Raising Entrepreneurs

Eight-year-old Nzinga Ajamu has her very own jewelry-making business.

“I discovered my passion for making jewelry during my jewelry-making class in school,” she told the Daily News in Memphis, referring to a cultural arts curriculum course she took last year. “I enjoyed making jewelry so much that I asked my parents to buy beads for me so I could make more jewelry. Also, I made a necklace, bracelet and ponytail holder to wear to school. … When I would go places people would compliment me on my jewelry and they would say, ‘Where’d you get that jewelry?’ and I’d say, ‘I made it,’ and they could not believe that I made it.”

Nzinga’s creations were so attractive that people asked her to make jewellery for them as well, and before long she has a thriving business.

Nzinga comes up with the designs for the jewelry – sometimes, she said, the ideas come at night while she sleeps. She also sets her own prices and keeps up with all the orders.

“It’s her company and she handles everything herself,” Veda said. “And we do everything we can to keep it that way.”

But school always comes first, Nzinga’s mother, Veda, told the Daily News.

Education, Nzinga’s parents are teaching her, is the foundation to achieving the high goals the girl has set for herself. Nzinga doesn’t see Queen Nzinga’s Creations as just a fly-by-night business. This is just the beginning for what she hopes to achieve as a “grown-up.”

Already, Nzinga is envisioning having her own retail space to run her business, and developing a broader market and a larger production capability.

Meanwhile, she markets her creations through her website, www.nzingascreations.com.

Shonika Proctor, teen business coach, shares her knowledge of ways for kids to make money, even when they are under 16.

Po’ No Mo’

5 Tips on How Youth Under Age 16 Can Make Money

In his internationally best-selling book Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out, Dr. Farrah Gray, a self-made millionaire by age 14, discusses how, in one of the first of his many business ventures, he painted rocks and sold them as door stops door-to-door for $1.50 each when he was only 9 years old.

Despite common misconception, you do not have to have money to make money. All you need is a great idea and a persistent willingness to put that great idea into action. Here are 5 ways you can make money in the 21^st century, even if you’re not yet 16 (or 14, for that matter), and even if you don’t have a dime to your name.

1. Competitions: Enter business plan competitions such as the ones offered by NFTE.com and BlackEnterprise.com. All sorts of contests and competitions exist for young budding entrepreneurs, and the cash or scholarship prizes you may receive are only half the benefit. The other half is the name recognition you can carry with you into your burgeoning business life as being the chosen winner amongst all the many entrants in such illustrious, business-related competitions.
2. Advertising: Seek sponsors and advertisers for your product or service. For example, sell advertising space on the flyers, postcards, and - yes - websites you put out there to promote your own business. The advertising funds you generate will pay for the production, printing, distribution, etc. of your own promotions, essentially making it free advertising for you!
3. Sharing Your Experience: It doesn’t matter how young you are. We all have expertise in something, even if that something is simply being ourselves. We’ve all lived unique lives and we all have an important story to tell. Get the word out about your endeavors by writing articles on the subject for your local newspapers. Write about the subject of your business. Write about your own experiences starting a business. Usually small local newspapers are looking for filler content. With just a single publication credit, you will instantly start to become known as an expert at whatever you do. You may even get paid a few dollars or more for your efforts, though that isn’t the point. The point is to get more free advertising for your business by writing about what you know best - you and all that you are up to.
4. Technology Training and Consulting: Put that way it sounds so lofty and complex, but it isn’t. As a member of the younger generation, you have natural abilities to work with computers that may seem like nothing but second nature to you but are a hot and valuable commodity to people of older generations who didn’t grow up with all this newfangled technology in their homes. You’d be surprised how many people older than you don’t know how to make a web page (or maybe you wouldn’t be surprised). The point is, even if you can do it in your sleep, there are people who will pay you big bucks to teach them how to do it, or more - do it for them. YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and all the other social networking and bookmarking sites as well as blogs, newsletters, and ezines are the new media. And guess who the experts are in this new media? That’s right - you are! And as a related bonus tip, you can even offer a free course for small business-people at your local library on the importance of having online presence, and then at the end of the class offer to sell your expertise to build their pages. Give them a discount if they order your services on that day.
5. Odd Jobs: This is one suggestion that never goes out of style. Random odd jobs like cutting grass, raking leaves, dog walking, shoveling show etc. may not be the most exotic, novel, or interesting forms of making money. But they’ve been around forever for a very good reason - because they work. This type of work may not be directly related to your business or business idea, but you can take heart that the entire time you’re toiling away at some seemingly boring task for some extra ducats, what you’re really doing is serving a much higher purpose - raising valuable funds for your business’s success.

