CHARLENE'S TUMBLR

Teens who can’t find jobs make up their own

The Wall Street Journal had this article in it’s online edition.  It’s longer in the print edition.  I’m disappointed that they have a picture of a lemonade stand, when kids have such innovative and creative businesses.  

By Sue Shellenbarger

Associated Press
Youthful entrepreneurs selling their wares.

Amid the gloom, here’s a story to brighten your day: Faced with thedarkest summer job market since World War II, a growing number of teens are turning to entrepreneurship, as I report in today’s Work & Family column. After pounding the pavement and being turned away by employers, many teenagers are deciding that if they want work this summer, they’ll have to create it themselves.

Teens are both “less able to get jobs, and less able to get money from their parents,” says John Box at JA Worldwide, the parent organization of Junior Achievement. Enrollments at summer entrepreneurship camps are up sharply, compared with a national pattern of flat enrollment in camps in general.

One enterprising teen I interviewed, Lexie Oliver, 16, has been trying for weeks to get a summer job. But after numerous rejections, says the high-school sophomore, she has already started working on starting a handmade sea-glass jewelry business, shopping for materials, tapping a friend to build a Web site and asking relatives for marketing help.

Of course, kids face many hurdles, including startup expenses for materials, tools or flyers. Starting a business can crowd out other activities, such as sports or clubs. Also, these aren’t flush times for teen entrepreneurs, either. A White Plains, N.Y., student told me she’s had trouble starting her Spanish-language tutoring business because families are cutting costs.

Still, many teens figure they have little to lose. Adolescence can actually be a good time to take risks because, as one teenage business owner told me, he doesn’t have to worry “about who’s going to put dinner on the table.”

Successful teen entrepreneurs offer these tips:

* Look around your community for unmet needs, such as lawnmowing, child care, swimming or dance lessons or hauling away paint cans or other waste for homeowners.

* Seek out a low-cost niche; one teen made $300 last summer washing his neighbors’ windows more cheaply than commercial services.

* Find something you love. A Miami teen who loves to bake made $6,000 last year making and selling a decorative cupcake-on-a-stick.

* And don’t let setbacks get you down. Even if you fail at first, advises a 16-year-old Web designer from Salt Lake City, “don’t stop, because you will get somewhere if you try hard enough.”