15 and confused

[fatcake27]

So i am a 15 year old guy (teen) from the DFW area in Texas and was wondering how many can truly say theyre more sucessful by being an entrepreneur than going to college and getting a job.

I know you should be finacially free by being into this stuff, by you being accountable for you income. But I make pretty good grades (A's) and I go to a privavte school so its alot more diffucult. I want to start early in something, because i know in the long run it should help me that much more.

So basically I'm asking that would I be better off working for me or under someone else?

Thanks

[KPatel]

Such a decision is only one you can make for yourself. Being an entrepreneur isn't about getting rich early and fast. It's more about doing what you want to do, because you enjoy it, and making money out of it. Don't get me wrong, getting rich and fast would be nice, but what you see in most of these cases aren't entrepreneurial. What you're seeing is, get rich fast, buy plenty of luxuries and then stop business completely.

On that basis, I can't tell you what's better for you.

[Trillion]

The better decision can only come from you, and what you choose to do.

[fatcake27]

Yeah, I think the stereotype is that the "young entrepreneur" gets the nice car, big paycheck, and the dream house. I realized I think I really need to work for it. but thanks for the encouragement.

[Xander123]

Hi there,

There are several different routes to go when you are at your age, so be happy. I recommend two:

1. Go to college and major in whatever fulfills your passion, if you are unsure what that is then just go for what you think you will enjoy - you can always switch. While in school (high school or college) try to develop what you enjoy or think you will enjoy into a small business. Take advantage of being in school and all the free resources and people who really want to help you. While in school everyone will want to help you. Get your degree then pursue your passion.

2. Go to college, get your degree, take advantage of being in school as mentioned above. Get a job in the field you like, or a job that provides a great experience and learning enviroment. After being there for a time you deem long enough, take full advantage of what you learned while getting payed for it and then get your business going.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to message me.

Also, check out the website in my signature.

Cheers,

[sendoutaustralia]

I graduated from high school several years ago with good grades. I went to university and earned a double degree in the area of automotive design and landed my dream job at General Motors in January 2008.

Having been there for a year, I am so disillusioned with the industry that I am leaving in February next year to work for myself with an online business I started in September. The dream 'bubble' that ws GM burst pretty quickly.

My advice is to do whatever makes you happy, but it is a good idea to have a safety net. I.E a degree.

[mike810]

Like the above said, It is all up to you.

In my opinion college is overrated. But this mindset comes from having the ability to teach myself any topic easily. I can easily just grab the same text books as college class's have and teach myself the same things tons faster(which I do) while saving hundreds of thousands. Its all up to you.

[tom.williams]

Being an entrepreneur is not always about making mega money, but about doing the stuff that you love doing. I never enjoyed education, schools and colleges are there and they act as your employer which is intergrated into helping you leave education and go into a steady job. being an entrepreneur is exciting, fulfilling, and the fact you are your own boss is everyones dream. you have to be prepared to work hard for your success and financial freedom. or you can go work in a job where you are guarenteed an income... but what excitement is there knowing you have to get up at 7 to work an 8-10 hr day and always earn the same pay cheque at the end of the month. being an entrepreneur, your income and salaray is entirely up to you. and the freedom to work whenever you want is a massive luxury not many people get to experience and benefit from it.

[fatcake27]

Thats true, I do like the freedom it comes along with it. But for the most part, do entrepreneurs get a higher income. And its not all about the money to me, I just hate thinking Id be working under people, and have a set numbers of hours I work a week. but thank you for your inputs.

What age did you start being an entrepreneur? (to all)

[DebtFreeMe]

Hey fatcake27,

Are you taking any business classes or do you belong to any future business people clubs? Just trying to get an idea of your interest in business.

Do you know any entrepreneurs in your area that you can talk to about how they started their business and what it took to succeed? I'm sure a lot of small business folks in your area would love to talk to a young guy looking to succeed in life. People love to talk about themselves, so if you went with some open ended questions to ask them, I am sure you would get all the real life advice you could ever want.

And, if you really hit it off with an entrepreneur in your area, maybe you'll have found a mentor to help guide you through the kind of skills and education that you'll need.

