This is Ryan right before he left to go on his first interview for a busboy position at the local sandwich shop. He was nervous. Very nervous. I knew he would be, so a few days before the interview we began role-playing. I wanted him to feel comfortable and confident that he was qualified for the job.

Although it’s always hard to know exactly what questions are going to be asked during an interview, there tend to be some standard ones.

We started with those questions:

■Why are you interested in this job?
■What makes you qualified for the job?
■What is your greatest strength/weakness?
■When can you start?

Then I tried to get creative. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on an interview, but here are the questions I aksed him:

■How would you handle these scenarios? A customer is upset because they feel their order was not handled properly. Or Your shift is over but your replacement hasn’t shown up. What do you do?
■How do you describe good customer service?
■What are your expectations for this job?

To build his confidence I reminded him of all the work experience he had. It’s hard to toot our own horn but sometimes we simply need to do it. Besides, unlike a lot of kids his age, he’s been working since he was eleven years old. First it was his once-a-week paper route which he kept for five years. When he was 13, he began reffing soccer in the fall. And then there was all the in-between stuff like doing yard work for our neighbor or cat-sitting for weeks at a time. All of that shows initiative, responsibility, and commitment. Employers like that. So mention it!

I also told him that if he was asked to describe what sets him apart from the others, he should talk about the times he went above-and-beyond in his responsibilities. Like when he decided to run the newspapers up to the doorstep of his subscribers. Or when he stayed to ref the next soccer game when the scheduled ref didn’t show. This shows you’re willing to put in the work…and then some.

I told him, they’re going to learn a lot about you even before you answer that first question. Did you arrive on time? How are you dressed? How did you introduce yourself? Did you offer a nice, firm handshake? How was your eye contact? All of these are clues to who you are as a person. And how you relate to everyone you meet is an indication of your inter-personal skills. Those are very important to an employer.

We role-played until he felt like he was ready. And although he was still nervous, he was less so knowing that he had prepared.

As he drove off that afternoon to learn more about how the world works, I was hoping that one lesson that day was learning that 5 minutes before you leave for the interview is not a good time to discover that you’ve misplaced your dress pants and that your shirt needs to be ironed.

We are asked all the time about what  curriculum to use to help kids start a business and become young entrepreneurs, so we have developed a new program and are currently accepting registrations!!!

Here are a couple of options we also love:

Biz in a Boxx is a company that offers three options for curriculum based on the age of your child (7-10, 11-14, and 15+)

The CEO Prodigy is designed for ages 7-10. The young entrepreneur will learn the basic fundamentals of starting and running their own business without feeling overwhelmed. The material is written at a level where they can do it all by themselves in a fun, easy environment.

With CEO Prodigy, the young entrepreneur will learn:

1. How to start a business you will really enjoy.
2. How to create a memorable business name.
3. Why teamwork works in business and how to create and assign job titles and responsibilities.
4. The importance of meetings and work schedules to sustain and grow your business.
5. How to figure out their product/service pricing and expenses.
6. How to determine a primary target market.
7. The importance of a good marketing plan that works.
8. How to create an effective advertisement by uncovering the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How so that your customers will buy from you.
9. The basics of good customer service.
10. How to keep good sales records.

The following comes in the CEO Prodigy Biz In A Boxx kit: The CEO Prodigy workbook, padfolio with notepaper, pen, calculator, calendar, sales ledger, receipt book, blank business card sheets, and an investor contract.

For youth ages 11 – 14, the CEO Apprentice will be more appropriate and for teens over 15, The CEO kit is best!

Biz Gym is another company that offers business curriculum, but instead of it being in a box, it can be accessed via the web with any computer, ipad or smart phone! For kids, they recommend using their Biz at Bedtime application that can me used on a Laptop or iPad.

We would love to have you be part of our FREE program to help instill entrepreneurship skills in children! If you are interested, click on the link and then enter your name and email in the form provided!

Amidst all the recent chatter about how our nations’ youth are failing to meet core standards in the public school system, there is one thing that Americans do well, and that is entrepreneurship.  It has been the cornerstone of the country’s economic achievements, from early innovators and entrepreneurs like Ford and Franklin to current successes such as Gates and Zuckerberg.

At some point in time, most kids experience the brief joys entrepreneurship as they cart their lemonade stand supplies to the edge of the driveway in an early pursuit of the American dream.  Yet, there is more to youth entrepreneurship than your occasional lemonade stand that occupies little Jimmy’s time for a few weekend hours.  Of course it’s adorable watching him craft his stand and overly sweeten the lemonade that will make his customer’s thirstier than when they arrived; but in those few hours, he’s learning some very valuable lessons that he’ll take with him the rest of his life.

