A Message From Our Editors Welcome to the first issue of Youth In Business Magazine. This magazine was created to inspire, educate and share real stories, information and tips to support you on your entrepreneurial journey! In our own journey as entrepreneurs and when working with our youth entrepreneurs in our programs we know that at times it can be a tough ride. That is why we wanted to create this magazine - to help share stories and advice to make this crazy ride of an entrepreneur a little less stressful. When we put together the content for the magazine we wanted it to be a mix of tips to help you on your way, and stories that will inspire you. Make sure you take a look at the page we like to call Youth In Business TV where you can hear from the teens as they share their journey with you! We are always
so amazed by the hundreds of teens we work with that take the entrepreneurial plunge and do so with an enormous amount of gusto and enthusiasm. If you have your own story you would like to share with us and the Youth In Business tribe please make sure to visit www.youthinbusinessmagazine.com.au and our editorial team will be in touch. We hope you enjoy turning every page.
Ben & Sheri Jones
CONTENTS YOUTH IN BUSINESS
6 10 14 16 18 20
22 24 26 28
The Accidental Entrepreneur - The story of Boost Juice Why kids should be taught Entrepreneurship early on Youth in business TV
How not to kill your teen’s Entrepreneurial Spirit 10 Awesome Companies built by Teens
Miss O and Friends
What Warren Buffett wants you to know 5 Tips from Richard Branson for young Entrepreneurs How to raise Entrepreneurial Teens Why did you create Miss O and Friends? Friends I founded Miss O and 2005 (www.misso.com) in old. when I was 16 years younger After witnessing my friends sister, Olivia, and her ms start dealing with proble and such as cliques, boys at the body image starting being age of 8 (terrifying!), d to the older sister, I wante would create something that help them through middle the idea when is That l. schoo s came for Miss O and Friend space about and I created a girls. place online for tween
Will Deeth, the 16 year old founder of I will Import
Miss O and Friends
O Tell us about the Miss community and why it’s so fabulous!
tion our 100% safe socializa Miss O and Friends and can ask is a place where girls app, the Girl2Girl Wall, without all and talk to other girls questions, get advice about (and kids!) are worried parents stuff scary the
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gets posted on both in a social network. Nothing a real human person without the website or the app screen for g it. This way, we can reading it and approvin , hate tion, but also bullying informa able identifi only not iate that wouldn’t be appropr language and content is Our registration process for the 8-14 year old girl. last name the for ask we never completely COPPA, and info from able identifi lly or address or other persona users create a screen Our up. sign the the girls when
all about this Now, we need to know um Original fantastic You Tube Premi ? What series called Hyperlinked it? inspired you to create atch-
The Accidental s.com/w (https://missoandfriend /) hyperlinked-episode-1
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ENTREPRENEUR THE JUICY B ITS
their identity on the site name, which serves as mental both the physical and and the app. We take seriously and in the 13 safety of our users very s, we’ve never had any years we’ve been in busines breach. of sort Do you have any by girls, for girls and Our website is also totally exciting projects ity of girls who are its our amazing commun see. on incredible content you you workingJan ine responsible for all the girls being able to about share Allis and her company all is ity that you canBoo Our commun st Juice are well ves, and it’s important honestly express themsel known all with us? safe when asking those over the world. they feel comfortable be to going With over 400 they aren’t toes awkward questions knowing love apps, stor nitely defi media We’d social in other ked, 12 countries and an criticized or bullied. Unlike continue with Hyperlin s or photos. Instead, average new earning there are no likes, follower so we are looking for of d D135 t free-zone where $AU animate an judgmen a ing is Wall develop , 000, also the Girl2Girl We areper partners there.000 ann that would be other girls their age for ther e is no doubt girls (ages 5-8)um, girls can get advice from series for younger has always been help that and have Jan Friends ine O and IRL situations. Our mission AllisIP and based around the Miss em in young girls and ked, while focusingher Boost Hyperlin Juic empower and build self-este frome themes emp express to similar ire platform a is an internationa we do this by giving them and her friends. We recently fun. more on Olivia l bus Wall, s, get advice and have ines succ the Girl2Girl themselves, ask question ess stor socializationsapp, y. powerful, and by creating launched our It’s a free app and Girls helping girls is really which I mentioned before. it’s cool to do that, just Store and Google Play. an environment where available in both the App of can come from it. releasing a new version imagine how much good We’re in the process of . new updates and features the app, which will have to grow our tween girl Overall, we’re really looking can t lesson you about all the ways we media brand and excited What’s been the bigges girls! g help empower and inspire in your journey creatin
have learn Miss O and Friends?
