Young entrepreneurs

Young entrepreneurs

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Every child dreams about making big money by doing something extraordinary.

Selling lemonade from rickety stands with hand-lettered signs [correct spelling is optional], mowing lawns with a push mower in the draining summer heat and washing cars with a water hose, dishwashing liquid and a couple of mom’s best rags are get-rich-quick schemes that flit through the minds of youngsters at some point in their adolescence.

Just as quickly, however, those ideas are gone without any trace of seeing them through. After all, businesses are for people who wear expensive suits, carry briefcases and spend most—if not all—of their time in an office. What youngster in their right mind would ever spend time conducting business when there are more pleasurable options to pursue?

And then there are those young people who one day stumble upon a problem. Perhaps they weren’t allowed to keep their pet rabbit’s first litter. Or their iPhone cracked when it collided with the pavement. Or, disheartened by an overabundance of competitors to care for neighborhood lawns, they specialize in the care of sago palm trees. Maybe they grew tired of having no resources for making up notes from a missed class or seeing poorly designed Web sites while surfing the Internet.

Whatever the problem, each solution is a product of curiosity, tenacity and an unwillingness to accept the status quo. Regardless of age, that’s the stuff of which businesses are made. It’s how entrepreneurs are born.

Business Report introduces you to these Capital Region businesses headed by young entrepreneurs. Ranging in age from 10 to 25, these young people operate businesses that run the gamut of high-tech public relations to retail to social networking. Each of them had a problem, found a solution and carved out a niche.

Kayla Morrison • Matt Dardenne • Trey Bartsch • Kristen Morrison • Joe Martin • James Spencer

Ages: 22 • Company: Red Six Media

Brian Rodriguez

Age: 25 • Company: Gatorworks

Shayla Price

Age: 23 • Company: Career Voices

Josh Duke

Age: 24 • Company: EverythingLSU.com

Courtney Howell and Brandon Williams

Ages: 23 and 22 • Company: dope.

Kyle Bashay

Age: 22 • Company: Ireptheboot.com

Charles-Robert Miller III

Age: 18 • Company: iPhixiPhone.com

Michael Marcin

Age: 15 • Company: Sago Palm Specialists

Ellen Gambel

Age: 10 • Company: Hoppy Days

So you want to be a young entrepreneur

10 tips every young entrepreneur should know

The grass is greener

If the grass is greener on the other side of your fence, perhaps it’s time to call one of the numerous young entrepreneurs who operate a lawn-care business.

Click here to download a PDF of the full cover package.


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