There is no deadlier sin in business than to be caught up in the arena of comparing yourself to others. Let’s say someone is the same age as you and they can appear to be blowing you out of the water with their results. The hidden piece is that you have no clue what circumstances they have been through that allowed them to go through “the process” sooner than you. And we all go at different speeds. You must face the fact that you are not on the same level if your comparing peer was churning $500 a week selling candy as a tyke back in school. We are all unique and our successes will be in direct correlation to our past experiences and level of awareness.
As Gen-Y entrepreneurs, quite often we compare ourselves to successful entrepreneurs. We even strive to be more like our older counterparts. But rarely do they strive to be more like us. And that’s unfortunate for them. I’ve outlined six advantages that make young entrepreneurs a unique breed and what we need to do to prevent ourselves from going stale.
1. Young Entrepreneurs Have More Freedom
Having three kids, two car payments and a mortgage places a massive financial burden on the average entrepreneur. They don’t necessarily have the freedom and flexibility to work on an unprofitable business for two years. Not to mention having to attend two soccer games, a piano recital and a dinner date every week. That takes a lot of time out of your 80-hour weekly schedule that you could be working on your business.
Yes, young entrepreneurs generally have less financial responsibilities and more free time, but they also aren’t burdened by a sense of urgency. It takes a long time to start a business the right way. You need to conceive an idea, do your research, write a business plan and finance your startup costs before you can ever open up shop.
When there’s a sense of urgency, you skip a few steps. What’s the result? 80% of new businesses fail. What percentage of those businesses took the time to write comprehensive business plans? My guess: less than 1%.
How to maintain your entrepreneurial freedom: Bootstrap and stay persistent. If you’re starting a business, you should only spend money on the necessities. Also, don’t be discouraged if you aren’t making money. Seek funding when you don’t need the funding. Do it right and you’ll have a better chance of becoming successful.
2. Young Entrepreneurs are More Open-minded
Kids Say the Darndest Things was a classic show that we grow up with. Why was Bill Cosby able to get those kids to say the darndest things? Because kids have fewer filters for their thoughts. We may not be kids anymore, but we still have less creativity inhibitors than many narrow-minded veterans of the business world. And this is a great advantage for Gen-Y entrepreneurs. Peter Drucker once said, “Business has two basic functions – marketing and innovation.” Where is there the most room for creativity in business? Marketing. What is the catalyst for innovation? Creativity. The more open-minded you are, the more creative you can be.
How to maintain your open-mindedness: Don’t shoot ‘em down before they have a chance to fly. You’re going to come up with lots of crazy ideas as an entrepreneur. Some of them will be stupid. But before you come to that conclusion, give them some thought. Who would have thought that blending an iPhone would total 7 million views on YouTube?
3. Young Entrepreneurs Receive More Publicity
You have a business? Cool. You’re under 25?! Even cooler. For whatever reason, people have lower expectations for young people. According to our social norms, when a young person starts a business, it’s interesting. And people want to read interesting stuff. So… Blogs, magazines, newspapers and other forms of media have a vested interest in sharing our stories. I think this is the biggest advantage for Gen-Y entrepreneurs.
Everyone knows that publicity is the best advertising. It’s qualified and authoritative word of mouth. And if you’re young, you have a much better shot at getting a piece of the PR pie.
How to encourage your publicity: Network. Local newspapers and small blogs are always looking for interesting things to write about. A story about a successful, young entrepreneur is worth the front page of the business section. And interviews are often the easiest blog posts to write. Once you gain credibility in your local community, reach out to larger newspaper and magazine publishers.
4. Young Entrepreneurs Have More Hustle
When Facebook first appeared there were dozens of other social networking sites. So why was Facebook so much more successful? Because Zuckerberg had hustle. I recently watched an interview with Mark Zuckerberg and he attributed Facebook’s success to moving fast and breaking things. “Unless you are breaking stuff,” he said, “you are not moving fast enough.” Gen-Y entrepreneurs are used to moving at a blistering pace. Entrepreneurship is exciting to us and we’ll do almost anything to be successful. And we’ll do it quickly.
How to maintain your hustle: I think Quadszilla said it best, “When it comes to building your business, there are 4 words that should be echoing in your mind throughout the day; they are Do it Fucking Now.” Think, if you died tomorrow, would you be satisfied with the results your created in your life?
5. Young Entrepreneurs are More Tech Savvy
As young people we have a natural affinity for technology. We grew up with it. And we’ve come to terms that there will always be a minimum of ten sites we visit every time we get on the Internet. By being tech savvy, we have more opportunities. My grandpa couldn’t have conceived Twitter. And my dad couldn’t have developed Facebook. But who can? Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg. Two of the youngest, most recently successful entrepreneurs on the planet.
How to become tech savvy: When you have a problem with technology, figure out how to fix it yourself. There is more than enough information on the Internet. And struggling through something is often the best way to learn. Every problem you encounter and learn how to fix is another problem you can solve in the future.
6. Young Entrepreneurs are More Ignorant
Ignorance is bliss. This is a phrase you’ve heard countless times and it’s true. As Gen-Y entrepreneurs, we’re stupid when it comes to our limitations. And that’s a great thing. When someone tells us something can’t be done, it makes us want to do it more. Because we don’t know any better, we can realize ridiculous goals.
How to embrace your ignorance: Set your goals high and your aspirations even higher. They even may just sound ridiculous in the eyes of others. And when someone tries to discourage you, give it a shot anyway. Even if your idea turns out to be a dumb one, at least you tried and it’s another notch in your belt. There is no such thing as failure if you are moving yourself closer to where you want to be. As Art Williams says, just do it.
Remember, this article is just in my honest opinion. So I want to hear yours. What advantages do you think young entrepreneurs have over experienced veterans?
