Teenage entrepreneurs get off to a good start in business

AT the age of 14 most teenage boys are likely to be found engrossed in computer games or playing sport in their spare time. But at 14 Fraser Doherty was busy making jam, after his grandmother taught him a recipe that had been handed down through generations of his family.

Unhappy that traditional jam contained high levels of sugar, he decided to make a much healthier version by using natural grape juice instead of sugar, and fruit such as blueberries and cranberries that are particularly high in nutrients and vitamins.

Doherty started selling jars of his jam door to door near his parents’ home in Edinburgh. As interest grew, his hobby started to turn into a business. He now makes 40,000 jars of jam a month, Tesco has begun stocking his SuperJam in 230 of its stores, and Doherty is well on his way to making his first million.

Doherty is one of a growing number of young people in Britain who have become entrepreneurs at a very young age. The traditional view is that it is impossible to start a successful business without gaining years of knowledge and experience, but teenagers like Doherty are proving that energy and confidence can win over age.
According to a recent Generation Entreprise report by City & Guilds, 48% of young people aged between 16 and 25 said that they wanted to start their own business instead of getting a job. The survey of more than 1,000 young people also found that almost half of them knew someone under the age of 30 who already had their own business.

Doherty, who has been chosen to represent Britain in the Global Students Entrepreneurs Awards in Chicago next month, said there are several advantages to having started young: “As a young person you have a different view of the world. You have a naviety and an optimism and are willing to try things out. I have always been willing to give something a shot and take a bit of risk. The downside for me isn’t particularly scary. I don’t have a mortgage or kids to worry about so I didn’t have a huge amount to lose if my idea had not worked.”

Doherty, who is taking a year or two out from studying management and accountancy at Strathclyde University to focus on expanding his business, added: “I can’t think of much more that I could be doing right now that I would enjoy more than this. It gives me so much excitement. I can constantly set my own challenges and achieve whatever I want to.”

Duncan Cheatle, founder of The Supper Club, a forum for established entrepreneurs in London, agreed that becoming an entrepreneur at a young age has a lot to recommend it.

“When you are young you are not conditioned or constrained by your experiences, which can be a real problem for people coming out of the workplace,” he said.

“For young people there is no concept of thinking outside the box, because there isn’t a box. There is a capacity in young people to see things in a different way that older people lose. And often not being an expert in something can be helpful because if you don’t understand why something works in a certain way you will decide to do it differently.”

Cheatle said that, contrary to popular belief, being young can sometimes open doors because successful older business people are often keen to help young people progress. “Older people are often very impressed that someone has got the guts and gumption to develop the product or service and then to pick up the phone and ask to speak to someone quite senior.”

Another teenager busy breaking the entrepreneurial mould is Louis Barnett, who at the age of 15 has just become Waitrose’s youngest supplier with his Chokolit chocolates.

Barnett, who has dyslexia, dropped out of school at the age of 11 to study at home with the help of a tutor and since then has turned his love of making chocolate into a fully-fledged business.

What sets his chocolates apart from the competition is they come in an edible chocolate box, an idea Barnett came up with when he was looking around for an alternative to wrapping his chocolates in expensive packaging. He called his business Chokolit because he writes phonetically and that is how the word appears.

Barnett said: “Some people might think my occupation is a peculiar choice for a teenager, but I am pursuing my dream � just like David Beckham did, and nobody thought there was anything unusual about his chosen career.”

Other successful entrepreneurs who began young include James Murray Wells, who was 19 when he started his business GlassesDirect, which sells prescription glasses over the internet. The business now has sales of £3m.

Meanwhile, Adam Hildreth founded Dubit, an interactive website for teenagers, when he was 14 and it also has a turnover of close to £3m.

Shell Livewire, which has been providing inspiration, advice and practical support to young entrepreneurs aged between 16 and 30 for many years, is encouraged by the increase in the number of young people wanting to start their own business.

James Smith, chairman of Shell UK, said: “There’s no age limit on entrepreneurialism but some people have a natural business spark that’s evident from an early age. And more and more people are starting young; in the past three years, Shell Livewire has supported more than 70,000 young entrepreneurs. This spirit of entrepreneurialism among young people not only has obvious economic benefits but brings real social benefits too.”

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, the home business website, said that parents play a crucial role in encouraging young people to become entrepreneurs, not least because the vast majority of them start up their businesses from a room in their parents’ home.

