“On behalf of Girl Scouts of the USA and Microsoft Windows, I would love to introduce you to a new initiative called “LMK (text-speak for “Let Me Know,”) which provides parents and girls with resources catering to both generations, and whose goal is to bridge the digital gap between parents and teenagers.
 
On www.lmk.girlscouts.org, the girl-targeted website, teens can find interactive quizzes, videos, and expert articles to be informed about online safety in a fun way! Girls can comment on the site content, sharing their thoughts, experiences and perspectives on topics many teens face everyday, like cyberbullying and social networking. New content is posted periodically and will cover twelve different areas related to being a teen online today. Teens can even download an interactive patch they can share on social networking sites like Facebook, just by registering for the site at no cost. Best of all, it’s for all teenagers, not just Girl Scouts!
(more…)

Carrrlita27 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carlita 27) is a 14 year old teen entrepreneur and rising online star aka internet personality on You Tube.  See her video below that has over 3.5 million views!!! In a recent interview on Fox she said that she started making videos for fun about random things in her life and one of her videos went viral (meaning it was getting sent all over the place) and that basically started a domino effect. As a result of all her instant new found fame she got contacted by You Tube with an offer to set up a partner account and now she enjoys paid advertising on her site and her site draws in somewhere in the 4 figures per month. 

I know a lot of teens that try to go this path of overnight You Tube Star. But it seems like when you are trying to make something viral no matter how much marketing you put forth it never happens! Go figure, huh? It is always something really random that becomes popular. Needless to say if you are out there marketing you tube videos you should always have a blog or something ready to be able to capture the continued interest of all those ‘fans’ who may be curious about you in general and want to see other things you have to offer. And instead of focusing all your efforts trying to make a viral video, focus on your niche/specialty business and create videos that tie back to that brand. This is what will build you a strong, loyal following of raving fans and repeat buyers. Remember it was ultimately the turtle who beat the hare.

Ready to start your small business empire?  Send the responsible adult in your life here http://bit.ly/4P8dx

Until next time-

keep it real and keep it moving…. @teenbizcoach

You could do better if you knew better….know what I am sayin’? It’s all about being present! I know that some folks in the world frown upon teens having their say, but in the world of the Renegade CEO’s it is very much encouraged. You are not inconviencing me. By supporting you, I grow as well. I hear from Patricio Quezada every single week because he wants to be looped on everything that is going on in the world of teen entrepreneurs and he wants to make sure I am looped with what is going on in his world. Whether he tweets me on Twitter, sends me an email, connects with me on skype, writes on my wall on Facebook or places a phone call I know I am going to hear from him.

So I guess it is no wonder he has been able to quickly act on every opportunity that has come about over recent months and as a result has been able to enjoy $2,995 complimentary admission & scholarship to Serial Internet Entrepreneur and Self Made Millionaire’s Yanik Silver’s Underground 5 Online Marketing Seminar, where he got to network with the likes of Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy.com and Tony Hsieh, Founder of Zappos.com. Then an article was picked up about him in the Washington Business Journal Newspaper. A month later he was interviewing one of his idols, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, Mike Michalowicz and in the past 2 weeks he has been featured on CNN (see clip above), in a photo shoot for a National Campaign for Teen Entrepreneurs and requested for paid speaking and workshop gigs (outside of his hometown) this summer.

We get media, sponsorship and strategic partnership requests ON THE REGULAR so if you are an aspiring or emerging teen entrepreneur let me hear from you regardless of what stage of business you are in- conceptual or operational! I am here to support you.

You already know your potential, now you just need to fearlessly grow into it.

Continue to elevate.

@teenbizcoach

Guess who’s about to be famous?

YOU!

…because there’s no business like YO’ business! Sooo, in case you missed our casting call a few months ago, you’re in luck- we got another one! Whooop! Whooop! So get your requests in TODAY!!! No sending me requests all 1 month late this time :) Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 5 pm (eastern time). Tweet it, Facebook it, MySpace it, Beatbox it, Blog it…Whateva! Let’s increase the chances of someone we know getting selected because it will evolve us all!

What’s All The Hype About?

If you are a teen entrepreneur 18 or younger with an operational business and got BIG DREAMS, BIG PERSONALITY, BIG NERVE and are BIG BALLIN’, HOLLA because you are the ultimate Renegade CEO and we are looking for you! A happenin’ producer for mainstream television shows like Supernanny and the Real Housewives of New York is in search of YOU….more specifically YOUTH!!! Peep the shout out in USA Today: http://bit.ly/cHF3J

They are looking here and there, high and low, near and far, over and under for a teen between the ages of 13-18 who has an existing business, got their legal money making groove on and have something that has the potential to grow worldwide. They will even consider teens who work in a family-owned business. (If you don’t fit this profile, please pass it forward. It will come back to you and in a much bigger way, I promise! And besides, I have more media related announcements coming up…so standby).