What most kids experience with that lemonade stand is pure ownership, something that is rare in childhood.  Sure, you may be teaching your kid about responsibility and financial management through delegating chores, but chores are a micro-managed activity.  There’s not a whole lot of creativity in emptying a dishwasher, making a bed or folding the laundry and putting it away.  They are tasks that are dictated on performance and time.  Though chores are necessary and an excellent way to teach important skill sets, they are not activities that a kid has complete control over.  With entrepreneurship, there are numerous ways to solve problems.  There is no one right answer and one wrong, simply success and failures.  With failures come chances for do-overs; the most important lesson and opportunity that entrepreneurship provides.

Part of what is so enticing about entrepreneurship is ownership – ownership over ideas and actions and the ability to make decisions.  It’s about freedom to call the shots and build something out of nothing.  Over 700,000 people each year in the US take a stab at starting a business, partly due to the desire to be one’s own boss.  A sense of ownership doesn’t begin at age 18 or after college; it’s a powerful force than transcends all ages, genders and socio-economic backgrounds.

There’s nothing quite like true ownership.  It builds self-esteem and self-awareness.  From that sense of ownership, mixed with youth entrepreneurship, we find other life-long benefits emerge.  That lemonade stand teaches financial literacy, decision-making, strategic-planning, creativity, mathematics, innovation, communications, accountability, risk-taking, teamwork and delegation.  All this from mixing up some sugar and lemons and sitting on the sidewalk waiting for people to stop by.  Your child may not bring in a six figure income from his venture yet, but he did something significant all on his own.

Like most parents we want our kids to enjoy their childhood as much as possible and be free of the responsibilities of adulthood because they will spend plenty of time fussing over the realities of life once they fly the coop.  The limited time your kid has to enjoy his childhood is undoubtedly valued; he likely won’t see this carefree time in his life until he retires.  Yet, the bulk of his life will be spent making his way through the world, independently taking care of himself and his family.  All of the lessons learned from his childhood, including those days spent behind his lemonade stand, will carry over into adulthood and help steer him towards who he will become.

While as parents we don’t know with certainty what our kids will become professionally, but we do know what they will need to know to get ahead and be competitive.  And that’s part of our job to teach them.

How do you raise a financially savvy business owner?

It starts with the money lessons and examples you demonstrate to your child at home. I love reminiscing and sharing my own story with others of how my immigrant parents taught me the basics of how to be financially sound. They stressed to me the importance of saving money, living within my means, being the lender and not the borrower and most importantly being financially responsible in every decision I make.

These simple core principles have allowed me the freedom to do the things that love. Like most parents, my parents had a dream for their kids.

Prior to going to school every day, my brother and I heard the same message, “We send you to school to learn.” Every Saturday, my father would have my brother and I wash the family vehicles and check the tire pressure and oil levels with him. Little did my parents know that they were teaching us about fiscal responsibility. Every Sunday, the routine was the same: Get the newspaper from the front driveway, cut out the coupons and look for the weekly sales ads. We even cultivated a vegetable garden in our backyard. I could write a book referencing all the financial lessons that were demonstrated in my childhood. We also had money conversations at the dinner table which kept communication about money free and open. My parents would take us on family drives to look at boats and “fancy” homes in upscale areas which allowed us to envision what possibilities were ahead, if we just focused on basic core financial principles.

So, are you ready to raise your CEO child(ren)? Are you willing to teach them valuable money lessons along the way? Are you ready to teach them financial skills that they can utilize daily in order to save money within their own business? Are you excited to teach them valuable lessons to help make their business grow?

Here are few lessons you can start with:

• Earn more by mastering the skills the business offers, obtaining specialized credentials, or by providing excellent service.
• Be frugal on the expenses of the business by doing comparative shopping.
• Re-invest in the business through education, marketing, and creating additional products or services to offer.
• Negotiate to get the best business opportunities as well as products and services to make your business grow.

Don’t forget that sometimes you have to spend some money to make more money. It is wise to use some of the profits to reinvest into the business. It’s always a great idea to share some money to help the world!

Sarah:  When did you notice that your son Clinton was interested in making money and being in business?

Ms. Skakun: I think that would have been about the time that he finished high school.

Sarah:  How did you go about introducing him to mentors?

Ms. Skakun: When people would come to the house we would make introductions as well as through the internet.

