Need a Summer Job? Maybe Being an Entrepreneur is for You

As summer approaches, you may be on the hunt for a summer job. And if so, you may find that jobs are harder to come by this year. With the unemployment rate for adults at a 30-year high, many jobs traditionally scooped up by out-of-school teens are now being held by adults. And that’s leaving a whole bunch of teens without the means to make the extra cash they need.

So what are many teens choosing to do? Get creative.

A recent article in USA Today says that more and more teens today are choosing to be entrepreneurs and take charge of their financial reality. From the article:

“Kids are actively considering starting their own businesses,” says Junior Achievement USA President Jack Kosakowski.

“It might be out of necessity, since there aren’t a lot of jobs out there. But they’re also seeing parents and other adults that have been loyal to companies for years … getting laid off, so these kids might be thinking, ‘Hey, I might be better off being my own boss.’ “

When I was writing my book In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers, I featured a profile of entrepreneur Missy Park, founder of the Title Nine sports apparel catalog and stores for women. Missy had a lot of inspiring words for aspiring entrepreneurs. But what I loved most about what she had to say had to do with fear and failure. Here’s an excerpt from our interview:

Me: Do you think that not being afraid is an important quality for someone who wants to be an entrepreneur?

Missy: I do, actually. A buddy of mind once said, “You know, I’ve seen all kinds of entrepreneurs – some of them are really extroverted, some are really introverted, some are super smart and some aren’t that smart at all, some are really good with people, some aren’t. The only thing I can say that they all have in common is that none of them really care about what other people think.” Yeah, it’s hard to fail, and I don’t like it, but I’m never thinking, Oh, I’ve failed and what do other people think? I’m like, Damn, I wish I hadn’t screwed that up, you know?

Me: Without having someone show you the ropes of starting a company, how did you know that you could make Title 9 work?

Missy: I didn’t. For the first three or four years, I’d resolve that we were going to quit at least once every six months. You know that saying, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it?” There were times when I was nervous and I had a ton of doubts, and that still continues now. But I think that mastering your fear can fuel you to focus on the right things. I think that a lot of girls hate making mistakes, and it just kills me. They’re so worried about making mistakes, it’s like, “Wow, if you don’t make mistakes, how are you going to learn?”

So, what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? A great idea (or several), confidence (and as Missy says, a healthy dose of fear), a willingness to fail, the ability to think outside the box, and being extremely self-motivated.

Does that describe you? Then maybe being entrepreneur is for you! To find out more about how to be a a successful entrepreneur, check out Junior Achievement or The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship.