We receive a lot of emails at Secret Entourage asking us how old do you have to be to take on or learn entrepreneurship. While there is no minimum age requirement, there is also no substitute for having had some life experiences prior to starting up. Here are some of the pros and cons of starting the path of entrepreneurship at a very young age.
We always discuss in Third Circle Theory the power that your observations hold on your decision making and perspective. Starting young is a good thing but it also comes with at a certain price. By learning entrepreneurship at a very young age, you are at risk for creating tunnel vision early on, and while most would say that’s good, we think other wise.
The natural progression is that most people work for others before becoming entrepreneurs, but if you instead learn too early, you could miss this critical and important step in life. Working for others does more for you than you think, especially when entrepreneurship or self-employment are two things that look attractive to you.
It is important to know what it feels like to work for others and also how large and small organizations work. By understanding that, you are able to understand where you fit in with a much clearer point of view, and the drive that comes with it is not something that can be taught by reading.
On the positive side, being exposed to entrepreneurship early on also means having a great advantage as your uncluttered mind is so much more creative in your earlier years. The downfall is not the lack of creativity, but rather the inability to connect such creativity to real work flow processes, as you have no idea what they are.
As extra creative people, with an understanding of such a complex matter early on, you would be able to stay focus on creating value, building things, and making money from a very young age. Three things that are much more valuable than after school activities, parties, or simply hanging out at the mall.
This productivity has residual effects and can translate into great work habits, better focus, determination, drive and problem solving skills that will not only stay with you forever, but have now found a baseline from a very young age. It will even help increase your confidence.
The last question that remains is can true entrepreneurship really be taught early on, especially if the person has no immediate conceptual understanding of what it really is. The true definition of entrepreneurship perhaps cannot be taught as there needs to be a sense and understanding for the scale of value, which is something that is developed from experience, not reading.
What can be learned, however, are traits that are entrepreneurial that eventually will lead someone to becoming an Entrepreneur (in other words Circle 1 and 2 traits).
You are never too young to be exposed to the powerful concept of entrepreneurship, but we believe it is most important that very early on in life you learn the power of business, self-employment and supply and demand. Three things that will help you become an entrepreneur at the right time, but will also ensure you significantly increase your chances for success.
