Youth and Teen Business Coaching

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:09:00 +0000

is about to go to an awards event & function re: World Leaders on Sustainability @ Natl Bldg Museum.

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:07:00 +0000

DC Global Entrepreneurship Week Participants Conf Call 2day @11:30 am est: 1.712.580.1800, Code: 746297

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Self-Made Billionaire Don Peebles Hosting Event at PGCC in DC Metro Area, Sep 19th, http://twurl.nl/55qdr0

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:43:00 +0000

Creating a joint R&D sponsorship pitch page for my teen ceo's and their various creative endeavors :)

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Mark Victor Hansen looking for teen entrepreneurs (new & existing) ages 13-19 for Young Entrep. Challenge: http://twurl.nl/kjaito

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:41:00 +0000

is behind on her reading. Going to grab her FT and WSJ and will let you know what cool thing she comes across.

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:47:00 +0000

rsvp'd for Understanding Govt's Banquet for Preventive Journalism- $50,000 Prize!

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:21:00 +0000

is enjoying using ping to update my social networking sites "status" simultaneously: http://twurl.nl/5yw6bt

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:36:00 +0000

reviewing my financials from year and doing some goal setting for 2009.

The new site is LIVE! YAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:22:00 +0000

We've moved. You can find us at www.renegadeceos.com

The site is actually in two parts So we are launching the 'critical' part which is the forum portion in the next week.

But the infrastructure is up and ret to go.

Thanks for your patience.

Love,

NN

Our new site launches on Monday August 11, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Hurray Hurrah! It only took 8 months you know, lol.

But there truly so much to be done from concept to deliverables. But anyway, we can officially begin the countdown now.

I am so excited :)

Until next time-
make money, not babies!

Love & Laughter,

Daniel Uribe Takes 2nd at NFTE Advanced Business Plan Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:14:00 +0000

Teen Renegade CEO, Daniel Uribe of Lazer Bearing, takes 2nd place at the NFTE Advanced Entrepreneurship Competition. Along with the award he also won $3,000 to add to his steadily growing seed money. This makes award #5 this year (3 National, 1 Global, 1 Regional) won by our Renegade CEO's. Whew Hew....We'll take it!

After his week long camp in NYC, courtesy of NFTE he came to Washington, DC for a week of brainstorming and productivity. As an active and growing teenage boy of course he ate up all my food, then enjoyed food at some great restaurants, spent all my money and had free housekeeping and culinary preparation services courtesy of yours truly :). In exchange I got a week of filming and editing for my top Renegade CEO's promo videos. Personally, I think I got a much sweeter deal.

Aside from that we are counting down the days for the website launch...the design is done we are just awaiting upload to the server. That should take place Monday or Tuesday next week. Our sad little MySpace page is also being redesigned and will launch one day next week. So that definitely spells R-E-L-I-E-F. So as soon as those 2 things go live we can really start marketing and putting our name out there because people will understand our vibe and our vision and everything else will soon follow. Hurray hurrah!

Until Next Time-

don't talk about it, be about it.

Love and Laughter,

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur...Coming to a Stall Near You Soon!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:59:00 +0000

So what exactly is a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur? Well, simply put, it's a book and a culture. And the premise behind the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is that every now and again in your life you come to the point where you feel as you have gotten as far as you can go and you're stressed out and have this big fettering knot of frustration in your stomach. So in that mode of contemplation and cramping you go to the potty with the realization is all you need to do is get the crap out. What did you expect? Those burgers, fries and pickled hot dogs from 3 days ago are still hanging out in your belly getting drunk off their own fermentation with no place to go. So they finally get kicked out for unruly behavior. After you finally release all that waste and get rid of the nonsense it feels wonderful and oh so refreshing. You are ready to start again hopeful and renewed..that is until you get ready to wipe your ass and notice the roll is down to the last 3 sheets.