Sarah:  Are you or your husband in business and if so – do you think that has given you an edge in raising a CEO Kid?

Ms. Skakun: I have my own business and didn’t realize it at that time but I’d like to think that he could have got some business inspiration from me.

Sarah:  What did you to do support him along the way?

Ms. Skakun: I try to show him that I am proud of him no matter what he does and that he can do whatever he has in mind to do.

Sarah:  How did you help Clinton stay balanced in all the other things he was doing in his life?

Ms. Skakun: I try to encourage him even if sometimes it means that he will make mistakes.

Sarah:  What role did you play in Clinton’s business?

Ms. Skakun: Introducing him to some people who might be interested in his business.

Sarah:  What were some of the challenges that you all faced in helping him become the success he is today?

Ms. Skakun: Financial was a challenge that we had to overcome as well as introducing him to the right social contacts.

Sarah:  Share your TOP 3 – 5 tips that every parent of a CEO Kid should implement.

Ms. Skakun: Encouragement, giving him confidence in what he is doing, and teaching him to work hard.

Sarah:  If you could have had resources available to helping you in raising entrepreneur kids what would you have wanted?

Ms. Skakun: We would have wanted more hands on learning.

You can find out more about Clinton by visiting his website: http://clintonskakun.com/references

Sarah: Please tell me how you got started and where CEO Kids and parents can find out more info about you.

Asya: As I flip through my old drawings and sketches I see that I’ve always had it in me to draw but I really got started with Stinky Feet Gurlz when my mom showed me her childhood doodle of a girl with big red lips and pin curls. There was a story behind it though. She said when she and her sister and cousin were little, they were super cute but they played hard and when they’d come in to watch TV, they’d take off their shoes and their grandma would come in and shoo them out because their feet were stinky so they were the original Stinky Feet Gurlz. I loved that! That was apart of my mom’s childhood and I thought, “I could totally tweak this up a bit!” When I did, my mom loved the way it looked and said I gave life to her vision. My mom is not very artistic. She writes children’s books but can’t illustrate them. I get my artistic ability from both my grandparents and my aunt. I loved the first girl so much I drew more and that’s when I asked my mom if she thought these would look good on a t-shirt and that’s how Stinky Feet Gurlz was launched!

Our website is www.stinkyfeetgurlz.com and you can also follow us at

www.facebook.com/stinkyfeetgurlz

www.twitter.com/stinkyfeetgurlz

www.youtube.com/stinkyfeetgurlz

Sarah:  When did you start thinking about starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur and why did you want to start?

Asya: Well, ever since I was very young I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer and make my own clothes that were unique and stylish. This definitely is going to help me launch my dreams faster.

Sarah: Where did you come up with your idea and what investigation did you do to help you know that this would be a great business?

Asya: My mom had connections with a local printer and after we had a test shirt done, she and my dad asked random people what they thought of the shirt and they would say, “Oh, this is so adorable!” so we knew it would be a great business.

Sarah:  What do you think are the most important skills you have that help you in business?

Asya: Thankfully I’ve already been gifted in drawing and they eye for design. Those skills alone help me take what is already in my imagination and put it onto paper. Oh! That’s another skill! Imagination!

Sarah: What were the biggest obstacles, problems you had in getting started in business

Asya: A big obstacle is money. It takes money to buy the shirts, to pay the people who print them and so on. But my parents helped me out a little but really it’s up to me to sell these shirts to make the money to keep it going. Another obstacle was the fear of not knowing if I was going to draw something people liked. I liked it, but would other people? Now that we’ve had great feedback, I’m over that fear and I put my talents in God’s hands and trust that my gifts can be used to make a difference.

Sarah: How old were you when you started and how old are you now? How does your age affect your business success?

Asya: I was 13 when I started this business and now I’m 14. It doesn’t affect me in a way most people might think. My friends are all still the same around me and I still have chores and I’m expected to do well in school. It’s been a positive experience because I’m learning a lot about owning my own business. I think my age helps me because I’ve noticed that adults love to help out kids who are entrepreneurs! They really do!

Sarah: What about college? Are you planning on going?

Asya: I definitely plan on going to college. I am really thinking of going to the L.A Art Institute.

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?

Asya: The first batch of t-shirts we ordered and printed was around $700. The website was less because my mom designed it herself and I believe for the whole year it was $150. Other costs were buying the name, printing stickers and business cards but I think one of the biggest expenses next to the t-shirts was trade marking the name. My parents cashed in their 401K’s for me. I am very thankful and I really want to pay them back when I sell enough shirts.