Tired of being po’? Of course you are! Well, get over it - literally! Because you can easily be po’ no mo’. All it takes is a little innovation and a willingness to make it work. Problems equal opportunities. Be resourceful and creative. Make money by solving problems that exist around you, and before you know it you’ll have solved the problem of being poor and well on the way to your well-deserved riches.

Shonika Proctor, aka the Nika’Nator, is a youth and teen entrepreneur coach. She helps aspiring and emerging young entrepreneurs to demolish drama and build dreams. www.renegadeceos.com.

Shonika Proctor offers her unique perspective on one way to escape a life that’s, like, whatever …

Get a Teen Life Coach or Just Get a Life?

There they go again - your parents, hounding you to go see a teen life coach.

Maybe a teen life coach can help you find happiness, they say.

Maybe a teen life coach can help you find direction.

Help you get out of this rut, this funk you seem to be wasting your whole life away in these days.

Don’t They Get It?

When your parents were your age, they were being primed to go out and get a job when they graduated. But you don’t live in your parents’ generation - and you know it.

You’re not blind. You watch television. You hear the stories:

• Skyrocketing Unemployment!
• Economy Takes a Nosedive!
• Layoffs Layoffs Layoffs!
• Worst Job Market Ever!
• Job Turnovers Faster

There is no such thing as job security anymore, and you’ve already given up hope that there will be any social security money left for you when you retire. If you retire.

Screw that!

No wonder you’ve gotten so apathetic about your future. Don’t they see it? What the heck do you have to look forward to? And how is a teen life coach supposed to help?

Well I’ll tell you:

Doing Your Own Thing

You’re no dummy. You know the only real way to make it in your generation, in this world, not the world of 50 years ago (or even 15!) is to work for yourself. Numero uno.

Like you keep saying - you’re the only one you know you can count on 100% of the time. So, for a life that’s more than scrimping and saving and breaking your back to make ends meet and still not getting by, you need to forge your own way. Blaze your own trail. Not live out the fantasy of a life laid out for you by parents, teachers, counselors, civic and religious leaders, people who may or may not love you, may or may not have your best interests at heart, who may or may not realize the life they’re talking about is a fantasy!

It used to exist. But it doesn’t anymore.

The old way is dead. The new way is you. Or, put another way, whatever you want enough to make it be.

Now a teen life coach might possibly be able to help. But there’s someone else who is likely to be able to help you even more than a teen life coach - and that’s:

A Teen Business Coach

Plainly put: self-employment, freelancing, going into business for yourself is your best shot of living the kind of life you want to live. The kind you may or may not have already given up on.

There is a future for you. And a business coach can help you find it.

If visions like these fill you with dread

• a long daily commute stuck in traffic with thousands of other poor slobs like you, on your way to or from a job you hate working for someone you despise for a pittance of a paycheck that (for an extra kick in the face) the government takes half of anyway -

then it’s no wonder your parents want you to seek help. You’re probably already miserable about it all, and it hasn’t even started yet. And you’re certainly not trying to hide it. What would be the point?

But a therapist or a shrink isn’t what you need. You’re not crazy. And you’re not sick. You’re just disturbed - and as well you should be.

To whom much is given, much is expected. That hasn’t changed. But what are you supposed to do about it?

A teen business coach can help you take that festering knotted mass of frustration and confusion, and turn it into something that could give you a life that you deem is worth living. A life lived on your own terms. In charge of your own destiny.

The Clear-Cut Difference

There’s no shame in seeking help, guidance, and support. There’s only shame in letting your vast potential go to waste.

School can be a fantastic resource if learning is happening there. But sometimes the learning you need simply isn’t being offered there. And that’s when you need to look elsewhere to get your needs met.

One way to look at it is like the difference between the two types of coaches being described in this article is like this:

A Life Coach helps you get

your you-know-what together.

A Business Coach helps you figure

out what your you-know-what is!

Whether you opt for a teen life coach or a teen business coach, the mere fact that you’ve decided to seek help and support in taking charge of your life is an enormous step in making that change happen.

Shonika Proctor, aka the Nika’Nator, is a youth and teen entrepreneur coach. She helps aspiring and emerging young entrepreneurs to demolish drama and build dreams. www.renegadeceos.com.

I have recently been chatting to an amazing woman, Shonika Proctor. She volunteers her time to work with disadvantaged kids - helping them to start businesses! Her story, and the stories of her kids, are just incredible, and I hope to be able to share some with you over the next few weeks.

