12 May 2008

How To Make $50,000 By The Age Of 12


BFly1 How To Make $50,000 By The Age Of 12

Back in 1994, when he was just 9, (Cameron) Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia, making invitations for his parents’ holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.

But the little guy didn’t stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale with the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.

In less than a year, Johnson banked $50,000–seed money for his next venture, My EZ Mail, a service that forwarded e-mails to a particular account without revealing the recipient’s personal information. He hired a programmer to flesh out his idea, and within two years My EZ Mail was generating up to $3,000 per month in advertising revenue.

Be Fearless

Johnson still wasn’t done. In 1997, he joined forces with two other teen entrepreneurs, Aaron Greenspan and Tom Kho, to create an online advertising company called Surfingprizes.com, which provided scrolling advertisements across the top of users’ Web browsers. Those who downloaded the software received 20 cents per hour (a tiny fraction of the value to the advertiser) for the inconvenience of having ads splay across their computer screens.

The boys employed a classic pyramid strategy to spread the service. Users who managed to refer Surfingprizes.com to a new customer would nab 10% of that new person’s hourly revenue.

But Johnson and company didn’t just sell software–they wanted a piece of that juicy ad revenue too. Their solution: partnering with companies such as DoubleClick, L90 and Advertising.com that could sell the ads for them. Under the agreements, the middlemen would collect 30% of any ad revenue sold, while the three boys split the remaining 70%, out of which they paid those referral fees.

“I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month,” says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, “Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million.”

Now just 23, and with other ventures under his belt, Johnson spends his time giving speeches and promoting a new book. “Put yourself out there,” he advises. “Don’t be afraid of rejection. Don’t be afraid to ask anything.”

(Story credit: Melanie Lindner – Forbes)

Cameron’s Previous Businesses

TrueLoot.com 2004

CertificateSwap 2004

KazaaGator 2003

AimBuddy 2003

ChooseYourPrize.com 2002

Zablo.com 2001

SearchOmega 2001

VoteStation.com 2001

SurfingXChange 2001

SurfingPrizes.com 2000

EmazingSites 1999

MyEZShop.com 1999

MyEZMail.com 1998

Cheers and Tears/ Beanie Wholesale 1997

Cheers and Tears Printing Co. 1994

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Bestselling Businesses to Start

About Amber:
My name is Amber and I'm the Editor of TeenMoneyMakingIdeas.Com. As a teenager, I started making money when I was 13 years old. I had all the typical jobs that teenagers have such as working in fast food joints and retail stores. At 19, I formed my own cosmetics company. And shortly after that I started my own import business. Now I'm earning money online. Join me as I discuss all the ways I've discovered for teens to make money. Read more about me here.
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9 Responses to “How To Make $50,000 By The Age Of 12”

  1. [...] Virginia, making invitations for his parents?? holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson hahttp://teenmoneymakingideas.com/how-to-make-50000-by-the-age-of-12/Custom Printed Invitations and AnnouncementsInvitation and announcement printing at VistaPrint [...]

  2. PLR Products says:

    I enjoyed this, thank you

  3. rudolph says:

    i want 50000.00 i am 8

  4. rudolph says:

    i can do a lot but i dont have NO money i need some but win i ask people say no so win i get my money they can not get none but god dont like mean i am not being mean idk

  5. Homie-O says:

    Hi i want to make mone but I dont kno wat to do im thinking about doing my own little newspaper thing and selling it at skool bu I will get into trouble if it spreads through the skool. And plus I dnt know wat to write about……HELP…..

  6. Marc Hargraves says:

    I want to make enough money to pay a 100 dollar phone bill

  7. mama says:

    I am an 11 year old sixth grader in advanced classes. Not to sound cocky but I am pretty smart. I love to teach and want to tutor children ages seven to ten over the summer for money in math and language arts. how much should i charge per hour? will i even get any business or should i wait till im older so people will take me more seriously?

    • Amber says:

      You sound like a pretty smart kid and I’m quite sure with the right marketing you could make good money tutoring other kids in your spare time. No need to wait, just go for it!

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