Sarah: What have been the best surprises that you found in starting your business?

Asya: I think the biggest surprise is all the support and encouragement I’ve had along the way by my family and friends. You hear about people getting jealous of other people when they do well, which is so sad, but I haven’t had one person treat me any differently.

Sarah:  Do you do EVERYTHING by yourself or do you have people on your team that work with you? If so – how did you find people to help you along the way?

Asya: Oh gosh, I can’t do everything by myself. My mom helps me out a LOT! I bring the drawings to her and she tells me what she thinks I should clean up or add. She also is the one who designed the website but she also would say, “What do you think about this? What do you like or not like about that?” She let me have an opinion.

Sarah:  What ideas and approaches do you use to market your business and what do you find works best for you in getting the word out about who you are and what you are doing?

Asya: Right now we’re using Facebook, Twitter. We do t-shirt or sticker giveaways for participating on our Facebook fan page. We also participate in other company fan pages by donating a prize in their contests. That generates a lot of buzz. We grew by 100 in three days by doing that. We always connect with someone when we’re out and about, handing out my business card, asking if they are on Facebook and telling them that I’m a young entrepreneur with a t-shirt/clothing line. People seem to love to support the youth and I think that’s so great.

Sarah:  How do you balance it all? Do you find that you still have time to be a kid?

Asya: The funny thing is, I have no idea how busy I am until people ask me! (haha) I take a full seven periods at school instead of six because I play the Tenor Saxophone. I also play acoustic guitar and the clarinet. I play sports like volleyball, basketball and softball, I am volunteering at a Senior Center, volunteering with church and yet I have no problems finding time for family and friends…or to just read or draw. I heard my mom once say to a woman who was hinting that I was doing to much say, “Children react to their environment. If you create chaos and a stressful environment, that’s what they’ll know. If it’s peaceful and normal, that’s what they’ll know.” My home is fun, relaxed and normal and I love it.

Sarah: What is the best advice or tips you would like to share with young entrepreneurs?

Asya: My advice is even though you might have your own business, you’re still a kid, enjoy it. Never think you don’t have enough time to have fun, there’s always time. Also, ask for help. If you can’t get it from your parents like I did, ask an uncle or an aunt. Let them know what you are doing and see if they will support you. But just have fun and be willing to learn!

Young entrepreneur and crafter, Cassidy McVey has big plans for her life and suggest starting a business based on what you love to do!

Sarah:  Please tell me how you got started and where CEO Kids and parents can find out more info about you.

Cassidy: It all started when the woman I babysit for taught me how to make drawstring bags she told me where I could get the special fabric and explained how to make them. I started by walking around with mine and showing it to people and people just fell in love with it. I would tell them they could get one for ten dollars. Many people were buying them so I decided to make it a little bigger. My mom was taking a nap and I found a website where you can get free websites. I started out calling it Minky Drawstring Bags and that was all I did.

Then I decided to expand my range. I started making hair flowers and I went online and bought business cards. I started learning how to make more and more items. Now I have many things available for sale.

Along with my website you can find me on Facebook!

Sarah:  Where did you come up with your idea and what investigation did you do to help you know that this would be a great business?

Cassidy: I thought this may be a great business because it wasn’t a common thing. There were only a handful of people that I knew doing this so I thought it would be fun and different.

Sarah:  What do you think are the most important skills you have that help you in business?

Cassidy: The most important skill would be sewing becuase I use it for almost everything I make!

Sarah:  What were the biggest obstacles, problems you had in getting started in business?

Cassidy: My biggest problem was the word of mouth campaign. It was hard for the fact that I have been making this stuff to get around. My mom used to work at a gym so she knew a lot of people. i would have her talk to them and they would talk to people and that’s how the business got bigger.

Sarah:  How old were you when you started your business?

Cassidy: When I started making my bags, I was nine, but when I started Cassidy’s Crafts I was ten.

Sarah: What about college?  Are you planning on going?

Cassidy:  I am definitely planning on going to college and getting a masters degree. I’m am not sure in what, but I want to go to Harvard or Yale or ASU to be close to home.

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?

Cassidy: I am more of a saver than a spender so I had the money in my ‘save till spend’ bank so I used that on my supplies. But I also got a buck here or there from my mom or dad!!

Sarah:  What have been the best surprises that you found in starting your business?

Cassidy: The best surprises were that so any people like what I did! It felt really good to have the same people order more for their friends!

