The sizzling sound of fries hitting the hot oil filled the air as Alex Knight shifted his weight from one foot to the other, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. It was another long shift at McDonald's, but it was almost over. The clock above the counter read 9:45 PM, fifteen more minutes before he could clock out.
"Alex, can you handle the next batch of burgers?" Sarah, his shift manager, called out from across the kitchen.
"On it!" Alex responded, moving quickly to the grill.
He'd been working part-time here for almost a year now, juggling it alongside high school and other odd jobs. It wasn't glamorous, but it was steady. Steady enough to start thinking about the next chapter in his life.
As he flipped the patties and watched the timer, Alex couldn't help but think about his future. He had just turned 18, and the itch to start something of his own was stronger than ever. All his life, he'd heard about success stories—people who'd built something from scratch, turned nothing into empires. And while others around him were talking about college or traveling, he was thinking about his own venture.
Alex had been planning quietly for months. He wasn't going to just quit his job tomorrow and dive headfirst into some business he knew nothing about. He needed to be smart, methodical. He needed a safety net. That's where investing came in.
The burgers sizzled on the grill, but Alex's mind was elsewhere. He'd been reading books on finance, soaking up podcasts, and watching YouTube channels about how to invest. He didn't have a lot to start with—just his McDonald's paychecks and a little cash he'd saved up from odd jobs. But it was enough to get started.
He had decided to put some of it into stocks. Nothing too risky, just a handful of stable companies with a solid track record. He figured if his business idea didn't pan out, at least his money wouldn't disappear overnight. And who knows, maybe those investments would grow enough to fuel his dreams down the line.
The thought excited him. Starting a business from scratch, building something of his own—it felt like a dream within reach. But Alex wasn't naïve. He knew the statistics. Most businesses failed within the first few years. That's why he was determined to play it smart. If his plan bombed, at least he wouldn't be left with nothing. He'd have those savings, those investments.
The grill beeped, pulling him back to the present. Alex moved quickly, sliding the patties onto buns, adding the cheese, and wrapping them up before passing them off to the front counter.
As the minutes ticked down and the end of his shift approached, Alex couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement. This was it—the beginning of something bigger.
"Hey, Alex, you heading out?" Sarah asked as he started wiping down the grill.
"Yeah, just a few more minutes. Got some stuff to take care of when I get home," Alex said, trying to sound casual.
"You've been working hard lately. What's going on?"
Alex paused, looking at her for a moment. Sarah was in her mid-twenties and had been working here since college. She was nice, but Alex knew she didn't exactly share his ambition. Still, it couldn't hurt to share a little.
"I'm saving up. Planning to start a business soon," Alex said, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"A business, huh? That's ambitious. What kind of business?"
"Not sure yet," he lied, keeping the specifics to himself. "But I'm working on it."
"Well, good luck with that," Sarah said with a nod, before turning back to her own tasks.
Alex finished his cleanup and clocked out. As he stepped outside, the cool night air hit his face, and he let out a long breath. He pulled out his phone and opened the investment app he'd downloaded a few weeks ago. Tonight was the night. He had a small sum set aside, just a few hundred dollars, but it was enough to get started.
He tapped through the app, buying shares in a couple of companies he'd researched—a tech giant, a utility company, and a healthcare firm. He wasn't gambling on anything risky. These were long-term holds, something to build over time.
As the transactions went through, he felt a surge of adrenaline. This was the first real step toward his future. His mind flicked back to his business plan, something he'd been working on in secret for months. It wasn't fully fleshed out yet, but the idea was solid. An online service platform, something that could scale without too much initial investment. He'd need some capital to get it off the ground, but that's where his savings and investments came in.
If it worked, he could leave his job at McDonald's behind, and if it didn't—well, at least he'd have a backup. That thought alone gave him some peace of mind.
As he walked home, the neon lights of the fast food joint faded behind him, but Alex felt like he was stepping into something bigger, something more meaningful. McDonald's had been a good place to start, to save, to learn discipline. But it wasn't where he wanted to be forever.
He looked up at the night sky, a faint smile on his face. Tomorrow, he'd go back to work, grill more burgers, and save a little more. But tonight, he'd made his first investment—both in stocks and in himself.
And that was the first step.