com (Miss O website) www.missoandfriends. oad (Girl2Girl Wall App bit.ly/girl2girlappdownl s is tough and you have case and Android- bit.ly is Running your own busines download for both iOS ing which I’m working to have thick skin (someth l, sensitive) take everything so persona on!) It’s not hard toFoun s.com/watchder be Theretwill you.Boos l to of Juic e https://missoandfriend/ (Hyperlinked 1st episode) when in fact it is so persona that ng Best it’s somethi Selli and ng Authnt hyperlinked-episode-1 a TON of ups and downs, cial (L2M) importaorto Inveto manage. It’s stagram.com/L2Moffi Shark you you have to learn how stor on and www.in Tank with people who support surround yourself www.face they can help build you up believe in you, becausebook.com/janine.allis?ref= br_rs when you need it the most.
Janine Allis
www.instagram
.com/janine_all
is/
The Accidental
ENTREPRENEUR THE JUICY BITS
Janine Allis and her company Boost Juice are well known all over the world. With over 400 stores in 12 countries and an average earning of $AUD135, 000, 000 per annum, there is no doubt that Janine Allis and her Boost Juice empire is an international business success story.
Janine Allis Founder of Boost Juice Best Selling Author Investor on Shark Tank
www.facebook.com/janine.allis?ref=br_rs www.instagram.com/janine_allis/
What makes her journey to the top even more interesting is that Allis went from a stay at home mum with no business experience to head honcho of a multi national corporation. Her path to success was unconventional. Boost Juice was a concept that Janine came up with over her kitchen table and which grew into a phenomenal success seemingly overnight. In her latest book, The Accidental Entrepreneur, Boost Juice founder Janine Allis shares the tips, tricks, skills and secrets that took her from housewife to business guru. The book guides you through the long journey that she embarked upon, sharing with you the lessons, mistakes and experiences that have helped shape her business success. It also gives you valuable insight into how to take alternative routes to achieving success in the business world. Allis has always acknowledged that part of her success is related to her zest for life and her desire to win over the hearts of her consumers. She also recognises the importance of creating the right team of people, to support your business and allow it to reach its maximum potential. In The Accidental Entrepreneur, Allis stresses the importance of listening to your customers, sticking to your personal core values and being a team player. As a mother of four, Allis clearly understands the importance of work/ life balance and emphasises that you don’t have to sacrifice your health, lifestyle or morals in order to play with the big boys in the business world. Boost Juice is now in more countries than any other juice in the world,
employing over 6000 people and is still growing. The simple idea of a juice company by a Melbourne mum has grown to an international success story and is living proof of how big successes can start out small but can grow when nurtured. If you have a desire to develop a business idea, Allis is proof that you don’t need fancy degrees and loads of experience. The Accidental Entrepreneur will show you how you too can pursue your business dreams, point you in the right direction, show you what pitfalls to look out for and ultimately help to set you on the right path to success.
About the Author Janine Allis is a working mother of four who has always had a love of life and has adopted that policy in her business philosophy. In 2000, Allis founded Boost Juice and has since grown it into a business empire. Her unique leadership style has been an integral part of her business’s growth and has helped her to achieve phenomenal results. Aside of being founder of Boost Juice, Allis is also part-owner of Retail Zoo, which is the parent company of Boost Juice, Salsa’s Fresh Mex Grill and Cibo Espresso. She is also a Director of Michael Hill Jeweller and appears as a “shark” on the Australian version of the TV show Shark Tank. Allis has been the recipient of a plethora of retail, franchise and business awards including 2015 The Australian Awards for Excellence in Women’s Leadership: Victoria.
Why Kids Should Be Taught Entrepreneurship Early On? By Kyle Racki It’s clear the world needs more innovation and more entrepreneurs. And the skills of entrepreneurship are also good life skills. So how can we teach kids business to nurture that next generation of doers and dreamers?
that fail rate was enough to scare them into scaring me away from the thought of starting one.
Do we really need more entrepreneurs?
But when I was 14 my friend was looking to pass off his newspaper route, the job that funded his much coveted video game and action figure collection.
Small businesses really are the backbone of the economy.
I was too young to get a job at a fast food joint so wanting some financial independence for video games of my own, I asked him if I could take it over.
