BIZ KID

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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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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I have never claimed that I know everything. Hey, I’m only 14 years old. But I am really lucky to be surrounded with many people who are very wise and have always been willing to share their ideas, values, and life lessons.  I have taken this information and simplified it, then added in my own perspective so people from age 9 to 99 will be able to get something from my book.

It is available on Amazon.com right now or you can order a signed copy from me through my website which I will start shipping on July 20.

Any good author has lots of people who help in creating a book. My book wouldn’t have happened at all if it wasn’t for my mom’s editing and typesetting skills. Then after coming up with the initial cover design, I got a surprise from a friend, Chaz DeSimone, who worked his typography magic on the cover turning it into the amazing cover that you see here.

Please share this link with your friends and family. I know you’ll love the book.

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BIZ KID

BUSINESS: Pick-A-Pick/Travelin’ Tunes

AGE: 16

WEBSITE: www.wix.com/pickapick/pickapick

Who would have thought that you could take guitar picks and turn them into jewelry? That’s exactly what 16-year-old Samantha Fernandez did.  In December 2009, Samantha started the business Pick-A-Pick.

She has always had a passion for music. One day she said she was walking through a guitar store and saw the picks. Then it just hit her. Samantha makes the jewelry herself by punching holes in the picks and stringing them. Some of the picks have really amazing graphics.

In addition to her handmade jewelry, Samantha also started a program called Travelin’ Tunes. With the help of other young musicians, Samantha performs for kids in Miami Children’s Hospital and also teaches them about music. Samantha believes that music is a great healing tool and goes twice a week to play for the kids. Because of her age, she currently performs in the hospital’s outpatient area but since she recently turned 16, she can now train to go into the patient rooms.

Samantha loves music and medicine which is an interesting combination.  She has wanted to be a pediatric neurosurgeon ever since she was three years old which blows my mind.  Samantha admits that it’s kind of bizarre that she loves hospitals but I think it’s cool and makes sense because of her goal to become a doctor.  She is making a difference in kids’ lives which makes her feel good.

For those who want to purchase from Pick-A-Pick or donate to her Travelin’ Tunes program, log onto her website and send an email. At the present time, she is not set up for PayPal but will accept checks.

Other than her business and charity work, she attends a regular high school and plays guitar and piano in her spare time.

If you are in the Miami area and want to volunteer with Samantha, she welcomes support.  There is no musical talent needed for the volunteers; just the ability to entertain the kids.

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.

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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.

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Say you were in a park and someone walks up to the crowd and yells, “Everyone look at pictures of my cat” and holds up photographs.  That would seem weird, right?  People are ok with saying those things over the Internet though.  Let’s take another example. You are in a store and someone says outloud, “The baby cried all night…didn’t get any sleep.”  It’s a bit random, but if you think about it, when someone say whatever is on their mind on Twitter, people think nothing of it.  It seems like it is kind of expected on Twitter but frowned upon in real life.

Another thing, if we “LOL’ed” as much in real life as we do online, we would be a much happier society.  Think about it.  The Internet allows us to be anybody without ever having any human interaction.  We do and say what we do online because we can but that doesn’t make it right.

Point?  Does everyone in the world really need to know what people are doing every second?  I’m not the first, by far, to point this out either.  Before you tweet just think, would I say that outloud to someone in person?

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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.

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While I appreciate people recommending me to others, I started to feel bad when I couldn’t always reciprocate because I was in school all day. By the time I got home and done with homework (yes, even on Fridays teachers give homework), Friday was almost over for most people, especially on the east coast.  So I wouldn’t tweet my #followfriday people.

Today I got out of school early so thought I would recommend some of my favorite tweeples. Before I started tweeting, I ran across this blog about how the whole #FollowFriday thing has gotten out of control and fewer people really pay attention to it.  So I’m following the format in this blog post http://whoisandywarner.com/new-follow-friday-format/ and posting a weekly blog on Fridays of people that are worth following for specific reasons.

Now, that’s not to say that everyone doesn’t have value but if the list each week was too long, it would diminish the point.  So here’s my new #FF format and list for this week.

@ben_armstrong – BEN ARMSTRONG because he’s another biz kid and my most recent BizKid 2 BizKid interview featured on my blog for June. He’s definitely going to do lots in business.

@jakestutorials – JAKE COOK makes the best video tutorials on everything technical. Even if he doesn’t already have one on a particular subject, let him know and he’ll create one. Also a featured BizKid 2 BizKid interview.

@raisingCEOkids – SARAH COOK happens to be Jake’s mom and as everyone knows, none of us biz kids could do all this without the help and support from our parents.

@perryspreviews – PERRY CHEN is a 10-year-old film critic from San Diego who I recently met on Twitter. We are both going to be guest speakers at Blazing My Trail conferences this summer at the University of San Diego. It’ll be great to meet him in person.

@trailsnotpaths – ANN MARIE HOUGHTAILING is the founder of the Blazing My Trail program and has all the right ideas for kids in today’s society. Make sure to follow her and check out the conference if you’re in the San Diego area in late July/early August. The conference is for middle and high school kids.

@zachveach – ZACH VEACH is a 15-year-old race car driver. That’s enough right there because how many kids do you know who are racing cars at fifteen?  Well, at least legally.  He was also one of my BizKid 2 BizKid interviews.

I hope you find these people interesting. I know I have.

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BIZ KID

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), Josh Christopoulos (16-Australia), 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!”

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.

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Last week I met with Ann marie Houghtailing. Her company is hosting a conference “Blaze Your Own Trail” at the University of San Diego, California for middle school and high school students this summer. I have been invited to be a guest speaker at both grade level sessions.

It is an amazing opportunity for me because I always like to share my business story with other people but it’s also great for anyone who is able to attend. Life isn’t all about academics, textbooks, and the degree. Blazing your own trail can be just about anything these days and my generation needs to definitely think outside the box in order to be successful.

Middle school conference dates: July 26-29

High school conference dates: August 2-5

Hope to see you there. For more information or to register, please visit Blazing My Trail. If you want to follow Ann marie on Twitter, her username is @trailsnotpaths or check out her website The Houghtailing Group for other services and events.

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