Business-Minded Teens

On March 29th, I had the privilege of attending the amazing Youth Business Summit in New York City sponsored by Virtual Enterprises International.  At the Partners’ Breakfast prior to the opening of the trade show, I was cited for my books aimed at business-minded teens.  What an honor!  Afterward we all trooped across the street to an armory, where 2,500 aspiring entrepreneurs hawked their wares at 143 booths.  It was an astounding display of sales chutzpah and business savvy.  There were sales teams from Europe, Brazil, Indonesia, and several parts of the United States.  My crew from Santa Barbara High School Dons Net Cafe were right there in the thick of things.  The icing on the cake was the opening address given by my daughter, the host of NBC’s Talk Stoop with Cat Greenleaf.  I left with the most profound respect and admiration for all the teen business programs now flourishing at home and around the world.

• Develop relationships. When people know you and trust you, they will pay attention to your sales pitch.
• Learn how to listen closely. Concentrate on what the other person is saying not on what you’re going to say.
• Understand the other person’s needs.  This will help you solve his/her problems and make the sale.
• Study up! Rehearse the features and benefits that a customer will want to know about what you’re selling.

“Great selling is problem-solving.”

            Jack Nadel’s family was poor, and he had to work 40 hours a week through his junior and senior year of high school to help put food on the table. He delivered flowers for tips and worked in a warehouse for minimum wage. When asked what he got out of those experiences, he replies, “I learned that it’s a tough world out there. You have to stay on your toes and keep looking for the next opportunity.” He also learned to improvise. When he saw that one of his customers who got a lot of flowers tipped the same for one bouquet as he did for three, Jack came back at different times of the day—and was tipped each time!

Service in the Air Force gave him a lot of confidence in himself, especially after surviving 27 combat missions. Although he couldn’t afford to go to college, Jack was always a great reader and the books he read combined with his service in Asia made him see the possibilities in foreign trade. To this day his motto is, “Think globally, start locally.” True to this motto, his first clients came from China after he struck out on his own with one battered desk in a 12 x 12 office. From that first tiny office his company, Jack Nadel International, now has 17 offices in the United States plus offices in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm offers creative strategies and promotional products that enhance a company’s brand.

This is a company that was built by a super-salesman. So what does Jack Nadel love about sales? “There’s no place to hide; either you made the sale or you didn’t,” he says. “It’s the only career with a built-in scorecard.” And why does he consider good salesmanship the key to success in any endeavor? “Everyone is always selling, whether it’s asking a consumer to buy a product or service, recruiting someone to your team, or looking for a promotion. In business nothing happens until there’s a sale.”

“I’m living my life the way I want to.”

Wyatt Olsen was given his first computer when he was eight years old. His grandfather sent him an old castoff machine—with the emphasis on the word old. “It was so ancient that you had to put in an actual floppy disk to boot it up and then insert another floppy disk to use a program.” Nevertheless this Vermont native was hooked, and he steadily progressed up the computer food chain from making charts, to surfing the Internet, to chatting with friends. Wyatt thought he would make a career out of flying, an interest he still pursues, but while still in high school he got off on a different career track.

As a 16-year-old he worked at Best Buy as the assistant to a computer installer. Then after graduation he got a job at Circuit City first as a salesperson and then as chief installer. When the store closed its installation department and started referring customers to independent installers instead, Wyatt was on top of it. “You picked up orders off the net,” he says. “And I made sure to check that site early and often!”

After four years as an independent installer, Wyatt found the recession impacting his business: his orders were starting to dry up. He thought he could change his luck by moving to California, where he started all over again. While working for a small computer service outfit, he found the person every budding entrepreneur dreams about: a well-connected customer who pro-actively sings his praises to her many contacts. That was the turning point. Thanks to this person’s help and subsequent word of mouth, Wyatt’s business grew by leaps and bounds. He fostered this success by never saying no to a customer call—even when it came at night or on a weekend, which is when computers so often develop problems. He worked 24/7 for a full year but it paid off. At the age of only 23 he now has three service technicians he can send out in his place when he has a scheduling conflict or needs time off.

Ever the self-improver, Wyatt is taking classes in e-commerce and computer sciences so he can expand his offerings. He also continues to look for ways to enhance his clients’ lives through “lifestyle technology integration,” be it a through-the-house sound system, an iPad, a universal remote, or a more secure computer backup. He finds out about the latest offerings by reading blogs, visiting manufacturers’ websites, and listening to his customers’ needs and suggestions. “Always add value,” says this young entrepreneur who’s making it in a very crowded field, “and your customers will call you back again and again.” As for being his own boss, Wyatt couldn’t be more enthusiastic. “I love it! I can do what I want to do the way I think it should be done without anyone breathing down my neck. What could be better?”