Some of the most important innovations in the last century have come about because of scrappy entrepreneurs (Remember, Steve Jobs started Apple in his basement). Small businesses also lead the way in innovation. A study conducted by the Small Business Administration found that small businesses produced 16 times more patents per employee compared to larger patenting firms. We’ll always need doctors, lawyers and accountants, but we sure as hell need entrepreneurs, too. Which is why we need to think about how we can pay it forward and help inspire, mentor, and empower girls and boys to think like early entrepreneurs.
What inspired me to be an entrepreneur? When I was younger I never thought I wanted to own a business. Some of my entrepreneurial friends had parents who owned businesses, but not me. My dad was a maintenance worker, my mother a nurse, and neither of them felt owning a business was a viable career move. My parents knew that 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months, and
For more than three years I would spend over an hour delivering newspapers after school every day of the week and early in the morning on weekends. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my paper route job was preparing me for entrepreneurship: I had to be self-motivated to work; I didn’t have a boss calling me if I was late delivering. If I couldn’t do my route for some reason, like if I was sick or had a band practice after school, I had to hire one of my friends or my parents to cover it for me (and yes, my parents accepted the payment). It was up to me to collect payments from customers since the Mail Star would subtract their cut from my bank account automatically. I got to keep the profit. I needed to do some basic bookkeeping to make sure I wasn’t getting ripped off. I had to keep customers happy, deal with a bunch of different personality types, and sell subscriptions to new customers. I even cross-sold to customers, asking them if they needed their lawn cut during the summer months when they were away on vacation. Newspaper routes are a great tool for teaching kids entrepreneurship. I cherish the experience, despite the click in my left shoulder I still have today from carrying the 100 pound bag uphill.
I may have ended up owning a business regardless, but this experience gave me a lot of the skills I needed later on.
The problem with school Grade school highly discourages entrepreneurial thinking. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that some of the most successful entrepreneurs were B students who later dropped out of college. As mentioned before, non-college graduate entrepreneurs include Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Larry Ellison, just to name a handful. The school system wants students to focus on the task assigned, not go off and dream up their own projects or become child entrepreneurs. Following direction is rewarded, and deviating from it or colouring outside the lines, so to speak, is met with punishment. Guidance counsellors often encourage kids to pursue traditional careers, ones that require university education. There is very little talk of starting a business.
entrepreneurs, and how they teach it to their own kids.
So how do we teach kids entrepreneurship? In his awesome Ted Talk, Cameron Herald talks about the various businesses he made for himself as a kid, like selling coat hangers to dry cleaning businesses, and buying comic books from poor kids to sell at a profit to rich kids. It’s worth watching the entire video. You may or not have children of your own, but even if you’re an uncle/aunt, or have friends with kids, you can play a role in their lives. You can inspire them to be an entrepreneur when they grow up. Here are some key entrepreneurial traits Cameron mentions in his talk, and some ideas on how to nurture them in kids: I also asked some friends of mine to share their stories with me, and tell me what shaped them to become entrepreneurs. I’ll share some of those stories here as well.
I am not saying education isn’t important, or that I’m representing every teacher in every school system in the world. Of course, math, English and science are important. Of course, plenty of teachers inspire kids to follow their dreams.
The desire to make money
Instead, I believe the school system as a whole discourages entrepreneurial thinking on a fundamental level; they prepare students to become good employees.
But there’s a big difference between wanting money and wanting to make money.
Entrepreneurial traits, like risk predilection and rebelliousness (a trait also common to teenagers coincidentally enough) are generally considered negative, and are suppressed rather than nurtured. Successful entrepreneur and angel investor, Dan Martel went to jail and rehab as a teenager before starting his first business at 18 and turning his life around. Dan has said many times that computers literally saved his life. Could it be that his mentors were able to harness his reckless energy rather than condemn it? That they nurtured his rebelliousness as a quality that could be used for good instead of telling him to fall in line? I’m not going to pretend for a minute that I know more than professional educators. All I know is what I’ve experienced first-hand, what other people have shared about what shaped them to be child
Once kids are old enough, teaching them to want money isn’t hard thanks to advertising. Kids learn how awesome money is at a pretty young age.