Indeed, shit happens....but why now and what next? Do you ask yourself why me and just resort to the belief that your life is never going to amount to more than a pile of shit that causes an overflooded toilet time and time again or do you get fired up and creative? If you thought about it for a moment before you decided to quirk off and start cursing to yourself and banging like a madman on the sides of the stalls, maybe, just maybe you could reach out your foot, reel in that trash can and see what you can discover in there. Ewww, what do you mean ewww? Gotta better idea?

If I was in that position, literally and figuratively, ha, ha (and btw, I have been there..more than once :)) depending on the circumstances aka 'the where' and if it was a hard or soft poopie I would continuously flush the toilet and try to use it almost like bidet style. I would use the water pressure to try to get some of the soft poopies off and then jossle my butt in the water and use my hand to clean the rest. I mean if you are in a public bathroom, you can always wash your hands you know? Or depending on whether or not I was wearing any- I would use my underwear or maybe a pantyhose, a sock, whatever? What are you shriveling your face up and mumbling about? That's gross my ass. For crying out loud people, since when did we evolve to this puritanistic better than thou attitude? Are you the same people who laugh your ass off every single time Kenny gets killed on South Park? Give me a f'in break. Underwear and socks are disposable. They can be frickin' washed or even replaced for cheap, relatively speaking. Anyway, bottom line is when push comes to shove instead of beating the crap out of someone (pun inteneded) and getting put on house arrest (again) you gotta do what you gotta do and that is the culture of a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. And if my answers grosses you out--- I can only say you would NEVER make it as a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur or an entrepreneur in general. And I mean NEVER...

As far as the book, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, it was written by Mike Michalowicz Founder of Obsidian Launch (a growth accelerator company for young entrepreneurs 18+). While the book is a straight-talk business book for the most part, it has a bit of twisted humor sprinkled throughout. I guess the word that I am looking for is the book for the most part is 'edgy'. It is geared for the first time entrepreneur, regardless of age, who wants to get out there and jump into things full speed ahead with no fear of failure or looking back for that matter. Reality is that is the best way of doing it. When I left my job of a dozen years in the midst of frustration and decided to go out on my own I had enough money to just get me through the month I was in and somehow 3 years have passed with me going strong as ever and continuing to get bigger, better and more extreme from one day to the next. Case in point, I gave up my wonderful very good paying wireless business that it took me nearly 5 years to build to pursue working with young people full time pro-bono. HELL-O, WTF? Anyway, the forces of the universe will work itself out. At least that is what I keep telling myself...just stop the global warming people and help make the process a little easier ;-)

Anyway, about that book....I personally love good writing when it's done in a witty context and of course reading about business, so I very much enjoyed the vibe and the tone of the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. Don't get me wrong though, while there are some pretty funny parts in the book, the book itself is substantial and covers some pretty heavy subject matter (namely going out there and starting a business on your own for the first time ever). It just presents the subject in a different light and with some humor to break the technicality and depth of it a little bit. Otherwise, it would probably be overwhelming AND boring.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is a book written by Mike Michalowicz. The book is scheduled to be released some time around September 2008 but you can pre order your copy today!

Have a 3 sheet story or want to read about other's adventures? Then be sure to visit the website and really fun blog for the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and make a post.

Until Next Time-

Love and Laughter,

My Working Angel....Mike Michalowicz

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:47:00 +0000

The spirit hit me today. It was just a matter of time you know?

Yesterday a question posted on Linked In and it was- Who is your working angel? About 4 months ago that would have been difficult for me to decide because there were so many people who had helped me in many different aspects over the years. But yesterday, without question and hesitation, only one person popped to the top of the mind. Mike Michalowicz was right on time. Mike is the founder of Obsidian Launch (a growth accelerator company for young entrepreneurs) and the author of the forthcoming book, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.
If you want to catch a glimpse of him, his culture, his vision and why I love Mike Michalowicz so much you can check him out in the video below.

TPE Vlog 7-10-08 from Toilet Paper on Vimeo.

