Biz Kid$
Posted in Kids, Short Subject on April 25th, 2012
(65×30 minutes)
Synopsis:
A show about kids, money, and business
Biz Kid$ is a fun, half-hour television series about kids, money and business. From the creators of “Disney Presents Bill Nye the Science Guy,” this ground-breaking series grabs kids by their wallets and shows them how to make and manage their own money.
The need for financial literacy and business acumen among our youth is larger now than ever before. While kids are bombarded with mega media messages on how to be cool, fashionable, healthy and high-tech, there is very little that helps prepare them for their financial futures. In fact, many teens leave high school, credit cards in hand, with no knowledge of even the basics for managing, borrowing or investing their money. As a result, thousands of kids in America start their working lives already in debt.
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
Will Smith
Using a mix of off-beat illustrations, imaginative characters, animation and music, Biz Kid$ touches on every major topic in the world of business and finance. With characters and segments like “The Adventures of Farnsworth Fairtrade”, “Fast Buck and The King of Ka-ching”, the series teaches while walking that fine line between what adults wish their kids were watching and what they actually do.
“One day of running a business is worth a lifetime of talking about it.”
Warren Buffett
“For, at root, money – serving as a store of value and a medium of exchange — is the lubricant that enables a society to organize itself to achieve economic progress”
Alan Greenspan
Welcome to the world of business, kids!
Episodes:
Episode 101 What is a Biz Kid?
Meet the Biz Kids. We learn that a Biz Kid isn’t just anybody but anybody can be a Biz Kid. They have certain traits in common – They’re job ready, they identify a need, make a plan, and take action.
Episode 102 What is Money?
The BizKid$ team explores the history of what has been accepted as payment for goods and services thru the ages. We learn how money has changed in form and measure.
Episode 103 How to Get Money
We explore the various ways of earning money. Making money is the goal and learning how to make money work for you. We visit the New York Stock Exchange and learn about profits and losses.
Episode 104 What To Do With Money?
Once you have a little money – what to do? The BizKid$ team learn about investing it, saving it and spending it – not all in one place!
Episode 105 Money Moves
When money moves between individuals or groups it is called a transaction. Transactions change the financial status of everyone involved.
Episode 106 Take Charge of Your Financial Future
Setting financial goals is important to achieving financial success.The team figures out where they want to be financially and make plans on how to get there.
Episode 107 A Biz: What it is!
A business supplies goods or services for money. A successful business makes profit when it brings in more money than it spends. What is revenue and what are expenses?
Episode 108 How to Succeed in Biz-Ness by Really Trying!
A business can be anything from babysitting to owning vending machines. The three key ingredients – identify a need / make a plan to fill a need / take action to implement the plan.
Episode 109 Cash and Credit
Cash – Buy it now and Pay NOW! Credit – By Now / Pay Later and Larger. Credit is temporarily using someone else’s money for a price. Don’t forget the Risk!
Episode 110 How to Achieve Your Financial Goals
To save money every month – spend less than you make! A budget will help – what’s a budget? Invest what’s left over.
Episode 111 Don’t Blow Your Dough
Protect the money you already have. Put it in a safe place – probably not buried in the backyard. Know where it is and beware of scams, schemers, and flim-flams.
Episode 112 Entrepreneurs
An Entrepreneur is someone who sees a financial opportunity and acts upon it. What does it take to be an Entrepreneur?
Episode 113 Biz Kids Challenge
Project Lemonade: The Biz Kids learn the world of marketing through a unique challenge. Two teams, two identical lemonade stands. It’s up to the kids to decide the price and promotion strategy to sell the most product. The proceeds go to their favorite charities.
Episode 114 Being a Smart Consumer
A Biz Kid is young but wasn’t born yesterday. The Biz Kids look at what it takes to get the most for your money. They examine smart shopping strategies and also learn to avoid common pitfalls and traps set by savvy marketers and high pressure salesmen.
Episode 115 Credit
Living on borrowed time: The Biz Kids see the true cost of purchasing with credit. They also take an unsettling look at credit scores and the increasing number of people and places (employers, insurers, colleges, etc.) who are using them to make major decisions that affect young peoples’ futures.
Episode 116 Budgeting
Budgeting is basic: The Biz Kids learn the first rule of money management: You can’t manage what you don’t know. They look at spending, expenses and several proven methods on how to gain control of both.
