With the impact of social media and the global reach it allows today, more and more people are exposed to the ‘good life’ by following their favorite celebrities or social entrepreneurs. Without the internet or social media in the past, the portrayal of success was never exposed to a mass audience like it has today. You’ll have to give credit to social media for inspiring more and more teenagers attempting some type of entrepreneur venture to get a taste of the ‘good life’ and success. Here are 10 reasons why teenagers should try to start a business today.
1 ) No expenses or liabilities – As a teenager, most likely you still live at home and possibly even get an allowance of some kind. The real world ‘sucks’ in the sense that you’ll be hit with a lot more monthly recurring expenses like insurance, rent, credit card bills, and other expenses needed for natural survival. As a teen with absolutely zero expenses or possessions in your name, there’s no better time than now to take that risk. Even if you fail, you can still bounce back without risking bringing down your family and loved ones.
2) Discover your passion – By the time you reach college, most teenagers have no idea what to study or what they want to do with their life. That’s why your first two years of college are for general studies. Normally, you’d follow your passion or pursue something you have interest in. Expose yourself to different angles of your passions and even though you may fail with your ventures, you’ll still come away with the experiences and roadmap for your future.
3) Expose yourself to success – Some say the biggest motivating factor of success is success itself. By exposing yourself to success, whether that is talking to people who have made it or going to exotic car events, it opens your eyes to the possibilities. By seeing with your own eyes of what’s possible, the desire to succeed becomes much greater. Ultimately, this causes a shift in the mindset to aspire for more and never settle for less.
4) Low barrier to entry – When we talk about entrepreneurship, we don’t expect you to create the next Facebook or become the next real estate tycoon. Keep it simple with your first few ventures and dabble in low cost ideas like websites and affiliate marketing. With the abundance of FREE information out there in your local library and on Google, there should be absolutely no reason for you to NOT attempt something. Take action on your ideas before someone beats you to it.
5) Experience failure – Life will come at you faster than you think and it won’t come easy. It’s guaranteed that you will experience setbacks along the way in all aspects of your life from professional and personal life. You will fail and you will fail often. What matters is how you overcome failure and how you respond to it. As a teen who experiences failure, you will grow accustomed to failure and become more tolerant to it and risks.
6) Imagine the possibilities – Even if you were to take a job as a teenager, you’d probably get $15/hr if you’re lucky. The sad truth is that’s not really a lot of money. Some people in certain areas are capable of surviving on that type of income but for the rest of the population, that’s not happening. Even a $80,000/year salary is only about $4000/month in take home pay. A lot more but certainly not a lot in the world of business. As a business owner, your ceiling has no limits and once you start rolling in money, it’s just a matter of scale to exponentially reaching more.
7) Understand finance – If and when you do make a lot of money, you must become conscious of the responsibilities of money management. There are countless stories of successful entrepreneurs, athletes, and lottery winners who lose it all within a few years by blowing their money. You will never have a real clear respect for money until you lose it all. If you do lose it all, lose it as a teenager since you can recover way faster and learn to never allow it to happen again.. We can’t blame you though since you’ll be in the prime years of partying.
8) Consistency is key – One of the most important aspects of successful entrepreneurs is the ability to be consistent. Learn to let go of bad/old habits and learn to make new habits your priority. Make it a routine to everyday wake up early, exercise, take action on your idea, network with other individuals, etc. By making this routine, you escape laziness and build a better foundation for yourself and your future.
9) Age isn’t a factor – Some of the most talked about entrepreneurs these days are still in their teens. Age is no longer a factor in the world of entrepreneurship. While most older entrepreneurs are trying to learn and adapt their businesses to today’s technologies, you grew up with social media platforms and apps, allowing you to be more aware of the capabilities and tactics to leverage them.
10) Make your own luck – Even with a degree, a job is no longer guaranteed unfortunately. If you combine that with the thousands of dollars you’ll have from college, you’re on a long road to recovery. This is not to say that college has no place in society because it certainly does. This is more about you thinking about creating your own destiny rather than allowing someone else to dictate what you can do, how much you can make, and how much/fast you can grow as an individual. Simply put, an entrepreneur can make their own luck.
