Wyndmoor Teen Runs Successful Social Media Business

by Len Lear

It's no secret that today's young people (and many older people) are obsessed, and in some cases even addicted, to their phones. Studies show that the average American high school student spends five to seven hours a day on their phone, primarily on social media platforms such as TikTok.

Why can't these kids do something more useful? some of us grumps think.

Then there's Asher Dahlgren, 16, of Wyndmoor, a Springfield Township High School student who is already a successful businessman, with his own team of teenage assistants. His year-old company, Dahlgren Social Media Services, has seven student team members and 10 paying clients.

What could inspire a teenager to start a serious business? “Two years ago, I was walking down the street,” Dahlgren said, “and I noticed so many small businesses that I was sure weren't taking advantage of social media. I thought I could help them, so I offered to help them. I believe our times are actually a strength rather than a weakness when it comes to this kind of work.

First, Dahlgren offered his social media services (for free) to Springfield Township Skatepark to build credibility. “It gave me the confidence to know I could do it,” he said. “So I started charging low fees. My next clients were two local real estate companies. I charged by the hour, low prices to start. At first there were no written contracts, just verbal agreements, but now I have written contracts. »

As Dahlgren gains experience, he acquires more know-how, a process that requires taking risks and persevering, despite inevitable setbacks.

“Once you get comfortable with being uncomfortable and trying things you've never done before, that's where success comes from,” he said. “It's important not to give up. You won't succeed the first time. You might not succeed the tenth time you try, but with each failure you learn more, you feel uncomfortable, but you grow through it.

Dahlgren eventually had so much work that he couldn't do it all himself, so he recruited a team of seven other social media-savvy high school students to work for him. Dahlgren insists he couldn't succeed without his team – Matt Hay, Clara Farrell, Owen Quinn, Ava Pastore, Justin Whang, Daniel Gendron and Kaz Kiguchi, all of whom, with the exception of Pastore, are students at Springfield Township High School.

Together, this team offers numerous content creation and social media services, including graphics, videos, analytics, distribution, setting up customer profiles on social networks, and much more.

The company's client list now includes Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, Fill A Bagel & Breads, Dan Helwig Realtors, Snyder School of Singing and Avant Apres Salon.

Since Dahlgren is a full-time student who obviously has to take classes, study, and take exams, how on earth can the teenager who is also junior class president with a black belt in Taekwondo run a business? “I’m busy 80 hours a week,” he said. “It helps that my parents support me.”

Louise Dalessandro of Dalessandro Manzi Group credits Asher for helping her real estate team increase visibility on TikTok, Facebook and Twitter. ” It is awesome ! He is calm, responsible, patient and competent,” Dalessandro said. “It’s rare to meet someone so young and so focused.”

Matt Hay, content manager at Dahlgren, appreciates the lessons he learns on the team. “I work with three or four clients in content management, scheduling meetings and deciding what to post and when,” he said. “I want to continue doing this as long as I can.”

Clara Farrell, who also works as a content manager for the company, told us: “So far it's been a really positive experience for me and I'm learning a lot. I'm going to major in international business at university, so it's been really wonderful working with clients and gaining experience in the marketing world…I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment of being treated like an equal among professionals.

For more information, visit dahlgrensocial.com. Len Lear can be contacted at [email protected]