Essentially, at the time I met Mike Michalowicz I was at crossroads in my life (I truly was) and my visionary business coach was helping me to work it out. It is not like I was some troubled distraught chic bouncing back from a relationship. It was quite the contraire actually. I had 2 amazing opportunities in niche businesses and I had to choose one to give my all. As for how I met Mr. Michalowicz...well that's another story in itself....better pull up a chair ;-)

One day I was reading this very funny (but informative) business blog where a young entrepreneur age 15 posted a question about how he could get started in business. This particular post wasn't funny, it was actually quite serious but the blog is a hoot. Well the moderator of the blog, one guilty party named Mike Michalowicz posted a response (with his real name, duh). But let's give him props because at least he wrote something personal. His advice was to read some book, check out some resources he recommended and to call his company for business development assistance when the kid turned 18. So one hyped up Shonika saw an opportunity and immediately posted on the blog for the kid to try to push forward with the business idea !!!like yesterday!!! with the help of the Renegade CEO's, of course. Low and behold within the next 24 hours, if it wasn't one Mr. Mike Michalowicz on the phone rapping with me about that post and many other crazy things in the world of business. We were both doing the ever so diplomatic pre-qualifying questions to make sure the person who posted on the blog was really the person who posted on the blog. He had jokes and direct open-ended questions off the break, so I was like yep, yep, he legit. And I was being open and generous with my information like I normally am on the web (and actually in person). So that was that and we decided that we needed to make some big things happen and find common ground and meet in person, which we did within the 2 weeks that followed.

So why does Mike Michalowicz get my vote for Working Angel? Aside from he is crazy and funny as hell, much like myself, I have to say that hands down he is someone who TRULY believed in me the first time I chatted with him. I mean he was hard core digging my concept and my over the top marketing themes. This all with only having one brief conversation with me on the phone and one conversation over coffee with me in person. He put all his chips on the table and bet on me. Nobody has ever done that. I mean my mom digs what I am doing and encourages me all the time so I have to give her props but she mostly just smiles and nods her head and says 'ok baby keep pushing forward', because that is what mom's do right?

Anyway, on a whole different level, I meet people ALL the time with equivalent access to resources and people as me but they are not willing to go out on the limb with me. They are all gung ho but when it comes down to implementation they get all wishy washy and their follow through sucks. It's like I'll say to Mike "the limb is about to break" and he's like, "no worries, it's all good, if we fall off and break anything, I got insurance". I tell you- he has a line for everything. Mike has done good for me and continues to do good for me day after day, week after week. No doubt he is the real deal. Mind you, during this whole time he has not asked for anything in return. He has graciously opened and shared his network with me, pooled resources and helped create other valuable marketing opportunities and joint ventures in just the 4 short months I have known him. This indeed is the power of social networking in the 21st century. It's not about the missed opportunities and wasted back and forth to hit a dead end...it's just like closing a sale. All it takes is 1 good deal that creates inspiration to do many more much bigger ones. It is what I continuously tell you, my little emerging young Renegade CEO's- when you get to the place you are supposed to be, everything and everyone will be there waiting for you and doors will start opening all over the place. So just like Mr. Michalowicz has shown me mad love, here in my house NO DOUBT we shall reciprocate his gesture.

As he is an avid supporter and advocate for young entrepreneurs if you haven't already checked it out, I want you to see what he is all about. Check out his video below. You will realize that it compliments what I often say and what we are doing here. If you like and agree with what he is saying then go to his site http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/ and register to get updates on his blog or make a comment yourself. And if you think he sucks, wellll--I am sorry you feel that way, but if you decide to tell him so, make your feedback constructive, not destructive.

Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur - The 8 TPE Attributes - Website Video from Toilet Paper on Vimeo.

Until next time...

Love and Laughter,

New Site Design Check, Copywriting Check...

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:51:00 +0000

We are pulling all the stuff together for the corporate sponsorship and media kit. It's a doozy!

And as far as the book edits go---geezo meezo. Still working on them. Mind you, the book is 34,000 words so it is no easy task. Trying to work on a chapter a day.

Ning forum redesign is next on the list. I will look for designers starting tomorrow.

