On the Money Winter 2018

TIP Fest Entrepreneurs

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Credit Basics page 15

Investing 101 page 13-14

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Top Teen Entrepreneurs

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Contents 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

OFFS Letter/OSC/ Chicago Ideas Week Successful Entrepreneurs 10% Idea, 90% Execution Top Five Teen Entrepreneurs Investors for Business/ Fashion Night Top 5 Entrepreneur Mistakes Social Entrepreneurship/ TIP Fest TIP Fest Social Entrepreneurship/ Girls Entrepreneur Expo

Interns 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

YouTube $ Investing Investing/M1 Fianance Credit Money Management/ College Applications Athletes and Money Management NCAA LBTQ/Affording Your Dream Car TRY IT OUT - Test your Financial Fitness

ABOUT ON THE MONEY On the Money magazine is written by teens for other teens. On the Money covers entrepreneurship, business, finance, credit, saving and more, providing real world experiences and resources that can help students learn to meet their business, money and career goals. On the Money is provided by the Economic Awareness Council through collaboration with the Chicago Public Library, DePaul University, the City of Chicago, and True Star Magazine. www.OntheMoneyMagazine.org

ABOUT THE EAC The Economic Awareness Council (EAC) is a non-profit financial education organization with program attendance of over 25,000 each year. www.EconCouncil.org *Request additional copies at OTM@EconCouncil.org

Thank you to the Citi Foundation and the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, State Farm Insurance CompaniesÂŽ, the Coleman Foundation, the Office of the City Treasurer of Chicago, Republic Bank of Chicago, TCF Bank, Bank of America, Huntington Bank, Byline Bank and MB Financial for their support of On the Money.

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Amber Anderson Kenwood Academy, Junior Miguel Agyei Lake View High School, Senior Jennifer J. Baeza Saint Xavier University, Sophomore Angel Barrera Pritzker College Prep, Senior Marc Carbajal Pritzker College Prep, Senior Anthony Carreno Pritzker College Prep, Senior Stephanie Carretero Lane Tech College Prep, Senior Natasha Chaiyarat Lincoln Park High School, Senior Javonte Dawson Pritzker College Prep, Senior Brishae Lacy Bronzeville Scholastic Institute Jonathan Lee Northside College Prep, Junior Amari Martin Urban Prep Academy- Bronzeville Campus, Senior Fan Xuan (Carina) Peng Northside College Prep, Junior Jamal Ray Muchin College Prep, Senior Janel Ray Chicago Military Academy at Bronzvillie, Senior Nia Robinson Jones Colllege Prep, Senior Alexander Shaw Kenwood Academy, Sophomore Mia Smith Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Senior Instructors: Tracy Frizzell and Toiria Baker Magazine Layout and Design: Jessica Alessi Kim

Need a youth friendly bank account?

Want to learn more about banking and direct deposit?

Visit www.plan2achieve.org

Letter from the Department of Family and Support Services What are your plans for Summer 2018? Are you saving for college? Would you like to earn more money to help your family or maybe even to have more spending money for yourself? Would you like to have an opportunity to develop new career skills, get access to career mentors and build your resume?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES, Mayor Emanuel’s One Summer Chicago, led by the Department of Family & Support Services, may be the opportunity for YOU! One Summer Chicago partners provide over 30,000 job opportunities to Chicago youth ages 14-24 each year. From lifeguards to day camp leaders to computer coding, banking or investing, One Summer Chicago partners offer a wide range of positions that provide both a paycheck and a great summer work experience.

Learn more by visiting the One Summer Chicago’s Facebook page and YouTube channel @onesummerchicago. Applications open in March at OneSummerChicago.org.

Lisa Morrison Butler Chicago’s Commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS)

Congratulations to the One Summer Chicago Be Pay Day Ready Scholarship Winner Jennifer Baeza! (Photographed with Mayor Rahm Emanuel & Department of Family & Support Services Commissioner Lisa Morrison Butler.)

Thank you to the Citi Foundation & the CFE Fund for your support of financial capability & banking access for the youth employees of One Summer Chicago!

Chicago Ideas Week Each year, Chicago hosts Chicago Ideas Week for guest speakers to share their ideas on various topics. This year, I was able to attend the “Life’s Big Questions” talk where various speakers discussed what is life, happiness, and what does the world wants from you? One speaker, Ric Elias, was a passenger on the 2009 Flight 1549 that landed on the Hudson River. His talk was about how his business, Red Ventures, changed the way business works. His company stresses the importance of team-building and civic duty, and he even let his employees (all 2,700 of them) take a paid-day off on November 8th to vote. His view on life is “live every day like it is my last”. This has added more meaning to each day of his life. Elias was a great speaker to listen to and many of the panelists shared the view of how they have added meaning to their lives.

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Entrepreneurship What Makes a Successful Entrepreneur?

Created by Freepik

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching and running a new business. By starting a small business offering products and/or services for sale, entrepreneurs are a foundation in the economy as innovators. They build new ideas and businesses. They start their businesses with business plans, financing by themselves or others, product ideas, and management for their future business. Their very first risk is that of creating and owning their own business.

“Working from a larger company, you see firsthand the inefficiencies... pitfalls come slowly in large companies. [We] created something we wanted to use and looked for it in the market place and saw that it didn’t exist,” said Michael Savino, an entrepreneur now working for M1 Finance.