She said: “At least 85% of the young people we have profiled on the Enterprise Nation website in the past six months are living in their parents’ home and running their business from there. Being cared for by their family and paying modest or no rent means that they are able to focus on their business and keep their overheads low.”

Jones said that young people were much more confident about using technology as a base for their business than the older generation. “Whole sectors that didn’t exist 10 years ago are coming up now because young entrepreneurs are defying all previous rules and saying technology means that we can do things like this. They have an open capacity to think of new ideas and as a result they are starting very interesting businesses.”
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'Front-room start-ups need support'

by Sion Barry, Western Mail
A REPORT is calling for greater support and recognition for home businesses in Wales.

The Home Business Report, compiled by home business resource Enterprise Nation, has drawn up a 10-point blueprint which it believes, if adopted, will boost the Welsh economy and bring increased benefits to the environment and society.

The BT-sponsored report, unveiled at the launch of Small Business Week 2007, reveals that the home has now become the most popular business start-up location – accounting for more than 60% of all start-ups.

In Wales there are 105,237 home-based self-employed. The most popular reason (62%) for working from home in Wales was for a better work-life balance, with 42% citing lower overheads.

For the UK there are now 2.1 million home-based businesses.

The report shows that 60% of new businesses started from home. It also shows that more than 70,000 people in the UK are making a full-time living from online auction site eBay, while thousands mor are generating a level of income from trading online.

The highest growth in home business is coming from mums, young people and the over 50s.

The report praises the Welsh Assembly Government for taking home enterprise seriously and believes that with a firm focus on supporting home businesses, Wales will increase its share of home business ownership.

Research shows that in 2005-06 the number of home-based businesses in Wales increased by more than 5,000.

BT director Wales Ann Beynon said, “The rapid advance of communications technology is offering a wonderful opportunity for people to start and develop businesses at home.

“There are some wonderful success stories in Wales, but much remains to be done if we are to achieve the full potential that modern information communications technology affords us.

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation and author of the report, said, “This report clearly shows the impact home businesses are having on the economy, environment and society.

“Every week, more than 1,400 businesses are started from home yet we believe there is potential to increase this still further, with some dedicated support from government and enterprise agencies.

“Home business owners are ambitious for business growth and they are making full use of technology to partner with others and trade online.

“I hope this report will be considered seriously by policy makers, so the UK can realise the full potential of home enterprise.” Ms Jones said home working brought benefits like the 60- second commute, increased productivity and time left over for family and friends.

She added, “Having the upside of these benefits does not in any way lead to a balancing downside of ambition.

“Ambitious business owners are making the most of outsourcing, sub-contracting and technology to increase their turnovers, while keeping the business at home.

“People no longer have to make the choice of a successful business or a happy home life.”

Enterprise Nation is a website dedicated to supporting people starting a business from home
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5 Ways To Find More Time with your High Speed Income Business

by Trisha Frauenhofer
Managing time is one of the most popular flaws in today's at-home High Speed Income business owner. For obvious reasons, time management is difficult when working at home. So, how does one keep on track to get the work done?

Here are 5 ways to manage your time better.

1. Do not let other people's plans get in the way of yours. When you are working really diligently on a project and you then get a phone call from a customer or friend, it is important to not let them monopolize your time. You can simply ignore the call, or politely tell them that you are working now, and will get back to them later at a certain time. People will eventually understand this.

2. Take the time to train your assistants. If you have people working for you, it is highly important that you schedule time out to train them as you go. If you don't, there is no point in having them at all. They have to know how to do what you want them to. Even though it may take some time to train them, it is worth it in the long run and will save you more time later on. When having a home business, it is important to have a good filing system working well. Organization is key. If you are not highly organized yourself, you can teach your assistant to be.

3. When working on a problem, and you get stuck, go to something else with the intent of coming back to it later. It is important o get things done and get things done well. However, if you are stumped, it may mean that you need a little time away from the issue for a while. Sometimes moving to a different subject actually gets your brain working to solve the problem from before.

4. Make things automatic that are routine. Auto responders are great tools to make every day tasks automatic so you barely even have to think about them getting done. From letters that need to be sent out, to questions that need to be answered over and over, an auto responder can save you loads of time.

5. If you are not setting aside time to review your business, you must do so. It is important to take a step back and analyze how your business is going. How have things progressed? What needs to be done in the future?

Controlling and managing your time is of the utmost importance. It is when you have this mastered, that you can actually start living your High Speed Income life with excitement. You will get more accomplished and won't always feel like you are behind. It is time to take control of your time. It is the only time you have.
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