If You Got It, You Got It!

As teens from all over the U.S. are going to be competing for these coveted positions your charm, passion and business mindset is going to play a big role.  Remember, if you have to convince ’us’ that you have these traits, this is probably not a good thing (ya’ know what I’m sayin’?). So don’t set yourself up. Besides, if you’re perfect and your business is perfect, then you are probably really boring. Surprise us with your minor imperfections…do teens really have those??? :) 

Seriously- Just be confident and most importantly be YOU!

How to Enter:

The last time I took media requests I got slammed like an around the world dunk. So to simplify the process this time this is what I need you to do:

Send an email to media (at) renegadeceos (dot) com

An auto reply will be sent to you where you will need to fill out the required questions. If you meet the criteria - once the production staff is ready and needs additional information or wants to set up your pre-interview s/he will personally follow up with you.

Okie dokie my friends- Good fortune to you all and remember that you can’t be selected if you don’t enter. And if you get selected make sure you give a shout out to the Renegade CEO’s. Thanks, I am so grateful for you ;-)

Again, promptly send your email to media (at) renegadeceos (dot) com to get the process started.

XOXO

@teenbizcoach

Being that we live in a free enterprise system, the system cannot fail you. You can only fail yourself. But I am in the wrong for saying that.  People say stupid things to me like, you have a Republican message on a Democratic platform. Uhh, I am not in the business of politics. I am not in the business of religion. I am in the business of building a better livelihood (personally and professionally) for myself and others around me. And that is exactly why I work with teenagers :) because they TOTALLY get that. 

The access to information and opportunities are there for those who want them and choose to go get them. That is what they need to learn- simply how to access the information and opportunities and then go leverage them to their benefit. You don’t need a job that barely pays a living wage to do that.

Anyway, here are Shonika’s Sure Fire Stimulus Funding Tips to ensure whether you are an employer or employee YOU HAVE IT LAST!

1. Live your life by design not by default. I believe it was Robert Kiyosaki who said that. But essentially it means, don’t settle and don’t throw yourself in the air like a bunch of confetti, lots of little shredded paper flying every which way. If the first thing or opportunity that comes along doesn’t seem to be a good match for you wait. Take your time and look for opportunities (jobs, consulting, training, etc) that align with your long term vision. Choose what you are passionate about even if you don’t fully have the skill set developed. Your purpose and passion will always take you the furthest.

2. Build Your Network Align with other strategic partners and individuals (now not later) who are working complimentary to you.  Write down what things are missing from your network and invite credible and trustworthy people into your network so that you can ALL pool your assets and resources. It’s who you know that will get you in the door and it’s what you know that will keep you inside (See #1).

3.  Realize the Power of Giving. Give, Serve, Share….whatever you call it. And I don’t just mean in a charitable sense. I mean being open and authentic with people. When you hold back valuable information and opportunities, what you have to lose is insignificant in comparison in to what you have to gain by putting it out there. Your intellectual property and life experiences hold value. So I am not saying give up your “secret sauce”. I am saying put it out there that you have a recipe and ask people to help you produce, manufacture and market it. Use the folks in your network (See #2) to help manifest your dream.

4. Ask better questions. Instead of saying “you didn’t know” take a little time to research what you are getting into. Think through the possible outcomes and your growth potential in the future.  Ask specific questions to make sure this is an ideal match for you. Ask questions about the organization’s path they are walking, their vision, what resources they have in place, the key people in their network, the partnerships they have, where their funding comes from and find out what some of their clients are up to. If they give you broken and somewhat superficial answers then you know that the organization that is not concerned about the details now certainly won’t be concerned about them later.

5. Manifest Your Destiny and Take Ownership of it. Dream of what you want and build the energy around it. A large part of being able to attract these things is telling yourself what you want and envisioning this. Why must you do this? A lot of people call it “law of attraction” but the concept is you are building self-awareness and keeping it centered in your conscious mind. If it is on the forefront you are most likely to be able to see opportunities directly related to evolving that dream whether it is in general conversation or an article that you read etc. When it is on your radar you will be more in tuned and see other roads leading to your destination that you may not have seen before.

So that’s a “RAP” …play on words….(See Recovery Action Plan). If you get a job or contract related to stimulus funding, let us know. We would love to do a case study on it and see how we can support you to repurposing that opportunity and keeping it going  and growing long after the funding has run out.

Until next time,

Keep it real and keep it moving.