Sunday 13 October 2013

Secrets Of A Teenage Entrepreneur

By 


While many entrepreneurs happen to be work at home moms and dads, former corporate slaves or just someone with a driving ambition and the desire to be their own boss, there is also another category of entrepreneur that has had a significant impact on e-commerce. I'm talking about the teenage entrepreneur. You'd be surprised how many websites and online businesses were actually started by or are run by teenagers with a little motivation, free time and willingness to try anything.
20 years ago, before the ubiquitousness of the Internet, it was much harder for a teen to start their own business. They may have been relegated to the typical teen jobs like paper boy or lawn mower. However, with the Internet and the World Wide Web as we now know it, the playing field was leveled and age was no longer such a limiting factor in the world of business. Today, entrepreneurs are limited only by their own skills and imagination.
What can we learn from a teenage entrepreneur that we can apply to our own business? Maybe alot. I talked to Brandon Anderson, who started his own online business in the 9th grade. Today, he runs one of the top sites on the Internet for traffic safety supplies including barricade lights and accessories.
Brandon said he started the company due to the easy availability of his product due to a relative's business connections. Brandon says, "He suggested I try and set up a site to get sales and see what happens. I decided, what the hell, it's not a big investment, so I might as well just try." And so Brandon purchased a domain name, appropriately BrandonSafetyLights.com and set up a simple website that included pictures of the lights and supplies, descriptions and Paypal ordering buttons for each product. To minimize costs, Brandon used Paypal as his merchant services provider. While the site started out slow, traffic steadily grew and so did customers and sales. With outside promotion help including the services of a search engine optimization firm, the site is now ranked very well for the majority of its targeted search terms on the most popular search engines including Google. The site and business has grown steadily and continues to grow with it now attracting a loyal customer following.
Advantages
The advantages of the business are many. With it being a solely online business, the maintenance of the site is minimal. It basically runs itself. Though there are costs related to hosting, merchant fees and advertising costs, the site is profitable and makes for a tidy income for Brandon, now a freshman at Syracuse University. In addition, the site can basically be run from anywhere.
Drawbacks
Being a teenage entrepreneur isn't without its drawbacks though. Brandon says, "Dealing with school and owning a business can be tough at times. Talking about barricade lights to a customer outside a classroom or in a lunch room can be embarrassing. Also, I usually get my calls during class time, so I can't respond right away. I have to wait until after school and can lose sales this way. Or if a customer just needs some info and I can't get that back to them until after the school day, it hurts my relationship with that company. But, I learn to deal with it."
For Brandon and the many other teenage entrepreneurs, the Internet continues to challenge the old school mentality and rules of business, as teenage entrepreneurs have changed the landscape of e-commerce.
Lydia Quinn writes for Brandon Safety Lights, a leading provider of barricade lights and traffic safety supplies. Visit us at: http://www.brandonsafetylights.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/789931

How to Become a Successful Online Entrepreneur


How to Become a Successful Online Entrepreneur

There is no doubt that many people would like to know exactly how to become a successful online entrepreneur.
For a start let us take a look at the dictionary definition of entrepreneur. I think we need to be clear about what exactly an entrepreneur is before going any further.
Cambridge dictionaries online define an entrepreneur as
Someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves risks
So there is no confusion here. It is very clear. If you start your own business you are an entrepreneur but it does seem to have to also include an element of risk.
You could argue that any new business involves risk and that is certainly true, but successful entrepreneurs are willing to take much greater risks than your average new business starter
How exactly do you become a successful entrepreneur?
Well that has to be the million dollar question. If there were a prescribed and reliable formula, we would all be multi millionaires. There would be no risk and so paradoxically, perhaps no more entrepreneurs!
There are certain characteristics that successful entrepreneurs seem to possess, such as absolute dedication.
So what drives an entrepreneur and what makes them different to most other people? What is their vision compared to mere mortals?
For certain there are a number of qualities they all share and without them, they would probably not be entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial qualities
You could say that any person willing to work hard at their own business is an entrepreneur but it has to be more than that. Many people try unsuccessfully to make it on their own, and many, in fact most fail, often just giving up because their efforts do not produce the hoped for results quickly enough
The true entrepreneur is remorseless in the pursuit of their goal. It is as much about achievement as it is about money but the money, as you might guess, is the real sign of success.
Entrepreneurial ism has making money at its heart and the means to this is almost incidental.
You could sum up the major qualities of a successful entrepreneur as follows
A successful entrepreneur thinks outside the box and is never satisfied with mediocrity in any part of their life.
A successful entrepreneur is not necessarily obsessive, but is extremely highly motivated and committed to achieving their goal.
The journey will be determined by its likelihood of success, not because it is enjoyable or laudable (although it might be either or both). Ultimately the enjoyment is in the success.
All successful entrepreneurs leverage the efforts of others. This is a good and beneficial thing as long as it does not involve exploitation.
No obstacle (short of death maybe) is too difficult to overcome. Where there is a will, there is a way. It is all in the mindset!
There is no giving up even when the way is fraught with setbacks. Expect them.
The successful entrepreneur will do whatever it takes to reach the goal even if it means starting again.
The successful entrepreneur must be able to handle both risk and stress. If not, burn out is extremely likely.
So where does that leave you?
It seems clear that the entrepreneur is a special breed
Is it your intention to become one or are you already an entrepreneur?
Do you think you have at least some of the above qualities? You will probably need them all unless you just happen to get lucky in some way.
Are you or have you already been successful? This will help.
The new Entrepreneur
I believe a new breed of entrepreneur is emerging. They have all the necessary qualities of determination but are of a different mindset and they want success quickly. Most of their business is conducted online often utilising powerful software and the opportunities provided by Web 2.0 (at least at the time of writing)
But it is not just about making money for many of them. Many are also dedicated to helping others and often set up and fund special projects to achieve this. This is not a show of wealth but a genuine act of benevolence.
With this in mind, perhaps there is a further quality we should be adding to our list of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.
Sharing success with others, and especially with those whose lives are deprived or impoverished in comparison to our own.
The new successful entrepreneur is most likely an online operator because it is more than possible to have a great deal of success, even just working from home.
The risks are much smaller working online and it is a relatively inexpensive start-up compared to most traditional businesses.
The secret of how to become a successful online entrepreneur is quite simple. You need a proven system that can easily and quickly be tapped into where all the hard work has already been done for you. You just buy into the ride.
There are many offers available but the best solution has to be a top tier, high ticket, business in a box, with a minimum commission of around $1000 (one thousand dollars).
I would not involve myself in any other kind of business. Why bother when it takes no more effort to make a thousand dollars than it does to make a hundred.
Article related website: TheMillionDollarGamePlan [http://www.mikefordham.com]
About the Author: Mike Fordham is a freelance writer, Internet marketer and musician/song writer.
Based in the uk his interests are Business and Abundance, Music and the pursuit of 'The Truth' in all things.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1337401