Chelsea Eubank – @faithfulfish Founder of Faithful Fish, a clothing line with cool designs with a religious theme. Chelsea has quite a story to tell. Make sure to check out her website and if you’re not already following her on Twitter, do it now.

Olivia Bennett – @oliviabennett A talented artist who started painting at five years old as a form of therapy after having cancer. Her artwork is amazing.

Martina Butler – @emogirltalk She runs her own web podcast and was the first teenager to get national sponsorship.

Allyson Ames – @wonderlandbakery Allyson could be a “look-a-like” for Alice in Wonderland but in reality, she started her own bakery business and does amazing custom cookies, cakes, cupcakes, etc. I’ve tried them and they are as good as they look.

Of course, if you’re not already following Mark on Twitter, make sure you do. @markvhansen

If you’re interested in buying a copy of the book, I have it on sale now through July 4 for just $8.99 with FREE shipping and autographed by me. Check my Pencil Bugs website to order.

Last week, I started my new Twitter Follow Friday format of writing about people on my blog.  I got a lot of positive feedback on this new format so enjoy the second list for today.

The following people deserve a huge thanks for writing an endorsement for my upcoming book, “Bitten by the Business Bug: Common Sense Tips for Business and Life from a Teen Entrepreneur.”

@raisingCEOkids – Sarah Cook – www.raisingCEOkids.com (Founder of Raising CEO Kids and mom of three biz kids herself)

@barefoot_exec – Carrie Wilkerson – www.blogbarefoot.com (Founder of Barefoot Executive and mom who “says it like it is”)

@inventorsdigest – Mike Drummond – www.inventorsdigest.com (Editor-in-chief of the magazine)

@MarkVHansen – Mark Victor Hansen – www.markvictorhansen.com (Co-author of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series)

And if you’re looking for any type of graphics work, make sure you check out

@chazGfxdesigner – Chaz DeSimone – www.chazdesimone.com Chaz took our original book cover design and put his professional touch on it. Sometimes the smallest changes make all the difference.

If you want to receive an email when my book is officially released and ready for sale, please fill out the email form on my website or just check back on my site around the first part of July.

She has baked goodies for some really famous people and sends cookies, cakes, and cupcakes plus a whole lot more all over the country.  Whoopi Goldberg picked Allyson’s gingerbread cookie as her favorite when they had a contest on “The View.”   Allyson even made custom cookies for President Obama’s Inauguration Party.  That’s pretty awesome!   You can read all about that and lots of other cool stuff on her website.

Even though we met a few months ago, I didn’t have a chance to try her goodies.  She surprised me this week when she sent me three different kinds of cookies.    These weren’t your ordinary cookies either.  One box had deluxe chocolate chip cookies and raspberry chocolate cream cookies.   The other box had custom cookies made with my Pencil Bugs logo on them.  They were so colorful and perfect, I almost didn’t want to eat them but I did.  Before I shared them with my mom and dad, I just had to take a picture of them.   They were like little presents that you could give to someone. 

The good thing was, even with the frosting, they weren’t real sweet which we all liked.  The cookie was a sugar cookie but better than anything you could imagine.  Sometimes when you get things in a bakery, they look pretty but they don’t taste that good.  Allyson’s cookies looked perfect AND they tasted perfect too!

If you’re looking for something different for a party or maybe a gift for someone just for fun, Wonderland Bakery is the place to go.   And if you can’t get there, she’ll ship them to you. 

Did I sound like a commercial?   I guess I did but her goodies are worth bragging about.   Check out her website or if you’re close enough to her store, go in person.  You’ll see what I was talking about.

You can follow Allyson on Twitter.

You can do what most people do and submit your proposal to dozens of agents hoping that one will be interested and give you a contract.  That can take weeks, months, or even years.  My mom has been writing children’s stories since I was born.  Although the children’s market is a lot different than books for adults, it’s still really difficult to get published through a traditional publisher.  I know.  I’ve seen her send out dozens of manuscripts to agents and also publishers for her children’s stories.  Even though she has gotten lots of rejection letters as most people do, she still keeps writing and trying.

What if  you are writing a business book for adults?   How do you get published?  How do you find an agent?  There must be an easier way than submitting proposal after proposal and waiting month after month for some kind of response.   Guess what?  There is an easier way.

Attend a Mark Victor Hansen MEGA Book event.  And you’re in luck.  There just happens to be one coming up on June 5-7 in Orlando right in the middle of DisneyWorld at the Swan and Dolphin Resort.  Not only will you be inspired by Mark but you will also hear other speakers with lots of helpful business information.  But the best thing is that there will be agents and other people from the publishing industry that you can meet in person.  

