This recession has been extremely difficult for all age groups, but it has hit particularly hard the employment prospects of the 16-to-19 year olds where the unemployment rate is reported to have reached more than 21%.  But as they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and teens in need of spending money or looking to save for college or other goals are turning to entrepreneurship to achieve their goals.

Starting your own business at a young age can be very advantageous later in life.  You will certainly learn a lot more by trying to be successful in your business venture than flipping burgers at a fast-food joint.  This opportunity will also give you a taste for what it is like to be your own boss, and the experience can help you decide if entrepreneurship is for you.  Experimenting at a young age, when you have few commitments and responsibilities is a great way to discover if this is what you want to do in life.  The risks are low, and if things don’t work out, at least you have that experience under your belt.

As reported in the USA Today, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy says that in 2006, which are the latest figures available, there were 492,000 people under 25 who were self-employed.  An this year entrepreneurial programs geared towards youth groups such as Junior Achievement and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship are seeing a higher level of interest from kids that are discouraged by the difficult employment market.

Junior Achievement USA president Jack Kosakowski describes that kids are seeing parents and other adults being laid off after being loyal to their employers and going through financial turmoil, so they are starting to think that being their own boss may be the right move for them.  “It might be out of necessity, since there aren’t a lot of jobs out there”, he says.

In the article Teenager Entrepreneurs Become Millionaires we shared with you the success stories of Cameron Johnson and Ashley Qualls, both of whom built very successful businesses as teenagers.  Other famous entrepreneurs that started their businesses as teenagers and grew them to multi-billion-dollar enterprises include Bill Gates and Tommy Hilfiger.

But even teenager entrepreneurs who have achieved more modest success can serve as examples to other young people.  Take Leanna Archer as an example.  At the tender age of 13, she started to sell all-natural hair-conditioning pomade which is made from a family recipe.  The business did so well that she expanded to more than a dozen other hair and body products.  She started the business from her family’s home in 2005.  By 2008 the business had generated $110,000 in revenues and is on track to generate more $150,000 in 2009.

Similarly, Jasmine Lawrence started Eden Bodyworks at the age of 13 with savings from her allowances and a $2,000 loan from her parents.  Today at age 17 she sells more than 20,000 units of her body-care products a month through her website alone.  Dun & Bradstreet estimates her annual revenue at more than $700,000.

These teenager entrepreneurs are great role models not only for other young people looking for some direction in their life in these tough economics times, but also for all who would like to take a chance with an entrepreneurial venture.  The fact that these young and inexperienced people can be successful in starting their own business gives all of us hope that success as an entrepreneur is within anyone’s reach.