Making money involves work. Kids appreciate money they’ve worked for more than money they were handed. When grandma gives a kid $20 for her birthday the first thing she wants to do is spend it. When she had to shovel the neighbour’s driveway or knock on doors selling chocolate bars, suddenly that hard earned cash becomes more valuable. “I grew up in the US around entrepreneurs, my grandparents owned their own businesses. My parents never said ‘you can’t,’ so I grew up believing I could do whatever I wanted. I remember working as a dishwasher at 15 years old making $3.35/hour, and then mowing lawns on the side at $20 per lawn, which would only take me 30 minutes. That’s when the light bulb went off!” – Kevin Springer, Serial entrepreneur and cofounder, Proposify
Tenacity I’ve written before about how glad I am that I didn’t give up on building Proposify in the early days, and my experience is far from unique. Entrepreneurs are going to struggle at some point, maybe for a long time, and some of the most successful business people did not make it because they were necessarily smarter than everyone else, but because they kept pushing ahead despite setbacks.
How to sell I love how Cameron Herald teaches his kids business and how to sell. Instead of assigning them chores and giving them a set amount of allowance (which is teaching kids how to be employees), he encourages them to find jobs they think need doing, come to him and offer to do them, then negotiate a price. Selling to your dad is one thing, but selling to strangers is another. That’s why door to door sales, like selling newspaper subscriptions or chocolate bars is a valuable training ground for child entrepreneurs. It’s teaching them how to speak to grownups, to get over the fear of rejection, and to use persuasion instead of nagging to get what they want. “I sold candy in grade 6. I learned about working with a team, making a profit, and that you need your business needs to be defensible! The cafeteria ladies found out we were selling candy, and dipping into their profits, and had us shut down.” – David Howe, Serial entrepreneur
Customer service Customer service goes hand in hand with sales. After all, once you’ve successfully convinced a prospect to do business with you, your job now becomes keeping that customer happy and fulfilling what you promised.
It’s hard because as a parent you never want to see your child upset, struggling, or frustrated but it’s important to teach children that nothing worthwhile comes easy, and not to quit just because they failed or because something was difficult. It’s better that kids learn to have grit at an early age instead of having everything handed to them, never needing to push through difficulties, and then discovering later as adults that the baby gloves are off. “Going through two wars by adulthood, moving to Canada on my own at 19 with $1,500 in my pocket without really knowing anyone, and being homeless for the first week in Canada. All of it taught me to live day by day, and solve one problem at a time.” – Milan Vrekic, Co-founder of Zora Inc.
Creativity Creativity is often most closely associated with art. But entrepreneurs are some of the most creative people out there. They are perhaps the only people who create their own job. Entrepreneurs need to be observant and notice what people need (demand), find a solution (supply), sell that solution at a price people will pay, make a profit, deal with competition... the list goes on.
How can you teach creativity as a skill?
This is where jobs like cashier positions can teach customer service skills that can form entrepreneurial ideas for kids.
Children should be given plenty of time for unstructured play, where they can use their imagination.
“I worked in a family run business from the time I was six until I moved out. I learned from pretty much day one that the money we used to buy food and to live on came from the drawer in the basement where we put it after we charged customers.”
Cameron Herald has some nights where rather than reading his kids a story, he asks them to make up their own.
– Findlay Hilchie, Co-founder of Hustle & Grind
Some people think technology hampers creativity, but used correctly it can unleash it. Just look at games like Minecraft that encourage players to build
whatever they want in a completely open, nearly infinite world. Smart phones and tablets let kids easily record their own videos. Modern technology can be used along with more traditional activities, like learning an instrument or painting, to teach kids it’s OK to let your imagination run wild and pursue your ideas. “In grade 12 I created a summer job with four other high school students. We applied for grants, mapped local recreation trails in our community, designed a booklet with environmental info, and paid ourselves. We learned a lot that summer!” – Michelle Doucette, photographer
Leadership There’s more to being the boss than just bossing people around. You need to be a leader; inspiring, teaching, and motivating your employees to be the best they can be. There are ways to teach kids to be successful entrepreneurs and leaders, not by encouraging them to be a bossypants (technical term), but by setting the example for them and being a good leader yourself. You can encourage them to participate in team activities and observe how they interact with other kids. Don’t jump in if they have trouble or if another kid is being unfair. Let them work it out themselves. “Being a swim coach and camp counselor taught me how to manage people and position them for success.” – Iaian Archibald, Co-founder of Swell Advantage
Networking One of the most valuable things for me as an entrepreneur has been the network of friends, colleagues, and influencers I’ve acquired over the years. Businesses are not created in a vacuum. Much like a child, it takes a village to raise a startup. Having a wide group of people you know, locally and internationally, online and offline, provides a wide range of people to reach out to for advice, to pitch new ideas, to hire for positions, to make introductions.
