Young Entrepreneurs break into business
Published 5:00 pm Friday, July 31, 2009
Editor’s note: Lexie Banks graduated from Astoria High School this year, where she served as Editor-in-Chief for the school newspaper. Lexie has worked as an intern for CRBJ for a year.
This fall, Lexie will depart the area to attend college in Utah. Her stated major? Journalism, of course.
This is Lexie’s last full CRBJ production cycle, and we wanted to honor her hard work, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and professional growth and accomplishments while at CRBJ.
We chose to honor Lexie by giving her the assignment to write our main feature article in this issue. The topic “young entrepreneurs” seemed eminently appropriate.
From the entire staff at CRBJ, our heartfelt wishes for an exciting new life chapter for Lexie. We shall miss her greatly. The Editor
Young entrepreneurs are everywhere, and it seems that people are starting their business careers at a younger age – not as employees, but as owners of their own businesses.
All over the Web, help sites for young entrepreneurs, blogs by young entrepreneurs and forums to discuss young entrepreneurship have sprouted up.
Fresh out of college or even high school, these young people have taken the plunge, ignoring financial hardships and the huge potential risk to start their own businesses.
Pristine Power Washing & Surface Cleaning
Business was always an obvious choice for 22-year-old Steve Scroup. Between working part-time at Aquatic Vegetation Management, where he’s in charge of marketing, and attending Clatsop Community College, he doesn’t have time to work a nine-to-five office job.
With an idea in mind, he began brainstorming a new business, Pristine Power Washing & Surface Cleaning. Among other services, Scroup offers power washing of siding and sidewalks as well as various surface finishing and moss removal methods.
His experience working with construction firms, such as Surf Pines Construction and Alaska Mechanical Inc., and at the vegetation management company have allowed him to see a new side of business.
“It’s shown me how much prep work you have to do before you really start making money, [running a small business]” Scroup said.
Learning from other people is crucial to being successful. Scroup has seen many of his friends and acquaintances enter the business world, and he’s picked up a few tips from them. Past experiences have also taught him a thing or two.
“I worked a few bigger jobs that I didn’t end up getting paid for. I learned that you have to get binding contracts. You need to work with people you trust,” Scroup said.
One of the biggest obstacles young entrepreneurs face, Scroup said, is financial restraint.
“Going over their limits on credit cards and not being responsible with financial startup before their business is secure and making money are huge problems. A lot of young entrepreneurs are also lacking professionalism, which isn’t a good thing.”
Other important traits in a young entrepreneur are confidence and timeliness. Scroup noted that in this economic climate, these traits might be the key to success.
“Don’t back down. Starting a business in these times, you can definitely make your business successful if you’re persistent, and then there’s no way you can fail.”
Under Pressure
For 19-year-old Erin Miller, co-owner of the Under Pressure coffee shop, Internet cafe and tanning salon, being overly busy is just part of the job. She got involved with opening the business with Alan Mossman, 21, shortly before the cafe opened in November 2008.
Business has always run in Miller’s blood – her aunt owned a photography studio in California. Her aunt’s business endeavor originally got Miller interested in business.
Miller did not expect to open a coffee shop, but rather wanted to follow her passion for art and photography in her business ventures.
“I never thought I would have a coffee and tanning business I thought I’d own an art gallery or photography studio,” she said.
Along with helping to run the business, Miller holds down a second job and attends Clatsop Community College, studying business management. Mossman owns his own photography business called Mossman Photography.
“[Mossman and I] both have second jobs because we needed them to get Under Pressure up and running financially,” Miller noted.
Miller said running the business would have been easier if she had waited.
“I thought it would be easy and like a normal job,” she said. “We’re pretty much living paycheck to paycheck, but now that we’re making a bit more profit it’s getting easier.”
Their youthful style is evident in the decor of the business, which is replete with big screen TV’s, comfortable seating, and eclectic decorations and paint colors. Miller said the space is more “comfortable and welcoming.”