So, what makes a successful entrepreneur? Successful businesses don’t have an ending point, which means there’s always room for growth and production. Successful entrepreneurs have the determination to keep production going. Often, small businesses are self financed but many times money is borrowed from friends and family or sometimes provided from investors. According to Investopedia.com, a successful entrepreneur has the following characteristics:

Passion and Motivation Risk Taking Planning

Money Management Adaptability and Flexibility Self Belief

“Dedicating a lot of time to get projects done, executing ideas, researching, working with a team full of a great work ethic, sacrificing for the growth of the business, having courage to follow through with creative / entrepreneurial ideas [makes for a successful entrepreneur]” , commented David Mabry, entrepreneur and One Summer Chicago graduate.

There are many ways to become a successful entrepreneur simply because of the many businesses that can be started. However, ccording to Entrepreneur.com, “entrepreneurship is a game of attrition or uncontrollable reduction.” Entrepreneurs must have the dedication and the finances to make sure their business doesn’t fail. Once an entrepreneur has a successful business idea, their main objectives from that point are growing sales, overcoming obstacles, and producing products that will make profit.

Amari Martin On the Money would like to thank Bank of America for their sponsorship of this issue.

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Entrepreneurship

10% Idea, 90% Execution At LaunchX, a summer entrepreneurship incubator that I attended last summer, not only did I found a startup, but the skills I learned — resiliency, communications skills, and adaptability — are invaluable academically and beyond. LaunchX, formerly MIT Launch, is a startup incubator that helps students leverage their talents and tenacity to build a viable startup during a summer program. This summer LaunchX is coming to the Chicago area and YOU could apply.

“Our goal is to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurs by giving high school students both robust entrepreneurship training and a real opportunity to try their hands at starting a business,” says Laurie Stach, the founder and director of LaunchX. Here are some of the tips I learned from LaunchX: 1. Set business goals and milestones, and clearly define success metrics to track performance.

2. Always strive for improvement and be open to pivoting. Don’t fall in love with an idea, fall in love with the problem, because your idea will always change, but your passion to solve a problem shouldn’t.

3. Focus on two or three priority goals. As an entrepreneur, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin.

4. Foster compassion for others and accountability of tasks. Chandana, an alum of LaunchX Summer Program 2017, said that going to a startup incubator and constantly working in a team taught her “how to value other people’s ideas because it’s so easy to just focus on your own vision sometimes.”

Here is LaunchX’s framework of product creation:

MVP = minimal variable product 3. Prototype

1. Outline of MVP Detailed document listing: • Primary hypothesis being tested • Offering brochure/landing page to align team and digital customers

Functional prototype • Basic form of offering • May also be “works like” prototype, automating any manual components of MVP

iterate, iterate, iterate

Time

2. First MVP LaunchX instilled in me the mindset to always persevere, which helped me become a better entrepreneur, problem-solver, leader as well as team player. Over the last decade, the number of US-based startup incubators have been growing drastically, from 16 programs in 2008 to more than 200 in 2017 (Brookings Institute, 2017). Want to apply to LaunchX? “When applying,” Chandana advises, “highlight the entrepreneurial qualities within whatever you love doing. Being an entrepreneur...means taking initiative.” Doing is achieving, for every time you push yourself beyond your boundaries to execute on your business, you are one step closer to success. Overall, I learned that a startup is 10% idea, 90% execution. A key to success in startups is constantly testing and iterating.

Carina Peng Want to apply to LaunchX’s summer program in the Chicago area?

Learn more here: http://launchx.com/summer-program/northwestern.php

On the Money would like to thank US Bank for their sponsorship of this issue.

Entrepreneurship

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Top Teen Entrepreneurs You Need to be on the Lookout For Millennials are often characterized as lazy, arrogant, and always having their face in a phone, but little do people know they may soon be taking over the business world.

According to Forbes magazine, “Millennial entrepreneurs have launched Created by Jannoon028 - Freepik.com about twice as many businesses as [baby] boomers.” According to Harvard Business Review , 70% of teens are self-employed (2017). In the city of Chicago this is evident through not just one, but multiple millenniapreneurs (millennial entrepreneurs) who are on the rise to taking over the city with their businesses.

Kennedy Stewart

Kennedy Stewart at Whitney Young Magnet High School is the creator and founder of Kennedy’s Presidential Wigs. She makes custom virgin hair wigs for everyone; for those who want to wear it as a protective style for their natural hair or to experiment with different colors and lengths.

Jordan Lewis

Jordan Lewis is a senior at Urban Prep Bronzeville, originator of one of KGO Fest (Kids Going Out) and a local DJ. KGO is an event hosted three times a year. It provides a safe and fun environment for teens to party, and also provides a social platform for upcoming Chicago artists and fashion designers. He puts his talent to use at local high schools dances, parties, special events, and is the musician at his church.

Jendayi Ingram

Jendayi Ingram is a current student, dancer, and photographer.

She has learned how to combine her two passions, capturing photos of dancers with her ‘Black Ballerina’ project. She wants her viewers to think and take insight away from her work rather than simply looking at her photos.

Amari Love

Amari Love, a senior at King College Prep, is the creator of one of Chicago’s most innovative and upcoming clothing lines, Arbitrary.

A self-taught designer, who began creating clothes during her freshman year for friends, not realizing that she had a hidden talent and passion. Recently, she made her mark with her first fashion show ‘From the Scene to the Runway’. Arbitrary represents “a lifestyle derived from self-expression, social liberty, and originality.”

