Young Entrepreneurs

Through Twitter, I'm meeting some interesting people. Two new followers are @joeldrapper and @9miles. 

Joel Drapper is a 15-year old blogger and web designer in the UK, home-schooled. He comes from a family of 11 kids. Yes, you read that right, one shy of a dozen. I'm particularly impressed with his story about buying a laptop:

"I wanted to buy myself a laptop computer so I worked many hours washing up at a hotel and chopping potatoes into chips for a chip shop. It was poor pay and I was chopping in a small unheated shed, with gnats everywhere and by the time I finished my 8 sacks of potatoes my jeans and trainers were soaked through. But I saved up and finally bought my own laptop."

9miles Media consists of a group of teens (ages 13-16) spread across the US who do graphic and web design. While their portfolio is still developing, they provide better content in their tweets than a lot of adults I follow. And it's clear that they are figuring out how to work as a virtual team. No small task, even for adults.

What does it all mean? There have always been young entrepreneurs. Now, the Internet not only provides a means for teens to make money with a computer, talent, and skills, but it also provides a vehicle for raising the visibility of these budding capitalists. I'm wondering what they'll be doing 10 years from now.

I also think this provides a perfect rebuttal to people who provide excuses to what they really want to do in life. Just get started, at whatever age you are.

Comments

[Hayes Potter]

Thanks for the mention! (in case you don't know me, I'm the founder of 9miles)

[Ben Armstrong]

Thank you for mentioning our team! We're honored. One thing, if you could please change our name to "9miles Media," as that is our official name. Thanks!

[carolross]

Ben and Hayes: Sorry about the misspelling--nothing worse than getting the brand name wrong, right? Best of luck as you continue your biz together!

[Raela Drigger]

Compared to before, there are more opportunities for people nowadays. The booming technology has helped us in a lot of ways. You just need to use it the best possible way. Hats off to these kids. :)

[Ela Melich]

Raela is right, the opportunities that are available are extensive. But you have to admire these kids' work ethic. It only shoes that perseverance and hardwork are sometimes needed more than knowledge. :)