Caden Harris, 14, an Atlanta, Georgia resident who already has wealth building on his radar, empowers and educates other young minds.
“I was seven years old when I started my business,” said the son of Dr. Sean Harris and Tara Harris.
The CEO of Caden Teaches, author, and keynote speaker offers an opportunity for fellow youths to enjoy an immersive experience through Caden’s Financial Bus and through resources such as courses and a financial toolbox bundle. Caden’s Financial Toolbox includes several products that help young people learn how to save, budget, and invest money. Financial flashcards; a curriculum; multiple books; Rick Kid affirmation necklaces; and Rich Dad and Rich Mom t-shirts are other products that Caden sells through his growing brand.
Young people can learn about financial literacy through creative means on Caden’s Financial Bus.
“On the bus, we have a mock bank [where they get to learn how to write checks], a mock grocery store [they learn how to have a family budget]. At the mock Stock Exchange, they get to learn how to earn, save, budget, and invest in stocks,” Caden explained.
Although the bus is based outside of the Atlanta area, Caden explained that he travels all over the country.
The empowered, young leader who is on a positive path overcame obstacles of his own.
“I would say [one of] the biggest obstacles that I’ve ever had is my speech impediment because I could barely speak until I was the age of five,” Caden said. “Just being five years old and not being able to express your emotions, you can only imagine how challenging that must have been.”
After years of speech therapy, Caden prevailed. He has been able to work with companies such as Microsoft and Allstate and participate in the Disney Dreamers Academy.
Another obstacle was handling no’s and needing $50,000 for his financial bus. Caden began to understand that everyone would not invest in his business. However, the young entrepreneur did find different companies and influential people who were interested in him.
Caden was recently featured on “Good Morning America,” with Michael Strahan. He served as a keynote speaker at Rutgers University; spoke at the White House for the Treasury Department; a keynote speaker for ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta in June; and he was a $15,000 grand prize winner of the top 25 Prudential Emerging Visionaries.
He initially learned about financial literacy because his father took him along to business meetings.
Caden is also an academically driven teen who completed high school at the age of 13. The former homeschooled student later joined an accelerated academic program. Caden was determined to graduate early and meet his goal.
“Usually the program takes three years, but I did it in nine months,” the go-getter explained. “So, I would spend late nights studying. Taking time during weekends and during summer breaks.”
Caden’s approach to financial literacy is unique. He explained that it is provided “by a kid for other kids,” not someone who is older. Caden also pointed out that something can be done about students graduating from high school without knowing financial literacy basics.
He added, “That’s something that really needs to change, because once we learn about financial literacy, we’ll learn how to have better cities, better communities, and once the financial literacy problem is out of the way, we can focus on everything else.”
Caden credited his family as some of his biggest supporters who helped him throughout his entire journey. They attend different vending and speaking events with him.
“They’ve always been with me from the start, and especially my parents because they supported me, and they would always fund my wildest dreams,” said Caden.
He proudly mentioned that his sister owns a home health and nutrition company and his brother is a U.S. Air Force aerospace medical technician.
Months ago, Caden stated that he has taught 50,000 kids about financial literacy but would love to teach 500,000. He hopes that his curriculum will be available in schools all over the world. Caden aspires to own his first property by the time he reaches 18 years old.
The successful CEO said that he feels unbothered when people doubt his abilities because of his age.
“It actually excites me to prove them wrong, seeing what I’m doing now and how I’m helping the next generation about financial literacy, and how important my mission is.”
Visit www.cadenteaches.com for more information about Caden.