Amber Anderson

Chicago Housing Authority Scholarship Winner - Dominique When it comes to managing money, it can be very difficult. I am 18 years old and I’m currently in college and I can say that managing money was truly the hardest thing for me to do. [After financial education], I now know how to properly manage and spend my money. I learned how to spend my money more wisely. Some of the strategies that I learned were how to ensure that my money is safe in the bank. Another strategy that I learned is that it is more convenient and safe to have your checks transferred through direct deposit since it is a more effective and efficient way to save and it ensures my safety as well. I also learned ways to protect myself from fraud by never releasing any personal bank information to anyone, and I also learned not to fall for these scams that people will try to lure me in. Lastly, the most important thing I learned to do was ways to save money Apply to the Get Your Money Right Scholarship which is my ultimate goal for the summer. My goal is to Competition with Young Illinois Saves save up enough money to help me return back to school in the fall, because I have a financial burden on me that is enabling me from getting an education.

Visit www.EconCouncil.org - Opportunities

for more information.

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Entrepreneurship

What Makes yOur Startup Appealing to Investors?

According to Forbes, 543,000 new businesses get started each month (Nazar, 2013). Startups are becoming increasingly popular and publicized through media platforms, but starting a business can have a lot of risks including the challenge of finding funding. Every successful startup needs capital or money to start building the business with and your business has to look as attractive as possible if you’re going to gain any startup capital.

4. Effective business model:

What will investors look for in a startup business? The following list of qualities that are important to investors were compiled from a variety of sources, primarily from articles from Murray Newlands of Entrepreneur.com, Nathan Furr of Forbes, and from an interview with an “angel investor”* Brian Frizzell.

5. A product or service that addresses a true need:

1. Financial performance:

a. Know your company’s profits, expenditures, revenue streams, and overall performance thoroughly. b. Assure investors they will be getting a significant return (around 300-500%) on their capital within at least five years.

2. Background experience in the industry:

a. Do you have experience or demonstrated knowledge within the industry your business is in? Make sure to demonstrate a precise understanding.

3. Company uniqueness:

a. Your business has to have a measure of originality in order to stand out among the competition.

a. Have an effective and low-risk plan for revenue, growth and stability. Investors will examine your plan and measure its sustainability in the long term, including how feasible your current expenditures are. b. Different investors value different things in business plans, so make sure you research your investor and cater each pitch accordingly.

a. Businesses thrive when they address a problem. Try to find a common need and create a unique solution to it.

6. Large market size:

a.

How large is the consumer market you are targeting?

An investor wants to see large profits and that is dependent on the size of your target market.

Overall, the success of any startup, at its core, starts with the founder and owner. Venture capitalist Taizo Son explained, “My criteria to invest are the founders. So I won’t check any business plans, any economic projections, spreadsheets; but (instead) I focus on the founder’s mindset (and) passion” (Choudhury, 2017). Behind all the statistics and analytics, the company’s figurehead is you. Your passion, drive, and innovative thinking should be the first thing that investors see. *An angel investor is someone who invests in small startups, often during the company's earliest stage, at a much smaller scale compared to venture capitalists.

Jonathan Lee

Press Night with Kim Products While Chicago is not as well known as other cities such as New York for their fashion week shows, Kimisha Moxley is striving to put the city on the map. Moxley hosted one of Chicago’s hottest teen fashion shows this fall, ‘Press Night’. Moxley wanted to bring the entire city out in order to display high fashion that is exclusively made by Chicago natives. “Bringing all different types of people out, bussing a fit, was exactly what Chicago needed”, Moxley stated. This show consisted of several upcoming Chicago designers such as Kimisha herself with Kim Products, DeMarcus Johnson with Deemarr, and Sisu all displaying their new lines for the upcoming new season. Press Night wasn’t just another Kim Products Fashion show, but it was the start of what could possibly bring the underground fashion scene in Chicago to the spotlight it deserves.

Amber Anderson Entrepreneurship

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The Top 3 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make Created by Whatwolf - Freepik.com

1. Not Creating Achievable Goals Many teen entrepreneurs start their business with the mindset of “Go Big or Go Home”. For example, teens may assume it is easy to sell their product to the whole student body, but in reality, that might not be the case. In a 10-year study by the Wall Street Journal, 75% of startups fail because they are not able to deliver projected returns (Gosh as cited by Gage in the Wall Street Journal, 2012). Make sure the goals you set are attainable ones for your company.

Quick Fix: Make specific short-term and long-term goals so you can clearly see if you fail to get something achieved by your desired time.

2. Not Thinking about Marketing Businesses need to find people to buy their products. The best way to reach people is through marketing. Armando Pizano, founder of the Bridge Tutoring Program, believes that marketing was a strong factor in the success of his company. “We’re marketing through Collegiate Scholars, Global Leaders, we are getting featured by Mikva Challenge...and we are working on a website.”

Marketing through various resources has been vital in the growth of his company.

Quick Fix: Contact two resources or people you know who could help spread the word about your product!

3. Not Collaborating with Other People Having two founders, or business owners, can increase your odds of success. In fact, you raise 30% more money and are 19% less likely to hastily expand your business (Smallbiztrends.com, 2016; seriousstartups.com, 2014). Tracy Frizzell, co-founder of Economic Awareness Council, said that “Working with other people is essential because any one person is not going to have all the skills required to make your business the very best.”

Quick Fix: Find people who have complementary skill sets and the same vision for your project.

Nia Robinson On the Money would like to thank Republic Bank for their support of On The Money Magazine

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Entrepreneurship

Who Run

the World?

Girls!

This fall I had the exciting opportunity to meet great young female local entrepreneurs at the Girls Entrepreneurship Expo. The event included businesses from entrepreneurs ages 6 to 17 who had products from bakeries to painters to jewelry, etc.

Among the entrepreneurs, there was Camille who blew the crowd away as the youngest entrepreneur at age 6. She is the author of When I Grow Up I Can. Her book includes a variety of different career paths that anyone can choose from. It even comes with flashcards that children can play with. She is currently working on her second book that is soon to be out.

