1. The CEO Manual 4 Kids
Powerful, dynamic CEOs aren't born that way; they are carefully nurtured and sculpted. Even
the Jack Welches and Bill Gates' of the world were once just motivated kids looking for the
tools they needed to fulfill their dreams and turn their ideas into reality. Too often, adults
dismiss the natural skills and "out-of-the-box" business ideas of youth, simply because of the
entrepreneur's age. America needs to stop and take note of these up-and-coming business
titans and give them the encouragement and training they need to rise to their full potential.
In 1976, 16-year-old Steve Jobs, along with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, founded
Apple Computer in Jobs' parents' garage. That collaboration would eventually launch the
Macintosh computer, iTunes, the iPod, the iPad and other devices that have become all, but
essential to the way we live. In 2005, "People" magazine called Jobs the "Father of the
Digital Age."
More recently, Mark Zuckerberg was just 19 years old when he launched what would
become Facebook in his Harvard University dorm room in 2003. By age 23, Zuckerberg was
a billionaire and named by "Time" magazine as one of the wealthiest and most influential
men in the world. His creation now helps more than one billion individuals and businesses
interact with one another and has changed the way the world communicates.
Jobs and Zuckerberg aren't isolated examples. In 2010, "Inc." magazine profiled 10
teenagers whose ideas and leadership have earned them at least $1 million. These included
a 17-year-old who sold his mobile news app to Yahoo! for $30 million and a teen whose
online furniture business, started in his bedroom when he was just 14 years old, is now
reported to be worth more than $40 million. Fastupfront.com talks about other teen
entrepreneurs, like a 14-year-old Brit with a passion for fruit jam, who started a company that
now grosses more than 1.2 million in annual sales, and a teen from the south side of
Chicago, who became the world's youngest self-made millionaire (outside of the
entertainment industry) at age 14 and is now a motivational speaker and author.
The role of entrepreneurs in the United States
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the more than 25 million small businesses in the
United States provide more than half of the private sector jobs in the U.S., generate more
than half of the country's gross national product and are the prime source for new jobs in
America. The role of small businesses and the entrepreneurs who run them cannot be
overstated.
Why cultivating young entrepreneurs is important
A 2005 U.S. Department of Labor study found that more than two-thirds of American
teenagers want to become entrepreneurs. Despite this desire, there are few training courses
available in schools about entrepreneurship as a career path. Yet, young entrepreneurship is
on the rise. According to a study by the Kaufman Foundation, 29 percent of new
entrepreneurial activity in 2011 was by individuals between 20 and 34 years of age.
However, young business leaders face a host of challenges their older competitors don't
have to deal with, such as not being taken seriously by financial backers and even customers
