AJ stands for Andrew Jackson, our 7th president. His reputation for toughness earned him the nickname "Old Hickory." A hero of the War of 1812, Jackson has appeared on the $20 bill since 1928.

You can run the party!I run my own birthday party business. You can too!

Running a party includes greeting the guests, leading the games or crafts, and most important: crowd control! Not only is it fun but I also can make a nice profit doing it!

My business runs much the same way any other does in a more typical market. I offer services, plan pricing, and advertise my business.

Everybody loves a party...

...which makes it a great business!

The first thing is to decide what party services you can provide. You can offer these services:

• Selecting themes
• Making or buying, and sending invitations
• Planning and setting up home and table decorations
• Making favor bags
• Planning games and crafts
• Clean-up 

Clean Up

In my service list, I include clean up. Almost everyone wants help cleaning up.

After having a party, parents are usually tired. Plus, they want to thank the guests and talk to the parents coming to pick up their kids.

While they talk, I clean up. Clean up can include taking down decorations, clearing the table, throwing away wrapping debris from the gifts, sweeping and wiping tables and counters.

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What Should I Charge?

Figuring out how much to charge is the hardest thing. You probably will have to change your prices as you go along and get a better idea of how much time services take and how much money you have to spend.

I usually make my prices come out so I earn $10 an hour. I figure out how long each service usually takes and then assign it a price:

• Writing out invitations usually takes 30 minutes, so that service is $5.
• Setting up usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour, so the charge is listed as an hourly rate.

With each party, I get better at figuring out how long certain services take and I can revise my price list.

Once you decide the services you'll offer and what you'll charge, it's time to advertise. You want all possible customers to know what a great job you'll do.

Where do I start?

There are other ways to drum up business.Drum It Up

Kids love to dress up for parties.

Tell friends of your family who have small children about your new business. And ask permission to pass out your flyers at local preschools or elementary schools.

Either way, only deliver flyers to people you know.

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Start in your own neighborhood. Here's a great attention grabber:

Make a color flyer presenting your business name and a brief description of what you do. Then buy a bag of balloons. Put a flyer in each balloon and blow them up!

You can add a colorful ribbon and tie them to your neighbors' doors. It's sure to get their curiosity.

Or, hand deliver your flyers with a cupcake that has a birthday candle in it.

Make sure you give a flyer to everyone, even if they don't have small children. Remind them that they may know someone who would be interested.

Once you have clients, it is time to start planning...

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