In the meanwhile, however, Shonika has been kind enough to pass on some of her mentoring tips. These are the principles she has used to take some of her kids from disaster area to role model in an incredibly short timeframe. With kids from luckier backgrounds, her methods are bound to bear fruit.

Apply these tips with the dedication and commitment that Shonika has, and your kids could be the next big young entrepreneur success stories!

10 Tips For Parents of (Pre) Teen Entrepreneurs by Shonika Proctor

For teenage entrepreneurs, it’s not just homework or hormones and friends or fashion. For these exceptional young people, it’s all of that - plus finding funding, building business and securing their futures at an early age.

And it’s important that their parents understand and appreciate their struggles and offer them support every step of the way. These 10 tips are a great way to help young entrepreneurs start down a path toward success.

1. Start early.

By exploring interests at an early age, it encourages children to take an active pursuit of their passion - and perhaps eventually turn it into profit. Visit museums or parks, check books out of the library - anything to help cultivate their genius.

2. Try different stuff.

“If at first you don’t succeed …” It’s a good quote for a reason. Help potential profiteers learn this for themselves by encouraging learning by trial and error. Keep trying plans or products until they find the one that excites them into entrepreneurship.

3. Discuss values.

Equip them with the tools they need to make important decisions by discussing ethics and the importance of playing fair and being honest - on the field, in life and in business.

4. Make a business plan.

A business plan needn’t be long - a one-page plan should work for most efforts. By answering the below questions, teens will be able to clearly define their products, customers and advantages:

-What business am I in?

-Who are my customers?

-How will my customers know about me?

-How am I different?

5. Ask questions.

Enforce the need to think everything through early by asking questions - even if they may be hard for young people to answer. And remember: Be careful to come across as a partner, not as a nag! During this step, you should discuss materials, inventory, funding and budgeting.

6. Use the Internet.

From research to retail to advertising, the Internet is an important tool for fledgling businesses. Many teens have a marked advantage here, as they’re better online than any generation before them. Remember, always monitor site usage and message board posts!

7. Serve others.

It’s important that children have a plan that includes giving back to the world. Does the business offer a product or service that those less fortunate would benefit from? If so, work or product could be given away for free or at cost. If not, discuss setting aside a portion of the profits for a reputable organization that helps those in need.

8. Film a commercial.

This step is fun, and the confidence that children get from being on screen is amazing. Brainstorm ideas - from serious to silly - write a script and enlist the help of friends and family to round out the cast.

9. Develop a marketing plan.

Even the youngest entrepreneur should be actively involved in sales from day one. Ask them to develop a plan - and encourage them to think big (”no” should not be a part of this step!). Guide them to consider promotional or partnership opportunities; community stores or leaders who would allow advertising/product placement; advertising activities and more.

10. Define a style.

All children are leaders: They just have different styles and a unique selling point. Help fine-tune that style by building a leadership platform based on individual strengths and weaknesses.

These 10 tips are a great way to kick off what will hopefully be a long and successful business endeavor. But remember: Just as every child is unique, so is every business and every plan. There are no rules - other than to have fun, work hard and continue to learn and grow along the way. Good luck!

Shonika Proctor, the Nika’Nator, is a youth & teen entrepreneur coach who helps aspiring and emerging young entrepreneurs demolish their drama and build dreams. If you enjoyed these tips, you can get more like them at the Renegade CEOs web site.

I have had an email this week from Andrew Ong of the Money Tree program in Asia. Their kids work in teams to create businesses, and he wanted to know whether the entry had to be an individual, or whether a group could enter.

Good question!

Yes, absolutely, if your business is a partnership or group effort, you can still enter the competition. Just make sure that all your names are in the video.

Actually, for everyone, it is a good idea to put your names in the tags as well, so we know how to spell your name!

We’re looking forward to seeing the videos from the Money Tree program participants in the next couple of weeks.

On the HubPages side, there is a great Hub about some of our competition entrants, written by their mother, Charly. It is full of information, stories and hints about getting your kids set with good money habits. Check it out!

If you are a member of any of these social bookmarking sites, remember to drop by and vote for the competition post:

Cash-Smart Kids at Mixx

Educational YouTube Competition at Digg

Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Competition on Reddit

Careers Cash-Smart Kids Competition at Propeller

Cash-Smart Kids Competition News at Newsvine

CashSmart Kids Video Competition Story on Plugim

Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Video Competition on Marktd

Congratulations to all those who have entries in so far, and we look forward to seeing these new entries that I keep hearing about!

Until next week …