Houston, TX based teen entrepreneur Ben Weissenstein (and Renegade CEO) along with his Grand Slam Garage Sales Posse brings down the house with their Grand Slam Garage Sales World Premiere Rap Video Featuring Lil’ Flip (click the link to peep his channel and see the rest of his videos). You can also follow him on Twitter @BentheCEO

Next time I think they need to let me write the rhyme tho. I could funk it out fo’ sho’ ;-)

Note: Grand Slam Garage Sales is currently seeking investors as they work to expand their brand. Serious inquiries only (high 5 figure investment sought). Reach out to me via email teenbizcoach (at) gmail (dot) com if you or someone you know fits that profile and I can provide you with an investor package.

Until next time kids- remember that a true renegade CEO challenges not the limits of society, but the limits of oneself.

@teenbizcoach

South By Southwest (SXSW) is a 10 day conference held in Austin, TX. It brings together the latest and greatest in film, music and digital media. That is an extremely oversimplified explanation so be sure to check out their website to see what they are all about.

A few months ago when I noticed that the Call for Speakers request was open I sent out emails to a number of the Renegade teens who are active online or in the film, music, media and creative space. Today, I am proud to announce that 3 of our panel submissions were selected for consideration to be presented during the actual venue.

1. The Age of Micro Business and Teen Entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/Vote4Teens (Submitted by  Shonika Proctor)

2. Horses Heal ADD/ADHD and Autistic Kids http://bit.ly/VoteDYR Submitted by Danielle Herb, 15, Drop Your Reins)

3. Teens and the Age of New Media http://bit.ly/sxsw2010panel (Submitted by Matt Pippen, 18, Teen Media Productions)

One third of the requirement for a panel to be accepted is based on votes. So if you could be so kind can you please click on the links above and vote for each one of our panels? We would greatly appreciate it.

Do you have a panel submission that you are trying to promote for the for venue? Please post it in the comments section.

Until next time…

Don’t talk about it, BE ABOUT IT!

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Linked In Members was shared with us today by Teen Entrepreneur, Patricio Quezada of HispanicsLearn.com who was recently featured on Hispanic Entrepreneur [Congrats, btw].

I think the tips are useful for teen entrepreneurs especially those who are new to Linked In. Although I have to admit it is difficult to personally write back to every single person who responds to a question from you. Kudos to hard core LI folks like “Relo Mary” and “Tim Tym” who get a serious amount of inquiries to their questions and posts and have the focus and time to do that.

The article itself was written by Randy Schrum who runs the blog ‘Success With Linked In’.

7 Habits of Highly Successful Linked In Members: http://bit.ly/fWbiO

Until next time kids…remember that a true Renegade CEO challenges not the limits of society, but the limits of oneself.

@teenbizcoach

Just in case you didn’t get the memo on it: Service Organizations are supposed to serve the people. While I realize that we live in a capitalist society it is still very possible to achieve your social mission and make money and today’s teen entrepreneurs are doing just that.

Having my pulse on society I am feeling that all the world needs now is a little organic cleansing. These organizations that have been around for years and years whether non profit or for profit are going to be flatlining soon. I am on the grassroots level and very connected at the community level. Like a bad criminal who has left too many clues, their tell tale signs are evident. Everyday I am making calls on behalf of my teens and my work with teens. I look for opportunities at the local, regional and national level where they can take an active role, serve on committees and board of directors and have their voices heard especially as it pertains to policies and topics that directly impact them and their future. Before I go off on my 1 min tangent about these bullies in the ’social’ service space I want to share some tips on how my visionary teen proteges and emerging young leaders can avoid going down that same path.

5 Tips on Serving For Young Entrepreneurial Leaders:

1. Companies are built for customers not for you.  Without customers your business cannot exist. You must serve before you can lead. My average client is 17 years old and from Day 1 it is my duty and honor to serve them and support them like the great leaders they are of our time.

2. Walk with them. Don’t tell people to take a different path or lead them to the path if you are not going to walk with them. Embrace. Educate. Empower.

3. Know Your Impact. My global program strategist, Wheatle Peart taught me about the importance of tracking metrics and reach. You need to know your numbers. Use a list management system such as http://bit.ly/madmimi1 (up to 100 people can register on your list before you incur a monthly subscription fee). This is a program that will allow you to capture emails of people who visit your website/blog.  It is IMPERATIVE that you have one of these. When you need to connect with your audience to make an announcement, offer a new product, host an event it helps if you know where they are and can reach them at once. Encourage people to keep in touch via your email list or social networking site.

4. Build a Bridge for the People. You need to serve as a conduit. If people are connecting to you, that usually means they respect your work and want to be involved. If you don’t want to personally take the calls have someone on your team (i.e. your mom/dad/grandparent or a college intern in marketing, business or social services) who will accept the calls/emails on your behalf and have a way to build a bridge to get people where they want to go. If you don’t know what is happening at the ground level you can’t continue to stay at the top. You need to know the challenges that exist in the marketplace so you can innovate and evolve with the ever changing marketplace. Use a survey or feedback system like Survey Monkey.

5. Leverage Your Community. You don’t need to do anything and everything on your own. Other people will gratefully and humbly support your cause. Don’t be afraid to ask. Be inclusive and express your sincere appreciation. If you give them a space they will fill it.

So what inspired this post today? Even though I am so tempted at this point, I will not even put high profile Acronym ’service based’ economic development organizations on blast in this post. Long story short- Since the late spring/early summer I have been calling, emailing, calling and emailing some very high profile ‘urban’ organizations that have presence at the national level. While they advertise that they are all about economic empowerment, working with the community and uplifting today’s youth, the reality seems to be unless you are an ‘elitist’ (you are a person with a branded name who only talks to other people with branded names) or a ‘victim’ (a national story can be made to profit from you) it is not likely you will get a call back.  So tell me…who are they really helping?

Until next time kids….challenge not the limits of society but the limits of oneself.

@teenbizcoach