Sarah:  Do you do EVERYTHING by yourself or do you have people on your team that work with you?

Cassidy: Yes, I do everything by myself.

Sarah:  What ideas and approaches do you use to market your business and what do you find works best for you in getting the word out about who you are and what you are doing?

Cassidy: Sometimes I will wear one of my tutu’s I made to school or bring a bag and flash it off. But everyday I wear a flower. It’s my trademark!

Sarah:  How do you balance it all?  Do you find that you still have time to be a kid?

Cassidy: There are days when I am working a lot, but sometimes business is really slow so it gives me time o do homework or hang out with my friends. I do make time to be on Facebook and use social media to grow my business.

Sarah:  What is the best advice or tips you would like to share with young entrepreneurs?

Cassidy: Don’t be afraid to do what you want to do. If at first your business doesn’t take off and make lots of money, just wait a little bit. It will happen soon enough. Always do what you enjoy and make sure you enjoy life! Don’t let the small things bring you down. If you are feeling unmotivated to do something, try playing fun music!! It always help me!!

Get ready for an amazing story of a young entrepreneur who had to wait a few years just to describe the invention she had created in her head!

Sarah: Hayleigh please tell me how you got started and where CEO Kids and parents can find out more info about you.

Hayleigh: When I was five I was drawing pictures at my grandmothers kitchen table in Texas. My parents walked in and asked what I was drawing. I told them I was drawing charms for hearing aids. My mom didn’t understand the drawings so she couldn’t understand how you could make them until a few years later. Finally, I was able to interpret the drawings to her and we immediately started the process of getting a patent for my hearing aid charms, tube twists, and hearing aid scrunchies. I opened an online store called Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms and you can also friend me on Facebook. I have been interviewed in books and magazines, spoken and presented at hearing impaired conferences. In October 2010 I won the Oticon Focus on People Student Award for helping to eliminate the negative stereotypes for being hearing impaired.

Sarah:  What an amazing story Hayleigh!  Where did you come up with your idea and what investigation did you do to help you know that this would be a great business?

Hayleigh: I didn’t want to hide my hearing aids. I wanted to make them fancy. So I came up with the idea in my mind of a way to decorate your hearing aids. I did research online to make sure that nothing like this existed for kids and adults. This was an important part of applying for a patent from the US Patent Attorney Office.

Sarah:  So true! It is really important to do all your research! We learned that the hard way!  What do you think are the most important skills you have that help you in business?

Hayleigh: One of the most important skills that I consider that I have is that most people can relate to me because I am hearing impaired. A lot of hearing impaired kids and adults can relate to my life story and they email me and we develop a friendship through email. It has been amazing hearing some of their stories and sharing their joy in finding a product that is perfect for them!

Sarah:  What were the biggest obstacles, problems you had in getting started in business?

Hayleigh: Knowing where to get supplies was one of the biggest obstacles. Another obstacle was creating the product. This was very difficult. Also, getting people to my website was a challenge.

Sarah:  How old were you when you started and how old are you now? How does your age affect your business success?

Hayleigh: I came up with the idea when I was 5 years old but I didn’t start until I was 8 years old. My online business, Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms began when I was 10 years old. Now, I am almost 12 and schoolwork is heavier. I am finding it challenging to do both but I still manage. It is important to me to respond to all of my emails personally, to write notes to each of my customers, and to ship all products within 48 hours.

Sarah:  What an example you are of excellent customer service!  What about college? Are you planning on going?

Hayleigh: Yes, I plan to go to college.

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?

Hayleigh: In order to start my business, I needed money for product supplies, the domain name, the website services, and audiology displays. My parents offered to be my financial backers, but I had to pay them back.

Sarah:  Awesome job to your parents for teaching you about money as well as supporting you in your business!  What have been the best surprises that you found in starting your business?

Hayleigh: My sales began at craft sales, moved on to website sales, and now I have distribution companies supplying Hayleighs Cherished Charms to audiologists around the world. I did not think it was going to grow that fast. One of the reasons I started the business was that I saw a need that wasn’t just my own. So, I am happy to see how well people have responded to my products.

Sarah: Do you do EVERYTHING by yourself or do you have people on your team that work with you? If so – how did you find people to help you along the way?

Hayleigh: I do not do EVERYTHING by myself. My mom, dad, and my sisters help me get some things done. My twin sister Vienna makes necklaces and 8 year old sister Sarah makes bracelets so that we can make sister sets (charms, bracelets, and matching necklaces). My mom helps me paint the audiology displays and package things to be mailed and my dad often drives them to the Post Office. I am only 11, so I can’t drive yet. My baby brother helps by not eating the charms or the supplies!

