7 Rules of Success for Young Entrepreneurs

While young people face many difficulties when starting a business, it is still an exciting thing to be able to work for yourself. The modern world offers a great opportunity for young people to start their own businesses, and the Internet and various emerging technologies have lowered the barriers to entrepreneurship and opened the door for everyone with entrepreneurial ambitions.

Years ago, the threshold for self-employment was very high, and young people in their twenties had to face many difficulties if they wanted to start their own business, while for young people under the age of 20, starting a business was like a fantasy.

The situation has improved considerably in the 21st century, but young entrepreneurs still face many questions about their credibility when it comes to financing.

Young people in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America still have to break free from the old belief that young people are unlikely to succeed in entrepreneurship and that they will only be a burden to society.

While young people face many difficulties in starting their own businesses, it is exciting to be able to work for yourself. Modern society provides a great opportunity for young people to start their own businesses, and the Internet and various emerging technologies have lowered the threshold of entrepreneurship and opened the door for everyone with entrepreneurial ambitions.

Young entrepreneurs should recognize the difficulties

At the beginning of the business, young entrepreneurs must have a full understanding of the difficulties. Only by recognizing these difficulties, you will be able to face them with a correct mindset and actively find ways to overcome them.

Reputation question

I remember the first time I met with the CEO of a large hotel, when I tried my best to convince him to believe that my consulting company, though small and insignificant, was capable of helping his hotel to achieve a reasonable increase in sales and profits. But the result was predictable, because I was still a young kid with little success, so I didn't get the business.

As a young entrepreneur, you will certainly face the problem of how to win the trust of your customers, and even your future employees, and how to convince them that you have the determination to start your own business and the ability to deliver on your promises. Establishing credibility will play a decisive role in the success of your business.

Worldly bias

In parts of Africa, entrepreneurs who are very young are usually viewed with too much distrust. Although I don't know how it is in your region, people are more or less skeptical of young entrepreneurs and this is something that has to be overcome. Once you have the opportunity, you have to fight back those doubts with confidence and professionalism, as well as excellent work. A strong track record will dispel any age-related doubts and quickly win you over.

How young entrepreneurs can earn respect and succeed

Don't get frustrated if someone takes you seriously and rejects you impatiently, but learn to develop a thicker skin.

Master the 7 tips below and young entrepreneurs will make a difference.

1. Use the power of technology

In this day and age, technology and the Internet have created a large number of young entrepreneurs. 20 years ago, or even a decade ago, starting a business was not easy, with high barriers to capital and all sorts of other things. Today, technology has made the situation much better. Social media companies like NairaBrains and TechCrunch no longer require much startup capital. It is now possible to start a company with $2,000 and not incur expenses such as warehousing and inventory. Many companies with multi-million dollar assets were started back in the day by uninitiated young people who started with just enough money in hand to keep the company running. As a result, today's entrepreneurial successes are attributable to technology.

If you don't have a lot of money and you want to start your own business and make it work, you can use the power of technology to solve the problem of lack of capital, and that's the best way to do it right now. If your idea is good enough, it's also likely to interest other investors, who, if they're optimistic about your idea, will be willing to provide you with enough money and help you turn a profit.

Web and tech companies are making more and more 20-somethings millionaires. So young entrepreneurs can focus on projects that can be done with technology and have great market potential, then find the right partners and go all in. This will make your entrepreneurial journey easier.

2. Learning from success

A few years ago when I was in college, a fellow entrepreneur and I struggled to start our own company, and I began to realize the importance of leveraging resources. If there's a ditch blocking your way, you can put a board over it and walk across. If you think you can do everything on your own, you're doomed to fail. You may be good at programming, but you're just putting ideas into practice, building a website and getting it up and running, so how can you promote your website, attract early adopters, and improve it on your own? How can you raise more money from investors?

Learning from other people's experience doesn't have to be expensive, and you can make up for some of your experience by having experienced people join your team in return for an equity stake in your company. You can also ask many people directly for relevant experience. Even though you can make appointments to meet clients face-to-face, you'll still need to find someone more reliable and experienced to sign business contracts for you. Then, you can attract more experienced people to join your team. In this way, you can sit comfortably behind the scenes and direct, letting those with more experience help you accomplish your business goals.

