BIZ KID: Ben Armstrong

BUSINESS: 9miles Media

AGE: 15

WEBSITE: www.9milesmedia.com

TWITTER: @ben_armstrong

You may know Ben Armstrong from Twitter or Facebook but I had the pleasure of interviewing him recently and found out a little more about him and his business.  It’s always fun for me to learn how other biz kids started and I think you’ll agree that Ben’s story is interesting.

Ben’s idea of starting a local web design company began at age eleven with another teen entrepreneur in October 2008. Their original name was RedTie Designs. Shortly after that, his partner thought it would be a good idea to create a network of freelancers so they expanded the company and changed the name to Milkshake Designs. After refining the concept somewhat and bringing on more people in other countries, they finally settled on the new name 9miles Media, for the simple reason that his partner and him lived only nine miles apart. They began operating in January 2009. As with many businesses, Ben’s partner moved on to other things but Ben kept the name and the business has taken off.

With four partners on board now living in three separate countries, 9miles Media is building effective websites taking customer’s vision and message to the world through the power of Internet. Ben is the only partner who lives in the US. The others are: Donald Harvey (16-England), Joel Drapper (17-England), and Jylan Wynne (17-Australia). Ben said they work great together but there are challenges though like considering the time zones.

Living in different parts of the world doesn’t stop them from having a little fun while doing business. The members of this “big family” played an April Fool’s joke on Ben this year.  He woke up to an email saying he had been fired.  He knew right away that it was a joke so played along with it.  He posted on Twitter and Facebook about what had happened as if he didn’t know it was a joke but did send private messages to those who commented so they knew it was only a joke. He later confessed on all the social media sites so everyone knew it was a joke.

Ben, as well as the other members of 9miles Media, are either self-taught or peer-taught. He knows the value of surrounding yourself with intelligent people because as he says, “some of that might just rub off on me.” Ben goes to a public magnet school which gives them the opportunity for additional programs.

In Ben’s spare time he offers his tech skills for free when he can to non-profits helping them develop their Internet presence.  He also likes to swim and is a certified open-water SCUBA diver.  If that isn’t enough to keep him busy, Ben is working on his private pilot’s certificate.

I have found that some of the best advice comes from young entrepreneur these days. Ben tells other young people that there is a time to be professional and a time to be friendly.  There is also no need for a financial background as long as you are focused on what you want to achieve.  As the pilot in him says, “The sky is the limit, so shoot for the stars!”

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