On Friday, October 7^th, author and entrepreneur Barbara Greenleaf addressed students from seven Southern California high schools on the subject of effective business writing. Titled “Short and Clear,” her talk was a featured presentation at the 2011 Virtual Enterprise Training Workshop held at the Santa Barbara Education Office. Representatives from Carpinteria, San Marcos, Santa Barbara, Dos Pueblos, Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks came together to practice their business pitches, hone their networking skills, and learn from the seasoned professionals on the program. In addition to Barbara’s advice on business writing, they got tips on on-line and mobile marketing, sales savvy, resume creation, and interviewing do’s and don’ts.  If only everyone going out into the world could have this super training!

Here is Barbara’s handout that accompanied her talk:

SHORT AND CLEAR

Communications that Spell Success

Today, there’s less personal interaction than ever before, so presenting yourself well through your written communications is key.

• Grab the reader’s attention with your first sentence, which should state the purpose of your letter.

• Keep your letter to one page divided into 3 paragraphs:

• Organize your thoughts for longer written pieces through:

1. An outline
2. Bullet points
3. Graphs, charts & photos

• Say it more than once. People need to be reminded.

• Add quotes for color, endorsements, and variety.

• Use simple English. Is what you mean what they’re hearing?

• Make sure you’ve covered the 4 W’s in all your newsletter stories and press releases:

1. Who
2. What
3. Where
4. When–and sometimes a 5^th, Why or How

When you’re in it to win it, SHORT and CLEAR is the way to go!

“On Time, Every Time. Employers often can’t judge how well you are doing your job, but they can always tell if you are late. Be punctual! – early is even better – to impress your bosses with your enthusiasm, positive attitude and good work ethic.”

“It’s so much more than what I expected!”

Truth be told, Cindy Franco didn’t know what to expect when she embarked on her career of the past 13 years. Not academically oriented, she barely squeaked through high school and then dropped out of community college after just four weeks. “Sitting still in a classroom was just not for me,” she confesses. Cindy considered being a dental hygienist, but at a friend’s urging, she enrolled in cosmetology school, instead. She though she’d work as a hairdresser temporarily until she figured out what to do with her life. “I had no idea that being a hairdresser would be so much fun and enable me to make good money, too.”

Cindy had 10 months of classes and practical work in cosmetology school, which cost her less than $2,000. Upon completion she took the state written and oral tests and was issued a license to do hair, makeup, manicures, pedicures and waxing. Today, though, she just works with hair for a living.

In the beginning Cindy described her job as “a lot of hard work and zero money. I was making minimum wage or a bit more and my tasks were sweeping, washing towels and washing hair. I worried that I’d never develop a clientele. Fortunately, my salon owner advertised for new clients, some of whom he sent my way. My job was to make sure they came back—to me.  Then one satisfied customer told another and that customer told someone else and now I’m so busy I rarely even take a lunch hour. I can see five to seven people a day, many of whom have more than one service.” 

According to Cindy, the qualities for success as a hairdresser are doing hair well, of course, and keeping up with new trends. But perhaps just as important are listening to your client’s needs, being a good people person and working well with others. “You’ve got to love what you do,” she says, “or it’s going to show!” Cindy is super-enthusiastic about her work, and that definitely shows, too. She likes the creativity of finding the most flattering hair color for someone’s skin, the best cut for the shape of their face or the most workable style for the texture of their hair. “On top of that,” she says, “I get to talk to my friends all day long!”

Once they build up a good-sized following, hairdressers can make $50,000 a year and, in some cases, much more. But it is a demanding profession. “You are working with the public, which means you have to be ‘on’ all day,” says Cindy. It’s also very physical work, so that at the end of 8 hours you’re going to be tired. Personally, though, I much prefer it to sitting at a desk, staring at a computer all day.”

Her advice to teens? “In the work force or in life in general, your success will depend on hard work and determination. Nothing will be handed to you on a silver platter. But if you like hands-on work, if you like to think on your feet and if you like to make people happy, this can be a terrific profession. I love knowing that, thanks to me, my clients walk out of the salon feeling better about themselves than when they walked in.”