Another young entrepreneur was Aisha Kennard, age 11, who created her own business starting with apparel and later moved on to make up. She was able to create her own fashion line for all different body types. She later found out an easy way to create homemade lip gloss and has plans to move forward with her makeup line.

I also had the opportunity to talk to the event coordinator, Deola Gaiter. She loves supporting young entrepreneurs especially women in the field. “This event was thrown to support and empower young women,� commented Deola Gaiter.

Overall, this event was a success. It brought people from the community together for a great cause. The young female entrepreneurs were able to express themselves by starting their own business at a young age. They see their business expanding in the future with the help of their parents and friends.

Jennifer Baeza

WANTED

T EEN ENTR EPRENE

Take your business idea to the next level! Compete in the

URS

On the Money Entrepreneurship Challenge Winners will receive up limited seed funding, business training & mentoring and the opportunity to sell their product at community events!

Go to OntheMoneyMagazine.org/opportunities to learn more and submit your application.

Contestants must be Chicago residents between the ages of 14 - 24.

Businesses cannot be food items.

On the Money would like to thank the Coleman Foundation for their support of this issue.

Entrepreneurship

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Calling all Entrepreneurs:

TIP FEST 2017 Every year there is an event hosted by the Chicago Park District called Teens in the Park (TIP) Fest. Many students from all over Chicago come together and enjoy the day with music, art and young entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs, chosen from a contest held in partnership between the Economic Awareness Council, On the Money Magazine, and the Chicago Park District and supported by the Coleman Foundation, were able to show and sell merchandise at the TIP Fest. The entrepreneurs also were able to participate in a series of entrepreneurship training/consultation sessions this summer where they further developed their businesses with the assistance of volunteers from Northwestern University, DePaul University, local angel investors and seasoned entrepreneurs.

According to the Harvard Business Review, nearly “70% of teens had jobs [that] are best described as self-employed,” (Harvard Business Review, 2017). The TIP Fest competition allows young Chicago entrepreneurs a chance to highlight their businesses and market their products to a larger audience. Among those entrepreneurs there was Kim Products. She was the youngest entrepreneur featured but was one of the most successful in total sales due in part to her large following on social media.

Another entrepreneur was Cameron Green. Cameron is the entrepreneur who started “BornMade”. “BornMade” is based off an expression Cameron’s mother always told him growing up that turned into his own fashion line that includes inspirational messages for Chicago teens and unique graphic designs created by

Cameron.

Next, “Don’t Feed the Artist” (DFTA) was also at TIP Fest and was started by Yan Philipop and George Cuevas. Philipop says they got their business name from the idea that, “When you’re hungry, you strive to do more. When you are content, you relax.” As long as they are hungry, they strive to do their best and give 100% to their clothing line. What was their advice for a successful business?

Cuevas stated, “Be passionate, do everything 100%, and be true to you.” DFTA featured many new items at TIP Fest including custom artwork that can be created on sneakers and products at a new range of price points that appealed to TIP Fest teen attendees.

Additionally, Leah Stevenson of “LaQueens ‘n’ Things” was the only entrepreneur to offer a service or experience at the TIP Fest.

Not only could customers purchase Leah’s art prints and clothing items such as tee shirts, but customers could pay to use one of Leah’s templates to create their own art. Leah believes that art therapy helps a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. According to Huffington Post, at least “45 minutes of creative activity significantly lessens stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent,” (Huffington Post, 2016).

Check out many Chicago youth entrepreneurs’ merchandise at igenstore.com.

Jennifer Baeza and Nia Robinson

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Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship vs. Small Business Entrepreneurship When you hear the term entrepreneur what do you think of? Probably someone who owns a business, right? Maybe it’s an individual who sells a product to customers for a profit. Although this is technically correct, it is a popular misconception that this is the ONLY type of entrepreneur. According to Ben Casnocha, entrepreneur, investor and bestselling business management author, there are four different types of entrepreneurship: small business entrepreneurship, scalable startup entrepreneurship, large company entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. Today, we are looking into social and small business entrepreneurship.

The most common entrepreneur would be the individual, small business entrepreneur. According to fitsmallbusiness.com, 83.1% of entrepreneurs founded their own business.

An example of a small business entrepreneur would be Janeah Kemp, a 16 year old female who owns her own line of clothing “Murda Mafia”. Most small business entrepreneurs own what is called a for profit organization. A for profit organization is a business that was created with the intent of making a profit A social entrepreneur is a person who creates a program or business to help solve problems in society. An example of a social entrepreneur would be Amber Anderson, another 16-year-old female, who has created her own mentoring group for African American middle schoolers called “ANA’s Mentoring Group”. Sometimes, like in Amber’s case, a social entrepreneur starts what is called a non-profit organization. A non-profit organization is an organization formed to educate or help a population and does not earn a profit. This is important to know since there are 1.5 million nonprofit organizations, more than half of which are social entrepreneurships.

Amber Anderson, founder of ANA Mentoring Group

Alexander Shaw

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

When talking about entrepreneurship, most people immediately think about for-profit, small business entrepreneurship. Since the 1970’s, small businesses have provided 55% of all jobs, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Social entrepreneurship also plays a vital role in our community, yet surprisingly, many are not aware of what it is. Social entrepreneurship is defined as the use of techniques by entrepreneurs to develop, fund, and implement social, cultural or environmental innovation. According to Harvard Business Review, social enterprise in the U.S is a fast-growing, but fragmented, movement.

ship involves awareness of current issues in society. Brenda Barber started “Sweet Beginnings” to address the issue of mass incarceration. “Sweet Beginnings” addresses the social stigma associated with having a criminal record through a market-driven financial model. Barber has employed 416 people who have criminal records. She believes social entrepreneurship is important because “it’s a means to creatively address a social issue or unmet need via a market driven, financial model that results hopefully in long-term sustainability.” Benjamin Braverman, a current student at Devry, took notice of his friends who need medication in order to concentrate, and he decided to take action through social entrepreneurship. His product, which he says is “still in its early stages, would be an alternative for medicine.” Braverman is creating glasses that help students focus.

