Young and Successful Entrepreneurs: What's Their Secret?
 Recently
Inc.com released an article naming the top 30 entrepreneurs under 30
years old. From iPod accessories to business furniture, from real
estate to large and trendy women's shoes, and from popcorn seasonings
to insomnia cookies, these young upstarts are clever and dedicated. But
what else to do they have in common and how can it help other
entrepreneurial hopefuls like you?
Obviously one thing they have in common is youth. But interestingly,
they are part of a generation more likely to start their own
businesses, not once but countless times. Donna Fenn reported that a
recent survey conducted by OPEN from American Express found that 55% of
Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1994) view themselves as serial
entrepreneurs while only 33% of baby boomers do.
There are other commonalities among these young entrepreneurs,
including a desire to take risks, familiarity with technology, and an
understanding of their peers' wants and needs.
Risk Enthusiasts
We all know that starting your own business requires a fair amount of
risk taking. 70% of Gen Y says they like taking risks while only 53% of
their older counterparts agree. While some of that can be attributed to
having less to loose, it enables them to move forward without fear,
focusing all their energy on making their venture work.
Familiarity with Technology
Because they've grown up with the Internet, multimedia, gadgets,
widgets, and other technologies, they recognize its inherent value in
helping promote and build their businesses. Not only do many of these
30 under 30 entrepreneurs have technology-based enterprises but most of
them recognize the value of using the Internet to promote their
businesses, either through viral marketing, blogging, websites, or
other electronic means.
An Understanding of Their Peers Wants and Needs
Obviously, Generation Y makes up a large portion of the American
population, nearly as much as the baby boomers. And because Gen Y is a
large group of like-minded consumers, it serves these entrepreneurs
well to know what appeals to them. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that
many of these risk enthusiasts have a pulse on this young and hip
market and know which business ventures are viable and which are not.
But you don't have to be 17 to 30 in order to become a successful
entrepreneur. But perhaps we could learn a thing or two from these
trendy upstarts. Here's some advice from just a few of these 30 young
and successful entrepreneurs:
One thing I've learned is that you have to learn to celebrate the
little successes when they happen, and not just worry about the
failures all the time. —Ben Goldhirsh, Good
Identify your own weaknesses and find people that you can work with who will make up for that. —Nick Kenner, Just Salad
You have to have a vision of what you're actually going to
provide for someone. Why is someone going to use my service? What is it
going to do for them? If you can actually solve somebody's problem, the
money will always follow. —Raj Lahoti, Online Guru
See yourself first, then sell your idea. Ninety percent of
investors will invest in a person. If you create an 'A' team with a 'B'
product, then you'll have an 'A' company. If you create a 'B' team with
an 'A' product, then you'll have a 'B' company. —Miles Munz, InterviewStream
The most important thing is just to go out and start
something. I think a lot of people feel as if they are not qualified
yet or they just need to get X-amount of money in the bank before they
go out and start something. And it doesn't really matter what it is,
you'll get phenomenal experience starting everything. And eventually
you'll get a successful business under your belt. —Hayden Hamilton, GreenPrint
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References
—. "30 under 30: Americans Coolest Entrepreneurs." 26 July 2007. Inc.com
Fenn, Donna. "The Making of an Entrepreneurial Generation." July 2007. Inc.com
—. "Start-up Secrets: Tips from America's Coolest Young Entrepreneurs." July 2007. Inc.com
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