Teen Entrepreneur: Ready for Business?

Many teenagers are full of new and creative ideas for products, services, and, especially with today’s ever-changing technology, online applications and tools.  And yet, taking these ideas to the next level-an actual business venture-can be quite intimidating.

You must ask yourself some important questions:

1) What is your vision?
You must know your product, what you want to do with it, and really have the desire to do it.

2) Who is your market?
You need to know all about the people you want to sell your product to, as this will influence how you go about marketing your product.
 
3) What is your plan?
A business plan, complete with tasks, deadlines, and points at which to reassess your progress is an integral part of any successful business, giving you a path to follow.

4) Who are your resources?
Take advantage of people around you, such as parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and others for advice, opinions, and possibly even to work for you.

Author and young entrepreneur, Jennifer Kushell, through her experience with thousands of teen entrepreneurs, concludes that successful young people have common traits: “They don’t wait for other people to hand them things and they also have a remarkable ability to spin challenges and disadvantages into the most powerful motivators and the most powerful advantages.”

With all businesses, there is the risk of failure, but also the opportunity to succeed.  The Wright Brothers didn’t fly on their first attempt, but they are still credited with creating and building the first successful aircraft.  As a teen entrepreneur, you can take your vision and make it fly…