Sarah:  We know a thing or two about little brothers in our house. I am so thrilled to hear that your family has been so supportive of your business and that they help so much! What ideas and approaches do you use to market your business and what do you find works best for you in getting the word out about who you are and what you are doing?

Hayleigh: I often ask for links to my website and in return, I put a link from my website to theirs. I contact magazines for the Hearing Impaired and submit articles about Hayleigh’s Cherished Charms. I also attend conferences and workshops and share with audiologists and families about my business. I have developed audiology displays that I send for free to audiologists in the US and Canada. Currently I have product in Denmark and am looking to have my products available internationally. Also, contacting distribution companies has been a very successful way to market and distribute my charms and tube twists.

Sarah:  Hayleigh, you are brilliant!  It is so awesome to hear that you are doing such a fabulous job marketing your products! How do you balance it all? Do you find that you still have time to be a kid?

Hayleigh: I have to schedule my time well. I schedule in time to play with my sisters and friends and to be a kid! It is challenging to do that sometimes. I can’t predict when a distribution company is going to put in another order or when an article is going to be printed. So, I have to be flexible with my time. My parents also encourage me to be a kid too!

Sarah: So glad to hear that you take time out to enjoy life! What is the best advice or tips you would like to share with young entrepreneurs?

Hayleigh: When starting a business, it has to be something that you would like. It has to be something that if it existed you would want to go and get it or be a part of it. You have to feel passionate about your work because it is hard work to be successful. But it is worth it. One of the greatest rewards is receiving emails from customers about how much they enjoy their charms and tube twists and how they feel differently about their hearing aids because of them. That is a great feeling!

My oldest son, Jacob loves rock climbing so when I heard about Ryan, I knew I had to interview him! (Funny thing is we didn’t even talk at all about rock climbing)

He is a CEO Kid with many talents! It’s a pretty long interview but I think you will find that there lots of nuggets of strong business insight!

Here is the entire interview for you to enjoy!

Sarah – Ryan – please share with us your story as a CEO Kid and where we can find you online!

Ryan - You can find me on my website at RyanCoisson.com.

A little bit about my story — I’ve always kind of been in the mindset of wanting to be in business for myself.  From just a young kid in middle school, I would have my parents buy bulk candy at Sam’s Club and sell it to the kids at school.  With the money I earned, I would buy simple things such as different snacks and the pair of shoes that I wanted that my parents wouldn’t buy for me.

I think a lot of people that get into the mindset of an entrepreneur, think that they’re not ever going to have a job or that they don’t want to ever have a job.  I have a little bit different mindset in that I believe certain types of jobs can certainly provide you with good experience and good discipline for your actual business that you’re going to be starting.  I’ve actually had some jobs that I knew that I probably wouldn’t like or love but that would be good stepping stones for me into the things that I wanted to do and that’s why I took the jobs.

Sarah – I love what you just said – sometimes having jobs can be like stepping stones. Some of the kids I have interviewed may never work for anyone else but themselves.  For some though, having a job may be a great, low-risk way to get some experience!  That’s how it was for me.  I worked a little bit for myself and then I worked at several different jobs and then I have definitely worked for myself for the last 17 years.

What do you think are the most important skills to having your own business?

Ryan: I have several businesses that I have done and several more that I am doing right now. I think one of the most important skills is developing an unbreakable belief in yourself and in your abilities.  When you are an entrepreneur, sometimes your family and your friend are going to think that you’re kind of crazy.  Developing a belief in yourself that no matter what anyone says you can do anything is so important.  As an entrepreneur you determine your altitude.  You must constantly work on that every single day doing different things to build up that belief in yourself because until you really believe that you’re going to be successful at any business or any skill in general, you’re not going to be.  I learned that in sports.  I’ve learned that in just everything that I’ve done that until I really believed firmly inside me that I could do it, it just wasn’t going to happen.

So I think developing that passionate belief in yourself is extremely important.  As you go through the different phases of your entrepreneurship, there’s definitely peaks, valley’s, plateaus, all these different things that you go through that if you don’t have that belief in yourself, you’re going to start to doubt what you’re doing, you’re going to start to question am I doing the right things, should I try and go and get a job, was everybody right?  And by just constantly reaffirming to yourself you’re vision and your goals and everything of that nature, you can really push through and turn those values and everything actually into great additional businesses sometimes even.

