Challenges and Opportunities Facing Young Entrepreneurs (source: oerb)
The greatest difference between a youth and an adult with respect to many issues is obviously their age. That difference in age is the basis for the main challenges facing young entrepreneurs.
The two main challenges are listed below:
- Young entrepreneurs bring limited experience and knowledge to a venture.
- Young entrepreneurs typically have no credit history, no collateral, and no track record in paying off debt, which makes obtaining financing a real challenge.
Despite the challenges mentioned above, there are also people who are willing to help young entrepreneurs and in some cases make it even easier to start their own business - easier than for adults.
These opportunities are as follows:
- Media coverage of entrepreneurial success stories has helped raise confidence in young entrepreneurs and their capacity to develop and operate successful ventures.
- Media interest also helps young entrepreneurs market their ventures with free publicity that adds credibility to their efforts.
- There are many business start-up programs available to help young people; they are usually free of charge and offer consulting, mentoring, and administrative services.
- Social media has made it much easier for youth to network and promote their business
- Online business has decreased the costs significantly of getting an online presence and business started.
Lastly, having a part-time or full-time job before attempting to start a business can be very beneficial for a young entrepreneur. Job experience offers an opportunity to develop enterprising and entrepreneurial skills. You learn the importance of reliability, develop the ability to complete work quickly and accurately, and hone interpersonal skills.
As well, you can ...
- Learn about the infrastructure
- Develop a positive reputation in the industry
- Build a network of contacts
- Earn money you can save for the future
- Learn firsthand about the industry
Answer the following questions after reading the previous article:
- What some of the challenges that youth face in trying to open up a business?
- What are some of the things that you can do as a youth to before actually opening your own business that would help you be successful and help you overcome the challenges of youth as entrepreneurs?