I started a business at 16 to make money. Now I'm building generational wealth.

• Scout Turner helped her mom run a pottery painting business and opened her own at 14.
• Today, she owns multiple painting and wellness franchises.
• She says small business is a way to build generational wealth.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Scout Turner, owner of CertaPro Painters of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My mom always told me that I was going to need a job when I was 16.

Working hard was nothing new — my mom had purchased a pottery business when I was in elementary school, and I often went to work with her.

As my 16th birthday approached, I realized that the jobs I was interested in — mostly in customer service and retail — weren't open to teens. One day, I noticed an open space in the town near my school, and thought it would make a perfect pottery studio. I called the real estate agent, and put on my customer service voice so he wouldn't know how old I was. Then, I toured the space and put together a rudimentary business plan.

When I was ready, I invited my mom to meet me for lunch during the school day. I presented her with my business plan and told her the real estate agent was available to show us both the space after we ate. I didn't even have my license, but my mom helped me open that location, which I ran for about two years, until I went to college.

I was in a different financial situation than many friends at my private school

My mom busted her butt to send me to a fancy private high school.

My peers' parents were surgeons, but I always knew we didn't have the same kind of money they did. My mom bought her first business on a credit card, and while it grew into something successful, it was all because of the sweat equity we put in. My mom talked with me about how things were different financially for me, like needing to get a job as a teen.

Once I opened the pottery studio, my friends supported me as customers. Still, there were times when they were headed to the mall or the movies, but my dad was dropping me off to work a shift. For the most part, though, I didn't mind. I never felt resentful.

I'm OK with being money-motivated

I got a college scholarship to study entrepreneurship, but I dreamed of climbing the corporate ladder. My mom supported me in that — she had done a stint in corporate America too. I loved traveling, and being able to buy something off the shelf at stores like Gucci was thrilling.

I've always been very money-motivated. That's not a bad thing: it doesn't mean I'm willing to lie or do something unethical to get more money. However, I'm very driven to build wealth for my family's comfort. In the future, I never want to feel I have to work to survive — I want to be able to do what I wish.

Ultimately, that's part of what drew me back to small business. The ability to provide for your family with something you've built with your own two hands is an incredible blessing and can also help build generational wealth.

I own multiple franchises, and still turn to my mom for advice

Today, my husband and I own multiple CertaPro Painters franchises. We also own two massage franchises and an Amazing Lash studio. We're both 31 and working very hard right now, but we're on track to have a more flexible future.

As our businesses have grown, my mom has continued to be my mentor. She will always be honest with me, and tells me if I'm making a decision she wouldn't make. She might have some regrets about how she raised me — like asking me to work at the studios without realizing I should be studying for finals — but I'm grateful for all of it. It's shaped who I am today.