Tired of underpaid jobs and inconvenient hours, three entrepreneurial (富于企业家精神的) McLean teens decided to start their own company.
Their new company, TeenServ, aims to solve teenage unemployment with a platform that matches students and community members who need short-term assistance with various tasks. Through TeenServ, residents sign up to post jobs they need done. Teens signed up to work can choose to accept a job depending on their schedules and work preferences. Website users can pick up shifts wherever and whenever they want, making it convenient for hectic schedules.
A year ago, Jack Lannin, Quin Frew and Ben Jeannot worked as lifeguards at a local pool. Lannin told Tysons Reporter that they were upset when a pay change “almost cut their salary in half,” and they wanted to find another job but there were few options. Then they came up with the idea for TeenServ. “Aside from getting a real job, refereeing (担任裁判) sports or yard work, there isn’t really a good way to make money,” Lannin said, adding that even becoming a referee requires a significant start-up cost for teens — around $70 — to pay for training and a uniform.
They started out by going door to door and asking community members if they would pay teens fair wages for short-term yard work. Soon enough, they began gathering opportunities. With help from an entrepreneurship class at McLean High School and feedback from teens, the students were able to turn their idea into a reality. So far, the website has employed more than 200 teens, according to Lannin. TeenServ pays students up to $18 per hour-well above Virginia’s minimum wage of $7.25.
The business is focused on mostly McLean for now, but TeenServ’s owners hope to expand around Fairfax County. That involves building up a base of teen workers before allowing residents to post jobs elsewhere in the county. After all, if residents need time-specific jobs done, they can’t be the ones waiting.
【小题1】What is TeenServ’s goal?| A．To increase the number of teen workers. |
| B．To help teens decide on their future career. |
| C．To encourage teens to start their own business. |
| D．To connect community employers to local teens. |
| A．Regular. | B．Flexible. | C．Traditional. | D．Busy. |
| A．They failed to find a part-time job. |
| B．They received a significant pay cut. |
| C．They obtained little funding for their start-up. |
| D．They lost a game due to a referee’s unfair decision. |
| A．Create more time-specific jobs. | B．Raise Virginia’s minimum wage. |
| C．Grow their business outside of McLean. | D．Allow McLean residents to post jobs elsewhere. |