Episode 117 Business Ethics
Doing the right thing: The Biz Kids look at several aspects of ethics in business, and the downside of not following them. In this episode we see what it means for management to lead by example, and how employees must take responsibility for their behavior.
Episode 118 Saving and Investing
The early bird catches the IRA. The Biz Kids learn the powerful potential of starting a savings plan early in life. They also take a detailed look at the savings and investing options available to young people.
Episode 119 Career Development
When is a job more than a job? The Biz Kids look at what it takes to find your true calling and ways young people can get started down that road. We talk to several celebrities and find out how they got their start and kept going to reach their dream.
Episode 120 The Global Economy
The world of Biz Kids – Biz Kids around the world. We follow the flow of imports and exports that make up the interconnected world economy. The kids examine how many of the things they use every day come from all over the world, who made them, and how they came to have them.
Episode 121 Financial Markets
Kids and Bulls and Bears, oh my! The Biz Kids examine stocks, bonds, commodities and the markets where each of them are traded. They look at various ways young people can get involved with the transactions, aim for profit, and avoid risk.
Episode 122 Sell, Sell, Sell
All sales final: The Biz Kids take a trip through the philosophy, technique, and training for sales. They look at the traits common to all good salespeople and learn to be on the lookout for the tell tale signs of the not-so-good.
Episode 123 Income and Expenses
Go with the cash flow: The Biz Kids watch the ebb and flow of income and expenses. They learn proven methods to get expenses under control while growing income with new ideas, smarter work habits, and innovation.
Episode 124 Building and Growing a Business
From startup on up: The Biz Kids follow the steps necessary for organizing, staffing, and training in a new business. Then they see how effective communication increases morale and makes the business grow.
Episode 125 Understanding Your Paycheck
What’s on your stub, bub? The Biz Kids use a modern American pay stub as an historical text that documents various social movements of the last century. From the union movement to social security, workman’s compensation, all the way to the IRA’s of today – it’s all there on the stub.
Episode 126 Social Entrepreneurs
The Biz Kids look at visionaries who use the same tools as profit- oriented entrepreneurs. But instead of building companies these people build thriving organizations and powerful movements for social change.
Episode 201 Have a Plan, Stan!
Explore the different elements of a business plan and see why it’s crucial to develop a plan before you start your business. Meet a teen who opened a snow-cone shack, another who makes and sells candles, and a group who markets self-defense kits.
Episode 202 Money Math – Who Needs It?
Math is a true building block in the business of your life. Whether you are calculating the tip on the restaurant bill, making change at your lemonade stand, or figuring out how to quickly grow your savings, it’s all about the math in money. Visit with a handbag designer and meet students who are helping to save the environment.
Episode 203 Building Your Business Online
In today’s world, great tools are available for you to build a business online. The Biz Kids investigate the advantages and potential pitfalls in Internet businesses. See the success of a young graphic designer, a nine-year-old who sells bath salts, and two teens who built a social networking site.
Episode 204 Financial Institutions – All The Same?
You can have a savings account in one place, a checking account in another, and you can even bank online. Learn about the services offered by different institutions, including investment houses, stock exchanges, payday loan companies, and more. Visit New York City to see how fashion and finance mix.
Episode 205 How Credit Affects Your Life
Did you know that your credit score could make the difference in whether or not you get into the college of your dreams? Your credit score could even impact whether or not you get the job you’re applying for. Join the Biz Kids, and you’ll learn about building good credit and how the credit laws affect your life.
Episode 206 The Art of Negotiation
Discover strategies for effective negotiations with your parents, teachers, friends, siblings, and bosses. Even if you are simply working out the shared schedule with your brother to walk the dog, you’ll find out how to achieve your goals and arrive at a winning solution for everyone. Discover the success of teens who run “Grand Slam Garage Sales” and another young man who sells movie memorabilia online.
Episode 207 The World Is a Risky Place
Taking risks in life is important, but you want to be smart about those risks. Learn the things you can do to protect your business, your assets, and yourself. Meet two young tennis coaches and the owner of “Small Town Skateshop.”
Episode 208 Economic Cycles (What Goes Up Must Come Down)
Trends in the economy go up and down. Learn how trends can affect a business. Discover how you can protect yourself against negative effects and plan for the positive trends. Meet a young man who made paintball profitable and a family who mines for gold.
