Need a summer job? Create one

By The Wall Street Journal

Lexie Oliver, 16, has been trying for weeks to get a summer job, to earn spending money and to feel productive. But the search has proved "really difficult," says the Gainesville, Fla., high school sophomore.

After applying at numerous retailers and getting turned down, Oliver has made a decision: If she wants a job this summer, she figures she'll have to create her own. She's already working on starting a handmade-jewelry business by finding materials, tapping a friend to build a Web site and asking relatives for help marketing her wares.

Faced with the darkest summer-job market since the government began collecting data after World War II, a growing number of teens are turning to entrepreneurship. The government's $1.2 billion youth jobs program is expected to make barely a dent in overall teen joblessness this summer. Employment among 16- to 19-year-olds is still likely to sink to a new low of 31% or 32% this summer, down from a previous nadir of 32.7% in 2008, says Andrew Sum, the director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

Thus "for many kids, starting a business may be the only option if they want to make some money," says Jack Kosakowski, the president of Junior Achievement in the U.S., part of JA Worldwide in Colorado Springs, Colo., which runs youth programs on work-force readiness and financial literacy through 585 offices in 124 countries.

Amid rising interest, enrollment in a Boston camp run by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship doubled this spring. Junior Achievement entrepreneurship programs in Texas and California have reported a 30% increase in inquiries. And at CampCEO, an entrepreneurship-training program at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, inquiries are running 30% ahead of a year ago, compared with a national pattern of flat enrollment in youth camps in general.

Seeing evidence of sour economy

Of course, teen entrepreneurs face tall hurdles. Most need at least a little startup money for fliers, tools or other materials. Running a business can crowd out other pursuits, such as sports and clubs. And teens aren't immune to the sour economy. Angie Ocampo, 15, of White Plains, N.Y., had high hopes for the Spanish-language tutoring business she had been planning to pursue through this summer. But so far, "I haven't gotten too many regular customers" because families are cutting costs, she says.

Others are finding a niche. Aaron Hunt, 16, of Salt Lake City has decided his job this summer will be selling his Web-based designs online. After creating designs for friends and studying related subjects in high school, Hunt recently sold a Web logo to a client for $60. Now, armed with a portfolio of colorful designs, he's ready to expand.

And Marlo Adelle Greta, 17, will be running GirlyWhirls.com, a barrette-making business, from her Austin, Texas, home. She regards starting a business as "a lot easier than having to go find a job," she says. "I make my own decisions, and the harder I work, the more money I can make. That's a cool thought: It's all up to me."

Parents like the idea

A growing number of parents share that view. "Adults used to want their kids to go to work for big companies with 401(k)s and benefits," says Brad Hancock, the director of the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. "Now parents are saying: 'I'm not sure I want my child to walk that path. I want my child to be in charge of his or her own destiny.'"

At best, teens can be richly rewarded. Steven Crandall, 18, a high school senior in Grapevine, Texas, started a lawn-mowing business with his younger brother three years ago by offering to tend three neighbors' lawns. Today, the Crandalls have expanded to 35 clients. Steven Crandall is even creating jobs for his friends; he has signed on six buddies at $15 an hour to help out, and another six have applied.

"One of the coolest things" about being an entrepreneur, Crandall says, "is the satisfaction of being able to help out so many guys who do need money."

The business earned Crandall $14,000 last year, enabling him to make payments to his parents for the used truck they bought for him and to "spoil my girlfriend and tithe to my church," he says. The downside: It has crowded out other activities, including wrestling and basketball.

Continued: A few pointers

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