Spotlight on CEO Kid – Clinton Skakun

I have found that when kids start working for others they either really enjoy it or it encourages them to think of ways that they can be the BOSS! I remember think the thoughts – “I could make more money per hour if I was working for myself.  I wouldn’t have to have this CRAZY schedule if I were working for myself.”  The same thing happened to Clinton.  His first job at 16 years old motivated him in a big way to be an entrepreneur.

Clinton:   The best places to learn more about me is on my website/blog www.ClintonSkakun.com.  From there you will find links to Twitter and Facebook.  I’ve lived in High River Alberta for nearly 10 years.  I started seriously thinking about owning a business after a year of working a summer job when I was 16-17 years old. Before then I had started out as a developer doing odd jobs for a friend of mine, who was introduced though my dad, who also had business as well as a good client base. I gained a lot of experience working for them in the past few years and attribute it to my skill now days.

Clinton:  There were a few people who influenced me in starting a business and becoming an entrepreneur. First of all, my dad taught me the technical aspects of small corporations and helped me form a corporation while I was still too young to
be a director etc. Second of all, I’d have to say that my brother-in-law instilled in me the creative entrepreneurial side, the belief that it was ok to dream big. I attended events with my sister and brother-in-law that caused me to make life changing decisions. I didn’t join the business he’s in but listening to entrepreneurs, who had more passion than I saw in every day
people, caused me to decide that I wanted to be in business for myself.

There’s a saying that “people make life changing decisions at large (business) events.” I think a lot of us can look back and say that an event we attended years ago had a drastic effect on how we viewed life later on.

There’s a quote I heard, I’m not sure who said it, but it rings true, let me paraphrase;

“Once a person’s mind is stretched, it cannot return to it’s prior capacity.”

I can never again look at a job/employment position as a means to creating real income!

Other than the people who have influenced me, I’d say the books I’ve read, the audio books I’ve listened to and the notes I’ve taken have sent me in the right direction.

Clinton:  I’m still developing these skills and I would have to say people skills are number one and always will be. I could say become better at your art, your craft.  The funny thing is, many of us are great at our craft. For instance, I consider myself a pretty competent coder but for a few months I wasn’t getting too much business…and it wasn’t because of my coding skills. After I learned how to sell my services and made a strong effort … things started working for me again.

If there’s one thing that’s more important than people skills, it’s the ability to learn from failure and to control your own thoughts and focus. I blew a lot of opportunities in the past because I wanted to avoid mistakes instead of learn and experience. And most of my failures came from spreading my focus too wide, wanting everything, focusing on the good instead of the great.

The GREAT will always be worth the sacrifices.

Clinton:  As with many things in life, the biggest obstacle has always been myself. T. Harv Eker talks about this in his book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. He says that if you are a level 5 person and you have a level 8 challenge, the challenge will be too great. If you are a level 10 person with a level 8 challenge, the challenge suddenly becomes easy. The only way to go from a level 6 to a level 7 is to constantly take on level 7 challenges.

To be specific, my biggest challenge is reaching a level of professionalism so that I can talk to anyone I choose. I often feel myself held back be personal fears and limiting beliefs. And I work daily to overcome this. It’s funny, but often your biggest challenge is what holds back most results. When you get leverage on it, things explode.

Money can be an issue for a new entrepreneur starting out. Most of my business ventures have been started with very little money, so other than personal needs, the need for money hasn’t been much of a problem.

Clinton:  Ideas, with an “s”, is more like it:) hehe. But yes, good question, how do I know when I find a good business opportunity? As an entrepreneur I’m very flexible. I love exploring different business systems, different markets, etc. I know a good opportunity when I see other people succeeding at it and when I see there’s a future market for it and when other large companies get in on it and stake their credibility. I’m not much of a pioneer and you can’t really call me an inventor either. I like taking what works, using other people’s experience and building on that.

There are a few criteria that I have when approaching a new business opportunity.

1. It needs to be in the best interest of the consumer.
2. It needs to have very large income potential…an extraordinary life requires larger amount of wealth.
3. It needs to be in a good market, one that won’t saturate in a few months or years.
4. I need to feel passionate about it as well. There needs to be some emotional connection to it as well as the
   profitability.

