Welcome to How To Be A Teenage Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is defined by Websters dictionary as: one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.
Knowing the definition of an entrepreneur and actually being an entrepreneur are two very different things. The road to entrepreneurship and beyond is very difficult. Everyone wants to be their own boss and work on their own schedule, however many get overwhelmed and can’t get started. That’s okay, just take a deep breath and reflect on what it is you want to achieve and how you’re going to do it.
Find Your Niche
The first thing to do is to figure out what kind of business you want to start. While doing this, remember one thing: you can do whatever you want. (Unless what you’re wanting to do is crime, which we don’t recommend.) Take the entrepreneur Phil Knight, for example. After business school, Phil traveled around the world and met with various Japanese shoe manufacturers to learn about his niche. After heavily researching his market, him and his former track coach started the shoe company Nike.
Knight’s first idea was to buy shoes from a Japanese sneaker supplier by the name of Onitsuka Tigers and sell them at a higher price in the United States. (If you know your stuff, this is similar to the drop shipping method.) However Knight’s partner, Bill Bowerman, came up with his own design for a shoe. The two still manufactured their shoes in Japan because they could make their shoes cheaper than their competitors. Nike wasn’t an overnight success, though. Phil Knight waited until he had the appropriate knowledge and resources to start his business.
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What Time Is Right?
Before you jump into inventing and selling the latest new gadget, you have to ask yourself. “Am I able to do everything that this entails?” Should you wait until you have the appropriate amount of schooling and training necessary to carry out the task of building your business? Or, should you jump into it now and have some more knowledgeable people help you along the way?
The good part about starting a business while young is that you get a head start on everything. You get to experience entrepreneurship while you still have some financial buffer. Without a lot of bills and other financial responsibilities, you are able to spend more money on building your business. Plus, you will have the support of your parents and close relatives. Your parents can help you with any aspects of your business that you cannot do by yourself. Unfortunately, depending on what type of business you choose to pursue, may be a lot.
Obviously, as a teenager, you will not be able to make deals with overseas shoe companies like. You also will not be able to go to business meetings with other big companies to discuss deals. These are some things that many young entrepreneurs leave up to their parents and advisers. Doing this is difficult because your parents will ultimately have the final say in where your business goes until you are of age to run it yourself. If you do wait until you are old enough to fully run your business, you have plenty of time to plan out your strategy. Also, I suggest getting a better education in order to more effectively run your business.
Schooling
Many self-made entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuk say that college is not a necessity to become successful. School is not for everyone, and that is fine. If you work hard enough and are determined to be successful, you will amaze yourself with how far you go. If, however, you want to go to college, you need to know which degree to get.
College is a great place to become an expert in your field. In my case, I am going to school to get a bachelors of science in finance. Afterwards, I want to get my masters so that if I choose to work at a firm, I will look better as a candidate for hire. Again, a masters degree is not necessary for success, and many places like Google and Apple do not require you to have a degree. However, college is good for another thing besides knowledge and experience. Your counselors can also help you network and prepared for the professional world.
Networking
There are many different ways to meet people for business purposes. One of the best and most reputable ways is through referrals. It pays off to have friends and acquaintances that know people. It is especially good if those people are individuals with high status. My job at the YMCA has allowed me to meet a lot of people that can be helpful in the future. One individual recognized that I had drive and was a good worker. I now work with him remodeling houses in addition to working my job at the YMCA. This shows why being a “people person” is beneficial. In addition, it also shows that you should always do the best with any job you work. If you provide a good or service to a customer in a satisfactory manner, customers will return. Furthermore, they will refer you or your business to other. This will expand your customer base and network for you.
Sell Your Idea
Your job as an entrepreneur is to convince your customer base that your service or product is the best out there. Chances are, you will be competing against others in the same field, so you also have to decide how much your good or service is worth. The price you work for is based on many different factors.
How much does it cost to make your product? If you’re not making anything, how much do you feel your service is worth? How long does it take to do your job? What is your competition charging? What are the individuals in your city or town willing to pay for your product or service? These are all questions you should ask yourself before you put a price tag on your work.
