Tyler Stallings, 12, The Baltimore Times’ Junior Reporter, interviewed Caden Harris about entrepreneurship.
Summer break isn’t just rest and fun activities. Students must remain aware of the “Summer Slide.” “Summer Slide” is a term for the amount of time in the summer that young students don’t study, which causes them to forget material and all of the things they studied during the academic years.
Students have more time in the summer to work on personal goals.
This is where 14-year-old Caden Harris, the CEO, speaker, entrepreneur, and leader of Caden Teaches comes into play. Caden offers many programs, curricula, workshops, and speeches, tailored for youths to thrive and learn about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Children can learn from what he teaches and by reading his books.
Photo credit: LionHeart Motivations Media
Caden also is very well-spoken, which reminds us that it’s important to be yourself. Intelligence is sometimes looked down upon. However, paying attention to negativity is not the way to go. Find your own genius. Keep being yourself; it always pays off! You’ve got this. Remember to have high self-esteem. Caden is an example of someone who has a lot of confidence.
The Georgia native graduated high school at the age of 13— a remarkable feat. Caden’s hobbies are martial arts, watching wrestling, and, as he puts it, “playing games just like any other kid.”
Caden explained that his interest in financial literacy stemmed from going to business meetings with his dad. He became inspired to spread information about financial literacy to other young people. This is a prime example of why you should listen to your parents. Often when we think our parents are just talking to talk, but they are trying to teach their children valuable information. Caden ended up having his own business because his dad took him around to meetings with him. He developed an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, look at all it has done for him.
Caden stated, “My motivation is seeing other people or seeing kids learn about financial literacy and how excited they are when I come to their schools and speak with them, and just how excited they are to see what I’m doing.”
Caden also spoke about how he came up with his book ideas. “My dream is to have different books teaching kids about financial literacy and inspiring them like my book titles ‘Caden’s Rich Kid Guide: Tips to Earn 10K Under 10 Years old’ and ‘Minutes with Millionaires,’ where I interviewed 10 different millionaires and put the information that I got from the interviews into a book,” Caden said.
He stated how he stays focused:
“I would say having mentors because mentors are pretty much like a cheat code to success. They can help you throughout so many areas of your life. You can have mentors in different areas,” Caden suggested.
Sometimes, children want to have fun when they should be focused on more important things. Caden explained that as a CEO who has a business, he can’t go to different parties or hang out with his friends all the time. He must have the discipline to succeed.
“I realized that what I’m doing is important and sometimes more important than hanging out with my friends, because I need to teach over 500,000 kids about financial literacy, so we can have better communities, better cities, and more financially savvy kids and I can have other rich kids with me at the top.”
The young leader owns Caden Teaches, which is a six-figure enterprise. Caden has been recognized as a financial prodigy. Caden emphasizes the possibility to succeed at a young age, break barriers and encourage other individuals to pursue their dreams regardless of their starting point. Caden is known for the tagline “If Caden Can You Can Too.”
As a youth ambassador to the United Nations, Caden advocates for meaningful change and empowerment on a global scale. He can inspire other children who know about what he has done.
“Make sure that you follow your gift because many times people say to follow your passion, but your passion may not be the thing that leads you to success, because God gives everyone a gift. You just have to figure out what that gift is and implement it into your life,” Caden reasoned.
You can find Caden by visiting his website, www.cadenteaches.com.