You've decided that you like business in general, but you feel overwhelmed. You're a teenager who wants to pursue their passion, but you just don't know where to begin. You want to be like your mother, father, aunt, or sister, but they've made it so far and it seems like a long way up. You are not alone. Speaking from experience, it’s hard to jump into business as a teenager. Adults generally don’t want to trust teens just stepping into business with important documents, money, and management decisions. We decided to compile a list of tips, some from our own lives, and some from online, on how to make your start in the huge world of business, but don’t know where, or how to begin!
Seek out opportunities. Even though being president of a school club or your local Girl Scout troop isn’t the same as being a Fortune 500 CEO, we all have to start somewhere. For me, I had my start in Girl Scouts from the age of five, and I’ve been one for eleven years so far! Girl Scouts taught me money handling skills and personal selling during cookie season, and leadership skills and teamwork during summer camps. Although these activities were all relatively easy to get involved in, you have to seek them out! Make sure you’re asking around about these sorts of things, because finding these can be a bridge to bigger leadership and business opportunities! Being a camp counselor and a leader in my community led to me applying, and getting selected to represent our city at our county meetings! It doesn’t have to be Girl Scouts, but your community has so much to offer if you’re willing to take a little time out of your day and look.
Take this time to hone in on what exactly you love about business. One woman that I had the pleasure of working with in a top-ranked nonprofit told me that business is a huge field, and there’s so many places to go. The biggest thing I walked away with is that every time you have an opportunity that allows you to pursue business, figure out what you liked about that experience, and what you want to continue to do. Narrow your interests down by figuring out what works for you, and what doesn’t. For me, I started with marketing and social media, and have moved to philanthropy, business management, and nonprofit management. It took me three years to get there, and my interests are still evolving, but I no longer feel overwhelmed by the long list of careers in the business field.
Use social media to your advantage. Us teens are so lucky to live in an age of Instagram and Snapchat and Facebook and all those other platforms. Besides funny filters and a place to connect with your friends, many organizations and companies recruit teens on these platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram. For example, tarte cosmetics recently held an online application for an all-girls empowerment summit in New York City! But keep in mind, it doesn’t always have to mean flying across the country, or even the world. Many brands offer ambassador opportunities, which range from just advertising the product, to getting involved in the ins and outs of the business.
Ask family members, teachers, and mentors. For example, my Sales and Marketing teacher used to work for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and he was a huge help in learning more about nonprofits! Even asking your parents might get some responses! Many companies like Microsoft and Google actually offer internships for teens during the summer, and knowing someone who works there can help you gather information. If you have someone special that you look up to, ask them how they got their start in business! Make sure to use all your connections around you, as business is huge on connections! It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
Find out what really makes you happy at the end of the day. The thing that drew me to business was the fact that I could apply anything I was passionate about into the field. Growing up, I felt unconfident and incompetent at times because I was good at a bunch of things, like music, art, or photography, but I didn’t particularly stand out in one area. Business really made those skills click for me, because I don’t need to be amazing at drawing or photography or art, but they definitely help. Being an artist for five years has helped me envision social media posts, while photography and music have helped me plan out advertisements for fun, as well as think about what draws people to a product or service. In business, if you also are passionate about art and media, go into media advertising for an art gallery! If you love clothing and designing it, go into product development for a clothing company, or become a marketing manager! Business is so prevalent in every part of our lives, and it means that we can implement any of our passions into a future in business. Although it may seem like there are endless rules and sanctions in business, there are also an infinite amount of directions you can take. Don’t settle for a position you don’t want. Make sure your passion shows, because as much as you might be smart or creative, passion shines through above all else.
Don’t be discouraged by failure. Repeat to yourself. Failure is normal. Incompetence in one area of your life does not mean that you yourself are incompetent. You will face rejections, and that’s perfectly normal. But that’s also a huge part of business. Don’t hate on these, but rather learn from them and grow from them. Be the bigger person. And remember that no matter how many setbacks you have or the many times you want to give up, you are on a path that will one day lead to a career that makes you feel like you’re not even working sometimes. Never give up.
Some resources for you! In conclusion, I want to encourage everyone out there to take a small step in getting involved. None of these are sponsored, and Sasha and I have personally gone through all these programs ourselves and 100% recommend them!
Hercampus.com - HerCampus is an editorial run by college campuses all over the country, and they also offer a high school ambassador program. Ambassadors write articles every other week, ranging from our top ten moments in our favorite TV-show, to imaginary letters to foreign pen pals. It’s also a great place to network and meet young, driven teen girls.
Deca.org. This is Sasha and I’s favorite organization. DECA represents business clubs both in high schools and colleges that aims to provide young business leaders with opportunities and experience in categories such as business management, marketing, hospitality and tourism, and finance. DECA has competitions of mock business scenarios, and although it starts small, you can end up travelling to a large city like Orlando to compete against the top 1%! DECA truly has something for any high school student, whether you have a clear idea of what you want to do, or just because it sounds cool. Through DECA, Sasha and I have become closer, grown more passionate, and met influential business leaders through competition and conferences!
Investopedia.com - This one is a bit different from the others, but it offers a different part of business (finance) that Sasha and I have yet to explore. Investopedia has stock simulators that allow you to start with a certain amount of money, and buy and sell stocks in real time with the real-life prices, while not actually spending physical money. You can also set up these games to play against friends and family. If you want to get a start in finance and stocks, this is a great place to start because it gives you very accurate experience, while thankfully not making you risk your money in the process.
Key Club - Also a club in many high schools, Key Club drives the importance of community service and giving back to those around you who may not be as fortunate. Club leaders plan and orchestrate events in the community, such as food bank volunteer nights or cleaning up state parks. If you are nervous to start volunteering by yourself, Key Club is great because you get to work with others who have similar passions to you. If your high school doesn’t have a Key Club chapter, reach out to some local community service organizations and start volunteering. Once you have a relationship established with the organization, you can ask them if they need help that extends beyond basic responsibilities, such as recruiting other high school students, or fundraising.
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