Young Achiever continues to excel

About two weeks ago, while I was covering a youth summit event for the Local section of The Observer, I ran into a Young Achiever I had written about.

I had told Yash Mori's story in the Nov. 1 issue of Young Achievers. At age 16, Yash, a junior at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, has started a website business, runs the school’s video production club, is a member of JROTC and student council and is a student ambassador.

Quite frankly, he does just about everything.

At the youth summit, I was pleased to hear Yash say he had been asked to speak at the U.S. Small Business Administration's youth entrepreneur series on Nov. 17. He said he received a call from the organization the day after the article ran. They hope to send him to New York for a larger youth entrepreneur conference in the future.

"I was able to tell my story and I got a lot of contacts through it," Yash said. "It was great."

And in the meantime, if you know (or are!) someone you think has an inspiring story, email me at bpenland@charlotteobserver.com or call 704-358-6043.

High school student shares tips to running a business

Need to learn how to fix a computer or run your own website business?
No problem, I've found your guy - Yash Mori, a 16-year-old junior at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology.
Yash has started his own website business called Simplx Design, runs the school’s video production club, is a member of JROTC and student council and is a student ambassador. He has taken home first place in a national digital production competition and even fixed his first computer at age 12.
This week, he gives young technology entrepreneurs advice on how to be successful:

Where to start: "I was just really involved in online blogging and social media is a big thing. If they’re involved in Facebook, start making YouTube videos, podcasts and blogging. Simple stuff like this and it’s all for free. It’s not like (kids) would have to go buy hardware."

Challenges: "In technology, the main challenge we face is commitment with clients. Time constraints and time management is the most difficult with technology because anything could go wrong. Two things I’ve struggled with in the past with technology are hardware. If certain hardware doesn’t match, it could mess up another piece of hardware. And programming-wise, if I miss an upper case or lower case letter, it could mess up my whole program. Be very observant in what you’re doing in technology."

Motto he lives by: "Do really what you want and your passion. In this business, I do what I love. I go out, meet people and network because that’s what I love, even if I’m not making money right now. Keep going, never stop."

Advice on failure: "I have this theory for college. I want to apply to Harvard, Yale, all of these Ivy league schools. If I get a rejection letter, I want to take that rejection letter and frame it and if I become rich or famous, or give a speech there, I want to take the letter and say, here’s my rejection letter."

Greatest life obstacle: "Maturing and getting responsibility and realizing that I do need to step up. I need to be a leader. In the business, when I’m trying to step up, I get called out, 'you’re only 16 and you’re running a business, we don’t trust you.' It’s really difficult getting their trust. In the website business, I could get an advance. Most of the time, I don’t get an advance, it’s at my own risk. I invest my own money, then the client can decide they don’t want to do it anymore. There are drawbacks. I just let it go and keep moving forward. You have to expect that."

Advice to kids: "Relax and calm yourself down. Even if you go to community college, you’re still going to be successful. It doesn’t matter where you go, it’s what you want to do with your life and how you’re going to execute your life."

Continue to read about Yash on the Young Achievers page.