To begin a business at an early age has so many benefits it brings to young entrepreneurs.
A young entrepreneur is a child or young adult who finds opportunities to start and operate a business.
It does not just create an opportunity to get valuable experiences and skills, but it can pave the way for financial stability and freedom.
Those who started a business at a young age have a great advantage over those who started later in life.
Why? You ask.
This is because now you have the time, strength, creativity, and support to overcome any form of disadvantage of not having skills or experience later on in life.
This article will give an in-depth explanation of the benefits of starting a business at a young age and it will give examples of successful young people in business.
People you can learn and study from to build your own business as a young person. So let’s delve into the benefits of starting a business at a young age.
Benefits of Being a Business Owner Early
1. Builds Entrepreneurial Skills
Building an entrepreneur’s skills is one of the benefits that starting a business at a young age brings to a child. Essential Entrepreneurial skills like risk-taking, problem-solving and adaptability are built in the child.
A report by Junior Achievement, states that 71% of young entrepreneurs develop these entrepreneurial skills by practical experience in business areas. Entrepreneurial skills like marketing, customer relations, accounting, planning and management.
All of these are really important skills that are needed to be a success in life.
2. Boost Creative Thinking
Yes! Starting a business at a young age increases creative thinking in young people.
As a teenager, you have the opportunity to learn about yourself and express it to the world in the form of creativity.
Also, you can think outside the box, come up with fresh ideas, and bring new perspectives to the business world.
Some studies show that young entrepreneurs are more likely to innovate and create new products or services. One important advantage of being your boss is doing or working in an area you truly love.
When you discover your specific area of interest it allows you to provide creative solutions that fill the vacuum in the market.
Young entrepreneurs bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the market. This also has a very positive impact on the economy of the country.
3. Builds Confidence and Self-Esteem
It has been observed that young entrepreneurs have confidence and self-esteem. This is because the business world comes with challenges, so young people have faced different business challenges.
They have built confidence and self-esteem in them to face whatever comes their way in the future.
According to a report by Entrepreneur, 60% of young entrepreneurs reported an increase in confidence after starting their business.
4. Provides Financial Stability
Financial stability is one advantage starting a business at an early age brings to young people. It enables teenagers to be financially independent, and not to always depend on their parents for finance.
Starting a business can provide financial stability and independence.
According to a report by Small Business Trends, 55% of young entrepreneurs earn a full-time income from their business.
As they make a profit from the business, they can sort out some financial basic needs of themselves and also assist the family where needed.
This is cool because it takes a lot of burden off the parents, from the business they could pay their tuition fees, and buy the necessary equipment that will enable their growth and development in life.
5. Develop a Growth Mindset
In business, the ability to learn and grow after setbacks is one of the keys to success.
Young people with a growth mindset are always looking for ways to improve whether that means learning new skills, trying new strategies or making big changes to how they work.
When they encounter setbacks with a growth mindset they recover quickly and they see the unexpected problems as not barriers to progress but as opportunities to grow.
A growth Mindset is one thing that is needed to excel in life.
Starting a business at a young age helps teenagers build a growth mindset, as their basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
Also, it helps teenagers to improve through efforts, learning and persistence in the business.
6. Fosters Networking Opportunities
Another important thing is networking, many people can land their dream job or business through networking.
One can not succeed in business without networking, because networking involves connecting with people of like minds or people that have values to add to one’s life.
According to a report by Forbes, 80% of young entrepreneurs value networking as a key factor in their success.
So starting a business at a young age provides opportunities to connect with other entrepreneurs, mentors, and industry experts.
7. Provide Financial Literacy
There are important financial skills that a large number of schools don’t teach, which one would learn by experience in certain areas of life.
Having financial knowledge at a young age is a very important thing to do.
You might think this is too big for a teenager but no, because whatever knowledge that you gain at this level sticks forever and also builds into other parts of your life shortly.
So starting a business at a young age will help you to get knowledge in finances, teach you how to manage finances, and how to properly invest in business opportunities that will bring you huge returns in the long run.
Examples of Successful Young Entrepreneurs
Do not feel you are the only one trying to start a business at a young age.
Some people started businesses at a young age and have made a name for themselves in the business world and society at large.
Some of the young entrepreneurs making thrive in the business world are:
Hart Main
Hart Main is an American young entrepreneur who at age 13, came up with the idea of manly scented candles.
As of 2016, Hart’s candles are sold in every state, with sales exceeding six figures annually. Giving back to the community, Hart donates part of each sale to soup kitchens in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan.
Kamaria Warren
Kamaria Warren got the idea of Brown Girl Stationery at age seven, and this idea came as a result of an incident that happened to her when she and her mom went shopping for birthday invitations for her upcoming party.
What they found was no product that represented Brown and Black girls. That necessity hatched an invention, and Brown Girls Stationery was born.
She sells her products on Shopify, Faire Marketplace, wholesale, and at local events. On average, Warren sells about 10,000 notebooks, 2,500 notepads, and 1,500 backpacks each year.
Ryan Hickman
What people considered waste and trash Ryan Hickman makes money from it.
He realized at age three that he didn’t like seeing discarded bottles and cans lying on the ground, so he did something about it.
Hickman started collecting his family’s recyclables and then went with his dad to the local recycling centre, where he got $5 for the haul.
He was so inspired by that exercise that he started collecting his neighbour’s recyclables by going door-to-door with a bag attached to his bike.
By age seven, the Orange County, California boy was running his own business, Ryan’s Recycling Company.
You can see, that he converted what he was passionate about to money.
Maya Horgan
She is the founder of Ingressive, an organization that aids companies expand into Africa.
Horgan has also established a non-profit setup for her firm which provides micro-scholarships, tech training and talent placement for African youth.
Tiwalola Olanubi Jnr.
He is a Nigerian young entrepreneur in the digital world.
He founded Dotts Media House which is one of Africa’s leading digital marketing agencies.
As an enthusiastic young person who is concerned about youth development and entrepreneurship, he says “The best thing that can happen to any entrepreneur is to start chasing their dreams as early as possible. My advice is to start early as soon as the idea gets into your mind.”
Conclusion
Starting a business at a young age can have numerous benefits, including developing entrepreneurial skills, enhancing creativity and innovation, building confidence and self-esteem, providing financial stability, and fostering networking opportunities.
With the right mindset and support, young entrepreneurs can achieve success and create a bright future for themselves.
Also don’t forget to start taking steps as soon as you get the business idea.
Read more: 7 Lucrative Entrepreneurship Skills
Discussion about this post