Move over baby boomers and Generation Xers. There's a group of youngsters waiting in the wings that appears more technically skilled, community-minded and independent than any other generation at their age.
Business educators dub them Generation E, as in future entrepreneurs.There's Claire Randall, 11, of Galveston, Texas, who began earning money in the second grade by parlaying an interest in the family personal computer into a small desk-top publishing business.
Arthur Berg Bochner, 15, of South Orange, N.J., bought plastic dinosaurs wholesale and sold them at retail prices when he was just 8. He now deals in coins, cards and other collectibles and has co-written two books.
Seventeen-year-old Mindi Bull, an avid fisher from Tulsa, Okla., discovered a moneymaking op-por-tunity at the end of her rod and reel - not the fish she catches but the flies and bobbers she turns into funky earrings and sells.
While it's impossible to say how many youngsters engage in entrepreneurial activities - no one has dared on track all the baby sitters, lawn cutters and others - experts say today's teens and preteens seem more inclined than past generations to go into business for themselves.
"The kids believe their only chance in life is to make a job, not take a job. They see job security as an issue with their parents . . . (and) they want to be their own boss," said Marilyn Kourilsky, vice president of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Inc. in Kansas City.
"A Peace Corps mentality also comes with that entrepreneurial spirit. They feel obligated to give back to the community. I find that different from my generation," said Kourilsky, a baby boomer. "I call them Generation E."
A 1996 Gallup poll conducted for the center found that nearly seven out of 10 high school students want to start and run their own business, mainly so that they can be their own boss. Sixty-eight percent also wanted to give back something to their communities.
However, most of the teens surveyed felt they needed more skills to be truly successful. Ninety percent rated their personal knowledge of entrepreneurship as very poor to fair, and 85 percent said they were taught little on that subject in school.
"There's such a need for the schools to make changes in the curriculum," said Bonnie Drew, author of "Fast Cash for Kids" and editor of the Young Entrepreneur newsletter. She suggests incorporating business theory into current classes rather than adding courses.
"When they're studying English, they can learn how to write business letters or press releases," she said. "In math, you can show them how to use algebraic principles to figure out how much profits they can make."
The lack of attention in the classroom, due also in large part to budget restraints virtually everywhere, has brought about a proliferation of organizations and companies whose goals are to teach youngsters about the business world.
The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership has training programs from kindergarten though community college. During the summer, it offers a seven-day EntrePrep program for high school juniors that teaches how to start and run a business.
KidsWay Inc. of Atlanta, a private company that publishes the Young Entrepreneur newsletter, sells "Summer Jobs for Kids" kits from $19.95 to $49.95, including how-to guides for lawn care, pet care, baby-sitting and car wash.
Neale Godfrey, who runs the Children's Financial Network in Mountain Lakes, N.J., and has written several books about kids and money, adds that youngsters often excel if they pursue what they love and have adults to support and guide them.
Claire Randall, who has a desktop publishing business called Small Expressions, didn't have to worry about start-up costs. She had liberal access to the family PC and software programs she uses to produce personalized calling cards for her schoolmates (eight for $1), greeting cards and stationery.
She says she reimburses her parents for the paper and ink she uses. "I used two entire cartridges on one job," she said, explaining that a neighbor had contracted her to create personal photo albums to commemorate a vacation to Africa. She estimates she earns between $100 and $200 a year.
Mindi Bull, who started Big Catch Jewelry two years ago, has plenty of support from her family. Her parents drive her to pick up the supplies - beads, lures, hooks, backings - needed to make her one-of-a-kind fishing lure earrings and to the tackle shops and clothing stores where she sells them on consignment. (One woman spotted her wearing them in a department store and bought them right off her ears!)
She says she'd like to eventually expand her business to include a line of necklaces and T-shirts.