In today’s society, social entrepreneurship is prevalent regardless of whether or not we notice it. From starting a dog walking business to helping out busy neighbors or designing tools that beginner gardeners can use while helping the environment, social entrepreneurship paves the way for societies to solve environmental, cultural, and social issues.

Social entrepreneurship is more common than one may think.

Starting a business that fits the definition of social entrepreneur-

Entrepreneurship

Natasha Chaiyarat

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Turning YouTube Views Into $$ Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I am excited to watch Kathleenlights’ new video on Youtube. She has over three-million subscribers, and her beauty videos have over 365 million video views across 677 videos all together. These numbers sound big and the amount of money these videos produce is as well. Kathleen makes an average of $185,000 per year (Sifferlin, Time Magazine), which is more than some doctors who need many years of schooling to reach this type of income. Meanwhile, it took Kathleen four years to reach this level of success. Kaliah Little, a Chicago beauty guru, mentions that, “Having YouTube as a source of promotion can help beauty gurus create a career out of being on YouTube.” For Kathleen, different partnerships have helped her create her own brand.

While this career seems very splendid there are some complications that “YouTubers” face. Angela Guzman, a beauty guru with 300K subscribers, says that her biggest challenge is the audience’s response to sponsored videos. She says, “This creates a challenge because I will not be able to gain profit but I would still want to please my audience. It’s really hard to please everyone.” Viewers might not

see Angela’s opinion on the specific product as reliable since she is paid by a company to promote their product.

The greater the number of subscribers, sponsorships, collaborations and views, the greater the opportunities a YouTuber may have for income. Some traveling agencies have contracted vloggers to advertise their vacation destination to attract tourists. According to Tom Samiljan in Bloomberg Magazine, “One especially successful vlogger who often plays in the travel space, Casey Neistat, even built a spin off app to help creators share their videos, then sold it to CNN last November for $25 million as part of the network’s push to compete with YouTube.”

Although these were best-case positive examples, individuals have built successful businesses on YouTube or used YouTube to help build businesses. So next time you watch a YouTube video for entertainment, consider creating videos yourself so you could turn those views into dollars.

Stephanie Carratero

Alter Game Made New Everyone has a motivation that sets them to complete their goal. For young nineteen-year-old entrepreneur, Adrian Navarro, his main goal is to spread his apparel business around the City of Chicago and see where it takes him.

Adrian Navarro started his business, Alter Game Made New (AGMN), because he has a passion for business. AGMN is based on an experience Adrian had when he was young. Growing up with little money, Adrian would accompany his mother to the laundromat and encountered a wise older lady. This wise lady told Adrian, “Listen here son, God has a plan for you. You’re blessed. You will have an idea everyone will want. And you will be able to take care of your mom and family. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You have a mind like no other”. Those words stood by Adrian until this day. Adrian attends the Saint Xavier University’s Business School of Management and has learned new ways to develop his brand.

AGMN is inspired by different role models that many look up to, such as Frida Kahlo, Kanye West, and Chance the Rapper. Adrian choose Frida Kahlo (Latin artist) because his family is mainly made up of women. “Every one of them is strong and uses Frida as encouragement to never give up”, says Adrian.

Not only does his merchandise sell fast, but it comes in different colors, (see bottom of page). It is a unique brand made out of stencils and 2D tools that capture the audience. So far, AGMN only sells shirts, but Adrian is taking a big step to move from shirts to footwear. Adrian sees his brand growing in years. He is getting multiple orders that help him market his brand. “Honestly, the possibilities are endless. By the summer of 2018, I want my merchandise to be spread around the city”, comments Adrian Navarro. Adrian is a great example of somone setting a goal and achieving it. He strived to achieve starting his own business and now is on the way to success.

For business inquiries: Email: agmnbrand@gmail.com Twitter: AGMNbrand Facebook: Alter Game Made New

Jennifer Baeza 12

Finance

Finance How to Start Investing in Stocks Created by Ijeab - Freepik.com

Have you ever wanted to invest* in stocks but didn’t know where to start? If you’re 18 or older you may invest on your own, if you’re 17 and younger, you will need a parent or guardian to start an account with you. Here are some tips to help you learn more about investing.

Javonte’s article on page 14). When you get your first job, be sure to ask about retirement and other long-term investing benefits. Your employer can be a great place to start.

Starting out investing can be stressful. Investors often start by investing into mutual funds, which are funds that allow you to diversify and invest into large number of stocks in one fund for small amount of money. You can start investing with as little as $25 -100 in some cases.

Start by saving as much money as you can. This can involve saving a percentage from your income, or a certain amount each week or month. Start by building an emergency fund. It’s “ … always good to invest long term, unless you need it for an emergency”, states Luke, an investor at Great Point Capital. Having savings in the bank can ensure that you have easy access to funds in an emergency without paying high interest changes with a credit card or payday loan. Remember, paying for college is also an investment in yourself and is something you should consider first before you start investing for the long-term.

