Harun Merdzanic is a sixteen year old global fashionista situated in Sarajevo Bosnia, and Herzogovina. He describes his life as a French Musical from the 60’s. He is the visionary and blogger behind AccordingtoHarun.blogspot.com

Harun was named the Teen Passioneer of the Month (February 2010) and yesterday he was interviewed live on Sue Oliver’s Passions and Possibilities Radio Show. In listening to Harun’s interview , it dawned on me that today’s teenagers living in Eastern Europe are technically the first generation to grow up Post Communism. Less than 20 years after the end of the Cold War, the entrepreneurial culture is starting to emerge and it is the teen population that is bringing forth these new socially inspired ideas.

The innovation, work ethic, inspiration and vision that comes from the youth of Eastern Europe is incredible and they are looking now more than ever to the west for leadership and guidance. As they embark on their life paths, I hope that America has not forgotten about them and can provide them with the support and exposure they desperately need. I am trying hard to do my part.

Many thanks to all my Teen Renegade CEO’s across Eastern Europe who are creating jobs, opportunity and more importantly hope for their respective countries.

This information comes courtesy of Mara Tyler (thanks so much). Additional information about the program and nomination forms for the competition can be found at www.girlsgoingplaces.com and online at YouTube, MySpace and Facebook (Keyword: GirlsGoingPlaces). Note from Shonika - If you fit the bill and are a teen girl that I have personally had experience with, I will gladly nominate you. I do not have a problem writing the 750 word nomination essay on your behalf but you are going to have to make the personal ASK if you want it. Please read on for more details.

NATIONWIDE COMPETITION TO AWARD $30,000 IN PRIZES FOR TEEN GIRL ENTREPRENEURS

Guardian Announces Final Call for 2010 Nominations for Girls Going Places® Program

NEW YORK, January 12, 2010 - The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY (Guardian) today announced the final call for nominations for the 2010 Girls Going Places® Entrepreneurship Award Program. Under the program Guardian will grant a total of $30,000 to 15 teen business owners who demonstrate exceptional entrepreneurship and community service.

“The Girls Going Places program inspires girls to see the potential of their entrepreneurial dreams by providing financial rewards and recognition for their business and community achievements, ” said Kathy Readinger, Guardian’s national manager of the program. “Since this is the tenth anniversary of Girls Going Places, we want to make a special effort to encourage girls across the nation to enter,” she continued. “The Going Places program is one of the many ways Guardian supports and recognizes women-owned businesses.”

Submissions will be accepted through February 26, 2010. Teachers, parents, and community members are encouraged to nominate accomplished young female entrepreneurs between the ages of 12 and 18. Adults can nominate girls by submitting a 750-word essay endorsing accomplished young female entrepreneurs. Nominees must also write a 250-word personal statement on entrepreneurship, leadership, financial independence, or giving back to the community.

The first, second and third place winners receive prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000, respectively. The 12 finalists are granted prizes of $1,000 each. Girls can use the award to reinvest in their entrepreneurial projects or to save for college. Additional information about the program and nomination forms for the competition can be found at www.girlsgoingplaces.com and online at YouTube, MySpace and Facebook (Keyword: GirlsGoingPlaces).

With rising college tuition rates across the nation, Guardian is committed to ensuring that young women are aware of the benefits of business ownership. “The recent economic crisis accentuates the importance of business and financial education,” said Readinger. “With more than 10 million firms across the nation that are owned by women, we are committed to helping the current generation of women entrepreneurs and those to come.”

The Girls Going Places® Entrepreneurship Award program anchors Guardian’s Women’s Initiative, which was established to help women and women business owners create, invest, and protect wealth.

About Guardian

A mutual insurer founded nearly 150 years ago, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries are committed to protecting individuals, business owners and their employees with life, long term care insurance, disability income, group medical and dental insurance products, and offer 401(k), annuities and other financial products. Guardian operates one of the largest dental networks in the United States, and protects more than six million employees and their families at 120,000 companies. The company has more than 5,400 employees in the United States and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 80 agencies nationwide.

For more information about Guardian, please visit: www.GuardianLife.com

This announcement comes courtesy of Andrea Krause, Executive Director of Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (FYSE). The Renegade CEO’s is proud to serve as one of their sponsors for their upcoming conference in India, July 2010.

Official Announcement:

We are very happy to inform you about our new resource base for aspiring entrepreneurs!

Today we launched the first online database in Asia Pacific to provide young people with information where to get support to start their own ventures.

While youth entrepreneurship has emerged as a hot topic in the region, the number of youth entrepreneurs in the region remains low. While, for example, 51% of university students in Singapore desire to have their own business (Wang & Wong 2004) only 5.3% start a business. The most cited reasons for not starting their venture include a perceived lack of skills and knowledge, a lack of educational and financial support. So far, if a young person wanted to find information about available resource, they had to identify information about entrepreneurship courses or financial support in a time consuming and individual base from various sources on the internet.

To overcome the perceived lack of resources and to enable aspiring entrepreneurs to access information in a easy and convenient way, the Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (FYSE) has compiled a database of resources available for young aspiring entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific. The information includes a list of courses, workshops and trainings on entrepreneurship and available business plan competitions in which young people can take part.

The aim of the database is to provide young people in Asia with a one-stop source for young aspiring entrepreneurs to get all the information they need to take the first steps towards becoming an entrepreneurs and a source for organizations to attract aspiring entrepreneurs to their programs. The database will be extended in the coming months to include interviews, podcasts and videos with leading entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific to provide knowledge and expertise to young start-ups.

The Resources can be found at http://www.paragon100.asia Under "Resources"
or at http://bit.ly/6NJsxT

Print on Demand Makes Publishing a Book Accessible for Teen Entrepreneurs

The old adage says that ‘everybody has at least one great book in them’. You may be pleasantly surprised at how easy technology has made it to turn that dream into a reality. The teen entrepreneurs I work with are discovering the accessibility and ease of writing and publishing their own books thanks to print on demand options offered by online do it yourself publishing websites such as createspace.com and lulu.com.

Print on demand (micro) publishing allows a book to be printed as it is ordered. No upfront money is needed to publish each book once it has been created. No minimum order is required, and the cost of the production for the book is deducted from the sales price after the consumer has placed their order. The books are produced using high end digital printers, and provided the books have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number obtained through Bowker) and barcode they can be sold online through major book sellers as well as in your hometown book store.

To continue reading this article

7 Great Gift Ideas for Teen Entrepreneurs (Under $100) This is the title of my debut post on PBS Nightly Business Report Blog. It is awesome, awesome exposure as their blog is ranked on Alexa #536 in the U.S. and #1550 in the world! Whooop!

Tentatively, I am a guest blogger, but I will be blogging bi-weekly about teens in entrepreneurship so I expect I will get a regular self-branded column….fingers crossed

Excited about what’s in store for 2010 as I have already gotten nearly a dozen entries to partner with the Renegades and someone even gave a donation of 1 year membership to DC’s National Press Club , for one very deserving Renegade CEO, who loves writing, media, journalism, photography, broadcasting….you name it!

And if you happen to live in the DC area, bonus- you will be able to benefit from networking with Who’s Who at the events that are hosted regularly at the Club (A DC landmark for 100+ years and counting)!

Post for Week of Dec. 18, 2009: http://bit.ly/7aFG5h