By Rachel Caldwell, Power2Parent
By Rachel Arroyo Caldwell, Power2Parent
The room full of teens had 60 seconds to develop a sales pitch for items sitting right in front of them such as a box of tissues or an office chair. At the end of the minute, a select few would pitch their product to the Chief Executive Officer of Zeebuz, Shark Tank style.
The exercise was part of Power2Parent’s ‘Financial Fitness for Parents and Teens’ workshop held Feb. 6 at the Power2Parent Parent Resource Center. The event, sponsored by apps Zeebuz and Go Boldly, was designed to improve the financial literacy of the participants by having them view their financial decisions as business owners.
“How we promote ourselves matters,” said Chen Levanon, CEO of Zeebuz. “Make sure you are thinking about the one who wants to hire you or buy from you.”
Levanon, a successful entrepreneur and mother of four, developed Zeebuz as a means of equipping teens to build their own businesses.
Zeebuz, which can be used by teenagers 13+ with the approval of a registered guardian, provides a means of promotion. Users can create a profile to market themselves and their goods and services. It can also be used for secure payments.
Following a job, users can send a request for payment that generates a QR code with no personal information attached. Payment is secured through the app, and customers can pay using credit. The approved guardian of the teen then releases the funds to him or her in the form of a direct deposit or a gift card.
Levanon walked the teens through setting up an account while teaching them how to think like an entrepreneur, offering them invaluable nuggets of wisdom.
“Always read the small letters when you’re dealing with money and business,” she said.
After the teens got a taste for entrepreneurship, they learned about another resource to assist them with improving their money sense in a fun and hands-on way.
Joe Mahavuthivanij, Chief Executive Officer of Las Vegas-based app Go Boldly, described the app as a mashup of ‘Duolingo and Oregon Trail with a bit of Star Trek flair thrown in.’
The app takes users on a space-themed journey built around acquiring knowledge in certain areas such as creating a budget.
Users level up by watching educational videos pertaining to the learning adventure they have chosen. They acquire badges after taking a knowledge assessment at the end of each module.
Mahavuthivanij highlighted the importance of devoting just 15 minutes a day to building financial literacy, beginning with changing any limiting beliefs concerning money and business.
“This knowledge will stay with you your entire lives and then you’ll have much better outcomes,” he said.
The young attendees may have walked into the room not thinking of themselves as entrepreneurs, but they left with a sense of empowerment.
One of them had just two questions at the end of the night —
“Are we doing this again? And what day?”