There are many different types of stocks or investment vehicles to invest in. If you want to invest in the largest amount of companies, consider an index fund. Index funds allow you to invest into hundreds of companies for a small amount. This diversification reduces risk. You may also want to consider bonds issued by companies or governments as a reliable, steady income source. Bonds are set loans at a set interest rate for a set period of time. (You will need to find funds or an ETF* to purchase bonds.) Both bonds and diversified mutual funds are routes to consider when starting investing. According to William Heard, CEO of Heard Capital LLC, there are some things that come with investing such as “being patient, it’s the key to being successful.” Hopefully, these tips are helpful for people who are interested in investing.

After you have built some emergency savings and you are set with your college costs, you might consider investing for the long-term.

Anyone can start investing, you just need a brokerage account (see

This information is provided for education purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. *EFT is a type of investment that is traded on the stock exchange and tracks an index.

Jamal Ray

On the Money would like to thank State Farm Insurace Companies for their sponsorhip of this issue.

Thank you to State Farm Insurance Agents Jessica Sung & Mark Mackey for volunteering with our On the Money Interns.

Finance

13

Investing In Your Future With today’s crime rates and poverty rates in some neighborhoods in Chicago, the question you should ask is if your neighborhood affects your income and potential to save and invest.

While there may not be as many investment firms or even banks in your neighborhood, with the internet you may have investing resources that just aren’t visible to us. Investing at a young age can be a huge part of one’s future success.

For example, Arthur Olunwa is a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Exelon Investment Office and he shared a story about how he invested 10 pounds ($12) per week out of his paycheck for 9 years. Without even knowing it, Arthur would invest this money via direct deposit. When Arthur went to withdraw his money, he found out that the investments that he had actually had grown to $10,000! Now you may ask what does this have to do with teens or young adults?

Teens and young adults can take the opportunity to invest a small amount of the money they get a week as well and put it to a good use.

Start first by building your savings. According to Moneyunder30.com, “If you’ve never been a saver, you can start by putting away just $10 per week. That may not seem like a lot, but over the course of a year it comes to over $500.” When Rolisa Jenkins, a student at Illinois State University, heard about saving and investing she thought it was a brilliant idea. “If I would have known about this while I was in high school, I would have a decent amount of money right now.”

Mr. Olunwa encouraged teens to consider free or low-cost investments apps such as Betterment as a way to invest at a young age. (Betterment is free for one year.) Be sure to check out the app’s qualifications, insurance, features and all fees. Collegeinvestor.com rated 5 free investing apps for young adults in 2018 and included Betterment as one of their top 5 apps. Other free apps that remain free include Robinhood, a fee free stock trading app, and Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Vanguard’s fee free ETFs. (An ETF is an exchange traded fund. You can find ETFs that follow specific index funds.)

Overall, start saving and investing early! Even investing a small amount of money could set you up for success in your future no matter where you come from.

Javonte Dawson

Meet Michael Savino: M1 Finance This fall, On the Money interns were able to hear from entrepreneurs from investing platform: M1 Finance. M1 Finance is a downloadable, free, user friendly app that makes building an investment portfolio simple and convenient. While investment platforms are not new, M1 Finance provides many benefits that make the app beneficial for users. For first time investors, knowing which companies to invest in is often a challenge. M1 seeks to help their users by allowing them to invest in “Pies”: a thematic portfolio that consists of multiple companies and funds, thus diversifying the users’ investments. From the ultra-aggressive to the low risk investor, M1 offers a Pie for everyone. The various thematic Pies allow users to tailor their portfolios towards their individual goals. “I would say our biggest benefit is the level of customization we offer for our users, and our level of guidance,” said Savino, VP of operations. Another feature that makes M1 stand out compared to competitors is M1’s minimum price to invest which is only $100, far lower than most other investment services. The future looks bright for M1 Finance, as Savino envisions the company “being an innovative player in the personal finance space.” The individuals at M1 Finance are entrepreneurs to watch, especially for those interested in finance.

Jonathan Lee 14

Finance

Mike Savino of M1 Fiance speaks to On The Money Interns

wHY IS CREDIT IMPORTANT? HOW CAN YOU BUILD GOOD CREDIT? Has it ever occurred to you that you can own your dream car or your dream house? If this is a goal for you, then you need to know how to build a good credit. Why credit is important? Having good credit means that you’re a low-risk borrower and lenders may then give you lower interest rates and better terms on loans. Bradley Couch, teacher at Chicago Military Academy, says that “having a good credit score means that the person who borrows money is most likely to pay it back.”

Having a good credit score will show that you’re financially responsible.

Created by Mrsiraphol - Freepik.com

time and [good credit] allows you buying power. Having a credit score 750 and above allows a person to buy higher price items with a lower interest rate or being able to rent an apartment without having a consignor or higher deposit amount.”

What do teens need to know about credit? Toiria Baker commented that it was important to know that “people who use credit cards often spend more compared with those who use cash or checks. [Practice with a debit card first to get used to buying with a card.] Young people are more likely than older adults to charge up to their credit limit. But to get a top credit score, it’s best to hold your charges to 30% of your credit limit, or even less.”

What will have the biggest impact on your credit score?

Your credit payments and level of debt will have the biggest impact on your credit score (MYFICO.com). I bet you’re probably wondering how you would go about building a good credit. According to the Balance Credit & Debit, “practice good habits to build your credit by making 100% of your payments on time and keep your credit utilization low — utilization is your balance when compared to your limit.”

(CreditKarma.com, 2017).

While it’s important to wait until you are ready and more financially experienced to get credit, eventually building GOOD credit should be an important part of your overall financial plan.

Toira Baker from Economic Awareness Council believes that credit is important because “it’s important to pay your bills on

Janel Ray

On the Money would like to thank TCF Bank for their sponsorship of this issue.

Need a bank account?