Children can be encouraged from an early age to be interested in people. It starts with having them sit in on conversations between their parents and other adults, listen, and ask questions. If you’re part of a community group or church, encourage your son or daughter to be sociable by approaching and talking to older people in addition to kids their own age. They may be naturally shy, but with practice even the most timid of children can come out of their shell and learn the value of making new connections. “When I was a little girl, my mom had a eclectic group of friends who were entrepreneurial, and being around them made me want to do my own thing. I think as an entrepreneur you have a huge influence on the kids in your life, probably more than you would think.” – Krista Keough, Consultant, college entrepreneurship instructor
Conclusion It may sound like a cliché but kids are our future, and if you’re an entrepreneur who either has children or influences someone else’s child, it’s important to think about how we can shape them into future leaders, job creators, and successful entrepreneurs. In other words, please think of the children! In no way do I think I have all the answers. These are ideas to get the discussion started. I want to ask you: What experience when you were a child/teenager shaped you to become an entrepreneur later on in life, and what are some ways we can teach kids to be more entrepreneurial?
www. pr oposify.c om
Abi Smithson
Alina Morse
Briella Brown
Isabella Dymalovski
Ryan Kelly
Lily Born
Brandon and Sebastian Martinez
Anna Williams
Sarah Partridge
Let’s face it the world of today has changed dramatically in recent years. In previous generations the path to success was seemingly quite straightforward. People worked hard at school, went to university, got a job and then worked their way up the employment ladder. Bingo! Success! In today’s world things are no longer so simple and the pathway to success can be somewhat more challenging for our kids. As parents we can no longer raise our children in the same way as past generations. Today’s kids are living in a fast paced, technologically driven world where social media is the norm and people are dealing in crypto currencies. In order to be successful in todays competitive and ever changing environment kids need to have intelligence, determination and a strong entrepreneurial sprit.
As parents it’s important that we don’t hang onto our traditional ideas of what success is and instead embrace the concept of what success means for the future generations. So the question is what can we do as parents to avoid quashing our kids entrepreneurial spirit? Spot the spirit: Be aware of any entrepreneurial instincts that may begin to surface in your child and embrace them. It can be as simple as your child wanting to set up a lemonade stand or sell Christmas cards to family and friends. Look out for the first signs of an entrepreneurial spirit in your child and support it.
Make the introduction: Know
someone who has started up a successful business? Then introduce them to your child. It is highly beneficial for children to become acquainted with people who have been successful. Interacting with those
who have “been there and done that” will necessarily mean that there is not a inspire your child to see that if someone different or better way to do it! else can do it then they can too! Encourage creativity: One of the fun Teach effective communication and inspiring things about being around children is the mad hatter ideas that they skills: One of the most important skills come up with. Kids are not yet jaded of any entrepreneur is the art of effective by life and experience so are constantly communication – so start early. Teach brimming with fresh ideas and thoughts your children how to interact with people – don’t quash them. Show your kids of all ages and not only how to hold a conversation but also how to listen to what how they can direct their creativity in a powerful and productive way. other people are saying and learn from it.
Model problem solving time doing (or suppose to be doing) what techniques together: The most
Let them decide: Kids spend a lot of
they are told. As important as it is for children to learn to follow instructions it is equally important for them to learn how to make decisions. If you want to raise a child that can generate and execute great ideas and can solve problems then you need to let them make decisions They may not always make the right decision but that is part of the journey. Give your child the chance to make mistakes and to learn from them. Stepping back a little bit and giving your child a sense of some control will help to increase their self-confidence. Keep it simple and age appropriate and as your child becomes more skilled in making small decisions give them the opportunity to tackle larger ones.
successful entrepreneurs are the ones that can solve problems and overcome obstacles. When problem’s come up in your child’s life help them to solve them. Don’t solve them for them. We all know those types of parents’ that do their kids homework for them or complain to the sports coach when they get put in a low team. Don’t be that parent – it teaches your child to run away from their problems. Instead help your child to tackle their problems and disappointments head on. Brainstorm ideas together and come up with solutions and alternative options.
