The last couple of years I have been advertising for apps and stores. There is a company that would contact the businesses and get offers, which I would accept and advertise for, then the company would pay. I also personally emailed 265 businesses to find people to advertise for. I managed to lead over 30,000 app downloads and earned over $10,000 for myself. So my questions are:
Is this worth including in my college application at all?
If so, can I call this a business on my college application (I don’t have a business license or anything)
If not how would I best describe it to look good on my application?
I think it’s worth including but to me “business” implies an entity that runs under an identity separate from your own. This sounds more like you were participating in something like an affiliate marketing program. Try to describe what you did and highlight on your results. Focus on presenting what you did as legitimate lead generation or advertising (or whatever it was) and not give any whiff of suggestion that you were sending unsolicited email. Tell who was helped by your services and if you have used your earnings as savings for college, say so.
I want to clear up that I wasn’t sending unsolicited emails, as they came from a forum of small businesses specifically looking for advertisers. I’ll definitely make use of your tips, thanks!
Didn’t mean to imply that I thought you were! Also, to specifically answer your question #1: earning $10,000 on your own initiative is an impressive accomplishment for a teenager. Absolutely include it on your application. I’d also encourage you to seek out local and private scholarships offered by business groups. They would likely appreciate your entrepreneurship.