3, brave, confident and creative

Brave and confident, this is in the business world on the basis of survival is not the way. Do all the preparatory work carefully and always stay confident. If you're in a bind because you're brave and confident, all you have to do is be brave and confident again and you'll be able to get out of the bind. While this is not an absolute truth, from personal experience, young entrepreneurs must be brave and confident enough to earn the respect they deserve. Once you show an ounce of timidity, then you've lost. Don't let yourself become intimidated, but don't brag or be overly proud either.

Young entrepreneurs have to be creative and able to utilize non-traditional approaches to solving the problems they face in order for people to respect you for it. If you are young, ambitious and creative, you are not far from success. Let creativity be an advantage in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

4. Build your own think tank

There's another great way to learn from the experience of others: build your own think tank. This think tank doesn't have to be formal, and its members don't have to know each other. You can consult them for solutions and advice when you encounter critical problems. When I reorganized my company last year, one of the first things I did was to form my own think tank by getting to know some experienced and capable professionals who can contribute to the development of the company through various relationships. Whenever I hesitate, I can seek advice from them, and some of them agree with my approach. So I would suggest that you can also learn from this practice.

How to build a think tank for young entrepreneurs

Building a decent think tank is not easy. You may not yet know anyone in your industry who has a lot of experience or resources. The only way to solve this problem is to actively network and meet the people you need to know. Through LinkedIn and some other social networking sites, it may be easy for you to meet people you wouldn't normally have the opportunity to meet.

To make connections in the first place, don't rush into requests; it's wise to make requests only after you've gotten to know each other well and built a trusting relationship with your newfound friends. Make a positive effort to earn their trust and respect, and then politely explain to them that you are starting a company and believe that their experience will be invaluable to your company. Let them know that because they are usually very busy at work, you would like them to act only as a business advisor and promise not to take up too much of their time, much less bother them with minor issues.

Finding the right consultant is not easy, and many will turn down your request because they don't have the time. Individuals may agree to be consultants but they may not have time to advise you over the phone, they may reply to you in detail via email or find time to meet you in person. So the sooner entrepreneurs understand this, the better.

Start by making a list of people who can advise you on the business you're in, and then get in touch with them one by one, followed by a request. If at the end of the day two or three of them agree to be your advisors, this will be of great benefit to you.

5. Social networks are vital

Social media networks are probably the best way for you to find the right people and team when starting a business. With the help of social media networks, you can recruit the best helpers, get the investment and advice you need to grow your company, attract great consultants to your team, and reach a lot of your target customers without spending too much.

If you are a young entrepreneur, then social media will be a very powerful and important tool for you.

Build your reputation: The increase in reputation is like starting a fire, it needs the help of "word of mouth". Start by identifying the talent or event for which you want to be honored, then find a way to let others know about it and quickly start building a reputation for yourself. If you already have a reputation in your industry, then being "young" will not be a problem for you. For example, if you're known for your firm and intelligent management style, you'll find that your age doesn't matter, and people will start to accept you for your reputation rather than your age.

6. Embrace and promote positive change

One of the most amazing features of today's young people is that they are highly adaptable to change. In this day and age, if you want to be successful you have to be more flexible. You can be successful by breaking free of constraints and making positive changes. You may encounter resistance to change at first, but if you have the courage to implement it, you will be recognized for it later.

7, the art of organizational management (set goals, checkpoints and try to achieve the goal)

It is difficult to be a good manager if you are not organized. Until recently, organization and goal setting was one of the biggest challenges for me. Entrepreneurs must have the ability to create both short-term and long-term plans for their goals, use the long-term plan as a guide, and be flexible enough to execute the short-term plan and make appropriate and reasonable adjustments as conditions allow.

If you show a lack of organization and structure in the business world and in your various activities, you will lose the respect that others have for you as a result. As a young entrepreneur, this is certainly not the outcome you want. Entrepreneurs must plan carefully and follow the target plan to the letter. Before a meeting or conference, be sure to make a detailed plan and have the necessary information and data information.