Our first new print rebrand collateral arrived in the mail today, hurray hurrah. But I can't say what it is until next week because I am making something for my Renegade CEO's. A few of them are working real hard this summer so I am making something very special for each of them to show my sincere gratitude and commitment to them in exchange for their commitment and self-discipline.

And I finally broke down and got one of those Flip Ultra Video Cameras---with a Tripod, LOL. It's cute and fun...love it, love it, love it.

Until Next Time,

Love and Laughter,

Progress, Progress, Progress...

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:17:00 +0000

The new site is underway. The copy has been edited and organized for the most part. It is about 75% done. All the articles from last year to present have been translated to Spanish. The bigger translation projects will begin on Friday.

The manuscript edits and revisions are taking a lot longer than expected. I took 2 extra days at the beach to work on them. Many adults who have read the manuscript (or glanced through) think that the content is going to be too advanced for teens....HA! Being that I wrote it at the same tone and conversation level I currently use with my young renegade ceo's I believe they are just out of touch with today's young people. And it just reaffirms many of the themes of my book, young people are not taken seriously mainly because of their age. People think that because they are young they are not able to comprehend a certain level of conversation or even responsibility. uhh uhh uhhh, little do they know. ;-) So anyway, I am working on the 3rd (and hopefully final) edit of the manuscript with my fingers crossed for completion by this Friday.

We have decided on our media promo kit and corporate sponsorship package. We definitely went for something outside of traditional corporate mold (of course). We looked outside for ideas and ultimately decided on something that could serve a dual purpose, was visually attractive, compact (no big bulky folders with cheesy glossy inserts) and of course it had to integrate a multi media web 2.0'ish component. Naturally it will be custom designed. So when it's all finished we will show you some photos. We don't want to give too much away just yet but something tells me you are definitely going to dig it. Not to worry, we will be loading photos and short videos of everything in its final format.

Counting down the days until everything is done :)

Love and Laughter,

Hot Dog, We've Got a Weiner! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:27:00 +0000

I went on my gut instinct and today I commissioned the Turkish Designer to help with the rebrand of the blog. AAAAH relief. I requested a bid which he promptly sent. Granted it was the highest bid of all the ones that I received, I have to admit he is supremely talented and the design quality was far superior than any of the 20 quotes and portfolios I viewed. As a creative and visionary person I would definitely say that creativity and presentation has far more merit to me than the cheapest price. Besides I'm not rich enough to be cheap you know, lol? We both agreed on the price (and no, I did not try to negotiate price) and I already gave him his deposit so we are moving forward and he estimates that it will be approximately 25 days to completion. Yippee!

I also found a great candidate to help edit and organize the actual copy for me. I felt that I am too close to the project and it is best I choose a neutral party who is pro working with young people and also has a background in business and marketing to help balance out what I write. So that's what I did. I am awaiting a response from my first choice now. Fingers and toes crossed :)

Until Next Time.

Love and Laughter,

One week down...three to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Aye Carumba! Last night Daniel and I had a laser brainstorming session. It was 1 hour which was short to us being that we usually stay on the phone and talk a minimum of 3 hours. I can't even imagine it myself being that I never talk to anyone that long. The time goes by so fast and we get so much accomplished. Last night was blog and website organizational logistics. We got a lot of stuff fleshed out and of course TONS more new ideas. It never ends :)

Daniel is also saying that he is poor, very very poor from buying quote unquote essential things for his video camera with 23 seconds left to bid on ebay. Anyway, he is due a consulting check this week so I am going to bail him out ;-) We have lots of collaborations to finish up over the next 3 weeks before he heads to his all expense paid Entrepreneurship Camp in NYC, hurray hurrah!

In other great news Rajon was hired on for the summer (perhaps longer) to do some design and technical something or other :) kind of work for a video game simulation company based in the DC Metro area. He got his shirt and signed his paperwork and everything so it is official and naturally he is totally jazzed about it. I made the connection and am glad I made a potentially mutually beneficial match as this fully embraces the culture of what the Renegade CEO's are about. This summer Rajon and I are also going to work on his website and his entire rebranding campaign. Should be fun! Right now he is working on his short promo videos and I am so darn tempted to buy that Flip Camera just for the fun of it. Since the new one came out (The Mino) the price is now under $125 for the mid-range one (the Ultra).

