Teen entrepreneurs are growing in number. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor says that the average age of a typical entrepreneur is between 25 and 45, but that more and more people are starting businesses at a younger age. This has given rise to an increase in the number of teen entrepreneurs around the globe.
The world is indeed becoming more intelligent than ever as today there are startup ventures being created by individuals who are just in their teenage years. Take the amazing success story of 16-year-old Benjamin Stern who in 2014, made the U.S a much more environmental friendly country with his invention: the Nohbo Ball – The World’s First Eco-Friendly Shampoo Ball. This product is a single-use, all-in-one shampoo ball that only requires water to use, does not come with any plastic bottles, and produces 0% waste. The startup idea was so unique with many astounding selling points that it was featured in Shark Tank, a highly-popular business-themed reality show hosted by many of the country’s top entrepreneurs, including Dallas Maverick owner, Mark Cuban. The Nohbo Shampoo Ball was such a promising startup idea that the 16-year-old Stern was granted a $100,000 investment by Mark Cuban who took 25% of the business. In addition, Cuban granted Stern “Mini-Me” dividend in all aspects such as logistics, licensing, and patents. Currently, the Nohbo Shampoo Ball earns $10.6 billion dollars annually.
Success stories such as that of Benjamin Stern teach teen entrepreneurs many things such as maturity, perseverance and determination. If you are an aspiring teen entrepreneur or know someone who might want to be one, here are five keys being a successful teen entrepreneur:
Maturity: There are a lot of characteristics required to be a successful teen entrepreneur. One of the most important is maturity. As a budding teen entrepreneur, you must embrace a leadership role that requires sacrifice, perseverance, foresight, and patience to name a few. These traits all require a certain level of maturity that you must hone and develop to tackle the tests and obstacles of starting up a business venture.
Vision: One of the pitfalls of being a teenager is not being able to know what you want in life. This is very natural as a young person’s brain has not yet matured. Being an entrepreneur is a very unorthodox
From San Francisco
Teen Entrepreneurs: Five Ingredients for Success
by Ron Flavin