I love working with my hands and making things.  A a small child I remember helping my grandfather fixing things on his ranch.  Driving a tractor.  Plowing a field.  Fixing a fence or a water line.  This is my kind of fun.  Don't get me wrong, I have learned a lot in school.  One thing I've learned is that I will never want to work in a cubicle writing reports or pushing papers!

 

So, this year I started high school and had the opportunity to take an elective class.  I'm not a fan of sports, but I am a fan of business, so I took a class on entrepreneurship.  One of the projects was to come up with business.  This was not an easy task.  

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I first thought about making a product.  I'm into computers and I play a game called "American Truck Simulator".  I was looking to build a dashboard that had buttons, switches and lights that would operate on the dashboard on the computer truck.  An actual switch to turn on the truck's lights.  A real horn button to honk the trucks horn.  I found a company online that makes this product, but thought I could do it for less.  After buying all the components and factoring in the time to put it all together, it turned out the online price for one already made was a pretty good deal.  There was no real profit, especially if I was to hire employees and mass produce them.  Then who knows if there is a mass market of folks who would want to purchase them.  

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On to a new project idea.  

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I got to thinking about myself and how I would really like to learn woodworking, electronics, and welding.  I was pretty disappointed that these classes were not an option at my school.  That's how I came up with the idea for Trade4Teens.  

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Going through the entrepreneur class allowed me to take my project from an idea to a working business model.  From tapping into my "why?" and story for this project, to learning about different marketing strategies, to the business plan and financials.  I learned there's much more to developing and running a business than just coming up with an idea.

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In researching my project, I discovered that I am not alone.  The trade industries have seen a steady decline of workers.  They attribute this problem directly to middle and high schools who have closed down vocation shop courses in favor of college tract classes.  

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It has actually created a generation of folks who must now rely on others to fix things for them.  Simple skills like changing the oil in your car, doing a tune up, or even cleaning a clogged drain, are no longer done by the average homeowner.  Not necessarily because they don't want to, many just done know how.  

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I see this as an opportunity to help my fellow high school students.  It opens doors to options they may not have realized.  Maybe they don't want to go on to college.  Maybe they don't want huge student loans.  Maybe they want other options, like maybe even working for themselves.  

I have spoken to union leaders, folks at my local trade school, and business owners who use skilled trade labor.  They see the need and are willing to step up to help provide the training.  That being said, they are not willing to spend the time to train just anyone who wants to learn.  If they are willing to train, they want a return on their investment.  That return is either qualified folks to enter their apprenticeship programs or their formal trade school classes.  

 

Trades4Teens is a business. As a business it must charge a nominal fee for its services.  The fee covers safety equipment, materials, insurance, and administrative costs.  The fee also insures the students have a vested interest in attending and completing the classes.

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In preparing the financials for this project, I realized over a three year period, the business would lose money if it did not grow.  I found this very interesting and informative.  Materials fees, and insurance were two major cost factors.  However, the biggest cost factor was employee wages.

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The first year projects only paid for part-time office help.  Second and third year projects had me and my mom and dad each taking a modest salary (not even amounting to minimum wage in Los Angeles County).

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This means that the business must expand after year two in order to remain profitable.  Fortunately, Los Angeles County is a huge market with lots of potential clients.  

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The problem then comes down to instructors in the new market areas.  In the initial plan, the trade unions, vocational schools and businesses are providing instructors, classroom/shop space and use of tools and equipment.  By going into other markets, I will have to make sure this remains the same.  I would love to have a huge building with all the shops under one roof and in-house instructors, but this is extremely cost prohibitive.

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This has been a fun project and it has really opened my eyes to the realities of business ownership.  I see why most people are content with working for someone else.  But the most important thing is doing what you enjoy.  Then it's never really work.  It's getting paid for doing what you love.  I think the hard work, long hours and the ability to help other get what they want out of life will be well worth the effort.

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