Learn more at GetBankedChicago.org and LRNG.org/Chicago - be payday ready

Finance

15

FACTS About Extracurricular Activities and College Admissions Who are you as a person? What are you about? What do you bring to the table? These are a few questions you must ask yourself when applying to colleges. The answers to these questions may help you get into the college of your dreams and even earn you some scholarship money in your pocket! Often students believe that GPA and ACT/SAT scores are the most important factors behind college admissions. According to NACAC’s 2013 survey, 41% of colleges rated extracurricular activities as of moderate importance and 34% ranked them as of limited importance.

at Urbana-Champaign, also advocated that admissions counselors look for academic patterns to level all high school students due to the differences in schools based on funding. Do the students take advantage of and challenge themselves with the courses at their school? He also went on to say that the essay written for colleges is a huge opportunity for students to sell themselves to a school, “Schools don’t want to know about the school, they want to know about you.” A few tips he gave for students were to show off leadership, show a balanced schedule, and have as many honors or awards as you can. Personalize these activities and awards to the major you are interested in so they can demonstrate who you are as a person.

Extra-curricular activities do play a role in the admissions process.

Erin Kitson, a college and career coach at Lake View High School, said that “60% of students participate in extracurricular activities, 75% including jobs as extracurricular.” She also expressed that the students who participate in extracurricular activities tend to be more successful in the real world. These students know how to manage their time and get tasks done by their priority deadline.

Julian Parrott, an admissions counselor at the University of Illinois

In conclusio, extracurricular activities are an important part of the application process and make a statement to prove your versatility to admissions counselors along with your college readiness.

Miguel Agyei

The Guide to Prosperity: Budgeting and Saving

As teens, and even humans, we tend to waste money on unnecessary things that provide almost no practical benefits to us. For example, a person can spend up to $30 for just a single person to go to enjoy the movie theaters. Do you need to go to the theaters to survive? No. Could you use that money for something else, such as a car? Yes. In order for you to not end up on public transportation forever, you need to budget and save or invest your money.

You may think investment? Budgeting? What are those things? These are things only adults do?” You are incorrect. According to Lois Rakov, former consultant at several nonprofits and EAC volunteer, “I recommend that students should look into investing, and they should invest in things that interest them.”

Budgeting is making a plan balancing your income and your expenses for a set period of time. A budgeting plan is one of the fastest and easiest ways to start saving money. Fan Xuan Peng, senior at Northside College Prep, says, “There are a lot of resources that help students with budgeting. I use Mint which is an app available on both iOS and android. Using the app helps me with my budgeting and has also helped me become more financially aware.” There are approximately 4 weeks in a month. If you have 100 dollars per month and your budget to spend every week is 15 dollars, the money leftover, 40 dollars, can be saved. Rather than just wasting your money at once, try to plan how you will use your money for a certain time period so you can reach your money goals.

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USNews has found that “both four-year and two-year college students reported feeling less prepared to manage their money than any other factor in college life – such as feeling prepared to keep up with coursework, to stay organized, to manage time or to find help and resources.” https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/04/02/college-students-becoming-less-financially-responsible-study-says

Anthony Carreno Finance

Helping Athletes Win at Money Management Created by Freepik

because athletes need to know how to prioritize and put first things first. As mentioned previously, athletes may waste their money on luxurious items and forget to save because they think they will keep earning the same amount of money their entire life. However, according to Time Magazine, 78% of NFL players face bankruptcy or financial stress within two years of retirement. That same article reported that the rate of NBA retirees going broke within five years of leaving the court was as high as 60%.

An athlete’s main goal is to become wealthy and successful. Unfortunately, many athletes have not been educated to be as skilled with finances as they are in their sport. In particular, some athletes grew up in communities with high levels of economic need where there weren’t many conversations pertaining to the importance of managing money. As a result, it may be tempting for an athlete to spend their earnings on unnecessary purchases such as fast cars and luxury brands before learning to save. This can be disastrous because, with a limited career time frame generally, an athlete’s money can be gone within a heartbeat.

The idea of declaring bankruptcy is far from an athlete’s train of thought at first; the only thing they can see is the lavish life of a successful athlete in the media. However, athletes get blinded by their own success and don’t take into consideration that maybe one day they could have an injury that would mark the end of their careers. Planning accordingly is necessary to ensure that an athlete can maintain a comfortable lifestyle after retirement

It is important for athletes to learn to manage their money or find professionals who can work on their behalf. According to Gregg Lunceford, a wealth advisor who works with athletes at Mesirow Financial, proper counseling helps athletes understand potential risks and rewards so that they can make better decisions about their assets. Gregg Lunceford suggested, “On payday, pay yourself first.” This is really important

Angel Barrera

On the Money would like to thank Republic Bank for their sponsorship of this issue.

Finance

17

Student Athletes, Business, & Student Benefits Created by Katemangostar - Freepik.com

In 2016, March Madness, a widely watched NCAA basketball tournament in the US, generated over 1 billion dollars for the NCAA according to Tim Parker from Investopedia. Ever wonder why the NCAA can accumulate so much money through events like March Madness, yet the student athletes are not paid?

The NCAA, short for National Collegiate Athletic Association, is an organization that helps athletes be able to play sports while also being able to attend college. What the players receive in return for playing is of course a scholarship to a university. This can be extremely valuable as USA Today estimates that a mens basketball scholarship is worth $120,000 per year. In total, 150,000 athletes receive over $2.5 billion per year in scholarships (NCAA.org).

Do these scholarships compensate atheltes for all of the work they have to do to maintain them? Nancy Armour from USA Today states, “The NCAA limits in-season practice to 20 hours a week. But when you factor in time spent in the weight room, studying film, with trainers or doing anything else related to their sport, it is more like 32 hours or more, according to a 2011 NCAA survey.”

