Archive for » August, 2010 «

On Hiatus
August 28th, 2010 | Author: Pencil Bugs

I was only four years old and had almost finished preschool. Obviously I don’t remember much from back then but I have heard my mom tell lots of people this so I can share it with you.

Because my birthday is in November, my parents had the option of sending me to kindergarten at age five or having me be in a pre-K class. I was smart enough to go into kindergarten at that age but they weren’t sure if they wanted me to start that early and be on the younger side of the class. So Mom asked the advice of my preschool teacher.

She had one simple piece of advice: “When you’re in doubt, give your kids the gift of time.” So instead of starting kindergarten right after my year of preschool, I went into the pre-K class.

So how does this relate to being on hiatus?

It’s August 28 and in three days, I’ll be starting 9th grade. I am really excited! Everyone says high school is going to be very different. Homework is going to be more and probably harder. There will be more extra activities. Lots of things will change. As I’ve learned, time is the one thing you can’t get back so it’s important to make the most of what you have.

Even though I’ve had my business since fourth grade, school has always come first and my parents have made sure I still had time to be a normal kid and enjoy childhood. So for the time being, I am going on hiatus with my blog posts and also with the BizKid2BizKid feature. My business will still continue and I will always make time to speak at schools, businesses, conferences and other events because in addition to believing in education, I also think there is value in practical experience and being able to share what I’ve learned with other people.

Please visit my website, Pencil Bugs, which will continue to have the latest updates and you can always follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

See you later.

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Category: BizKid 2 BizKid, Business  | Leave a Comment
BIZKID 2 BIZKID (#9) – Steven Haggerty
August 08th, 2010 | Author: Pencil Bugs

BIZ KID: Steven Haggerty

BUSINESS: Salut World

AGE: 18

WEBSITE: www.salutworld.com

TWITTER: @Stevenhaggerty

Steven Haggerty is the mastermind behind Salut World. Salut World is a hub for the other Salut companies — Salut Designs and Salut Hosting. Salut World is a perfect one-stop shop for all your website needs. Steven has designed websites since he was twelve using Dreamweaver. When he turned fifteen, he decided to take his hobby and turn it into a business.

Steven chose the name Salut World for his company because in French, Salut means “Hello” so it translates to “Hello World.” Websites connect people from anywhere in the world so his business name is very appropriate.

A musician knows all about music. An architect knows about buildings and structure. Steven knows all about websites. He loves to take on projects where the customer wants a “more daring and radical design” as he puts it. He says that websites have advanced so much that instead of the old boring HTML, he uses the newer PHP and CSS.  He currently works solo but has other resources to call upon if needed. Steven is looking for a young sales person for the hosting side of his business. So if you’re interested, contact him.

Steven is a big dreamer in that he is looking to expand into real estate which he would purchase and rent out. He is also looking into yachting which is a big source of income in southern France where he lives. In addition to those plans, he is always open to helping with other projects and likes to keep things exciting.

People are choosing lots of different options for their education here in the United States as well as in other countries. Some stay with traditional schools, others choose home school and some do it on their own like Steven did by taking the GCSE which is somewhat similar to our GED. Although he stopped school two years ago when he was only sixteen to focus on his business, he hasn’t regretted his decision. It’s important to know that he is not telling others to do the same because he thought long and hard about the decision before he made it.

“I would love to be like Richard Branson, [Founder of the Virgin Group]” Steven says. “He has inspired me a lot since reading his autobiography.  Steven believes that people need to take risks in business.  He added, “If you don’t take a risk, nothing will happen in life!”

Steven isn’t all about business though. As he says, he still does the “usual 18-year-old stuff” like going to the beach, although some of his friends say he has a hard time turning off his business brain.

For more information on BIZKID 2 BIZKID or if you know of a young entrepreneur that you would like to see featured please visit Pencil Bugs.

Note: At the time I interviewed Steven for this article, he was still seventeen which qualified him as a BizKid for my blog.

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Do You Set Goals?
August 01st, 2010 | Author: Pencil Bugs

Setting a goal is a good thing. We hear people talk about it all the time. There are professional business coaches who teach people how to set goals. I will be starting 9th grade next month and even for high school, they already have us meet with a counselor to set a four-year goal.

But setting a goal or being stuck on one goal can also be a bad thing.

You have probably heard at one point in your life that life is full of possibilities; you just need to take them. Sometimes when people set a goal, they get too focused on that one goal. While they are working toward their goal, many other opportunities may come up but they ignore them since they were focused on the goal. Or maybe they didn’t even see the opportunities at all because of their narrow focus on that one goal.

I am the first episode of the third season of PBS BizKid$ which coincidentally talks about different types of goals.  It is an entire episode devoted to goals.  I am fine with goals and I have had goals, but I believe that a plan is better.  Some may say it is just a change of a word but most people think a plan is not set in stone. If you said, “I PLAN to go to the mall tomorrow,” it’s probably not too big of deal if your PLAN changed. But if you said, “My GOAL is to go shopping tomorrow,” all of a sudden it changes the importance for some reason.

Goals are good to have because it gives people some direction. But make sure you keep your eyes open for opportunities that may be right beside you and be willing to change or make revisions to your goals if necessary. Just because you may not achieve your original goal does not mean you failed. It could actually mean you were smarter and took other opportunities that were much better than your goal.

In my new book, “Bitten by the Business Bug: Common Sense Tips for Business and Life from a Teen Entrepreneur” I have topics like this and many other things that are easily overlooked when people of all ages forget about the basics.

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Category: Business  | Tags: , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment