手機(jī)版
The lemonade stand. For some teens, this summertime staple is no longer a pastime, it's a profit center.
An estimated 120,000 kids in 31 cities are expected to attend one-day entrepreneur-training events in May, called Lemonade Day. The program, launched in 2007 with 2,600 participants, teaches children and teens how to borrow and repay investors who help start their stands, and what to do with profit, including donating some to charity, says founder Michael Holthouse, a Houston philanthropist.
With summer approaching, an increasing number of high-schoolers around the country are preparing to launch their own start-ups -- and not just lemonade stands. With lawn-mowing businesses, hand-painting of tennis shoes or Bosnian-language computer repairs, teens are bucking long odds in the dismal job market and earning their own mall money or cash for college.
'If you can't get a job, you can create your own,' says Steve Mariotti, founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a New York-based nonprofit that provides programs for schools.
What's more, teen entrepreneurs are borrowing strategies from the pros. Josh Bostick started Josh's Car Wash Service at age 14, driving around his Flower Mound, Texas, neighborhood in a golf cart toting $20 in sponges and soap he bought at Wal-Mart. Today, the 17-year-old is marketing his services through text-message blasts, newspaper ads and an auto trade-show booth. He is planning to hire two friends this summer to help wash a commercial truck fleet, and he is meeting with car dealers to sell his services. Based on his 2011 business plan, Josh recently increased projected revenue this year by 50% to $15,000. 'Things have really been taking off,' he says.
約什•博斯蒂克（Josh Bostick）
One reason, says John Matthews, one of his customers in the Dallas suburb, is top-flight service: Mr. Bostick watches weather forecasts and warns customers of impending rain, suggesting they delay washing their cars until after the storm. Josh says, 'I do lose a good amount of business doing that, but my customers are really appreciative.' He hopes to have $50,000 saved when he leaves for college next year.
About 3.7% of high-school seniors are interested in becoming business owners or entrepreneurs, based on a survey of 1.9 million students by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions, Lee's Summit, Mo. Interest among younger high-school students is higher, at 4.1% to 4.4%.
Such programs as the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Lemonade Day encourage young entrepreneurs to get an early start. Meadow Bob, 10, was so impressed by the cash she and a few friends raised with a Lemonade Day stand two years ago that she came up with a business idea of her own. In search of a product 'that will cool us off' during the summer, Meadow, who lives at Boys and Girls Country of Houston, a nonprofit children's home in Hockley, Texas, took $30 from her savings, bought a snow-cone machine and opened a stand selling the frozen treats at $2 a pop to her 83 schoolmates on campus, she says.
梅竇•鮑勃（Meadow Bob）She has banked about $250 after expenses during her first two summers of operation and plans to open the stand again this summer. 'It is sometimes hard to work,' Meadow says. But she likes running her business; 'when you get it all laid out, it's very simple. And I always have a little bit of time where I can make my own snow cone.'
Fewer than 30% of teens ages 16 to 19 are likely to find paying jobs this summer, down from 52% in 2000 and about the same as the summer 2010 rate of 29.6%, the lowest since the government began keeping records in the 1940s, says Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, Boston. Beyond general job-market weakness, tighter legal restrictions on youth labor and adult competition for jobs are crowding teens out.
But teens are finding profitable niche markets in their communities. Bosnian immigrants Belma Ahmetovic, 18, of Wethersfield, Conn., and Zermina Velic, 17, of Hartford, Conn., will be working this summer in Beta Bytes, a home computer services business they started last year to serve the Bosnian community. Their 22-page business plan includes sales projections, a marketing plan and a pie chart showing how they manage their time.
Ms. Ahmetovic and Zermina deliberately undercut corporate competitors' prices, and their community ties foster customer loyalty. When viruses crashed Alma Pejmanovic's old home laptop, the pair cleaned it up for $100 while saving all her data. 'The word around the community is that these young ladies really know what they're doing,' says Ms. Pejmanovic through an interpreter. The girls are donating 5% of their $2,400 profit so far to One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit that sends computers to children in developing countries; 'Since both of us come from a war-torn country, we know what it is like to have nothing,' says Ms. Ahmetovic, who immigrated in 2002, two years after Zermina.
Still other students leverage their Web skills to turn hobbies into profit centers. Sonika Singh started making hand-painted sneakers as gifts for friends at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif., embellishing them with what she calls 'tame graffiti.'
The shoes were so popular that 'my friends said, 'You need to start selling those,'' she says. 'And what right-minded teen would say no to money?'
Sonika tested the market by creating a website with a query box to see whether potential customers would surface. After the site drew 'a ton of interest,' she says, eliciting more than 50 requests, she launched 'Rage Shoes' last summer, filling orders at a price of $35 a pair, a few dollars above her costs. The business 'was definitely enough to keep me busy all summer,' says Sonika, who is 17. She banked $450 and plans to continue the business part time this summer.
Other teen business owners are already honing a preferred-client list. Scott Sladecek, 18, of Spring, Texas, who started a lawn-care business in 2004 with his older brother, says some clients in the past have refused to pay after a job was done. 'We're honest kids. We did the work. But it's not worth taking them to small-claims court for $100.' So he aims his marketing at loyal repeat customers.
Aided by his brother David, 21, now a junior at the University of Houston, Mr. Sladecek is expanding the company's services to include rock removal, bush trimming and gutter cleaning. The brothers have invested $3,700 in equipment and plan to hire two employees this summer. Scott Sladecek has saved $20,287 for college tuition, and he hopes to have a lot more by the time he departs next fall for Texas A&M University. His intended major: business.
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檸檬水的魅力經(jīng)久不衰。對(duì)一些十多歲的孩子來(lái)說(shuō)，售賣這種司空見(jiàn)慣的夏日飲料已經(jīng)不再是一種過(guò)家家的游戲，而是一項(xiàng)可以帶來(lái)利潤(rùn)的產(chǎn)業(yè)。
今年5月，預(yù)計(jì)將有來(lái)自全美31個(gè)城市的12萬(wàn)個(gè)孩子參加為期一天的“檸檬水之日”（Lemonade Day）創(chuàng)業(yè)培訓(xùn)活動(dòng)。這一活動(dòng)始創(chuàng)于2007年，當(dāng)時(shí)的參加人數(shù)是2,600�；顒�(dòng)發(fā)起人、休士頓慈善家邁克爾•霍爾索斯（Michael Holthouse）說(shuō)，活動(dòng)的主旨是讓青少年學(xué)會(huì)怎么找投資人借錢擺攤，怎么償還借款，怎么通過(guò)捐款給慈善機(jī)構(gòu)之類的方法來(lái)處理賺來(lái)的利潤(rùn)。
夏日臨近，全美各地都有越來(lái)越多的高中生打算啟動(dòng)自家的買賣——而且不止是擺個(gè)檸檬水?dāng)傋幽敲春?jiǎn)單。孩子們有的幫人修剪草坪，有的幫人手繪網(wǎng)球鞋，還有的幫人修理使用波士尼亞語(yǔ)的電腦，力圖在萎靡不振的就業(yè)市場(chǎng)上把握住極為渺茫的機(jī)會(huì)，為自己掙來(lái)買東西的錢或是大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)。