Until Next Time-

Love and Laughter,

Merhaba! Turkiye beats Croatia in (Soccer) Shootout

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:43:00 +0000

Merhaba is hello in Turkish. Turkey is advancing to the Euro 2008 semifinals in soccer after beating Croatia in an amazing shootout.

As it turns out 'Turkey' (the country not the food) has been omnipresent in my life over the last 2 weeks. First I spent my birthday weekend with all my Turkish friends at a rooftop party for my Turkish friend Cenk. We shared the same birthday weekend. Then my Turkish friend Ipek was hanging out with me last weekend at Artomatic during its closing weekend.

Today I traveled outside of the city and went to meet a friend at a metro station that I seldom travel to and low and behold if my Turkish friend Erdem wasn't standing out in front of the metro smoking a cigarette before he hopped back on the metro. He was telling me about Turkey's exciting game against Croatia where they came back with 1 minute to go and won the game in a shootout and are now advancing to the semi-finals.

So what does this have to do with our 1 month challenge and the Renegade CEO's? Well funny thing, I just logged on the computer after a long day out in the field and guess what? I got a proposal with a kick butt creative portfolio, from a company and a designer in Turkey. Oh the irony, huh? Anyway, looks like this is going to be the company commissioned to design the Renegades new site along with some other custom work.

In other news, wild and crazy Daniel Uribe went to the tryouts today in Hollywood for 50 cent & MTV's new Reality Show 'Get Rich or Die Tryin', geezo meezo. Originally when he told me he was considering doing I was like the worried mom concerned that he would do really well and advance and advance again and then get rejected right before they had cuts for the final 16. Anyway, I have since pulled myself together and given him my full and undevoted support. I spoke to him after tryouts today and he said he was running a little late but they still let him try out. He also said it was a fun and new experience and he tried his best. so that's what is most important right?

Until Next Time-

Love and Laughter,

Hable Espagnol?

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:03:00 +0000

Being that the Renegade CEO's National Spokesperson Daniel Uribe hails from Columbia I believed that it was not only necessary but also a courtesy that we translated everything to Spanish. Hence, we have commissioned a translator and we are now translating ALL of our content to Spanish.

Until Next Time-
Love and Laughter,

Daniel Uribe is Lazer Fast Out the Gate...

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Yes, you heard me, Daniel Uribe is "Lazer" fast out the gate. It is no wonder his company is called Lazer Bearings huh? ;-) He had his nerve to email today...on a Sunday at that (a day that I am not normally working) to ask me if I could use his help with anything. That is obviously his diplomatic way of telling me that I need to be on top of my game for the next month and get a move on.

Needless to say, I'm on it! I actually worked most of yesterday until 1:30 am or so and this morning I got up bright & early and have been writing and staying focused for the last 7, 8 hours or so. I am working out the kinks in my content and preparing everything for my contract that starts tomorrow. It's definitely going to be interesting with 2 major projects going on and time management.

Anyway, I promised Daniel that I would follow up with him this evening and update him on my progress. So I need to get back into my writing and working groove.

Until Next Time-

Love and Laughter,

Shonika & Daniel's One Month Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:51:00 +0000

Myself along with Renegade CEO's National Spokesperson Daniel Uribe have presented ourselves with a one month challenge (we will be starting next week and giving ourselves a deadline of July 18, 2008). We have a ton of content and ideas that we have created and now over the next month we need to get it all organized in a mind map, implement and market it and essentially give the Renegades a complete makeover. I am going to be blogging about my strategic methods and so forth so that you can follow our progress. What needs to be done is:

1. Have the book 'published' and advertised for sale.

2. Launch a new blog style website.

3. Have a professional corporate media kit prepared.

These are the biggies. We have a few other things that need to be completed in June and July also but it is hard to do those until we have these things oout of the way. As far as the book, the manuscript is done but has not finished the editing process yet. The blog we have rough content but have to finalize the designer etc. And the media kit we have some concepts but again, we need to finalize the designer, etc. More or less we have vendors in mind but we need to decide and organize the timeline etc. Let's just say everything is in raw form now, so we have to bring it all together, package it and market it.

