Each summer, as schools close their doors, most teenagers look forward to relaxing in the sun or earning a few extra dollars as clerks in fast-food restaurants or clothing stores. But thousands of others organise small businesses and provide goods and services to their communities. They baby-sit, tutor, mow lawns, host toddlers' birthday parties, design jewelry and build birdhouses. They bake cookies and tie-dye T-shirts. These and many other common teenage businesses are important training grounds for future corporate executives and entrepreneurs. By operating a business, young people learn responsibility, the importance of quality workmanship, a variety of sales and interpersonal skills, and the value of careful record keeping. Many of them, in fact, get their first taste of the excitement of operating a business as a member of a Junior Achievement company or Applied Economics class. Through their student-run businesses, teens can observe every facet of a company's operation. Some even go on to apply their Junior Achievement experiences to their own businesses.
Joseph Hale, 26, is one of them. As the vice president of finance for his high school's Junior Achievement company, he was so motivated that, as an adult, he decided to strike out on his own. Neither an engineer nor a chemist, Joseph conceived an idea for a high quality, scratch resistant plastic laminate that would protect automobile windshields from cracking and pitting caused by wind-blown and tire-thrown sand and gravel. He developed a business, consulted with plastics manufacturers, and commissioned the development of a prototype. Joseph is more convinced than ever that his idea will become a useful and profitable product.
Like many other teenagers, Brad Boisvert, 16, of Warwick, Rhode Island, works in a restaurant kitchen preparing salads. But Brad undoubtedly brings much more flair and understanding to his work than most other teenagers. Brad also operates his own catering business and specializes in fancy fruit and vegetable carvings and garnishes. According to his parents, Brad's first word was cook. And indeed, he began preparing fruit and vegetable trays for family gatherings at age 10. But today, thanks in part to his Junior Achievement experience, he understands some very important business principles that will help him in the future when he becomes a chef and restaurateur. He has learned that working in a field you enjoy can be the secret to success, that even the best products and services must be advertised and promoted, and that high- quality materials (fruits and vegetables) are essential. Brad has also learned the importance of setting prices high enough to earn a profit and low enough to be competitive and, equally important, to keep accurate and up-to- date financial records.
Katherine Ya-wen Cheng, 17, of Houston, Texas, is another young entrepreneur benefiting from her experience in Junior Achievement, but more importantly, she brings energy and a drive to succeed in business and in life from deep within.
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Katherine worked in a candy shop in Houston, where she learned the basics of the business before deciding to open her own shop. Working two other jobs, she saved $8,000 and borrowed $4,000 more from her grandmother to buy the candy, rent the space and purchase the special display cases and other equipment needed. Today she has her own business in an indoor flea market, where she sells imported candies and is developing a band of loyal customers. She is even diversifying by selling candy in bulk for school fundraisers, weddings and other special events. Interestingly, Katherine's greatest challenge and frustration was renting space and opening a business checking account. The adult decision-makers weren't sure they could trust a 17-year old student to pay the bills and keep accurate records. In Katherine's case, they needn't have had any worries.
Like Brad and Katherine, Andrew Sorkin, 17, of Scarsdale, New York, started a business by combining his personal interests (sports and writing) with management and marketing lessons learned through his Junior Achievement experience. Last year he organized Pages Publishing Corporation to produce a sports magazine for the high school market - The Sports Page. Andrew's business is unusual for several reasons. First, Pages Publishing is a not-for-profit venture. Andrew is interested in providing journalism students, rather than professional writers, with an opportunity to contribute articles to a national magazine. Second, Andrew organized a board of directors consisting of two high school students and six adults from the community to help him make wise policy decisions. Finally, all students in participating schools receive the magazine at no charge. The costs of production are covered entirely through advertising revenues. Andrew may not earn his fortune producing The Sports Page, but he will gain invaluable experience that will pay off in the future.
Young entrepreneurs like Joseph, Brad, Katherine and Andrew learn one thing more from their Junior Achievement experience: Never give up - if you don't make it with one idea, you will be successful with the next one, or the next. These young people will probably be among America's future business leaders, and go on to provide fuel for the American economy as they develop new products and design more efficient processes.
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