There’s no doubt that there’s been a rise in the amount of young bloggers trying to earn some money online recently, I’m only fifteen years old myself!
Whilst I was reading a thread on Webmaster Peers the other day, I got the idea of writing a post about the problems that young webmasters can face when making themselves successful online.
Other Commitments
We may be young, but we still have lives. Not only do we have to socialise with our friends, but we’ve also got the little problem of ‘school’. I don’t know about different countries, but here in the UK there’s a lot of pressure put on young people to perform, and therefore more time is spent doing homework and extra revisions.
As well as time commitments, there’s also money related commitments. Personally I have other hobbies that can take up quite a lot of money, so it reduces the amount I have to invest in to my online endeavours.
Money
As a teenager it’s hard to get any decent money as many companies won’t take you on and give you a job. Therefore, getting the initial investment to start up a website or a campaign can be tricky and take up months of saving. I know I had to work pretty hard to get my first websites set up!
Adults
OK, before I start this bit I’d like to point out that most adults are fine, but there are a few that refuse to take young bloggers or entrepreneurs seriously. This doesn’t really affect the projects that young entrepreneurs take on, but it can change the way you think and can often lead to negativity.
Age
Not really much you can do about this one, but your age can often be a problem if you’re a young entrepreneur. A lot of programs such as Adsense and Paypal require that you’re 18 to use the services, so your parents need to be heavily involved when it comes to taking payments and the similar.
Parents
Following on from the previous point, a lot of the time parents need to be heavily involved when it comes to taking payments and sometimes sending payments (especially if you don’t have a debit card). Because of that, if they don’t support you for some reason, they can not only make life harder for you, but also ban you completely.
Security
Generally speaking, by the time you’re old enough to make money online you’re old enough to use common sense, but you still need to be careful about how much information you give out. After all, there are some very nasty people out there…
Over to you…
Are you a young entrepreneur? What problems have you faced (if any)? How did you combat them? As always, I’d love to hear everyone’s views, so feel free to leave a comment!
Thanks for the link back dude
No problem. It was WMP that gave me the idea for this post, so it’d be a bit harsh not to link back!
Interesting article, Simon! Young entrepreneurs definitely face some hardships, but I’d say they have advantages as well. If you don’t make enough money, it’s not like you have to pay rent. Some adults prefer to hire young people simply because they are impressed. Maybe a follow-up post on the advantages?
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz’s last blog post..How to Network as a Young Entrepreneur: Online
Yeah I was planning to do a follow up
Like you say there are quite a few advantages to being a teenage blogger, so I’ll add them in. Stay tuned and it’ll be up in a few days! 
I’m looking forward to it, Simon!
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz’s last blog post..Learnings from a Lemonade Stand – JJ Entry #20
Parents most of the times just don’t get it. They don’t see that there is any future in the internet, they don’t take you serious when you say ‘i’m working on a blog post right now.’
Stefan | StudySuccessful.com’s last blog post..Procrastination: The Convential Theory
Agreed. Personally my parents aren’t very involved as I have my own debit card so can buy most stuff myself, but I got a lot of puzzled looks when I asked my dad to sign up to Adsense for me
Your all points (6 main with last Over to you) are great. I think all youngs entrepreneurs fased this problem Online.
Yeah, That’s Right. My parents doesn’t care when i blogs and my father often says that
” Now your duty is to study, not to blog or make money. i’ll pay for all your expenses now and you should study now, to pay for your future, not for now” -
He doesn’t sees a future in internet and often discourage me to do so, But he loves it also, as in his language, i’m studying the basics of Business.
I had to pleed a lot to make him link his card to me for buying a domain.
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Here, here Simon!
What a timely post
You definitely hit all the important topics. And if I may add:
1. Commitment….young bloggers try to do too much too soon and then they don’t stick with it because they don’t see immediate financial returns or traffic to their website. It is about everything in moderation and taking the time to build your community.
2. Blog Theme…..making money themes seem to be popular even if people haven’t figured out how to even get traffic on their website….but talk to most young people and they don’t realize how much knowledge that they have AND on top of that how much that knowledge is worth and can be packaged and repurposed over and over again in so many different formats- books, workshops, training courses, consulting and so forth.
3. Perfectionism…..waiting too long to get an idea out there for fear someone might steal it, it’s not good enougg and any number of reasons. Then when they see another person do something ’similar’ then they give up on the idea they have spent so much time conceptualizing and trying to put together and try to do something else instead.
And agree with Nick. There are definitely some advantages to being young as well so would love to see the follow up on that theme. I will link back to this post from my site.
cheers.
@teenbizcoach
Teen Entrepreneur Coach’s last blog post..Are You the Next Glinda Girl? – $30,000 in Prizes!!!
Thanks for the awesome comment!
Yeah, I think those three are all big issues, but I think they count for adults too? Usually not many 40 year olds have to give up blogging because their parents tell them not to do it!
I think that “school” is not a problem, because if you manage your time efectifly, than you’ll have time for both school and blogging. As about parents, I agree that you depend, in a way, from your parents.
Very good point, but I think schools are putting more and more pressure on students to succeed, so even if you manage your time brilliantly it’ll still be hard for you to keep on top of things.
Great article simon,
I’ve just hit 24, and everything I was taught at school, I’ve had to relearn, school is a trap to take the easy road in society. Get a steady job, work for someone aka a boss and support the goverment.
