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08 May Lessons learned from teenage jobs

Posted at 14:03h in Blog by

Heidi Zak, founder of ThirdLove, shares her experience working on a farm stand as a teenager.

“I think my dad is my biggest influence. He grew up on a small farm outside of Pittsburgh. Through a lot of hard work and by focusing on education, he has been really successful in business. I think it’s true in life that when you work hard, things will work themselves out for you. That work ethic is also something that I look for when I’m hiring.

“My first job was when I was 14, I grew up in western New York, and I worked at a farm stand. There are two things that I still use today from the job. One is how to make things look really beautiful. It was very much learning how to merchandise – how do you make them look compelling for a customer that is going to walk in. The other thing was I learned how to think about the customer, what their needs were and how to sell to them effectively.”

Jobs can teach a teenager valuable commercial awareness, especially when they can see a direct link between their actions and how well the business does. In a restaurant it’s reflected in their tips. On a farm stand it’s how many customers say yes. In a clothes store it’s how many browsers buy.

It might spark questions like… “What if this was my own store?” “What if I owned this restaurant?” 



  • I am a huge advocate of the entrepreneurial messages and characteristics that you are driving. I think it is a fantastic idea to instil the idea of entrepreneurship into children from a young age. This is a great way to open children up to the idea of not always following conventional paths and giving them the belief and confidence to pursue their own creative business ideas.

    James Caan, CBE - entrepreneur and former Dragon

  • The Clever Tykes series are such a wonderful way to introduce ‘enterprise’ to children from a young age – I can’t recommend them highly enough, and strongly urge parents to read along with their child as there is no doubt the stories will stimulate lots of questions and interest!

    Lorraine Allman, Author and Founder of Enterprising Child

  • I found Walk-it Willow easy to read and full of lovely messages that children can take from it. It touched on taking responsibility, problem solving, admitting mistakes and also the work it takes to run a small business. Willow is entertaining but very human. A lovely story.

    Naomi Richards, The Kids Coach, parent and life coach for children