With the help of cousins who worked for a landscaping company, Millet, now 18, bought a truck, a trailer and lawn-mowing equipment and began his own landscaping business.
"Being able to be your own boss is a great achievement," said Millet, who recently graduated from Jordan High School.
Another accomplishment Millet can be proud of: winning a Young Entrepreneur Award presented by the National Federation of Independent Business and VISA USA.
Four other Utah students also won entrepreneur awards from the federation, and each of the five winners will receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend the college or institute of his or her choice.
The scholarships are offered by the group's education arm, the Young Entrepreneur Foundation. Judges examined essays from the students and also considered test scores, grade point averages and class rank.
Besides working as his own boss, Millet likes to hunt, fish and restore cars. He will be heading to BYU-Idaho and plans to major in architecture. Currently, he is the president of an LDS Young Men's group and plans to serve a mission.
Millet was nominated by Kirk Baldwin, an agency owner of Farmers Insurance in Ogden.
"I picked Matthew because he made a business opportunity when one didn't exist before," Baldwin said. "People like him know how to make business happen."
Among Utah's other winners:
* Katie Jobst, 18, graduated from Northridge High School in Layton and will begin classes this fall at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. She served as a state officer for the Distributive Educational Clubs of America, or DECA, and had other leadership roles in high school.
"Someday, after college, I want to work with a marketing firm where my main focus will be branding," Jobst said. "I want to influence people in their decision about how they feel about something."
* Aaron West, 18, graduated from Layton High School and plans to major in entrepreneurship at Weber State University.
"I love working and seeing things evolve and grow into masterpieces; this is why I will make an amazing entrepreneur," he wrote in his essay. He also described an invention he hopes to one day patent and produce - a projector that can run on kinetic energy.
Millet, Jobst and West were chosen from more than 3,000 applicants, a level of interest that delighted Don V. Cogman, chairman of the foundation's board of directors.
"The entrepreneurship spirit continues to thrive in America," Cogman said in a statement.
The federation "congratulates this year's winners for their tremendous accomplishments and hopes the scholarships will assist these young entrepreneurs as they continue on their paths towards successful futures," he added.
The scholarship program was launched in 2003 to encourage students to consider a career in small business. This year, 422 scholarships were awarded nationwide with help from corporate sponsors Visa, The Wells Fargo Foundation, Salesgenie.com and other supporters.
abreton@sltrib.com
Tribune reporter Nathan Gonzalez and news editor Sheila McCann contributed to this report.
National Federation of Independent Business
* The group is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943. It advocates nationwide for small and independent businesses.
* Its Young Entrepreneur Foundation aims to educate youth about the "critical role" of small businesses and interest them in entrepreneurship.
* The foundation's Web site, www.nfib.com/page/Young EntrepreneurFoundation.html, offers young people tips on turning a hobby into a business, writing a business plan, building customer loyalty and related topics.
Utah young entrepreneurs
PRESENTED BY
NFIB/VISA USA:
* Jordan High senior Matthew Millet of Sandy
PRESENTED BY FIB:
* Northridge High senior Katie Jobst of Layton
* Layton High senior Aaron West of Layton
* Park City High senior Alex Lee of Park City
PRESENTED BY
NFIB/WELLS FARGO:
* Timpanogos High senior Joshua Miller of Orem