The entrepreneurial mindset is an attitude as well as a skill set that includes creativity, adaptability, innovation, problem solving, risk taking and critical Question the status quo: Teach thinking. Helping to cultivate these your child not to be a sheep and simply values in a child from a young age follow the rules and what others are will give them a huge advantage in doing blindly. Encourage your child to their future endeavours. Remember – politely and respectfully question how entrepreneurship is an attitude not an and why things are done and explore alternative techniques and opportunities. occupation! Just because something has always been done in a particular way does not
Who ever said age was a barrier to success has obviously never meet these 10 inspiring individuals who have all built up phenomenal businesses before they were even old enough to vote‌
1. Fraser Doherty This young Scottish lad learnt to make jam with his grandmother when he was just 14 years old. By the age of 16 he had left school and was well on his way to creating his company Super Jam. This humble Scotsman’s jam empire is now stocked in over 2000 supermarkets worldwide and commands an impressive 10 per cent of the UK jam market. By the time he was 19 years old, this teenager was making over 10 million dollars per annum.
2. Juliette Brindak Blake This social networking queen is the cofounder and CEO of Miss O And Friends. By the age of 16 Brindak had created a specialised social media platform specifically for tweens and teens that generates 10 million visits a month and has a net worth of around $15 million dollars.
3. Romero Bryan At the age of just 12, Romero Bryan started designing clothes and had created his own clothing label. By the age of 13 he was dressing celebrities and now boasts Beyonce, Victoria Beckham and Cameron Diaz as some of his most loyal clients. Bryan’s fashion empire is expected to earn him over 30 million pounds by 2020.
4. Jason O’Neill Jason O’Neill did not wait until he was a teenager to become a successful businessman. At the age of nine, O’Neill started making Pencil Bugs, colourful pencil toppers in the shape of bugs. By the time he was 13, O’Neill had created a fully-fledged business and by the time he was 16 he was an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, philanthropist and author.
5. Noa Mintz Noa Mintz started her first business in 2008 running art classes for kids in the holidays for a small fee. By the age of 16 she was running a full service child care agency in New York City called Nannies by Noa and was featured in Fortune’s list of the 18 most
innovative and ambitious teens under 18 years old.
6. Kristopher Tate Whilst at the age of four most kids are learning to read Kristopher Tate was already dabbling in computer programming. By 17 he had created Zooomr – one of the most successful photo sharing services on the web.
7. Brian Wong Brian Wong is a Canadian Internet entrepreneur who in 2010 co-founded Klip, a mobile app rewards platform that lets brands and companies give real-world rewards for in-game achievements. By 2017 Klip was generating more than $20 million in revenue per annum.
8. Mikaila Ulmer By her thirteenth birthday Mikailia Ulmer had turned her fear of bee’s into a successful company and was CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade. After successfully securing a $60 000 investment from the TV show “Shark Tank” and a contract with Whole Foods this Texan dynamo has proved herself to be one savvy businesswoman.
9. Mark Zuckerberg Whilst studying at Harvard Mark Zuckerberg created the software that would eventually become Facebook – one of the world’s most successful social networking sites. With now over 400 million users Facebook is considered one of the most successful websites ever built and has made this college drop out a multi billionaire.
10. Fred De Luca Perhaps one of the most successful teenage entrepreneurs of all time was Fred De Luca, who back in 1965 at the age of just 17 used a $1000 loan from a friend to found Subway. From a simple sandwich shop, De Luca created a franchise empire that now boasts over 45 000 locations in 112 countries. At the time of his death in 2015 De Luca had an estimated net worth of US$3.5billion.
www.bit.ly/2nqgRyh
Meet Amazing Youth Entrepreneur
Miss O and Friends
Why did you create Miss O and Friends? I founded Miss O and Friends (www.misso.com) in 2005 when I was 16 years old. After witnessing my younger sister, Olivia, and her friends start dealing with problems such as cliques, boys and body image starting at the age of 8 (terrifying!), being the older sister, I wanted to create something that would help them through middle school. That is when the idea for Miss O and Friends came about and I created a space place online for tween girls.
Tell us about the Miss O community and why it’s so fabulous! Miss O and Friends and our 100% safe socialization app, the Girl2Girl Wall, is a place where girls can ask questions, get advice and talk to other girls without all the scary stuff parents (and kids!) are worried
about in a social network. Nothing gets posted on both the website or the app without a real human person reading it and approving it. This way, we can screen for not only identifiable information, but also bullying, hate language and content that wouldn’t be appropriate for the 8-14 year old girl. Our registration process is completely COPPA, and we never ask for the last name or address or other personally identifiable info from the girls when
Now, we need to know all about this fantastic You Tube Premium Original series called Hyperlinked? What inspired you to create it?
