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

Radu Antohi, 17, is a name you should make yourself very familiar with. You will start seeing the name of this Famous Renegade Teen CEO appear over and over again in very influential circles and high profile places (online and offline) around the world. He has been a hidden treasure of the Renegade CEO’s for the past 10 months. The best way to describe him is a modern day Ghandi. He is inspirational, true to his passion and determined to make change in the world.

I have been recently sharing him with others in my networks and circles of social influence but my conscience will just not allow someone else to tell his story before me and not the same as I would. You will soon see his claim to fame but realize there is so much more to him and his worldly perspective

Growing up in the poorest country in Europe, the Republic of Moldova, where just 5% of the population has Internet access, has been his daily inspiration motivation to improve the quality of life for himself and also for everyone else around him. He is extremely selfless and often writes the most profound and incredible messages to me about his vision for his country and his grassroots work and outreach efforts in his community. I am convinced that he will be the Youngest Prime Minister in the Republic of Moldova and I will definitely be there on the day he does his swearing in!

Here’s hoping that on Radu Antohi’s rise to fame (in the public eye) that all his dreams come through!

My small group of teen entrepreneurs with BIG DREAMS, BIG HEART and BIG POTENTIAL is at it again and based on what they have scribbled down on the timeline for Q1 2010, things are definitely not slowing down anytime soon. I am ECSTATIC to report that in November 2009 the Top 4 Producing Renegade CEO’s (under my direct care) with an average age of 17.5 were ‘balling big time’ – having grossed nearly $100k combined in their respective businesses. They are igniting the energy and living through their entrepreneurial endeavors which is motivating the others. They represent a variety of traditional, service and technology related businesses and some even had to do the old school handshake big dollar contract get up.  How is that for Keeping It Renegade?

So how did they do it? Same as just about everybody else – They built their “big idea” starting with zero dollars, zero business knowledge and a lot of determination. I would have to say in my experience in collaborating and sharing with these teen entrepreneurs, the difference between them and most people is they LISTENED……………………..to themselves. It’s an art in itself.

And what was my role in all this?

I cared …………and connected with them, oftentimes when nobody else did. Nothing more, nothing less. I ask the same of you and will continue to ask it of others I meet along the way.

Just because the majority of teens do not have money or a recognized name especially when they are trying to launch an idea whether it is business or otherwise, does not mean they don’t have value.

Alas, their life circumstances dictate that they are teens by default . But let it be known, they are Renegade by choice .

Stay tuned as we decide on the best way to introduce them and their respective stories.

@teenbizcoach

Saw this L.A. Times story today and wanted to share it since I know that a lot of Renegades are Social Entrepreneurs and Advocates.  http://bit.ly/7zFaZA

iPhone Apps Madness continues for the Renegade CEO’s. Marshall Haas, BizBreak iphone app (Jan 2010 release) was just annouced as one of the Finalists in the App Star Awards (look for the ‘orange’ video). The App Star Awards acknowledges ‘Brilliant Upcoming’ iPhone Apps so this is obviously a huge honor to be considered for this award given the app has yet to launch.  The distinguished panel of judges includes technology and social media’s who’s who: Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch , Technical Evangelist Robert Scoble and French Blogger Loic LeMeur (creator of Seesmic.com). To read more about the app and see the list of distinguished judges: http://bit.ly/4tKXYM

This is huge news and comes fresh off the success of Ed Nash’s www.fitorfugly.com , which has reached nearly 10,000 paid downloads after being on the market for just over 2 weeks. It also got mentions in the Huffington Post and the Real Housewives of Orange County.

The Biz Break App allows you to release that bent up frustration that evolves from being constantly degraded by beating up your boss (VIRTUALLY) [only teenagers could think of something like this and actually be able to get away with it- huh?]. Wondering when he is going to partner up with [insert another Teen Renegade CEO] and introduce a version where you can [too good to put in the public domain]…..now that’s an idea!

The App is due to release in January 2010 with some other fun perk$ associated when you download the app but you’ll have to follow his blog to learn what it all goes down: www.bizbreakblog.com

Peep the preview video below for the BizBreak iPhone App. Awesome Job, Marshall! Love the background music

Teen Aspect (www.teenaspect.com) is a forum geared towards teen business owners that was developed by Serial Teen Entrepreneur Ed Nash who hails from the U.K. The launch of the forum comes right on the heels of his wildy successful www.FitorFugly.com iphone app which has garnered nearly 10,000 downloads in its first 2 weeks on the market and has gotten mentioned in the Huffington Post and on the Real Housewives of Orange County.

The Teen Aspect Forum is moderated by Ed, a few other young and ambitious entrepreneurs and yours truly. To build a stronger following in the community and really get it going, the first 1,000 registered members will receive shares in the new venture, so be sure to sign up ASAP if you want to take advantage of this. Currently, we are working on the logistics of some other potential partnerships with others in this space that will provide multi levels of dynamic support for teen entrepreneurs worldwide.

@teenbizcoach

Without nay hesitation nor second thought, 2010 is going to be the Year of the TEEN Entrepreneur! You heard it hear first folks. Entrepreneurship for young people is an evolutionary phenomenon that stemmed from the Internet (continue reading to learn how this came about).

Teens are often "lumped in" with another category of people older or younger than them and don’t really identify with either of those groups or they are just mulled over. People have high expectations of them yet give them every road block when they try to move forward- SORRY TEEN, I would love to work with you but the problem is you don’t have enough EDUCATION….MATURITY….EXPERIENCE….Sound familiar?  They have had to take a back seat for far too long and they are tired of being labeled and told they are unmotivated and apathetic. They don’t need >> to calm down, shut up and listen, to hear you tell them what it ‘all’ means. Nor do they want to be spoken of in future tense. They are present now. They are successful now. They are making impact now. They are making contributions now and they need and want to be given credit and recognition NOW.

What can you do NOW? Open the space up for them. How will you know if you have succeeded? They will have a ‘real conversation’ with you and will return to you at some point in the near future and start another one. And if they really love you, they’ll even tell their friends!

Teen Entrepreneurs are claiming their space in the universe and owning it! And it’s about time. It takes about 15 years for a movement to evolve to something much greater than that. So it’s time! There are many a tell tale signs that is built on what has been evolving over the past decade and additionally, the number and types of inquiries we are getting from teens across the globe tells a story in itself. Not to mention, in the month of November three more teens surpassed the $10,000/mo revenue mark….whooop!

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