Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | April 11, 2022 Teen Entrepreneurs More CT youth are starting/owning their own businesses. Here's why and how. By Linda Keslar Hartford Business Journal Contributor E lijah Livingston showed an early interest in starting his own business. At age 12, he posted a sign on his lawn mower to attract new clients in his Simsbury neighborhood. By the time he graduated from high school last year, he'd earned enough money from working a variety of odd jobs to purchase a rental property. Today, at 18, he's putting in over 60-hour weeks as the new owner of a Pet Stop dealership, which installs electronic dog fence systems. He's learning not only how to manage a business but living out his love for dogs, interacting with people and working outdoors. Though Elijah said he's benefited from business courses he took at Simsbury High School, he decided going to college wasn't right for him, unlike his twin brother and two older sisters, who have pursued higher education degrees. The decision was supported by his parents. "With the cost of college, our whole philosophy these days is a lot of kids go not knowing what they want to do," said Josh Livingston, Elijah's father, also an entrepreneur who owns a toy importing business and real estate ventures. Another option was helping his son buy a business, Josh Livingston said. "You have to have the right kid who's ready to take that on, and Elijah is unique in that way," Josh Livingston said. But Elijah's not alone. In fact, according to a recent survey by Junior Achievement USA, two out of three teens between the ages of 13 and 17 want to be their own boss rather than take a regular job as their future career path. Nearly two in five teens surveyed said their inspiration for entrepreneurship mostly comes from social media influencers and celebrities. Teen entrepreneurs, for example, launched famed companies like Facebook, Dell, Microsoft and Yankee Candle, among others. Shows like "Shark Tank" and advances in technology, which have made it easier and more affordable to set up a business, are feeding Gen Z's entrepreneurial spirit, said Jeremy Race, president of Junior Achievement (JA) of Southwest New England. While JA has been around for more than a century teaching kids about entrepreneurship, the digital age is providing new opportunities to kids to go big in their hustle. "Technology is making it easier for young people to access mentors, research and sell their products," Race said. Gen Z's entrepreneurial aspirations and energy are also good news for the economy, since small businesses are the biggest engine of new job growth, accounting for two of three new jobs created, according to the Small Business Administration. Connecticut, like the rest of the nation, has also seen a boom in new startups over the past year, with a recent CTData Collaborative analysis of business registration data finding a 20% increase in new business starts in 2021 through the month of November, compared to an average 5% growth rate from 2010 to 2020. But Connecticut's economy continues to lag other states, with higher unemployment, at 4.9%, and lower job growth, 3%, than the U.S. averages of 3.8% and 4.8%, respectively, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tech influence While the pandemic has been hard on the state's small businesses, it's also forced more to embrace technology and move online, which works to the advantage of teen entrepreneurs. "I get technology easily," said Elijah Livingston, who is expanding CT Pet Fence's business by marketing online to support a customer base spanning northwestern Connecticut and Hartford and Litchfield counties. And it was through an online broker website that the Livingstons found the 40-year-old CT Pet Fence business for sale in the first place, realizing they already knew its owner, who previously installed a Pet Stop brand fence and services to contain Elijah's two dogs, Daisy and Rosie. After alerting the owner to his interest, Elijah worked as an apprentice at the business for almost a year to learn "the tricks of the trade," he said. Within his first few months as its new owner, Elijah has already hired several new employees to cover growing demand. "He's really taking the business to a new level," said his father. For teen entrepreneurs, there's growing opportunities to learn more about starting and nurturing their own businesses. In fact, over half of the colleges in the U.S. have at least one course about entrepreneurship, according to Crimson Education, a college admissions consulting firm. "Several Connecticut-based colleges and universities have robust programs to support student entrepreneurship and business ventures," said Joe Ercolano, director of the Connecticut Small Business Development Center. Jeremy Race Eighteen-year-old Elijah Livingston, of Simsbury, recently purchased a local Pet Stop dealership, which installs electric dog fences. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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