Teenage Entrepreneurs: The Best Time to Start Your Business

By Peter Osalor

Meet Mandisa, a remarkable fourteen-year-old secondary school student with a passion for painting and creating greeting cards. In just under six months, Mandisa has turned her creative talent into a thriving business, catering to over one hundred and twenty customers with cards for all occasions. Not only has this venture provided her with a means to support her family, but it has also sustained her education.

Now, it's your turn to embark on the entrepreneurial journey. Just like Mandisa, you are about to discover the most important secrets to starting your own business. Age is no barrier—whether you're in secondary school or fresh out of it, the opportunity for success awaits you.

In today's world, traditional job opportunities are dwindling each year. Millions of individuals graduate from the education system, only to find themselves unable to secure employment. The solution lies in entrepreneurship: taking control of your destiny and becoming your own boss. This path to independence has been acknowledged by world leaders, including former United States President Barack Obama and many others. Entrepreneurship holds the key to solving the economic crisis gripping the globe.

This is your comprehensive guide to unleashing your entrepreneurial spirit and navigating the competitive business landscape. Within its pages, you will uncover valuable insights, practical advice, and proven strategies for success. Learn how to identify opportunities, develop a winning mindset, build a strong business foundation, and overcome obstacles along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: POSAG International Ltd
• Release date: Feb 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9791223003961

Book preview

Teenage Entrepreneurs

The Best Time to Start Your Business

Peter Osalor

September 2012© All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2012 Peter Osalor

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Peter OsalorAll Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reprinted or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic ormechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval sys-tem, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by:

POSAG International Ltd9 Greenwich QuayLondon

SE8 3EY

For comments or enquiries e-mail:

[e-mail] 978-0-9573305-1-1

Designed & Edited by: www.byjomedia.comProof-read by: www.byjomedia.comPrinted by: www.byjomedia.com

CONTENTS PAGE

PREFACE ​5

INTRODUCTION ​9

CHAPTER ONE ​¹¹

THE ECONOMIC REALITY OF TODAY IMPORTANCE OF JOB SECURITY

CHAPTER TWO ​¹⁹

WHO ARE TEENAGERS? CHARACTERISTICS OF A TEENAGER

ADVANTAGES OF TEENAGE ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR CHALLENGES

CHAPTER THREE ​³¹

WHY NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO START BUSINESSES AS TEENAGERS

AGE IS NOBARRIER

EXAMPLES OF TEENAGE ENTREPRENEURS

CHAPTER FOUR ​⁴¹

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR ADVANTAGES OF BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR

CHAPTER FIVE ​⁴⁹

HOW TO BECOME A TEENAGE ENTREPRENEUR/ HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR BUSINESS

CHAPTER SIX ​⁵⁷

MENTORING GOVERNMENT ROLE

74 THINGS EVERY TEENAGER SHOULD KNOW

50 BUSINESS SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

EMPOWERMENT OF TEENAGERS AND THEIR BENEFITS

CHAPTER SEVEN ​⁷¹

ENCOURAGING TEENAGERS TO JOIN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION

START YOUR OWN BUSINESS NOW AND BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR

CONCLUSION

APPENDICES ​⁸²

100 + BUSINESSES TEENAGERS CAN DO APTITUDE TEST

FIND YOUR PASSION 20 BUSINESS KILLERS MARKET STUDY

BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE

11 LESSONS FROM TEENAGE ENTREPRENEURS

20 BUSINESS KILLERS QUIZ ANSWERS

PREFACE

My Life’s Journey and Motivation

I was born into a family of six in the mid-1950's in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. We lived in a mud house where there was no electricity and it was difficult to access drinkable water. My father was always in and out of menial jobs and, at times, it waschallenging for us to get a decent meal to eat. From an early age, I began to fend for my family by going to the water side to collect firewood to sell.

I quickly realised that knowledge was key and began to acquire as much information as I could. I wanted to satisfy my growing curiosity on the big social differences in society, particularly those that I evidenced whilst growing up. Why were some living in affluence and others in abject poverty? I had tasted poverty and hated it. This hate fuelled my decision to live a life dedicated to finding out exactly why the world works the way it does.

After working my way through college I went to work for Panalpina World Transportation Company in Kano, Nigeria.I was able to purchase a house for my mother and establish a hotel for her.I then bought a taxi, started a taxi firm and began to buy more vehicles, however I was not satisfied with what I had been able to acquire; I wanted more. I wanted to become a global entrepreneur, not merely a local one. I left for Britain in 1983, where I studied accountancy. While there, I took exams to become an accountant and began to apply the knowledge I acquired to various businesses.

By 1991 I was a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor.As I was investing in my global education in Britain, my wife and I bought two shops in 1995 but had to sell them by 1999 in order to fight bankruptcy. It was a challenging period but not impossible to overcome.

In 2000, we established East London ITEC an IT and accountancy training institute. From 2001 to 2003, I established branches of Peter Osalor and Co. in the following Nigerian cities; Port Harcourt, Warri,

Yenagoa, and Lagos. We truly became a multinational global enterprise.Believing I could make a difference of the state of affairs in Nigeria, I ran for governor of Delta state in 2007 but was not elected. Throughout my entire journey, I have gained extensive experience in teaching, accounting, management, capacity and business building. Over time, I began to notice the consistent, predictable patterns and principles that appear to accompany and govern business and career success; the most important of which is having an entrepreneurial attitude.

My purpose in life has been the same for more than thirty years. It is an aspiration and aim to liberate the in-built potentials of individuals by giving them ideas and strategies to fast-track the benefits and rewards they can achieve as successful entrepreneurs. I intend to motivate people by making them realise that success is a choice they have to make and ANYBODY CAN BE SUCCESSFUL if they choose to be.

This book is written specifically for teenagers who want to start their own business i.e. they want to become an entrepreneur; be