Let's Raise Kids to be Entrepreneurs - Michael Whitney

The TED talk I watched was about society and entrepreneurs. Cameron Herold argued in "Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs" that society is not teaching kids to become entrepreneurs. People are so focused on teaching kids to become lawyers and doctors, the simply forget about the job that creates its own destiny. Herold asks "why would you have a job when you can just create one?" Creating the job you want allows you to do whatever you please with in your life. Herold tells us that kids need to grow up with a stronger creative aspect in life. He argues that parents shouldn't tell kids stories, but they should allow the kids to create their own stories to tell to the parents. Herold also believes that kids need to learn saving habits and business strategies at young ages.

Cameron Herold has been an impressive entrepreneur ever since he was a child. As a young kid, Herold created a profitable business of buying comics from poor kids in poor neighborhoods and selling them to rich kids in upper-class neighborhoods. At age 21, he created his first real company, starting him on a voyage of experience. He would later form his signature idea into a business. “BackPocket COO” (COO is short for chief operating officer) was created by Herold in effort to educate the population on entrepreneurship. Herold has further coached and spoken to young entrepreneurs to help launch their companies and build their careers. Perhaps what Herold is most well known for is his creation of the company “1-800-GOT-JUNK?” Although this company may not sound like that amazing of an idea, Herold took it from a $2 million to $105 million company within six years. The company had no debts and no outside shareholders, and it spans across 46 states, 9 provinces, and 4 countries. Herold has taught programs on entrepreneurship at MIT and his work has been included in the course loads of programs at Queen’s University and Harvard University. Herold does not recognize his success as personality or luck. Instead he claims, “it’s about having the right systems.” Harold also attributes his success to his unique ability of “leading and energizing people by using quick, intuitive alternatives to build plans that reverse engineer their dreams.” Herold is looked upon as a very successful entrepreneur and he is well recognized across the country.

I will be attending Boston University in the fall. Although one of the large attractions of the school is the ability to be “undeclared” or to be simply clueless about what you want to study and pursue in life, I am currently enrolled in the “School of Management.” If I do not choose another career line, I will be working through the field of business. However, Cameron Herold has inspired me to push past the cubicle workers and the aged and tired businessmen. Like Herold, I hope to pursue some sort of entrepreneurship after I earn a degree in business. He has also steered me away from the idea of manual labor. After all, as Herold says it, “manual labor really sucks.” I want to pursue something in the line of entrepreneurship because it the power is solely in my hands to choose what I want to do with my life. Although it may be risky, I can creatively choose what I want to do for a career. I strictly don’t want to join a company. I would rather create one, enjoy what I do, and be significantly rewarded because of it. So although I cannot be exactly sure of what I want to do in life, my aspirations are clear. As said in The Social Network, “Harvard undergraduates believe that inventing a job is better than finding a job.” This is the truth.