位于紐約的創(chuàng)業(yè)培訓(xùn)網(wǎng)路（Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship）是一個(gè)為學(xué)校提供培訓(xùn)專案的非營(yíng)利機(jī)構(gòu)，該機(jī)構(gòu)創(chuàng)始人斯蒂夫•馬里奧蒂（Steve Mariotti）說(shuō)，“找不到工作的話，你不妨自己給自己打工。”
這些十多歲的孩子不光自己創(chuàng)業(yè)，還從專業(yè)人士那里學(xué)來(lái)了種種戰(zhàn)略。約什•博斯蒂克（Josh Bostick）住在德克薩斯州的弗勞爾芒德（Flower Mound），14歲的時(shí)候就辦起了“約什洗車服務(wù)公司”（Josh's Car Wash Service）。當(dāng)時(shí)他從沃爾瑪買來(lái)了價(jià)值20美元的海綿和肥皂，然后就開著一部高爾夫球車在自家周圍轉(zhuǎn)來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去。如今，17歲的約什正在通過(guò)短信轟炸、報(bào)紙廣告和一個(gè)汽車展示商亭來(lái)宣傳自己的業(yè)務(wù)。今年夏天，他打算雇傭自己的兩個(gè)朋友，一起為一個(gè)商用卡車車隊(duì)提供清洗服務(wù)，還打算去找一些汽車經(jīng)銷商拉生意。最近，約什把2011年商業(yè)計(jì)劃當(dāng)中的預(yù)期收入提高到了15,000美元，目標(biāo)是實(shí)現(xiàn)50%的增長(zhǎng)。他說(shuō)，“生意真的很有起色。”
約什的顧客之一是住在達(dá)拉斯（Dallas）郊區(qū)的約翰•馬修斯（John Matthews）。馬修斯說(shuō)，約什之所以生意好，原因之一是一流的服務(wù)：博斯蒂克先生會(huì)關(guān)注每天的氣象預(yù)報(bào)，如果即將下雨的話，他就會(huì)建議顧客把洗車時(shí)間推遲到下雨之后。約什說(shuō)，“這種做法的確讓我丟掉了不少生意，可是，顧客們都十分贊賞我的做法。”他的愿望是，趕在明年上大學(xué)之前攢下5萬(wàn)美元的積蓄。
位于密蘇里州利斯薩米特（Lee's Summit）的全國(guó)大學(xué)入學(xué)研究中心（National Research Center for College & University Admissions）對(duì)190萬(wàn)名學(xué)生進(jìn)行了一次調(diào)查，結(jié)果顯示，高年級(jí)的高中生當(dāng)中大約有3.7%打算自己創(chuàng)業(yè)。在低年級(jí)的高中生當(dāng)中，這個(gè)比例還要高一些，是4.1%到4.4%。
諸如創(chuàng)業(yè)培訓(xùn)網(wǎng)路和“檸檬水之日”之類的機(jī)構(gòu)和活動(dòng)都鼓勵(lì)有志創(chuàng)業(yè)的青少年盡早起步。10歲的梅竇•鮑勃（Meadow Bob）住在德克薩斯州霍克萊（Hockley）的“休士頓兒童王國(guó)”（Boys and Girls Country of Houston），那是一個(gè)非營(yíng)利的兒童收養(yǎng)機(jī)構(gòu)。8歲的時(shí)候，她和幾個(gè)朋友參加了一次“檸檬水之日”擺攤活動(dòng)，由此賺來(lái)的錢讓她非常興奮，進(jìn)而產(chǎn)生了自己創(chuàng)業(yè)的念頭。她說(shuō)，她的想法是推出一種“可以讓大家涼快下來(lái)”的夏季產(chǎn)品，于是就從自己的積蓄里拿出30美元買了臺(tái)刨冰機(jī)，然后擺了個(gè)小攤，向?qū)W校里的83名同學(xué)出售一杯2美元的冷飲。
刨去費(fèi)用之后，梅竇在開業(yè)的頭兩個(gè)夏天里賺到了大約250美元。今年夏天，她打算繼續(xù)經(jīng)營(yíng)自己的小攤。她說(shuō)，“有些時(shí)候，事情非常麻煩。”盡管如此，她還是喜歡做這門生意，“只要你把一切都打算好，事情就非常簡(jiǎn)單了。還有，我總是能給自己留出一點(diǎn)兒時(shí)間，可以做杯刨冰給自己吃。”
波士頓東北大學(xué)（Northeastern University）勞動(dòng)力市場(chǎng)研究中心（Center for Labor Market Studies）主任安德魯•薩姆（Andrew Sum）說(shuō)，今年夏天，16至19歲的青少年當(dāng)中只有不到30%能找到有報(bào)酬的工作，這個(gè)比例比2000年夏天的52%下降了不少，與2010年夏天的29.6%基本持平。美國(guó)政府從二十世紀(jì)四十年代開始統(tǒng)計(jì)這個(gè)比例，2010年夏天的數(shù)字是歷史最低水準(zhǔn)。除了就業(yè)市場(chǎng)整體不景氣之外，青少年難以找到工作的原因還有更加嚴(yán)格的青少年用工法律限制以及來(lái)自成人的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。