Thank goodness we do have a virtual assistant who can help us a lot and some marketing savvy. So we think we can pull off our high dollar look even with our modest budget :) For sake of trying to make it a little more exciting Daniel quit his part time job two weeks ago with no other source of income and as you know I left the wireless industry a little over a month ago with no other source of income (me not charge my Renegades for coaching). Daniel has a small savings....very small :)

Within the last 30 days I have been able to hustle up some one and two day consulting and training gigs and have written numerous proposals so that Renegades generates its own operating budget. I'm thanking my lucky stars as I was able to leverage my proposal writing and marketing skills and within one month land a part time 10 week consulting gig developing a program/curriculum for aspring youth entrepreneurs ages 14-18. As this will provide me with the much needed start up funding for the Renegades and flexibility with my time I have ceased my proposal writing for the moment to focus full-time on producing content for our upcoming projects. I will also help Daniel market and generate income selling his retro skateboards and bearings that he has in stock. Additionally, I have to carve out some one on one time to help Patricio, Rajon, Jared and Gena to help them launch their respective programs this summer. Daniel and I will rely on our creativity, resourcefulness, network and the forces of the universe to complete our individual and collect projects, get some media exposure and generate more money.

So are you ready?

Here we go....

Love and Laughter,

Want to make a million dollars?

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:52:00 +0000

Then first you have to make one! According to our calculations, looks like you've got a long way to go! Sorry!!!

In yet another exclusive Renegade CEO's creation we decided to task our creative team with the project of showing the true value of one dollar. The reason we did it is because so many small business owners who are starting out (young and old alike) think that whenever they make a dollar that they really make a dollar. The reality is they make just a fraction of that. As many of my proteges are either corresponding with me virtually or may be young or visual learners, the best way we figured we can explain important but difficult concepts such as this one was through a picture. So here you have it. Of course, this has triggered a whole line of Renegade CEO's visual training tools....just wait, you'll see (literally & figuratively) :-D.

So at any rate, the formula that we use with Renegade CEO's is a very aggressive one because we are all about having a financially sound and stress free lifestyle. This means the choices we make today add up to our successes or stresses tomorrow so if we put more money in now, it means we have a lot more flexibility and freedom later. And also I totally don't buy the line that young ceo's have it easy because they don't have bills or true responsibilties- trust and believe, I have seen my fair share of renegade ceo's who are the breadwinners in their household, have to pay for all their extracurricular activities that their parents signed them up for and of course lest not forget that dreaded monthly cell phone bill, lol. Anyway, 'nuff said. Here is how a financially savvy Young Renegade CEO manages their cash flow-

For every dollar that comes into their business-

30% gets set aside to pay their estimated monthly taxes which is approximately 1/3 of what they earn (U.S.)

50% is used to run their business, pay for advertising, payroll, rent, inventory etc.

10% goes to their savings...for a rainy day.

10% goes to chasing their bright ideas (without putting their company in jeopardy) and unforseen costs and emergencies that they didn't really account for in the beginning. This could come from anything that ranges from lack of experience to receiving a bad shipment, to simply an unfortunate situation.

Talking about all this financial literacy stuff, this is probably a good time to give you a sneak preview of what's ahead in the upcoming months. The Renegade CEO's have recently entered into an amazing global partnership with a company down under...that means in Australia (not in bad condition ;-)). They are doing some crazy and fun things that are helping young people to make their money grow. We will tell you more about them in the upcoming Free to Be newsletter as well as in an upcoming post on our new website...coming in June. I am getting so impatient about this darn website, but I am hanging in there because I know in the end the wait will be worth it.