There is a basic, standard rate you should charge for your hourly work. It can be found using this basic formula: Labor + Overhead Costs + Profit (amount you want to earn). Once you have that amount added up, divide it by the amount of hours you worked on the job. This is the minimum amount you should charge to earn a profit and pay any expenses you should have. Once the pricing is firm, you need to market your business.
Marketing
When marketing your business, you want to get organized. Create a short message that you can tell in about thirty minutes that will make your customers want more. Think about the commercials that are shown during the Superbowl. They are usually very short, but they are a hot topic the very next day. The advertisements that are the most creative and gather the most attention are the one’s that are remembered the most. After you have a solid sales pitch, utilize the internet.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are some of the best ways to gain popularity. Young adults are not the only individuals using social media. Facebook is a very popular site among older people, and a great way to market your business. Facebook advertisements reach a numerous amount of people and can be customized to reach any demographic you choose. Alongside of Facebook advertisements, Goodle ads can be a great way to get your message out on the internet. If you want to start smaller, though, start advertising your business around your town or city!
Get your word out around your town or city any way you can. You can get great brand awareness by just sponsoring local high school sporting events, getting a float in a parade, or doing charity events. Just make sure that you are not being too pushy with your advertising. This will actually work against you and be very detrimental to your business.
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Starting With Little Funds
If you’re starting your business with little to no extra funds, you will be most, if not all, of the work by yourself. These means that you will actually be working more than you would be if you had a regular nine to five job. You should be mentally and physically prepared for long, sleepless nights and early mornings. Perseverance is key, just make sure that if you are in school, you are allotting enough time to study and complete homework. You need to find a balance between school and your business (and your part-time job if you have one.)
I work two jobs, go to school, and also do various other projects, such as this blog! I usually try to keep my studying down to a couple hours before classes and a couple hours after classes (unless I have a multiple assignments to do). Or I will try to get as much homework done at my first job as I can. After work, I will go home and work on my side businesses for as long as I am feeling that night and sped the rest of my night doing other things. I cannot do homework at my second job, so the days that I work there I have to make sure I have gotten all of my school work done before hand. Since my day-to-day routine won’t be the same as yours, your schedule will differ. If possible, try to get a job that let’s you work for yourself in addition to the company.
Choosing A Job
I was lucky enough to get a job at my local YMCA. A big portion of my job is monitoring the various different parts of the building and assisting people when needed. Besides that, and a great deal of cleaning, I have spare time on my hands to do homework. I have utilized this time to do side projects and write blog posts (if all of my homework is completed). I recommend looking for a job like this, so that you can get paid to do things you love (I love helping people better themselves, and I also love working for myself). If, for one reason or another, you cannot work a part-time job, utilize your resources to limit your spending.
Learn about “passive income” here!
Saving Money
There are many applications also services designed to help entrepreneurs like yourself. These applications can range from a simple scheduler app on your phone to an program called “Evernote.” This program is a one-stop-shop for organizing your business and life. You can save web pages, create To-Do lists, record voice memos, and sync all your files across every platform. Aside from organization, I recommend using software like WordPress to create a website! Many off these apps have a version of the software that is free, so you won’t have to spend extra money. This is great if you are working on a tight budget.
Create A Website For Your Business
Having a well-designed website automatically makes your business look more legitimate. A website is a great place to store all of the information about your business so that customers have easy access it. It also gives your customers a way to be interactive with you and get the most out of their experience. With tools like WordPress, creating a website has never been easier! A website is also a great place to showcase your work. Your customers can access your website to see your work and purchase it right then and there! Online shopping has spiked in the last 10 years, so it only makes sense to invest in a website.
As long as you stay dedicated to your work, and never give up, you will do great things! Being an entrepreneur means working hard all the time in the beginning, so that later you can relax. It’s even better that you’re starting this early!
The Takeaway
It is easy to get overwhelmed when you think about how to become a teenage entrepreneur, but if you follow the steps in this post, you’ll be there in no time. I also highly recommend buying this Teen Entrepreneur Toolbox: The Small-Business Guide for Teens. We hope you enjoyed this post on how to be a teenage entrepreneur! Best of luck!