questions from parents.
By utilizing Instagram effectively, Hope can attract more customers, showcase the excitement of her treasure hunts, and build a loyal community. This powerful platform can turn her small business into a sought-after service for birthday parties and beyond.