不過(guò)，孩子們紛紛在自己居住的社區(qū)里找到了有利可圖的市場(chǎng)縫隙。18歲的貝爾瑪•阿米托維奇（Belma Ahmetovic）住在康涅狄格州的威瑟菲爾德（Wethersfield），17歲的澤米娜•維利奇（Zermina Velic）則住在同州的哈特福德（Hartford）。兩個(gè)人都是波士尼亞移民，今年夏天將會(huì)一起操持Beta Bytes家用電腦服務(wù)公司。這家公司是她倆在去年開的，以波士尼亞移民為服務(wù)物件。她們的商業(yè)計(jì)劃書長(zhǎng)達(dá)22頁(yè)，其中包括各種銷售指標(biāo)、一份市場(chǎng)計(jì)劃以及一張關(guān)于時(shí)間管理的圓形圖。
貝爾瑪和澤米娜刻意把價(jià)格定得比那些競(jìng)爭(zhēng)企業(yè)低，還憑藉鄰里關(guān)系贏得了顧客的忠誠(chéng)。阿爾瑪•佩伊馬諾維奇（Alma Pejmanovic）那臺(tái)陳舊的家用筆記本因病毒而崩潰的時(shí)候，這對(duì)搭檔不光消滅了所有的病毒，還保住了她電腦里的所有資料，收費(fèi)則是100美元。佩伊馬諾維奇女士通過(guò)翻譯告訴我們，“街坊們都在說(shuō)，這兩個(gè)小姑娘真的很懂行。”到現(xiàn)在為止，兩個(gè)小姑娘已經(jīng)賺到了2,400美元利潤(rùn)。她們打算把其中的5%捐給“一童一電腦”（One Laptop Per Child）組織，后者是一個(gè)為發(fā)展中國(guó)家兒童提供電腦的非營(yíng)利機(jī)構(gòu)。貝爾瑪是2002年來(lái)到美國(guó)的，比澤米娜晚兩年，她說(shuō)，“我倆都來(lái)自一個(gè)飽嘗戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)之苦的國(guó)家，因此就懂得一無(wú)所有的滋味。”
別的一些學(xué)生也用上了自己的網(wǎng)路技能，把個(gè)人愛(ài)好轉(zhuǎn)化成了創(chuàng)收工具。在加州庫(kù)比蒂諾（Cupertino）的Monta Vista高中讀書的時(shí)候，索尼卡•辛格（Sonika Singh）開始用她所說(shuō)的“單調(diào)涂鴉”來(lái)裝飾運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋，再把這些手繪的鞋子作為禮物送給朋友。
她說(shuō)，這些鞋子非常受歡迎，以至于“我的朋友們都說(shuō)，‘你應(yīng)該拿這些鞋子來(lái)賣。’還有啊，有哪個(gè)腦筋正常的孩子會(huì)對(duì)錢說(shuō)‘不’呢？”
于是乎，索尼卡開始進(jìn)行市場(chǎng)測(cè)試。她建起了一個(gè)網(wǎng)站，通過(guò)問(wèn)卷來(lái)了解潛在客戶身處何方。她說(shuō)，等到網(wǎng)站贏得“無(wú)數(shù)人的關(guān)注”、引來(lái)超過(guò)50份訂單的時(shí)候，她就在去年夏天推出了“瘋狂鞋子”（Rage Shoes），價(jià)格是35美元一雙，比成本高那么幾美元。17歲的索尼卡說(shuō)，這門生意“紅火極了，讓我忙了整整一個(gè)夏天。”她由此賺到了450美元，今年夏天也打算抽出一部分的時(shí)間，繼續(xù)做自己的鞋子生意。
另一些少年企業(yè)家已經(jīng)用上了編制首選客戶名單的策略�，F(xiàn)年18歲的斯科特•斯雷德切克（Scott Sladecek）住在德克薩斯州的斯普林（Sprin），從2004年開始跟哥哥一起做修剪草坪的生意。他說(shuō)，以前的一些客戶有過(guò)干完活不給錢的記錄，“我們都是誠(chéng)實(shí)的孩子，活也替他們干了，可是，為了100美元就把他們告上小額追債法院實(shí)在是不值得。”所以呢，他現(xiàn)在的招攬目標(biāo)都是那些多次光顧的忠實(shí)顧客。
他哥哥大衛(wèi)（David）現(xiàn)年21歲，已經(jīng)在休士頓大學(xué)（University of Houston）上三年級(jí)了。在哥哥的幫助下，斯雷德切克正在擴(kuò)大公司的業(yè)務(wù)范圍，準(zhǔn)備增添清除石塊、修剪灌木以及清理排水溝之類的新專案。兄弟倆購(gòu)置了價(jià)值3,700美元的設(shè)備，今年夏天還準(zhǔn)備雇傭兩名員工。斯科特已經(jīng)攢下了20,287美元的大學(xué)學(xué)費(fèi)，還希望自己的存款額能有大幅度的提高，因?yàn)樗髂昵锾炀鸵サ轮蒉r(nóng)工大學(xué)（Texas A&M University）讀書。他打算選擇的專業(yè)是：商業(yè)。
