Trends for 2003 Want to stay a step ahead of the competition? Keep your eye on these hot trends for the new year.

Remember all that talk a few years ago about how the newmillennium was going to bring about big changes in life in generaland BIZ Experiencesship in particular? Whether or not you'venoticed any of these big changes, some of these trends continue.See if you recognize any of these.

Trend #1: SocialEntrepreneurship
Philanthropy and social activism have been on the rise for severalyears, but they began to soar after the events of September 11. Andbudding BIZ Experiencess have discovered that a successful businesscan help others as well as themselves. Take Guatemalan-born HildaSalazar, for example. This 22-year-old Washington, DC, residentremembered how difficult moving was for her and wanted to ease thestress for other children in the same situation. But how?

Salazar says she thought about the problems in Mt. Pleasant, thelargely Hispanic neighborhood in which she lives: "Many Latinoparents are not involved in the social growth or education of theirchildren. I wanted to bring parents and kids together."

Luckily, a counselor at the Latin American Youth Center Salazarfrequented reminded her of workbooks that Guatemalan childrencommonly used, and a lightbulb went off. What if she wrote aworkbook that not only reminded children of their Hispanicheritage, but also helped them adjust to English-language schoolingin their new country? Not sure she could go it alone, Salazarrecruited two friends to help her write TransformingFutures/Transformando Futuros, a workbook that includes sections onwriting, reading and vocabulary and even comes with anaudiotape.

Team Salazar pitched its idea to Youth Venture and received a$500 grant and a $500 loan. The workbook, aimed at children ages 6and up, is now a reality, and the team is expanding its ideas toinclude tutoring classes at the Latin American Youth Center and anew workbook for older children.

If helping others comes naturally to you, look around. Mostsocial BIZ Experiencess say they found their ideas right in their ownbackyard (or neighborhood, or city). Once you've spotted aneed, talk to others in the business of helping. A church or yourlocal United Way are great places to start.

Trend #2: e-Businesses StillGoing Strong
A couple of years ago, everyone was talking about the dotcombust--promising young e-businesses that crashed and burned almostas quickly as their success peaked. Well, forget about them--mostsuffered from poor management. With careful planning (that includesstaying away from decisions that could get you into trouble, likeexpensive office space and skateboards for all employees), theInternet is still one of the best ways for a young 'trep to getstarted.

Think about it. At what other time in your life can you affordto charge a little less for your services than your competitors(which is one reason many are hiring teens to do things like Webdesign) as well as have the luxury of working from your home (ordorm room, for that matter).

Even if you're no designer or tech wizard, the Internet haslots to offer, says Chris Petree, 16, owner of InGen Bees. Petreeruns a bee-keeping business out of his home in North Carolina and,offline, sells honey and bee-keeping supplies, including books andvideos. He uses his Web site, www.ingenbees.com, to help sellproducts and get people interested in his hobby. "It's amedia I can use to reach the masses," he says.

Even if your idea has nothing to do with computers, a Web sitecan increase your sales. "A great Web site is worth themoney," Petree says, and do-it-yourself Web design softwarecan cut the costs even more. "The price isn't too bad ifyou can design your own Web pages."

Trend #3: All the Comforts ofHome
On the other end of the spectrum, the American public seemsenamored with all things old-fashioned--home-baked goodies,scrapbooking, and home-grown produce, just to name a few--and teen'treps are cashing in big-time.

Take Camilla White, 15, of Chicago, who bakes a mean pie--32mean pies, to be exact--under the business name Jam-N-Yams. Whileshe owns three businesses (one of the others is a craftbusiness--also in the comforts category), her tasty treats are whatkeep her rolling in the dough.

How does she do it? Offering the unusual, including breadpudding pie, doesn't hurt, as well as her commitment to gettingthe word out about her business. When she started, White tooksamples to a local beauty shop, a video store, a candy shop and amanagement company, where she took orders. "The more placesyou go," White says, "the more people are going to knowabout you." She was so successful that a restaurant beganfeaturing her pies on its dessert menu.

Naturally a talented baker like White? Before opening abusiness, experiment and come up with your own unique creations.Even if baking is not your thing, offering something new will bringmore customers. Casey Medlock, the 22-year-old owner of Scrappies,a scrapbooking store in Palatka, Florida, also offers classes."People from the classes come back for supplies," shesays.