The majority of business owners i have met are all part of the grey hair brigade. Many have years of experience within the industry, tired of working for the man and have decided to quit and become their own boss. When this sort of thing happens, people give that man a pat on the back, thumbs up and all the moral support required. Yet when a person who is young, who may or may not have finished his/her education decides to start a business, all that seems to exist is opposition.
Typical examples are:
- Your too young!!!
- You don’t have enough knowledge to start yet.
- It’s too hard
etc. etc.
None of these are good reasons to why you shouldn’t strike out on your own when your young. In fact i say its better to fail earlier in life so that you have time to pick yourself up again. Obviously we shouldn’t be aiming to fail because that would be counterproductive.
In any case there are many cases where young people have been incredibly successful including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and many more. One of the biggest arguments is that they are the top 1% and how could you compare? (Common criticism for myself as well). But if you really dissect the issue, had they not struck out on their own at that time, they wouldn’t be as famous or as 1 percenty as they would be in this day and age.
The criticism you receive generally is from the people who require security which in itself has no problem. Taking home a paycheck every month (week if you live in Australia) is what we aspire to (or told to).
Ultimately without testing out the water, you won’t know how cold or deep it is. If anything the experience and knowledge you gain from the process is much more rewarding than anything you can learn in industry or at school. To quote Guy Kawasaki, “don’t let the bozos get you down”. There are many people out there who think everything cr*p and any idea is doomed to fail. Be the oddball and stand out and chase your dream!
I recommend reading Tina Seelig’s: What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 Years Old
Peace
