Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a teen who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a friend, and a son or a daughter. Above all, the Teen of the Month is dedicated to making a positive mark on the planet. Rich or poor, famous or not, the Teen of the Month shines as an example of what today's teens have to offer.

July's Teens of the Month is Ben Cathers, entrepreneur.

Most parents have to nag their teens to get a job. Not Ben Cathers' parents. He started working at age 6, and at age 15, his Internet company was named one of the top 10 to watch in the Silicon Valley.

While his first big business crashed in the "dot com" bust, Cathers never crashed, never quit and never stopped creating opportunities for himself. This never-say-die attitude, along with an exemplary personal life, makes Cathers, now 19 and a resident of Boston, Mass., a worthy role for teens from any walk of life.

An Entrepreneurial Spirit
Cathers says that he likes working for himself. He can say that with some authority, since he's been doing so since he opened his first lemonade stand at age 6. What he realized early on is that in most jobs, it doesn't matter how hard you work, you still make the same amount of money. Working for yourself, on the other hand, does not limit you.

"I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit," says Cathers. "I like the fact that you're only limited by how hard you work. I learned early on that if I worked as hard as I could, there weren't many limits on what I could accomplish. That has always driven me."

With the spirit of a true entrepreneur, Cathers discovered the Internet and didn't just mindlessly enjoy it as most kids do. Rather, he wanted to be a part of it. He began learning to make Web pages and then decided to do something with video games, which a 10-year-old could certainly relate to.

"I started with PhatGames.com, which was a site devoted to video game news and online games," says Cathers. "This was at a time when you had to pay for online games, and these were free, so people really enjoyed that."

Cathers was able to sell advertising for his nascent network, and when he received his first check – for $13 – he was as thrilled as if it had been a million. He continued to add to his site, and at one point, it was getting 100,000 hits per day. Most of the visitors to his site were teens, a very attractive demographic for advertisers.

"The most important thing about teens is that they are very hard to reach, but they are attractive to advertisers because they control large sums of money through their parents," says Cathers. "We were able to give advertisers the opportunity to reach that very elusive market."

By the time he was 15, his site was getting 100,000 visitors a day and had grown into an entire network geared toward teenagers. His advertising clients included such well-known names as Sega and Hotmail. He also supervised a professional staff and acted as CEO. Occasionally, it got a little rocky when client representatives discovered they were working with a 15-year-old.

"Most of my initial contacts were by phone, and it was kind of a shock for them when they first met me," says Cathers. "There were a few times that people refused to work with us any longer, but for the most part, as long as you're professional and give them a good deal, it didn't really matter."

Although Cathers's company had an enviable roster of blue chip advertisers, the sad fact was that they were all Internet companies just as he was, and when the "dot com" crash came, they were all affected. Cathers eventually sold his stake to his partners and moved on, starting a syndicated radio show aimed at teens.

Juggling Jobs
While Cathers always did very well in school, he admits to having a bit of apathy toward his high school years.

"I would rather have worked on my business full time, rather than just fitting it in," says Cathers. "I tried to have as normal a school life as possible, but between playing sports and stuff, I would have to run to my car and check my messages and then run back to hang out with my friends. Mostly, I tried to keep the business separate, but in my sophomore year, the Fox News Network featured an interview I did during The Simpsons, and a lot of people at school saw it. I think I was viewed a little differently after that."

The teen radio show he started was popular for a couple of years in his local area but kind of fizzled due to various reasons before it became a national enterprise.

Since then, Cathers has started college; he's now a sophomore at Boston University where he is studying business administration. He's also still as fascinated with the Internet as ever and is currently the president and COO of SearchRate Technologies. The goal of his new venture is to create a new type of search technology with maximum accuracy. Aside from work, he also is actively involved in church, community service and martial arts.

Good Advice
As difficult as it sometimes is and as hard as he has to work, Cathers would like to see more young people consider becoming entrepreneurs. "Essentially there are a lot of people in business school that as soon as they graduate are happy to work for a company their whole life," says Cathers. "Other people want to work their own hours, but have no idea where to start."

For those budding entrepreneurs, Cathers has a few suggestions. He says to first analyze your current skills and decide what your goals are. Some people want to create the next Microsoft; others would just like to earn a little extra money – he likens it to having a part time job at McDonald's except working for yourself.

In that case, he suggests starting something simple like a lawn mowing service where you can utilize friends to help and possibly get family members as first clients. To get more customers, he suggests the time-honored method of handing out flyers in the neighborhood.

Whether it's lawn mowing or Web page designing, Cathers says not to let your age limit you. Many businesses are happy to hire knowledgeable teens if they do a good job.

"Just take a look at the current market and see what it needs that you can do," says Cathers. "Even if it's something as simple as snow removal, if you work hard, you can make several hundred dollars a day. People who work the hardest reap the greatest financial rewards."

Ben Cathers can't guarantee anyone will be a success, but he firmly believes in his own advice – because it's worked so well for him. Regardless of what business he finds himself in, he'll always have the spirit of an entrepreneur.

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