I can’t name a single person that doesn’t get inspired when they hear of a teenage entrepreneur. Every seasoned entrepreneur gets the warm and fuzzies, and we simply can’t help but instantly love them. Recently, I came across a fellow mom and entrepreneur in a shared Facebook group who mentioned her daughter has created her own side business and online course. So obviously, I had to know more about this girl after my own heart.
I was able to catch up with 14 year old, Lydia Novak, founder of Pinning Magic, to find out how she got started and her future plans for her business. Lydia has dreams of becoming an actress and singer – but recognizes that an entrepreneurial spirit can work in her favor.
How This 14 Year Old, Lydia Novak, Created An Online Business | Stephanie Burns
Stephanie Burns: Tell me about your business!
Lydia Novak: I started a business creating pins for others when I was twelve years old. In the beginning, I started creating pins for my mom, and her business. As I got better, I started working on pins for her friends. After I got more exposure, I started working for others too. Recently, I created a course showing others how to do it! My course is called Pinning Magic. Pinning Magic is set up in a way where it is easy for everyone, including teens, to understand. It teaches how to implement SEO in Pinterest pins, as well as how to keyword Pinterest descriptions, and create eye-catching, interesting, and creative pin designs. SEO is an acronym for “Search Engine Optimization,” a way to help get your pins to the top of Pinterest so that more people will see them. My course provides a step-by-step process of not only how to correctly keyword your pins and use SEO, but also how to cover all aspects of starting a business in this field. From legal matters to how to contact customers, Pinning Magic provides a way for teens, or any determined entrepreneur, to learn how to create their own business by creating Pinterest pins for others.
Burns: What made you want to start a business?
Novak: Originally, I was creating Pinterest pins for my mom, who owns a business creating legal blog content. My mom taught me how to keyword pins, or in other words, find out which words people search for most often in a certain category. I also learned some of my information from other Pinterest courses. I started making pins for her business, to help her get more traffic, but when she realized that I had a talent for it, I did a free batch of pins for her friend. She thought that they were amazing! A few months ago, she re-pinned a pin that I had created for her a while back, and in under two hours, it got 4,000 impressions, 7 saves, and 43 link clicks, which are fantastic statistics! I realized that I might be good enough to do this for other people! My mom mentioned me in a few Facebook groups, asking if anyone was looking for someone to do their pins. Slowly, I began to get more customers. I was doing pins off and on for different customers, when at one point, my mom took a photo (unbeknownst to me) of me and a client on a Zoom call, discussing the statistics of her pins. She posted it on Facebook, and the post practically went viral. I got over one thousand reactions in under twelve hours, and hundreds of comments. Many people commented that I should start a course to help others do what I was doing. So, I did!
Burns: What challenges have you faced being a young entrepreneur?
Novak: One of the main challenges I have is simply dealing with clients. Just because you start a business, and just because you do everything right, does not always mean that others will. It is incredibly frustrating that many times, people will not answer me back when I email them. One of the most challenging things about starting your own business is that not everything is always up to you. You can work as hard as you can, but if others do not give you the materials you need, in an appropriate time frame, it can be hard to keep your business going. I am only fourteen, so I still have school, and many other activities. I have to be able to fit my business into my schedule, which can be hard to do when other people do not always message back on time!
Burns: What advice would you give to other teens who are thinking about starting a business?
Novak: The main thing I would say is that you do not need to know what your life will be like when you “grow up” to do something important now. I can tell you that my life goal is not to make Pinterest pins my career. My dream is to become an actress and a singer. However, I realized that Pinterest can help provide me the finances I need to achieve my dream. As a teenager, your dream does not need to be creating pins for others. Your dream does not need to be starting your own business. What is your dream? You may not even know yet, and that is okay! This business could help me achieve my dream later in life, and it already has. I have loved doing this for others, and even though I may love other things more, I realize that this can be something that helps me do what I love. You do not have to wait to make money, and you do not have to wait to get started on your dream. Get started now!
Stephanie Burns is the founder of Chic CEO, a resource for female entrepreneurs starting businesses. Download a free business plan template and follow Chic CEO on Twitter and Instagram.
About Author
