Start a biz, be a boss! There's no age requirement for starting a successful business. Here's how to shine as an entrepreneur, starting now - focus

Career World, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Melissa M. Ezarik

When Kenya James really looked at the magazines she and her friends were reading, one thing stood out. Only rarely were young people like her--African American girls--represented in them. "I wanted a publication that I could see myself and my friends reflected in," she says.

The result, launched in 2002, was Blackgirl magazine, which she financed with her own savings and money she earned from bake sales. The magazine includes interviews with popular music stars and tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams. Also featured was an interview with A'Leila Bundles. Ms. Bundles is the great-great granddaughter and biographer of millionaire and hair-care entrepreneur Madame C. J. Walker. Kenya has been named Black

Enterprise's 2003 Teen Entrepreneur of the Year for her publishing success. And there's undoubtedly more success to come. She plans to launch a line of denim fashions for teenage girls. She will be doing most of the sewing herself.

Other young entrepreneurs are enjoying similar success. Tyler Spindel loves cheesecake. He freely admits that he's obsessed with it. In fact, he says his desire for this palate pleaser is "beyond most people's comprehension."

His habit of buying it was growing too expensive, however. After much experimenting, he says, "I concocted a delicious recipe and began making these cheesecakes for friends, parties, and school bake sales." When the Manchester, New Hampshire, teen's Oreo cheesecake tied for first place in a baking competition, he decided to go professional.

Now 19 and a freshman at Harvard University, the owner of Big Ty's Cheesecakes makes 28 different varieties and has orders rolling in. Tyler has one employee and donates 10 percent of his profits to charity. A food distribution company is even considering selling his creations nationwide.

They're Everywhere?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly three-quarters of all U.S. businesses have no employees. That means entrepreneurs are everywhere--from retail store owners to real estate agents, childcare providers to carpenters. Many people see entrepreneurship as the American dream.

It's not surprising, then, that many people decide to give business ownership a try early on in life. The top reasons young business owners say they want to be in business, according to Teenvestor.com, are a feeling of accomplishment, a way to explore interests, a way to make money, the freedom from being locked into a job, and the chance to practice so they can become successful adult entrepreneurs.

Business success has many faces. Here are a few examples:

Tabari Nicolls of Arlington, Virginia, started Duck Sportswear, a T-shirt design business, while in ninth grade. The aspiring graphic artist has sold more than 200 shirts throughout the state and was recently honored as the "most prominent young business owner" by the Washington area office of the Small Business Administration.

Stephanie Pakrul, 21, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was 15 when she started getting paid for providing Internet-based services and 16 when she officially founded Web Solutions. Success, to her, is the freedom to be her own boss.

Holly Garrod of Evergreen, Colorado, is already a business owner in sixth grade. Called Hollybird, the business offers handmade beaded animal pins and knickknacks. Holly has earned enough to buy a piccolo, as well as to sink some profits back into the business.

The Payoff

With a good idea and plenty of determination, some young business owners have gone on to become famous adult entrepreneurs. We've all heard of Bill Gates, Microsoft Corporation's founder. But did you know he launched his first computer business while in high school? And Fred DeLuca--known for his Subway restaurants, which now number more than 17,500 in 71 countries--started his first sandwich shop at age 17 with a $1,000 investment and priceless encouragement from a family friend.

Entrepreneurial experience can be helpful for virtually anyone. The payoffs of owning a business include improving communication and time and money management skills. These are all helpful in any career, say Frances Karnes and Suzanne Bean in their book, Girls and Young Women Entrepreneurs.

Blueprint for Success

While almost anyone might launch a business, there are some things that successful entrepreneurs tend to have in common. "A lot of people who are entrepreneurs are very independent, free spirits," says Dale Weinberg, director of the American Management Association's Operation Enterprise, which prepares high school and college students for business success.

Weinberg, an entrepreneur herself, adds, "We work well on our own, and we enjoy the freedom of expressing ourselves and doing what we want. If we fall on our face, we try something again."

One way to avoid the common mistakes of business ownership is to train for it--much like you might train to run a race. Operation Enterprise taught Tyler many aspects of business management when he attended last year's summer program. "Also, it made me more confident in my marketing and sales skills. After all, a buyer feels more comfortable with a confident seller," he says.