( www.missoandfriends.com/watch-hyperlinkedepisode-1 / )
the sign up. Our users create a screen name, which serves as their identity on the site and the app. We take both the physical and mental safety of our users very seriously and in the 13 years we’ve been in business, we’ve never had any sort of breach. Our website is also totally by girls, for girls and its our amazing community of girls who are responsible for all the incredible content you see. Our community is all about girls being able to honestly express themselves, and it’s important they feel comfortable and safe when asking those awkward questions knowing they aren’t going to be criticized or bullied. Unlike other social media apps, there are no likes, followers or photos. Instead, the Girl2Girl Wall is a judgment free-zone where girls can get advice from other girls their age for IRL situations. Our mission has always been help, empower and build selfesteem in young girls and we do this by giving them a platform to express themselves, ask questions, get advice and have fun. Girls helping girls is really powerful, and by creating an environment where it’s cool to do that, just imagine how much good can come from it.
What’s been the biggest lesson you have learnt in your journey creating Miss O and Friends? Running your own business is tough and you have to have thick skin (something which I’m working on!) It’s not hard to take everything so personal, when in fact it is so personal to you. There will be a TON of ups and downs, and it’s something that you have to learn how to manage. It’s important to surround yourself with people who support you and believe in you, because they can help build you up when you need it the most.
Hyperlinked is inspired by the story of Miss O and Friends and follows 5 girls in middle school as they build a website (MissO.com) to help other girls, while navigating middle school. The series has a heavy focus on STEM, coding, entrepreneurship and positive female friendships. Hyperlinked stars girl band L2M and each episode also has an original L2M song and music video. It was so cool to see my real story come to life and very surreal at times! Season 1 has 10 episodes and we’re hoping to make more seasons.
Do you have any exciting projects you working on that you can share with us? We’d definitely love to continue with Hyperlinked, so we are looking for new partners there. We are also developing an animated series for younger girls (ages 5-8) that would be based around the Miss O and Friends IP and have similar themes from Hyperlinked, while focusing more on Olivia and her friends. We recently launched our socialization app, the Girl2Girl Wall, which I mentioned before. It’s a free app and available in both the App Store and Google Play. We’re in the process of releasing a new version of the app, which will have new updates and features. Overall, we’re really looking to grow our tween girl media brand and excited about all the ways we can help empower and inspire girls! Come visit us at www.missoandfriends.com/ @L2Mofficial
Warren Buffett is with out a doubt one of the most successful investors of the 20th century. This businessman extraordinaire has amassed a vast wealth that he has used primarily for philanthropic work making him not only one of the most influential businessman of our times but also one of the most inspiring. Aside of his passion for philanthropy, Buffett is also hugely devoted to inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs, believing that children are never too young to be taught the fundamentals about money and finances. “When a kid at 8, 9, or 10 years old learns the basics of how finance works and how to behave in a business relationship, he or she can apply those lessons throughout their lives,” says Buffett. “Practicing those good habits over a lifetime can have huge beneficial consequences, not just for business, but for a person’s happiness and even how their families develop.”
This passion for educating the next generation of businessman inspired Buffett to partner with Amy and Andy Heyward to create the Secret Millionaires Club (SMC). In both the SMC series as well as the book, Buffett shares his business philosophy with the aim of helping to teach kids good financial habits early and help them to be our futures next brilliant businessmen. So what advice does Buffett’s book offer aspiring young entrepreneurs that want to become the next Mark Zuckerberg? Here is a snapshot of text taken from Buffetts book How to Start Your Very First Business in which he offers some very wise advice: Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for what you want. Identify people who can help you and then make the strongest case you can about why they should lend a hand. Do your best to anticipate your customers’ needs. Buffett says, “If your service is outstanding, you’ll always stand out.” So listen to your customers.
Start a startup business. There’s no substitute for getting out there and trying things. But if you have a big idea, you may need to start small to raise the money you need for a more costly business. If landscaping is your dream business, you may need to weed a few small gardens first. If you don’t know all the skills you need to succeed in your field, that’s ok. You just need to be willing to figure them out. Starting a business isn’t easy. There are going to be bad days, rejected pitches and unexpected hiccups along the way. Adapt and come up with creative solutions to the problems you encounter. Be honest and fair. Being a person of integrity is invaluable in business and in life. Give back. Creating a successful business isn’t just about making money. It is about contributing to the world around you. Be creative, think about what is important to you, to your community, or to the world, and you’ll find a way to contribute. Enlist a mentor. A mentor may be able to walk you through a process that is new to you; Sometimes just knowing that someone else has gone through what you are going through can make all the difference to your outlook. “Do not save what is left after spending,
spend what is left after saving.” Buffett believes that one of the most beneficial lessons a kid can learn is that saving is a habit. If you make saving a habit early on it will be ingrained in you for life, which can help you avoid countless unpleasant situations later on. Warren Buffett is the pinnacle of success and his advice to the next generation will hopefully motivate and inspire young aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and create some extraordinary businesses.
