Investment Tips from Young Entrepreneurs Don't let your age keep you from investing. Just be smart about how and why you do it.

Martin Thompson, of Englewood, Colorado, and Katie Beeman, ofDuluth, Minnesota, have more in common than their age, 22, andearning a wage mowing lawns. At a time when most young adults aretempted to spend all their hard-earned cash buying stuff they wantand need, these two entrepreneurs have done something others mightfind surprising-they've set goals for the future and investedtheir money toward making those goals a reality.

Smart Man on Campus

Thompson realized at an early age that four years in collegewould require more than his parents' generosity. To ensure thathe could afford the college of his choice, he began mowing lawnsand saving birthday money so he could invest in the stockmarket.

And Thompson's business and financial savvy has paid off.Along with his sister, he purchased stock in a cable company for$19 a share and watched it rise to $42 a share. Thompson alsoinvested in mutual funds, which he felt was a smart way to watchhis income grow. "It's easy not to spend [the money] whenyou have it invested," he says.

Millionaire in the Making

Beeman shares Thompson's interest in the stock market andactually began investing before opening two seasonal businesses, alawn-mowing service and a Christmas tree lot.

"I would take $20 a month from allowance or babysitting andinvest it in the local utility company," Beeman explains.Beeman learned even more about the stock market through a schoolinvestment club she joined when she was 12. Participants were given$5,000 in fake money to invest in a stock market game on thecomputer and worked in small groups to follow their stocks for sixmonths.

At about the same time, Beeman, whose classmates later voted herto their list of Most Likely to be Rich in 10 Years, started mowinglawns because she wanted to make some real dough to invest in someof the game's stocks. Because of her age, she knew lawncare wasa business she could easily start. "When you're young, thereality is you have to do what you're capable of doing,"she says.

Beeman showed the same ingenuity in running her yardcarebusiness that she did in investing. She soon noticed that homes forsale often sat vacant for months after the owners moved and thelawns became overgrown and unsightly. "I printed a flyer andfaxed it to every real estate agent in town," she says."Soon, several major firms hired me to mow the lawns [of theirlisted houses]."

For three years, Beeman reinvested part of her earnings in thelawncare business and used the rest to buy stocks. Then, whileworking at a friend's Christmas tree lot, she discoveredanother business that was fairly simple for a teen to run. "Idecided that if I was going to sit there and man the stand, I mightas well be making all the money," she says. That she did,using the proceeds from this business to finance her collegeeducation.

Unsure About Investing?

There's really no reason to be, according to these twoentrepreneurs, who both began investing in their early teens. Theyoffer the following advice about getting started:

• Research before you invest real money. Start readingbusiness publications such as The Wall Street Journal andtalking with other investors. Research possible investments on theInternet, join an investment club or participate in a stock marketgame.
• Practice discipline. Even if you're not investingyet, get in the habit of setting aside a portion of your income forsavings and leave it alone.
• Look for trusted places to invest. Never invest withoutlooking at the performance history of the investment instrument.Decrease your risk by making it a rule to only buy stocks or fundsthat have shown steady growth for at least five years.
• Decrease risk by diversifying. Don't put all yourmoney in one type of investment or one sector of the market-spreadit out.
• Be patient. Beeman's lawn-mowing business startedsmall, but grew so much that she had to hire several employees."I didn't get 70 lawns the first year of business,"she explains. "It took five years, but it paid off."That, she says, is a good analogy for investing in the stockmarket. Investing is a long-term commitment that will pay offeventually, but it builds gradually.