That’s how I found my agent for my business book.  Actually, he found me at the last MEGA Book in LA in February.   I am convinced that face-to-face meetings are much better than just sending something in the mail.  So why not increase your chances?

This MEGA Book event will be extra exciting because it is the official release of Mark Victor Hansen’s upcoming book “The Richest Kids in America.”   Mark interviewed thirteen kids at different stages of their businesses for his book.  I feel very fortunate that he included my story.  So along with several of the other kids in his book, I will be speaking onstage that weekend.

If I’ve convinced you that this is an event you don’t want to miss, please register through my website.   I get credit if you do and the kids from his book are in a contest to see who can refer the most people to MEGA.  It will be loads of fun!  If you’re a biz kid, you get a great deal too.  It’s only $299 for kids 18 & Under.

See you at the party!

How many times does a seventh grader get to judge a high school business competition?  Probably not too often.  On April 17, I was invited to judge and speak at a Junior Achievement business competition in LA.  It was really interesting.  There were about 17 groups from different schools in the LA area.  Each group created a business and had to present their plan.  I judged the table displays for the teams.  I was paired with two adult judges and we didn’t always agree but I made some pretty good points.

The overall winners were:

• JA Company of the Year (Venture Capital League) went to Falcon Royal Tees from CALS Early College High School.
• JA Company of the Year (Board of Directors League) went to Higher Grounds Cafe from Chaminade College Preparatory School.

Through the Inland Empire’s Junior Achievement rep, we were able to also invite Mark Victor Hansen, author of “The Richest Kids in America” to be on the business panel.  He has so much energy, the kids were amazed.

I am looking forward to working with Junior Achievement in the future.

If you haven’t ever been to one of Mark Victor Hansen’s MEGA events, make plans to go sometime.  The one I was just at was in Los Angeles on February 27-March 1 but there is another one in Orlando, FL on June 5-7.   Even if you don’t think you’ll ever write a book, the speakers he has throughout the weekend talk about much more than just books and publishing.  There is so much information, you better take notes because you’ll never remember it all when you get home. 

I’ve never been to any event like this longer than a day so I wasn’t sure what to expect.   Some people might think three days of sitting in a conference room would be pretty tiring but even for a kid, it was pretty fun.   I met so many really nice people.  It was a great place for networking.   I never thought I could collect so many business cards in three days.

One of the most exciting parts was on Sunday.  Because I am one of the kids in Mark Victor Hansen’s new book, I got to speak onstage with Mark and the rest of the kids that were there.  It was so much fun, I can’t wait to do it again.

If that excitement wasn’t enough for this kid, I also was able to set up an exhibitor booth to sell my Pencil Bugs products.   I introduced my new Pencil Bugs greeting cards with three versions of birthday cards.   They went over really well and I sold a lot.  I’m working on plans to make them available online.

Since I have been working on my own business book, I was able to meet some very important people, one in particular that every writer hopes to get.  Sorry, that’s all I can say for now.    I’m still in that “it’s almost too good to believe” stage but it is for real.

I’ll update as things progress.

Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul series hosted an amazing event.  He has written a new book called “Richest Kids in Ameria.”   I was lucky enough to have Mark discover me last fall through Internet while he was searching for young entrepreneurs to include in his book.    Mark is an amazing person.  I’ve been at two of his events since we first met.  One of the cool things about him is he believes that rich doesn’t necessarily mean money.

If being onstage with Mark and eight other kids from all over the country wasn’t exciting enough, Art Linkletter was there to help Mark promote the book.  Art Linkletter became famous for many things.  One of them was his TV show,  “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”   

Some of the kids in his book

Each of us kids got to introduce ourselves and tell a little about our business.  Then they brought up Art onstage.  He told many stories of how he started, way back to when he was adopted, the struggles he faced and how he became rich and famous.  Did you know he discovered the hoola-hoop?   As the story goes, he visited Australia and saw kids making hoops from grass and branches and twirling them around their bodies.  He came back and had them made out of plastic but because you cannot patent a hoop, many companies have copied the concept and made lots of money from his discovery.

Art was good friends with Walt Disney, he was one of the main hosts at the opening day ceremonies back in 1955.   He said he’s also been in the White House longer than any president and was friends with many of them.