5 tips for young entrepreneurs from
Richard Branson 1 Challenge yourself.
4 Solve a problem.
Learn from the best - Richard Branson says his biggest tip for surviving his own his entrepreneurial journey is to keep challenging himself. He has been known to say that life is like one long university education, where he can learn more every day.
On one of Virgin’s weekly instalments of Richard Branson said ‘a major predictor of success is the character and quality of the idea itself. It doesn’t matter how new or unusual your idea is, if it does not fill a gap in the market and improve lives, then it is unlikely to be well received. Often the best way to find this gap is to look around you — are there services that could be improved or a product that could make something easier? said Branson.
2 Figure it out yourself. “Too often adults keep kids safe, ‘protecting’ them from the hurt that’s associated with failure. This is a big mistake,” he wrote recently. “The more children are told they can’t do something, the more they will lose their curiosity and determination. I am grateful to have had encouraging parents, who instead of blockading and trouncing my curiosity, allowed me to figure things out on my own accord.” 3 Take the risk. One thing Richard Branson leads the way on is taking risks. He has never been afraid of pushing the limits. He been heard saying many times - we sometimes fall flat on our face. But people don’t mind people who try things and fail.
5 Always say yes. Often known as the ‘Doctor of Yes’ Branson shares on his blog that “even if I have no idea where I’m going or how to get there, I prefer to say yes, instead of no - opportunity favours the bold”. “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” Branson writes. Check out him talking about saying Yes here: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=HDsKoaCpww0
Today’s children are tomorrow’s business leaders and start up founders – so we need to help our kids to develop an entrepreneurial spirit from an early age. Here are 10 strategies that will help to install an entrepreneurial spirit in your teen:
1. Every problem has a solution: One of the most important skill that any businessperson needs to possess is the ability to problem solve effectively. It is important that you teach children that even if the answer is not glaringly obvious that every problem DOES have a solution - you just might have to think outside the box to find it.
2. Step out of your comfort zone:
to try new things and to take calculated risks.
3. Develop conFIdence: You should always be your child’s greatest supporter. Inspire and uplift your child and show them that you believe in them. Confidence is a huge key to entrepreneurial success so it is vital that you instil it in your child from a young age.
4. Show them what hard work looks like:
The world’s most successful
There is no better way to teach children
entrepreneurs have always been risk
about the importance of a good work
takers. Encourage your child to explore
ethic than by showing them how it is
ideas and thoughts even if they are
done. Children pay more attention to
new and at times confronting. Educate
the actions of their parents than to their
your child about the concept of risk and
words. Your behaviour will provide the
reward and teach them the importance
model that your child will follow – so work
of stepping out of their comfort zone
hard and chances are your kids will too.
5. Show them how to manage money:
8.Exploration and experimentation:
To be successful in any business it is
Although everyone tends to be good
absolutely essential that your child learn how to manage money. Teach your child
at a certain thing don’t let what you are good at limit your experiences.
very early on about the importance of
Encourage your child to branch out and
savings and investing. Sound money management skills will provide the
explore new ideas and concepts. Show them the value of work experience and
foundation on which your child will be
volunteering. You never know what your
able to build their business success.
child will discover when you encourage them to open new doors.
6.The importance of the meet and greet: Don’t ever underestimate the power of first impressions – especially in business. Teach your child how to properly meet and greet people and how to hold a constructive conversation with people of all ages and backgrounds. Good eye contact and a polite attitude will get your child far in the business world and life in general.
7. Work to their strengths: Everyone has strengths and weaknesses so encourage your child to discover what their specific skill set is and help them to develop and maximise on it. Help your child to work out what it is that they are good at and what it is that they are passionate about and help them to use their strengths to their advantage.
9.Share your experiences: Talk to your child about your own experiences – things you have done well and things that you would do differently. Involve your child in your business world and talk to them about what is going on in your work.
10. Let them learn from failure: Every successful businessperson has had his fair share of setbacks. What is important is learning to pick your self up and learn from your mistakes. When your child faces a challenge or set back in life help to show them how to use it as a learning opportunity. Talk through the experience with them and help them to learn from their mistakes. If they can learn to deal with failure they will be well on their way to creating success!