Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Slater.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Carrie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My name is Carrie Slater, I was born in Detroit, Michigan and moved to the suburban Atlanta area in 2013. I spent 28 years in my hometown. They always had a summer work program for teens in effect, ages 14 and up. Having been down here for about a year, I had never seen anything like that. Being a single mother of seven kids, two of which are young teens, I know the need for positive occupation of time. The idea of Young Teens Talk was formed as something comparable to the summer program for the Clayton County area.
I finagled a taxi driver job. That afforded me the ability to learn the area we service more intimately than I would otherwise, and to get an eye on the local businesses. Since young people are the main users of social media, having a page on there was a no-brainer.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s no such thing as a smooth road when trying to turn a vision into reality. I had to do a lot of research. One challenge I ran into was gauging the validity of job offers before posting them for our people. Sometimes the opportunities advertised were false information, stating that they hire 14-year-olds and didn’t. Or they never answer the phone. Beware of jobs advertised on street corners or handwritten signs stuck in the ground. Just experience. Now, I make sure the jobs are legit, be it walking in places to find out more information or whatever.
Funding has been an issue, I do not do this for money. But I’m thinking if I hire someone to work, they will need to be paid. I’m designing merch to be sold to provide money for this purpose.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Young Teens Talk – what should we know?
Young Teens Talk is a not-for-profit service who utilizes social media to connect teens and young adults with local jobs, educational and volunteer opportunities and inspiring quotes. The mission is to generally be a positive influence in young people’s lives, collating resources in one convenient place.
We are committed to helping our followers reach the next level in life. The vision of the future is one where the next generation has myriad opportunities to explore, besides expansion. Right now, we only service Clayton, South Fulton, Fayette and Henry counties. God willing, we will be able to cover all of GA in the next 5 years.
I am aware of no service like this in our area and I find it amazing and perhaps what I am most proud of. My passion is helping. The next project, business-wise, is working with the local governments and businesses to set up summer work programs for our constituents under 16.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe that strong dedication and time management skills are my greatest attributes. I am super punctual, preferring to complete my work if not early, on time. I write my goals so they are in a concrete and tangible plan. This helps me stay on track.
Even though, I place a great amount of emphasis on organization and scheduling- I also find that a certain degree of flexibility is required. With seven children I have to account for unintended occurrences. All plans come with a grain of salt.
Dedication is necessary for any business you want to be successful in. To stay ahead, reading is a must. This requires networking, too. in order to make the government and business connections necessary to set up the programs we seek. Driving a Taxi helped me out my shell. I used to be shy, now I am described as “charismatic.” Whatever.
Contact Info:
- Email: youngteenstalk1@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/young_teens_talk
- Facebook: Facebook.com/youngteenstalk1
- Twitter: Twitter.com/young_teenstalk
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