So how could the NCAA compensate these student-athletes other than directly paying them? One idea students interviewed had is to provide healthcare for the athletes who continued to play after college, so that they are able to take care of any injuries that have resulted from playing college sports. When student-athlete, Felix King, who attends the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, was asked if he believes that NCAA student athletes should be compensated for their work, his response was, “I believe athletes shouldn’t be paid at this time in their career because this is still a love for the game aspect more than a professional [one].” Michael Smart, a student-athlete at Eureka College responded, “I believe that players should still be able to have medical insurance for a few years after they leave college because of the injuries that may have been accumulated throughout their college years from sports.” There are differing viewpoints about how athletes can be compensated by the NCAA while still having “student” in their title.

Marc Carbajal

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Finance

Can You Afford Your Dream Car? Created by Whatwolf - Freepik.com

Steps to Affording A Dream Car:

“A car is the worst investment you can make!” is something your consumer ed teacher may tell you, but is it? Is your dream car the worst investment you can make? When purchasing your dream car, make sure to calculate the down payment to reveal your car note total that you’ll pay every month. According to photos.state. gov, 95% of American households own their cars. If you are paying the full amount, lookout for hidden fees. According to Edmunds.com, over five years it will cost an estimated $33,604 to drive your vehicle and don’t forget about insurance. WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO GET THAT MONEY?!

1. Get a summer/ hourly job. You want to have income in order to save. Saving plays an important role in affording a car.

2. INVEST your…

• Time: Create a schedule of when to deposit money into your savings account or enroll in direct deposit.

• Energy: Be positive. Put in effort into getting that car.

• Patience: A car takes awhile to afford. Be sure to take care of relevant priorities before making a purchase. Be patient with how long it takes to save; it’s worth it.

• Overall, you may want to consider investing your savings into something that has potential growth and void purchases that are likely to depreciate rapidly, such as spending $60,000 on a car.

In addition, the luxury tax threshold price is $63,184 with a LCT (luxury car tax) of 33%. Did you know you are charged a luxury tax when you purchase a luxury car? A luxury car owner stated, “it takes a really long time to buy your dream car. Cars are really expensive. Even an older used car can be expensive due to the cost of maintenance. You really need to make sure you budget for the actual price of the car.” So I ask, can you afford your dream car?

After considering these ideas, do you still think you could afford your dream car?

Brishae Lacy

How Much Does it Cost to Be LGBTQ+?

The LGBTQ+ community has never had it easy, from marriage equality to bathroom laws. Public reception of LGBTQ+ peoples’ identities may threaten their financial security.

as “one half of LGBT youths are neglected by their parents because of their sexual preference”, according to an article by Gaell Jocelyn-Blackman for York College.

LGBTQ+ represents people who are not heterosexual and/or cisgender. The identities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella vary along the gender and sexuality spectrums. According to a 2016 study by the J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group, 48% of people between 13-20 years old identified as straight---compared to the 65% of 21-34 year olds. Therefore, this rarely discussed topic is even more important to the significant LGBTQ+ population within our generation.

Many colleges assume that students have their parents’ financial support unless documented, such as the Non-Custodial Waiver for College Board’s CSS Profile, or legal evidence of student emancipation. These factors could make it harder for students to attend college, receive a degree, and maintain success afterwards, and that’s without considering the intersectionality of one’s identity, such as race, gender identity, and citizenship status.

Advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, especially teens, must take steps to make progress in the places where previous generations have not.

LGBTQ+ rights and equality in a variety of areas has been neglected, and the issue of financial instability for LGBTQ+ youth needs to be addressed in the public sphere in order to move forward on all fronts.

Florian Palucci, a self-identified queer and non-binary Chicago Public Schools art teacher, stated that their gender identity made their journey towards financial stability more difficult than others.

“Not having family support while in school…[and] supporting myself with a full-time and part time job was difficult,” Florian says. This is a problem that many college-bound LGBTQ+ students will face,

Mia Smith

Finance

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TRY IT OUT!

Apply what you learned in On the Money!

1) The articles on page 4 & 5 highlight tips to help entrepreneurs be successful. What were your two favorite strategies that were shared on pages 4 & 5?

1.

Visit OTMSURVEY.COM to take our Money Smart Survey and enter for a chance to win

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2) On page 6, Amber highlights 4 of her choices for top entreprenuers in Chicago. NOW Choose your favorite enterpreneur at iGenstore.com, in On the Money Magazine or from your neighborhood and tell 3 reasons why you think they are one of Chicago’s top teen entrepreneurs. Nominiate your top entreprenuer by emailing us at info@econcouncil.org.

Entrepreneur name:__________________________________________ 1.

2.

3.

3) Jamal & Javonte’s articles on pages 13 & 14 review investing basics. Use the information from those articles to complete the crossword puzzle.

ACROSS 1. Investing _____ allows your money to grow through compound interest 4. Investment vehicles that allow you to purchase a small portion of a large number of stocks at one time.

5. An investment vehicle that gives you part ownership in a company

DOWN 1. Building _____ savings is an important step before starting to invest 2. A loan at a set interest rate for a set period of time 3. To use the money you have to try to make more money

Learn More at EconCouncil.org What Are You Saving For? YES! I want to be a Young Illinois Saver.

I pledge to save $_____ a month to reach my goal of saving for __________ (i.e. college, emergency fund, car.)

Want to In te On the Mo rn with ney?

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an OTM@Eco email at nCouncil.o rg to learn h ow to app ly!

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