I was reading Entrepreneur Magazine on an airplane yesterday, they were talking about a billionaire winemaker from California who grew up in the 30’s.  He had been selling grapes to other vineyards to make money and he owned this massive plot of land.  When the grape market crashed he changed his business model and started making wine. That winery bottles and ships out 5.5 million bottles of wine a year now.

You’ve got to be able to really recognize those points where you may need to shift your business. By building an immunity to the market forces and by building your belief in yourself you will make it as an entrepreneur.  There are other important skills that I guess have benefited me.  One is the ability to communicate with people and in my communication, being very transparent and honest and developing relationships with that communication.  It is important to build your network.  They say that your your net worth equals your network or your network equals your net worth, but a lot of people never really explain the best ways to go about doing that.

You start by reaching out and talking to people and understanding them but not from the perspective of how can they help YOUR business but more from how can you mutually benefit and even how can you help them. I find that the more that I give out and the more that I just keep helping others, the more it just magically comes back to me.  I won’t get into the law of attraction and all that kind of stuff.  I think if you have the mindset of how can you help other people when you’re networking and communicating with them, that you’re going to get that same type of reciprocity back in your life.  So I think that’s a great skill.

The last skill I want to share is being diligent in your work, being very disciplined.  A lot of entrepreneurs, work really hard a lot of them.  I mean, I laugh when people say, “Oh you’re an entrepreneur, you want to be an entrepreneur so you don’t have to work.”  As an entrepreneur you work very hard but you also love what you do.

Sarah – So true!  You do work really hard but when you love what you do there is joy in the hard work.

Ryan -  When I say be diligent in doing your work, I use a principle of I write down every day the seven most important things that I need to do for my business that day.  I am laser focused on those seven things.  I do not get distracted on the rest of the stuff.  It is easy to get distracted and say – I’m going to go check out twitter, I’m going to go do this or I need to go to Starbucks to get a coffee or I’m going to do whatever. I find that if I can focus on the seven things that are going to affect my bottom line the most or help my business the most, that’s the most important thing.  I can get things done in a lot less time than if I am distracted.

Sarah – That’s so awesome. What you’re saying is that you’re “planning your work and working your plan” and you don’t let anything distract you from that. What do you think are some of the biggest obstacles that you’ve had to overcome?  You talked about the peaks and the valleys.  So tell us a little bit more about what things you face and maybe what things you’ve seen other entrepreneurs face that they’ve had to overcome?

Ryan – I would say one of the biggest things that I faced was just initially when I was starting to get really serious about my business in high school, I was met with not a lot of support.  My parents were supportive in their own way but I took a lot of ridicule and stuff from everybody especially my peers because they all thought I was crazy.  What really helped me over come this was surrounding myself with different people.

I started to find mentors and people that were much older than me; I mean people that were in their 40’s and 50’s that have or had successful businesses. I really start to look to them for guidance and to help instill that belief in me so that I could have a better balance and start to get rid of the negativity in my life.  Doing this also helped me to really shorten the actual learning curve in how to grow my business successfully.  Developing these relationships and getting successful people to teach me, allowed me to put together a very systematic plan of what I needed to do to accomplish my end goal.  I think that was probably one of the smartest things that I did, especially at that age in getting through that initial hurdle.

Sarah – I think it was brilliant!

Ryan -  I’ve always believed in investing in myself whether that be through books, time with people or even having a coach or something like that.  There are people that know how to do exactly what you want to do or can show you the steps that you need to implement things in.  I would rather spend the money initially or the time to invest into that relationship with a friend or a mentor than to spend two years doing something that they could show me how to do in 30, 60 days.  As an entrepreneur your time can be your worst enemy in that you don’t have enough of it.  So by shortening that learning curve, you can just save yourself so much time and be able to make so much more money and make a better impact.

Sarah – Where did you go and how did you find the mentors?

Ryan - So first thing as a young entrepreneur I’m going to tell you right away that you have got the biggest advantage in networking and finding mentors because if you do it in the right way, they are all extremely impressed by what you’re doing and they want to help you out because they see a little bit of themselves in you at your age.  What I did is I started to attend all sorts of different random events that I could go to. I grew up right outside Chicago and that’s where I went to high school.   At the community colleges they would have speakers that would come in that would talk about real estate or business or business ethics or marketing, all these different types of events at the college that would just be $10, $15.00 or sometimes free, sometimes they were $50.00.  I would just go to those and just sit towards the front.