Art, me & Mark

Obviously, I wasn’t even born when Art had TV shows on, but my mom and dad remember watching them.  It was still an honor to be with someone so famous.  Did you know he’s 96 years young?  He sure didn’t seem that old.

He told story after story.  I think I could have listened to him all day.  He was so interesting.  I was amazed at all the things he’s accomplished in his life.

After lunch, we went back onstage and were asked questions from Mark, Art, and some of the audience.  It was so fun.  I felt like a celebrity . . . well, sort of. 

My new friend from Temecula

The day was long but well worth it.   Dinner was lobster and steak because we were celebrating Mark’s birthday.  They had a DJ and dancing after dinner.    I met a lot of really nice people and ironically, even met some from Temecula where I live.

The day got longer dancing the night away.  I was asked to do the “birthday wishes” for Mark and started everyone off singing “Happy Birthday.”   Wow!  Was I excited and honored and just a little nervous but only for a few seconds.

I’m already looking forward to next month’s Mega Book Event with Mark in LA.  I’ve been working on my own book about my business and the experiences I’ve had.   I know I’ll get to meet a lot of interesting people again and it’s been fun to even see people I’ve met at previous events.

My display table

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I really loved the one I had for December with the Christmas scene and animated falling snow but Christmas can’t last forever so it was time for something new.

When I look back on the past three years since I started my business, I still can’t believe that I’ve had as many cool things happen because of it.   There were times when I definitely wanted to quit but I’m sure glad Mom and Dad kept encouraging me.  Otherwise, I would have missed out on a lot of opportunities that most kids and even some adults don’t get to do.

I have a feeling that 2009 is going to be a really good year with lots of new things happening.  Starting tomorrow, I’m already giving my first interview of the year with Danielle Hampson.  She has a web TV/radio network and I’ll be taping a follow-up interview for an upcoming show for Mind Your Bizness.   I’ll twitter and post once I know the airdate.  She’s a really nice lady so if you have a chance, check out her website.

I’m also going to be helping Mark Victor Hansen promote his upcoming book “Richest Kids in America” on January 24 in LA at the Westin Hotel.  The cool thing is, I’ll get to talk with him onstage and he’s also having Art Linkletter do his “Kids Say the Darndest Things” but it will be “Richest Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I was amazed that Mark interviewed me for his book and at the time, I didn’t even know the title.  Well, it’s no secret that I’m not one of the richest kids in America, at least as far a money goes, but rich can be defined in many different ways and I consider myself rich because of my family and the opportunities I’ve had.  I’ll post more about that afterward.  I’m really excited about it.

I’m scheduled for several spots on websites/blogs thanks mostly to some really cool people I met on Twitter in the past two months.

We’re still working on trying to find a manufacturer so my parents and I can quit making my products at home and start getting them mass produced.  Then we can put the big plans into action and distribute Pencil Bugs to retail stores all around the country.

Lots more in the works as far as projects with my business so I’ll keep you up-to-date as things happen.

How cool is that?   My Grandpa remembers watching him a lot and thought that was pretty cool too.  He was famous for the show, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”  Hopefully I won’t say something too ridiculous. 

I also get to do a separate book event in late February with Mark to promote his upcoming book, which just happens to include ME!

I’ll keep you posted.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Mark Victor Hansen.  He’s one of the famous authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.   I can’t give you specific details but he’s working on a new book which is why he interviewed me about my Pencil Bugs business and the charities I donate to, and a bunch of other stuff.  It was really fun talking to him.

After the interview was officially over, he invited my parents and I to attend his Mega Speaking event in LA.  It was all weekend but because we already had plans to go to my friend’s play yesterday, we could only make it to Mark’s event today. 

Mark Victor Hansen & Me

I felt a little like a celebrity myself because he kept introducing me to a bunch of people.  I met a lot of cool people who are also working on different things that want to include me in their projects.   So maybe sometime down the road, you’ll see my story in other books.

I also met the famous whale artist, Wyland.  You know, he’s the one that paints the huge wall murals.  He spoke for about an hour and was so nice and regular.  You’d never know he was a gazillionaire.  But so is Mark Victor Hansen and he’s just as regular and nice. 

People sometimes think that just because a person has a ton of money, they get all caught up in themselves.  But not these guys.  They also donate a lot of their money to help people all over the world.

We also got to eat at the VIP lunch that day and met more people.  Plus the food was really good! 

It was quite a long day with a 2-hour drive both ways but definitely a fun experience, one that most kids my age don’t get to have.

If you want to know more fun stuff about this day, go the the contact page on my website and send me an e-mail.