June 7, 1995, (CINCINNATI) -- When 15-year-old Ethan Pagliaro decided to
take on the huge financial challenge of rounding up $5,000 to buy a semi-truck
trailer full of audio equipment, he wasn't dreaming about making a huge
profit - and he says he definitely wasn't thinking about starting a business.
But seven years later, the venture is definitely paying off for the 22-year-old
Pagliaro.
Today, the Cincinnati man's $5,000 investment has mushroomed into $100,000 in audio equipment, and his ambitious teenage spirit has become the foundation of Access Audio, a thriving sound reinforcement and lighting business staffed almost entirely by young people.
In establishing himself as a successful young business owner, Pagliaro's won the respect of his professional peers. On June 9, he'll be recognized in Washington, D.C., for his entrepreneurial achievements, when he's named the National Association for the Self-Employed's "Future Entrepreneur of the Year." With the honor, Pagliaro will receive a $12,000 college scholarship, one of the largest scholarships available in the nation.
The Right Stuff
Pagliaro's entrepreneurial spirit was just the stuff the National Association
for the Self-Employed was looking for when it set up the $12,000 "Future
Entrepreneur of the Year" scholarship, says NASE President Bennie L.
Thayer. "We wanted a young person who showed tremendous promise in
terms of dedication, commitment, ingenuity and desire, and who also showed
school and community participation and work experience.
"Ethan definitely showed the qualities that America needs in its young people," Thayer says. "We believe entrepreneurship is the future of America, and youth like Ethan who have creativity and ambitious attitudes are the nation's most valuable natural resources."
In addition to Pagliaro's award, the NASE will also present 20 other scholarships in June, each worth $4,000 for the recipient. The funds can be used any way the students deem best -- whether they're put toward books, tuition, lab fees, even room and board -- and may be used at any accredited community college, university, or post-secondary vocational school.
15-Year-Old Found Great Opportunity
A 1991 graduate of Wyoming High School, Wyoming, Ohio, Pagliaro says he
merely happened on a great opportunity when, as a 15-year-old student, he
was offered the chance to buy a truckload of audio equipment from a local
band that was going belly-up. Pagliaro says it was purely an interest in
sound equipment that motivated him to offer the band $5,000 for the equipment.
In the face of advice against taking such a financial risk, Pagliaro says he worked seven nights a week at a bowling alley and sidelined at a second job soldering radar detectors to finance the purchase. When he came up short, a trusting employer helped him out with a $1,500 loan.
Today, Access Audio has gone far beyond Pagliaro's initial expectations. The company is busy nearly every weekend, providing sound and lighting at clubs, churches, schools and drama productions across the Midwest, and his system is now extensive enough to provide sound for an audience of 10,000 people.
In terms of the financial success of the business, Pagliaro says, "I never thought this would go as far money wise as it's gotten." Even with that success, however, Pagliaro insists his enterprising attitude isn't about money.
"I'd always made the money I needed from the fire department," says Pagliaro, who already has five years of experience as a firefighter and emergency medical technician, and has earned an associate degree in Fire Science from the University of Cincinnati. "Probably more of a driving motivation is the difference I can make in the life of the kids."
The "kids" are the dozens of teens Pagliaro hires to help set up equipment at shows, most of them working on a job-by-job basis. He describes many of the teens as "fringe kids - the youth who don't play sports ... the youth who don't get to the parties ... the youth who often don't believe in themselves."
Giving those young people a chance to work goes back to the belief that got Pagliaro into business in the first place. "I have a tremendous amount of stock in what a young person can do. I don't believe they have to wait until college or later to get started."
Pagliaro Plans To Help Other Youth Get Started
Pagliaro plans to put his $12,000 scholarship toward tuition at North Park
College and Theological Seminary in Chicago, where he's been studying youth
ministry and business administration. It's a field of study Pagliaro believes
he'll easily be able to apply to his philosophy of encouraging youth to
strike out on their own.
In fact, Pagliaro's already working on another major venture involving youth: a summer camp that would encourage youth to start thinking about careers. "We want to really encourage them to find out what they're good at and to use their talent. We want to help youth get direction and to learn that there's not any point when you're too young to make a difference in the world," he said.
For an update on Pagliaro, click here.
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