Most businesses in the United States are owned and run by adults but an increasing number of 14-to-16-year-olds are becoming young entrepreneurs and using the internet to expand their reach.
New research from Junior Achievement and Ernst & Young LLP shows that 61% of teen girls have thought about starting a business, compared with 54% of boys.
“This research is encouraging in that it shows many teens have a great interest in starting their own business someday, but that the risks associated with entrepreneurship are a major concern for them,” said Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA on the organization’s website.
Juniors can achieve, and age does not define how successful someone is. No one is ever too young or too old to start chasing a dream. No one knows that more than the three passionate students in this story. They don’t need high school diplomas or even driver’s licenses to turn their ideas into thriving businesses.
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Yadira Contreras Longoria attends Pittsburg High School and was inspired to open an online business.
She started working on her own business because flowers are something that she enjoys. Contreras inherited the love of flowers from her grandmother and today she enjoys arranging them into beautiful bouquets. Her new business has been successful, she said, but her main challenge is “not having enough hands to work faster.”
Longoria is still a student and she tries to balance her schoolwork and business by not wasting time. She tries to finish her work at school so she has more time at home for her business.
Her parents are supportive, as well as her younger sister who helps her when she feels stressed.
One reason she has been successful is that she advertises her business by staying consistent on social media and posting often. Another feature that has impacted her success is that she prides herself on “doing it with much love and putting my time and effort into it.”
In the future, she hopes to grow and find additional colors and specific flowers to expand her offerings for clients.
Longoria works with a lot of roses and one of the things she hopes to be able to include in her business is greenery and making more mixed bouquets.
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Shailey Rodriguez attends Freedom High School and started her business by making treats for her family’s birthday parties. But she did not know where this would take her. Rodriguez’s biggest inspiration was her grandma because she taught her to always work for what you desire.
After having her sister, nieces and boyfriend motivate her she decided to create “Sweetby_shaii” so that she could make money on the side and distract herself from everyday problems. Still, in high school, Rodriguez tries her best to separate her focus depending on whether she is in the classroom or at home.
In the early days, when she first started her business, Rodriguez struggled with timing. She is now focusing on figuring out exactly how long each sweet preparation takes. She succeeds by posting on social media and having her friends repost it to attract more clients.
“I am so grateful for each and every one who trusted me to make someone else’s Valentine’s Day special,” she said after getting over five different orders of chocolate-covered strawberries for her first Valentine’s Day as a treat maker.
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Yaretzi Cervantes attends Antioch High School and is a young entrepreneur who was attracted to start her own business to earn money and see other people create their long-lasting flower businesses.
Cervantes has always been supported by family and friends to follow her heart. When she announced that she wanted to start a business they motivated her to become better and told her it was a good idea to do things in her free time. She has friends who repost her work to help advertise her business and a supportive sister who is willing to take her to the places she needs to go to get supplies since Cervantes still has no license.
“My family has always been so supportive when it comes to making changes in my life, and I’ve had ups and downs with a few friendships so I will be forever grateful for every person that has stayed by my side no matter what,” Cervantes said.
Although her business has been successful so far, she still struggles with finding supplies needed or the process of making the forever-lasting flowers. But she knows these kinds of things take time and she is grateful to be learning so much from this new chapter of her life.