If someone looked successful, I would go up and introduce myself and talk to them.  I would ask them question after question after question about what they did and about themselves.  Then I would just get their business card and follow up with them.  I was touching base with some people weekly, some people monthly and I was getting mentoring all along the way.  They started introducing me to other people and I just started to build a network of people I could reply on for mentoring.  I was learning a little bit from all kinds of different people.  From that large group of people, I found a few that I was really able to connect with and built great friendships with.

I recommend every young person go to Toastmasters as well.   At Toastmasters, you can really start to develop great speaking skills which is so important as an entrepreneur! I also recommend Business Network International, BNI.

You never know who’s going to end up being a mentor for you.  Just get started connecting with people!

Sarah – It is so true that it is important to cultivate mentoring relationships. What are you doing right now in your business?

Ryan - Right now, I do a couple different things. I’m a marketer that basically helps businesses get new customers.  I help them find new customers for their actual business whether that be for Amazon or whether that be for a company that selling an information product.  I also do coaching for small business owners and entrepreneurs that are wanting to do online marketing.  My specialty is internet marketing and search engine optimization.  So getting rank in the top of the search results whether that be Google, yahoo, Safari; any of the search engines. Everyone wants more customers so it is a great business to be in.

Sarah:  So do you do everything yourself or do you have a team?

Ryan - I have outsourcers that I use and people that I use for development and programming.  I learned to do this from Frank Kern.  Write down on one side of a piece of paper the things that you love to do within your business. For me that would be research. I love doing the research and saying, okay, here’s where we can make changes.  Or here’s how I can personally build a website and get it ranking in the top of the search engines.

So write down all the things that you love to do.  Then you write down all the things that you hate doing.  The goal is to outsource every single one of those things that you don’t love to do so that you can spend 100% of your time on the stuff that you love to do.  By doing this you’ll have better energy because your mind isn’t thinking about these negative things that you don’t want to do because you have a negative connotation to them.  You’ll be happier.  You will also be so much more productive because your focusing on 100% of your time on the stuff you love which is normally the stuff that produces results anyways.

I have three people that do all my content for the Internet.  I do occasionally writing about certain things but mostly I outsource it. I’ve got people that do website design now.  All those things I have done at one point and by no means as a young entrepreneur can you expect to outsource everything right away.  You’ve got to go through those processes and know what you are asking people to do before you can outsource them or you may run into problems.

Sarah – That is absolutely true!  You have to be willing to inspect what you expect and you have to have an understanding of the expectations first.  Being able to duplicate yourself by having  a system in place is huge!  Congrats for doing that!

Ryan – Initially even if there things that you don’t enjoy, people can struggle giving up doing them.  They are afraid that the quality is not going to be there.  I’ll tell you from experience a lot of times the quality from someone else is better than what you can do.  Even though you think you’re the best at it, you might be able to pay someone a fraction of the cost and they’ll do a better job.  So let them surprise you and start delegating!

Sarah – Awesome insight!  In closing, what would you recommend that every CEO kids needs to know?

Ryan – One thing I would definitely tell them is be persistent.  Another thing that is important is to buy a journal and start writing down everything that you want to accomplish.  Really plan out your goals and it isn’t just for business. Writing out your life goals and the things that you want to do and accomplish.  Write out what you want your life to look like every day.  Look at your journal every day and really start to see yourself living that life and doing those things.  This is such an incredible skill and habit to develop.  Use visualization daily and really see how you want your business to run; see how you want to live.

Realize that your goals are going to change and adapt.  Don’t feel bad if you write out five, ten year plan and then six months or a year from now it’s changed a little bit, that’s okay, you can modify it.  So few people will actually even do that.  They won’t write down their goals and then they won’t review their goals regulatory.  I think you should do it daily or twice daily in the morning and the evening.  People won’t visualize where they want to be.  I mean, every Olympic athlete uses visualization.  These are some of the greatest athletes in the world are utilizing this and they’re being successful with it.

Why wouldn’t you do something that you knew could help you?  You can use just a few minutes a day to visualize and it could really impact your life!

It is true that there needs to be changes made in our global education system.  I believe that as parents we don’t need to WAIT for those changes to occur!  We can CHOOSE TODAY to start those changes in our own home.  We can give life to our children’s dreams!  We can see them for who they are and the magnificence they have inside of them!  We can encourage them to follow their passions RIGHT NOW – not after high school or after college! NOW!  I would love to hear your comments below!  Enjoy the video of Sir Ken Robinson at TED May 2010.