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This is a guest post by Tommy Odom.  Tommy is a young entrepreneur who is working on networking with his peers, learning and applying as much as he can. Currently he is writing articles for various blogs, TBF included, as well as starting his own entrepreneurial podcast, The Tommy Odom Show.

Our society is a culture full of trite stereotypes and terrible traditions. Worse than all of that is the massive amount of skepticism that permeates this society about making money. Business concepts that your average Tim Ferris or Bill Gates have been comfortable with for years, your average high school student would dismiss as fast as the Tooth Fairy. The number of teen entrepreneurs is minuscule in comparison to the rest of the population under eighteen, and yet there are so many opportunities to be taken advantage of. Go ask any famous entrepreneur and he, or she, will invariably inform you they wish they could have started out when they were younger. The years of starting out would have given them a very clear advantage over the competition.

And of Course there’s School and a Job.  Most of the population has been raised on the dogma of do well in school, get into a good college, get a great job, and then die a while after. Unfortunately, most of the time, the job is not really worth the massive amount of effort and time. You are probably underpaid, you have to suffer the bad commute, and of course you are going to have a boss. The boss being someone whose whole goal in life is to tell you exactly what to do. Now that sounds like the most pleasant of dreams for a high school student making his way through life. Now as fun as that sounds, most people, if you were to ask them of course, would probably want to be able to do what they want, when they want, and be their own boss.

Society Does Not Have the Last Word

Most people are going to follow their brethren like proverbial lemmings into the rat race, only because that is what everyone is doing. Quite frankly it is easy, quick, and fulfilling to become an entrepreneur. All you have to do is take the initiative and take that first step down the road of progress. Unfortunately most people our age do not even have this thought. As soon as the thought of making easy money shines its head it becomes instantly hated and feared; it seems to good to be true. Now why would a culture shun opportunity like that? Well, too many people have taken advantage of the naivete and ease of such opportunities and made them negative experiences for many many people, but instead of showing what is wrong and what is right the whole idea is shunned. No matter what message has been brainwashed into our heads we can find that there is another way to live our lives.

Others Have Done the Same and Come Away With Success

Of course there are other success stories. Look at any adult entrepreneur and imagine what they could have been if they started at your age. The best part is this can be a hobby, which can evolve into a powerful tool that can change your entire life style. It does not take that much time or effort and starting now. In the next ten minutes, you can go online, make a blog, become an eBay salesman, and make your own money, today.

Steps That You Can Take Right Now

Even as a poor high school student there are ways to make a name for yourself. In any business networking is one of the best things you can do. Since you’re sitting at a computer right now, take every opportunity to make your own blog, sign up for as many social networking sites, browse forums, meet people, make friends, do people favors. As it turns out having connections is vital. To be able to rely on a web of contacts when the going gets rough is absolutely essential. Posting your opinion online is one way to become an entrepreneur. Making a blog, selling a product or service on the Internet are other methods. The best part of using all these methods simultaneously is that they are all inter connected. You work hard on your blog and you bring traffic to your product, which in turn allows those people to tell their friends about your blog, and you get more traffic. You could start a non-profit, and plaster your company name all over it and you will garner massive amounts of publicity and traffic. You could go around your town and find niches to fill and services to offer. Just find opportunities to prove yourself and you will find success. Procrastination is the enemy.

Read Further

• Young Entrepreneur
• Teen Success
• Starting a Business