Have you ever wanted to start your own business or had an idea that you wanted to share with the world? Some may think that teenagers are too young to build their own companies, but each year more and more people under the age of 20 prove that wrong by creating a business all on their own.

At CHS some stundents first steps toward entrepreneurship is participating in DECA. “DECA teaches students how to write a business plan, look for financing, make connections, establish mentorships, etc,” said DECA sponsor, Marci Boland. “DECA makes becoming an entrepreneur an achievable task instead of just an overwhelming dream.”

In other parts of the country, some teens have completely skipped this step and launched their buisinesses with little knowledge and even less experience.

Lachlan Johnson created Flipoutz, a bracelet company with interchangeable coins complete with empowering phrases that kids could exchange amongst their friends to share positive self expression. When she began this company along with her brother and sister in their home town of Charlotte, NC, all they had was an idea and a passion for what that image could evolve into.

This passion was what carried them through the long process of production and what made the end result worth waiting for. “We played with the idea of Flipoutz for several years before we were able to reach the point of actually selling bracelets and coins,” said Johnson. “The process was tedious to say the least, but has definitely been worth it in the end.”

However, after their business began to grow and expand they realized that they needed additional help to run their company. “We found out quickly just how big of a project it was, as when we were featured on ABC’s Shark Tank we were still filling Flipoutz orders from our basement,” said Johnson. “As soon as the show aired, we realized that it was physically impossible for a family of five to fill the amount of orders rolling in, so after partnering with Shark Daymond John, we partnered with a toy company called Wild Creations who took over the manufacturing and shipping.”

As they have grown up, they have learned how to cope with being part time businessmen/women and full time students. “Flipoutz has definitely changed my life for the better! Though it is stressful to juggle school and owning a company, I’ve found that I am able to get everything done if I set aside specific time for both. I try not to worry about school while traveling for business, and try not to worry about business during school,” said Johnson.

Lachlan’s passion and dedication has been extremely strong and has gotten her to the place she is today. This is also the case with Jordan Williams, the co-founder of Making Money for Teens. Jordan and his partner Brandon Iverson are the authors of two books and several audio cds all for educating teens on how to become financially responsible at a young age.

After the Atlanta natives realized how little they and their friends knew about finances they became committed to educating their peers and teens across the country. They began by learning the system themselves and then they decided to pass the info on to others.

When approaching the daunting task of writing their own book they found that staying organized and determined was the only way to stick with it. “We made and published our products on our own. It took a lot of commitment and hard work to finish our products,” said Williams. “During the whole process we stayed focused on our tasks by setting goals for what we wanted to achieve through our products.”

As for handling all that is going on in their lives they believe that communication and planning is key. They agree with Lachlan and say that finding something that you are passionate about is the best way to stay devoted.

These are just two of the many teens entrepreneurs associated with Independent Youth, an organization that helps teens transition from an idea to a company. Tanya Hamilton, president of Independent Youth, was a teen entrepreneur herself.

“My twin sister and I had a babysitting service starting our sophomore year of high school. We loved it,” said Hamilton. “It was my first real taste of entrepreneurship. This really made me understand the power of entrepreneurship and made me question why anyone would strive to be anything other than an entrepreneur.”

She believes that many teen entrepreneurs just stumble into it while doing something they love. While she agrees that starting your own business is a lot of work for anyone she believes that doing it as a teen is the best time.

“I highly encourage any teen that has any slight interest in becoming an entrepreneur to dabble in it now. As a teenager there is a lot less risk involved,” said Hamilton.

Every journey has ups and downs and Tanya believes that all it takes to stick with it during the downs is a little bit of hope. “To stick with it you have to believe in yourself and your business. Even when nobody else does. Being an entrepreneur is not easy. Stay focused and work hard and it should pay off.”

So, whether your just starting out in DECA or already have your game plan mapped out, becoming an entrepreneur isn’t a far fetched dream, in fact it is an attainable goal.

When asked what advice he would give to beginners, Williams said, “We would advise young entrepreneurs to build a business that is based on their dreams. Like the quote says, ‘Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.’”