So any-whoo we are going to be teaching you what we know best- how to turn your bright idea(s) into a way to make some money and then they are going to be collaborating with us and teaching you how to do what they know best- how to invest the money you make and ultimately make a lot more of it. Double trouble! Looks like you are going to be a forced to be reckoned with in the business world in no time. [big grin] ;-) I am so looking forward to it.

Until next time,

don't talk about it, be about it.

A book, a new sponsor video and more....

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:52:00 +0000

The Renegades inspired a book idea. I wrote it start to finish in just 12 days, can you believe it? I believe the significance of the number 12 represents the 12 Renegades I have been working with one-on-one. I believe it is just further affirmation that I am fulfilling my life purpose.

The book is in the editors very capable and nurturing hands right now and will be finished the editing process by May 31st. In June the cover will be designed and the book published and ready for sale to the public.

As we get closer to the publish date I will share more with you about this exciting project...along with the title and book concept ;-)

And Daniel Uribe, the Renegades Spokesperson just finished with the production of the corporate sponsors video. He so embraces the culture and the spirit of a young Renegade CEO- The focus, the energy, the vision, the excitement. I am so very grateful for his dedication and support.

It is going to be an awesome summer for the Renegades and YOU! Trust and Believe! :-)

Love and Laughter,

The Parent Connect

noreply@blogger.com (Shonika) — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:47:00 +0000

I just saw this video about the Parent Connect which is a web based program that allows parents to go online and check their kids attendance, grades, test and quiz scores. The concept of the Parent Connect is great as a tool so that parents can see what their kids are doing but the people who could most benefit from this I don't see having access to this in their schools. And the parents who probably are going to sign up for this is probably like the woman in the video. This lady says she logs onto Parent Connect and checks her kids grades everyday. That is ridiculous.

Your parent and your school teacher should not be one in the same. Teachers teach theory of a specialized subject matter and parents teach how to apply what you learn in the classroom in real life. Yes, they kind of cross at certain points but generally that's the concept. Real life is not about who can receive the highest grade on their biology quiz. There are a host of reasons why you are motivated to do stuff or not. But bottom line is you are more apt to truly apply yourself and challenge yourself when you reap a benefit and not fear a consequence.

Imagine this kid having to come home and answer to his mother EVERY DAY about why he got a 71 on his blankety blank quiz. It is not really an icebreaker for academic or personal conversations. It is like he knows what the quiz score is. He has known every since he got it back in his hand. The poor kid could have an anxiety attack trying to think of his answer or his lie on the way home. And then he might even start pre-meditating scenarios to make the problem 'not his'. His mother says using the Parent Connect is about buiding accountability and if we want to compare this to the adult world...as I know parents are reading this now sucking their teeth :) (relax it is just an opinion piece) this scenario is no different than going to work everyday and getting little nastygrams from your micromanaging boss. Does that make you have accountability or help to improve your accountability? No, it makes you slack off more and want to find another job.

So what is it that parents really want to accomplish here? I suppose that is the real question. If you want to build accountability & trust with your teenager you need to empower them. Give them resources and boundaries and teach them to be resourceful and take initiative to create their own set of checks and balances. Let them experience life a little on both sides of the fence....Struggle a bit and succeed a bit. Let them decide which side they like best. Don't threaten them with if you don't get good grades or this that or the other you are going to fail. If they have never truly experienced it they cannot identify with it.

If you want your child to get good grades to get into the best school you have to help them build their character, meaning their words and actions must agree.
University admissions are competitive but they don't judge on purely test scores and standardized tests. They want someone who has character. Someone who is scared straight by their micromanaging mom may not feel comfortable in his own skin because he is always thinking of saying what makes her happy or what appeases her and not what is truly in his heart. The only way he can say what is truly in his heart is if he is given the freedom to explore it. And it is so much better when he does because he and his moms relationship can continue to evolve.

Parents looking to connect with their kids just have to help young people and teens identify, embrace and celebrate their own unique talents and gifts. Then encourage them to utilize that skill set as they pursue their life purpose or interests. As for everything else...the forces of the universe will sort everything else out. It did for you right?