Use Your Youth To Your Advantage

You should wait until you're older and have more business and real-world experience before starting a business. You should just focus on school for now. Nobody will take you seriously at this age.

You'll hear all these reasons--and more--about why you shouldn't start a business from your friends, your parents, your advisors and many others who only have your best intentions at heart. But before you start believing what you hear, take a moment to think to yourself, What would have happened if somebody had told these arguments to and convinced:

  • Bill Gates who left Harvard to start Microsoft
  • Michael Dell who left the University of Texas to start Dell
  • Milton Hershey who opened his first candy shop when he was 18
  • Fred Smith who, while attending Yale, received a "C" on his Fedex business plan and decided to start his business anyway
  • Steve Jobs who left Reed University to start Apple
  • William Hewlett and David Packard who started HP out of a garage after graduating from Stanford
  • Or the thousands of other young people who have started a business and been successful
Imagine the potential that would have been stifled if these visionaries hadn't started businesses when they were young! Imagine how our world would have been different without an HP, a Dell, a Microsoft, a Fedex, a Hersheys or an Apple.

Young entrepreneurs are not anomalies. Below are six ways that youthful entrepreneurs have the cards tipped in their favor:

  • It's easier to exceed expectations and harder to not meet them. The fact that adults expect less from young people can be used to your advantage. It's OK if you're not perfectly polished. It will take less effort to please clients and make a name for yourself with the media.
  • There's little competition from other students. How many students do you know who are entrepreneurs? There are definitely not many, which makes your story more press-, scholarship-, competition-, client- and award-worthy. And remember, accomplishments that are incredible in college become less impressive as you get older.
  • There are resources that support youthful endeavors. There are many nonprofit organizations and individuals that focus on or are more than willing to specifically support entrepreneurial youth. First on this list is your school, which probably has teachers who can assist you or who have contacts in the business community that can further your goals.
  • You have an existing passive secondary stream of income. Students often have income coming in from their parents. Enen if it's not consistent, then it's at least something you know you can always fall back on. If you're venture fails when you're young, you probably won't starve or lose your house in the process.
  • There's a synergy between your school and your business. The practical knowledge you learn from running your business can help your academic work and vice-versa. Some schools will allow you to earn academic credit from or do an independent study of your business. You can also base class projects on your business. That means, you might be able to create a marketing plan or develop new sales strategies or markets for your business on your "school time."
  • Your creativity is probably at a high point. Young people have a fresh perspective on the world. This perspective lends itself to seeing many opportunities that haven't already been exploited. The founders of Microsoft, Yahoo, Dell and FedEx all saw unique opportunities and capitalized on them when they were still students.

    Reprinted with permission from Entrepreneur.com. Copyright © 2005. Copyright 2003 Entrepreneur.com. All Rights Reserved.

    Michael Simmons is the author of the best-selling book, The Student Success Manifesto: How to Create a Life of Passion, Purpose and Prosperity and an award-winning entrepreneur. He is also one of America's top youth motivational speakers for college campuses. Read his online journal at young entrepreneur journey or click on the following link to download his free success ebook.

    Latest News


    Columbus Dispatch

    Ohio House Speaker Budish touts regionalism in his first address
    WKYC-TV, OH - Jan 6, 2009
    ... to Ohioans working in startup companies and revive Ohio's cities and Ohio's spirit of entrepreneurialism and make the state a center for green jobs. ...
    New Ohio House leader wants tax break Akron Beacon Journal
    all 35 news articles

    Entrepreneurialism And The Dwarf House
    PWO, France - Jan 3, 2009
    To become an entrepreneur is enjoyable when you have a passion for a business idea you are passionate about. However, if you have to become an entrepreneur ...

    PEER 1 Selected to Join Microsoft BizSpark Program
    FOXBusiness - 3 hours ago
    ... is committed to helping entrepreneurs to transform their ambitions into sustainable, dynamic businesses and to foster innovation and entrepreneurialism. ...

    Ashoka Brings Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship to ...
    PR Newswire (press release), NY - 30 minutes ago
    Due to these critical partnerships, the world's largest community of social entrepreneurs is taking social innovation and entrepreneurialism to new fields. ...

    Medley's Risk
    13WHAM-TV, NY - Dec 30, 2008
    Bob: This is the essence of entrepreneurialism, is to sell others on the risk and get them to invest in the risk. In this case, you’ve got a community ...

    TechRadar UK

    Marissa Mayer on the future of Google
    TechRadar UK, UK - Jan 3, 2009
    "There was a tremendous amount of energy, scruffy entrepreneurialism and a sense of hope. We really felt we were working on something that might change the ...

    Twirling Towards Freedom: Letter to a Disgruntled Young Republican
    Culture11, VA - Jan 5, 2009
    An open market is essential to the survival of our trademark entrepreneurialism; it is also the root of our historic success. Of course, as the present mess ...

    What now for Russian gold rush?
    Design Week, UK - 8 hours ago
    'In places like Almaty [the main commercial centre in Kazakhstan], you will find that there is a similar level of entrepreneurialism as in Moscow, ...

    It's time to get off our laurels – and innovate, innovate, innovate
    Globe and Mail, Canada - Dec 23, 2008
    ... are required to spur successful innovation: access to capital; collaboration in pursuit of new ideas; and a culture that promotes entrepreneurialism. ...

    Finding Success When Going It Alone
    Law.com, CA - Dec 23, 2008
    I realised that the mentality of our profession, and the conventional structure of law firms, often discourages entrepreneurialism. Decision making in firms ...

    Resources


      Sorry there are no resources available at this time