It’s not really a sweet deal. Have a skill or something you are passionate about and go for it.
James King’s last blog post..Gain traffic through blog commenting
Nice post. I’ve been fortunate enough to have my parents’ support, so they take it seriously when I tell them I’m working. As far as school work goes, I do everything I have to at school. I almost never do homework at home.
Corey Freeman | Blogger Bear’s last blog post..What Do You Want from Your Blog Theme?
I don’t think my parents DISAGREE with what I’m doing, but my mum does seem to think that any income made on the internet is done fraudulently.
Oh ! Seriously I am saying this post and the previous post suits me a lot LOL. I face all the above problems. And Being a teenager and going to school blocks me from doing Internet Marketing. Awesome post Simon.
Harish | Blogging Kid’s last blog post..This Blog Finally Is For Sale
Yeah – it’s really sad when something like school gets in the way of something you really enjoy doing. Still, I suppose it’ll all pay off in later life!
Yeah ! That’s for sure. And as you said even my parents think that I am doing some thing fraud work.
Other commitments is really a problem, unfortunately. I like to think that my studies will fetch me more value and money over staying on the computer, hence, probably why I keep school as a higher priority still. Yeah, it sort of results in my projects failing from time to time, but hey, it’s something that is unavoidable.
Static | ahnternet’s last blog post..Recycling Posts/Ideas Can Be Good
First Google should not give you any money as you’re website is obviously created with the specific intention of running AdSense ads while providing absolutely no unique content whatsoever. Doesn’t matter that u will teen or uncle.
Great read, I like this post personally. =p Luckily for me, those things you mentioned seemed to be supportive to me… I always think I was blessed to get started with every ounce of support I need.
Melvin’s last blog post..This Thing Pisses Me Off With Bloggers
I am much concern to your thinking about the problems of young Entrepreneurs.
Deepak | LiveBingo’s last blog post..Bingo Jackpots at Bet365bingo.com
I am a 15yro web developer, I had a lot of problems when balancing between school and my web world, but got used to it eventually.
About age thing, for Paypal and adsense, I just get them anyway haha.
My parents know what I am doing and they are proud, SOMETIMES. I do my school work and this, so proud, no school work, I am dead lol.
When I deal with other people, I just tell them my age from the beginning and see if they want to proceed. Their usual reply is like, “I don’t care if your 10, what matters is the work you do”
So, I guess I passed was able to fight those problems, hopefully! It’s also nice to see other bloggers/designers/developers like myself and connect with them!
Yes! Well said! On my case, the paental control thing was the hardest. I can’t even explain it accurately for them since they have no idea what I’m talking about in the first place.
Liane YoungBlogger’s last blog post..Let’s Just Say I’m Not 16 Anymore, That Means Liane is Growing Old! Noooo!
Big fan of this post. I have worked with a lot of younger bloggers/freelancers online and they have all been great experiences.
Add to that list. “Get off the computer now, you’ve been on it all day!” Yep, totally, I get that a lot.
I think one of the biggest advantages of being a young entrepreneur is how comfortable we are with the Internet, with social networking and with social media. With videos, for example, we can use sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and AdWido effectively to market our business.
Luckily my parents were always supportive.
Now there is little reason to need a parents card, at 16 yrs old you can get a debit card which works to verify paypal and register to sell on ebay.
I used paypal before I was 16 but sold on forums so ebay wasn’t needed and there was a level of trust which allowed me to buy and sell without a verified address.
This is so real…I just love reading this post. The list contains the most common problems faced by the young entrepreneurs online..
Nice article Simon, though IMO the most common problem faced by young enterpreneurs is Decision between career.. Even if they are doing great but in the end they fall into a situation when it become hard for them to decide which path they should follow..
I am not as young (26) as you guys but i identify with some of the issues raised in this post especially the other commitments part…
ZQ
Money was always a problem for me, luckily I managed to get a weekend job which provided the initial investment needed to start me off.
Overall this is actually something I love with the internet. When reading a text or comment you don’t know anything about age, gender or religion. Sometimes this can lead to fun misunderstandings when someone turns out to be a girl in your age when you thought see was close to double your age.
But dude the positive thing is you start your career earlier. This can make your future better.
[...] at problems faced by young entrepreneurs online, it seems like most facets deal with adults who can’t handle the fact that kids are much [...]
[...] is really sounds cool when we talk about young entrepreneurs online but, do you know the problems faced by young entrepreneurs online? Nasty people always take advantage over young entrepreneurs. This is what Simon from Teenius blog [...]
I face problems from my parents. They do not understand what I do.
They are supportive but not in the way I want them to be.
Agent 001´s last blog ..My First Blog Post – What to Write?
Yeah – same here. My mum seems to think that you can’t make money online legitimately, and my dad just seems impartial.
i was over 18 when i started… just over, so perhaps lucky
but that did not helped me get a credit card even though in the next few months of so, i had accumulated enough money in my bank account that i thought it was silly for the bank not to give me a credit card… you know without credit card it is not easy purchasing anything online…
other than that it was all right, though occasionally i had to bear harsh comments from relatives but i got used to it very soon
Uttoran Sen´s last blog ..3 Tips to Remove Duplicate Content Issues from Wordpress Blog
These are so true! Especially the under 18 thing can be a huge problem. I think that it is ridiculous. I mean, it’s not like a teenager, or even a child doesn’t know how to use money!!
ya, parents suck