Adeptness with technology has also helped the duo. Bookkeeping and general business operations have been made easier with their technological skill.
Time management and efficiency are skills that Miller said will definitely help her in future business endeavors.
“We went into this venture so amped up about the shop. We got here, and it was surprising that I have to be an employee, a manager and an owner all at once. You have to manage your time well – otherwise you’ll drown in all the responsibilities.”
Uvestment
Since the age of 15, entrepreneurship has been calling for Steve Hess. Now 23, he has embarked on various business ventures and currently Hess is developing a Web site called Uvestment.
In high school, he began planning and organizing trips for his friends. Hess realized that he could charge slightly more and still offer an affordable price while making a profit for himself.
The concept of affordability has carried on through many of Hess’s business ideas and is the focal point of Uvestment, which will be ready to launch within a year.
“The business model is constantly changing, but the basis of it is cost splitting,” Hess said. “For example, you don’t want to pay $5,000 for a jet ski. But if four others go into it with you, you’ll each only have to pay $1,000.”
Uvestment will provide tools to make cost splitting possible, coordinating who pays what, when each person uses the product, and offering communication between the owners.
“Cost splitting involves trust and obviously a written contract. When people enter the contract, we freeze the capital and search the wholesalers to find the best deal possible,” Hess said.
Going into the project, Hess wasn’t very technologically savvy. As he described it, opening this business is like “trying to start a logging company without ever having run a chainsaw.”
| “Pupcakes” win business award
for young local entrepreneur |
|
by Joanne Rideout joanne@crbizjournal.com A nine-year old entrepreneur from Warrenton recently won a $100 prize for her pet-oriented business plan, which includes healthful dog treats called “pupcakes.” The award comes from Harlem Hip-Hop tours, a company based in New York City. Mahoney won the cash prize for her business plan about launching “The Pupcakery,” a business that produces unique and healthy dog treats. The Pupcakery boasts a menu of several products, such as Happy Howlers (chicken-flavored biscuits) and its signature product, Pupcakes (pumpkin cupcakes with yogurt icing and sprinkles). Mahoney wrote her business plan using the concepts and techniques outlined in the Hip-Hip (H3) Tours Entrepreneurship Workbook. The book was written by H3 Tours CEO Adrienne Smith as a way to teach children about entrepreneurship. “Maia Mahoney’s business plan for The Pupcakery was well-written and demonstrated a good understanding of pricing, distribution, and product innovation. She also scored extra points by indicating that 5 percent of her sales would go to the Clatsop County Animal Shelter,” said Smith. Mahoney worked since February to develop The Pupcakery. She has been selling her innovative dog treats to friends and family for a couple of months, and will sell her products at the Astoria Sunday Market throughout the summer. In addition to her local retail presence, Ms. Mahoney will also sell her dog biscuits via online distributor Etsy.com. |
Hess said that his debts are the biggest difficulties of running the business.
“I’m not doing anything with actual ban
ks; all the money I use is through private investors. People who believe in me, the project, or the idea,” Hess said.
For young people hoping to break into the entrepreneurial world soon, Hess’s advice may prove useful.
“Don’t try to please too many people. If you try to go out and your main goal is to make every person happy, you won’t succeed. Don’t change everything just to meet one person’s needs.”
Hess added that everyone has entrepreneurial spirit, but they must be willing to take the plunge. They can’t just be content with paying the bills. He summed up his experience in the business world saying “young entrepreneurship it’s a pretty crazy world!”
Words of Wisdom from these young entrepreneurs
Don’t assume that owning your own business will be easy – there are a lot of responsibilities involved as well.
Getting to know technology before entering the business world can only be a benefit. It can make complex tasks much simpler and efficient.
Use past experiences and knowledge to find a business path that works best for you. You won’t enjoy your work if it’s not something you’re interested in
There are a lot of steps involved before you actually get your business up and running. You won’t start making money straight away.
Go with your gut and don’t let other people talk you down. If you have a good idea, not everyone is going to like it, but don’t let them sway you from your goal.