Episode 209 The Green Economy & You
Join the Biz Kids on a mission and discover your impact on the environment. Explore different ways to become part of the green economy and learn how there’s green to be made in thinking green. Find out about “The Big Green Bus” and “Zoo Doo.”
Episode 210 Secrets to Success
The secret to success is actually simple – it’s all about staying in school and building the best toolbox for your future. Learn about the many ways to pay for your education and the importance of learning every day of your life.
Episode 211 The Marketing Mix
Now that you’ve decided on your business product or service, how will you promote it? Let the Biz Kids help you understand your target market and learn about the four P’s of business success: product, price, promotion, and placement. Learn how “Exclusive Cuts” barber services, “Wow, Take a Bow” dog grooming, and other businesses market their services and products.
Episode 212 Hidden Careers
You don’t have to be perfect at your passion to build a career in it. If you love baseball, but don’t have the skills of a super athlete, you will see there are many different roles you can play behind the scenes. Learn about “behind the scenes” careers in sports, music, entertainment, art, and even aviation.
Episode 213 Learning From Failure
Have you ever made a decision you regret? Let the Biz Kids show you how several well-known companies overcame failures. You’ll also discover how mistakes can make you stronger by looking at the work of Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and the kid businesses of “You’re on Deck” custom cards and “Big Quill Enterprises” oyster sales.
Episode 301 ARE YOU FINANCIALLY LITERATE?
Whether your planning for college or planning to move out on your own after high school, acquiring the skills of goal setting, managing your money and finding the right savings/checking account early in life will make that next step much more successful.
Episode 302 WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE
The Biz Kid$ explore the most common financial mistakes that people make and the importance of following a financial plan.
Episode 303 MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
In tough times and good times, it is important to know how to get the best value for your money. Stretching your dollar will give you more choices.
Episode 304 WHERE IS MY ALLOWANCE
How different families work out “allowances”. How to manage your monthly income and expenses while you’re still living at home.
Episode 305 ESCAPE THE BOX
Opportunity knocks – what do you do? Learn how to be creative in problem solving, recognizing opportunities in your life and acting on them.
Episode 401 A World without Taxes
Biz Kid$ explores the importance of taxes and how they impact your life. We find out what federal, state and local taxes pay for. We meet a young man in Florida who owns and operates a haunted house and he shows us how he handles the taxes in his business.
Episode 402 Debt: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Benjamin Franklin said, “Neither a borrower or a lender be.” Debt can be used as a tool to make large purchases. However there are many ways that we can run into trouble with overspending or spending more than we make with credit cards. Using credit cards is borrowing the banks money. The consequences of can be overwhelming but the Biz Kid$ learn to avoid the pitfalls of over spending by keeping a spending journal, living on a budget and trying a cash existence.
Episode 403 It’s Your First Car – or other big purchase
BROWN is not just a color. It stands for all the steps you need to take beforebuying your first car, that new smart phone or the latest computer. B is for Budget, R is for research, O is for ownership and what responsibilities go with that. W is “walk away” – hmmm….. don’t fall in love so you can’t walk away from a bad deal, N is for negotiate.
Episode 404 – What’s Up with the Stock Market
Have you ever tried to read the financial pages in the newspaper or understandhe bottom of the TV screen financial ticker. It’s almost like reading the sports page with its own set of stats. Biz Kid$ take us through the language of thestock market and how these terms apply to our lives.
Episode 405 Crash Course on Starting a Business
So you’ve got an idea – now what. This episode is a quick but comprehensive course in the basics of honing your idea or product, making a business plan, finding funding, learning how to find or create the market and of course selling your service or product.
Episode 406 How to Make a Million Bucks!
Never you say! Wrong – it’s very possible. You do have to work for yourMoney but you can make a million by working hard, spending less than you make and saving, saving, saving. The key is to start early and save consistently to take advantage of the power of compound interest.
Episode 407 Scamarama – or how to protect yourself from being scammed
It’s become a very complicated world and there are many ways get taken advantage of or cheated. Learn how to recognize a scam and how to protect yourself from identify theft, pyramid schemes, etc. The Federal TradeCommission is an agency that creates consumer protection laws. The Biz Kid$ learn what to do if you have been scammed.
Episode 408 The Value of Money
What determines the value of money? There are many currencies around the world. What are the factors that raise or lower the value of the American Dollar and why is it measured against the Chinese Yuan, the Japanese Yen or the Euro. We find out why the value of the dollar is important in our lives.