Sarah:  Those four criteria are an excellent standard to measure any business venture.  Tell me about your age Clinton.  How does it affect you that you are so young?

Clinton:  I’m still at that age where it only makes sense for people to naturally doubt my credibility because of my age. It can be a good thing and a bad thing. The good part about it is that it drives me to live up to higher expectations than most people my age do. The bad thing is that I could potentially miss some opportunities to meet some great clients because of assumptions. Either way it doesn’t bother me too much. I think people have a good reason to doubt us younger business owners. Even though we have a lot of potential, we don’t have as much as experience as we need just yet to run at high performance. Also teens haven’t developed a whole lot of emotional control, and this might take until their early twenties. So I think young entrepreneurs do have a lot to offer to the marketplace and if they develop themselves, by their twenties they
will be champions. In my opinion, actions speak louder than a person’s age.

Clinton:  I thought about college. People I know who went say that it’s a good experience. I don’t disagree. I decided to take on real world experience before diving into post secondary. By my late twenties I plan to be making a very high income and, if I’m still interested in college, I’ll go. But maybe by then there will be better experiences.

Sarah:  What kind of expenses or start-up costs did you have when you started your business and where did you find the money or capital to start?

Clinton:  Only the cost of forming a corporation and all the good stuff that comes with that. I started contracting for some great people since day one and was in the plus right a way. I do spend money on little expenses like domain names, hosting, gas, ads, a laptop etc. As for much of my software, it’s free open source Linux software that the Open Source community is kind enough to build and let us use. That alone has saved me thousands of dollars.

Clinton:  Good surprises…hmmm…I guess finding out I didn’t have to be employed under my company but rather that I could pay myself dividends, as an investor. Dividends come with a tax credit. Taxes in Canada are brutal.

Clinton:  There’s a saying, “no man can change the world alone.” Surrounding every great person is a bunch of other great people who helped him or her get there. There is no such thing as “self-made.” I belief highly in leveraging OPT and OPM, other people’s time and other people’s money. I also believe in leveraging talents and delegating your weaknesses, and compensating other people’s
weaknesses to mesh as a team. Teamwork is the only way to go. The age of the corporate structure is slowly dying.

Clinton:  I post ads on sites like Kijiji, give out cards, go to networking events and contact people whenever possible. Word of mouth and referrals is also very effective.  You also have to let your family and friends know what you are doing and who you are looking to work for.  Make as many connections as possible either at networking events, sports events, people who share your hobbies etc. I find that having a flattering online presence is extremely important. My blog, the interviews people have done with me and my public online activities are a compliment. I want people to see a professional when they Google my name. As for connections, it doesn’t matter who you know, all that matters is who people you know know. Approach everyone, not planning to sell to them but rather to get referrals who may need your services.

Clinton:  Ahh…none came to mind at first. The only thing that comes close to marketing, that didn’t work, was news paper advertising in the local paper.

Clinton:  I believe that balancing your life is more an elimination act. It’s easier and more effective to balance a few things, than to balance a whole lot. That might sound 3rd grade but what I really mean is taming your focus is like herding cats. If we were computers we’d be able to balance everything perfectly. But as human beings clarity is power, and the less you have on your plate, the clearer you are on what you have to do to get to where you want to go. You have more mental energy going into the great things in life.

Apart of balancing is putting weight on the importance of time. If something isn’t yielding a large return, it deserves a smaller amount of time and energy. How do I find out when I’m not working hard enough on the important?  Simple – when the bank account is slim or when crises start popping up.

Clinton:  Decide what you want in life(goals and dreams), don’t give up. Obstacles are only questions, “do you really want this?” Condition your mind by hanging around the right kind of people, reading the right books (Think and Grow Rich, Win Friends and Influence People, etc.) and challenging yourself to do things you didn’t think you could do. Raise your standards, don’t set high goals and fall back on low standards.

Plan ahead…you probably sometimes wish you would have better planned your present, the best way to avoid this is to plan the future. Set goals 10-20-30 years into the future. You really have nothing to
loose but everything to gain.

Other than that, stay focused on your goals, constantly improve yourself in some way and rise to the level the great ones call “Playing to Win”. You won’t believe what starts to happen when you start
putting yourself on the line.

Oh! And learn to sell yourself…people always buy YOU before they even look at what you do.