Good Luck,

DebtFreeMe

[Brainy]

So i am a 15 year old guy (teen) from the DFW area in Texas and was wondering how many can truly say theyre more sucessful by being an entrepreneur than going to college and getting a job.

I know you should be finacially free by being into this stuff, by you being accountable for you income. But I make pretty good grades (A's) and I go to a privavte school so its alot more diffucult. I want to start early in something, because i know in the long run it should help me that much more.

So basically I'm asking that would I be better off working for me or under someone else?

Thanks

Very astute question coming from a kid (sorry, I was there too).

I would have to say from 43 years of experience, there are many ways to become quote "successful". Some include much trial & error, while others might be quicker ways to "success".

Note: Always beware of labels like "overnight success" - "instant success", generally never happens.

( A ) One way I have seen people become millionaires is to buy into a growing business. Generally they start out as a sales representative at a new firm and begin to learn the trade. I would guess that 7 to 20 years of learning and experience is involved before any dramatic moves up the company are involved. At some point these folks are/become leaders in the firm (top salespersons, due to working hard) and after years in the firm are offered to buy (1/2, 1/3, 1/4) of the company due to the original owners retiring. I have seen this happen several times with friends & relatives of mine, and generally these "successful" people were what some call workaholics. They put in many hours during their climb up the ladder and WERE successful along the way, so later in their career they are offered ownership stakes. Certain people are inherently leaders and drawn toward working hard to be a successful leader.

( B ) As a young person, one could start their own business and learn through years of trial & error. The difficulty in doing this is that reality and dreams are normally very different. For a person to understand the skills necessary to become a successful business owner/leader through trial & error methods generally means a lot of years experiencing the dynamics of business and then learning how to leverage their winning abilities and skills. Some start-up young professionals do become successful over night, but the reality is that the chances are very very small, some what close to the chances of winning a million dollar lottery. Selling services at a young age sometimes is a disadvantage in that prospects inherently give older more experienced people more credibility - which leads to trusting them more from the start.

( C ) Another method for starting a business is to model a successful company and do what they have done. This is no easy route either, due to the fact that running a business (even if you have a step by step road-map) does require (normally) a level of confidence and knowledge - all which proceed from experience (years of working).

For a young person (IMO) that is ambitious enough to learn the right skills of business dynamics and leadership, I would say that working inside a company (perhaps like as a sales rep) would be a great way to build experience and also have stable income. If the position is demanding enough you'll probably not have enough extra-time to do anything on the side (like start a side business). If the position is not as demanding then you may have time to experiment on your own start-up business while you are working.

If I had to "do it all over again" as they say, I would look for an entrepreneur (a successful business owner) that was willing to hire me to work for them and also mentor me in entrepreneurship; that is coach and mentor me on the side to learn from the owners years of experience and knowledge. Knowledge (book knowledge) and experience (successful business experience) are different things. So you'd leverage your ability to succeed (IMO) by working for a small yet very successful firm that is willing also to mentor and coach you as an entrepreneur.

Most (98% or so) people that work for a company, do so for the paycheck. They are not interested in learning the skills necessary for becoming a business owner, they simply want to pay their bills and put food on the table. They are employees, and also have an employee's mentality. Which means many times that they are only there for a paycheck and could really care less about improving the business or company they work in - and especially don't put the energy into understanding the dynamics of the running of the business.

Hope this was coherent, sorry it is so long. :-)

"Model the Experts and Authors in business, life, living...most friends and family only have a tip of the ice berg understanding of these dynamics..."

[Pwdrin]

You can do both. You can maybe start off a small shop or start online. That doesn't need working on all the time. Employ somebody you know and trust to work in the shop.

But it is your life, if you think you can make millions what is the point of going on in education.

You can always take a leap year and maybe you will find out you don't want to study any more and just carry on with a business or work. Or vice versa.

[Brainy]

There are many benefits of a college education that span further than the shear studies that you take.

Things that I learned in 5 years of college:
1. Built my confidence in knowing how to problem solve - researching materials and being able to study, define, and find solutions to problems - skills that are necessary (IMO) for business ownership
2. You learn and hear from others in the classroom that have questions that are just as important as your own, having many brains in one room helps you understand other perspectives and ideas - very fundamental for brainstorming and broadening your own pov (point of views)
3. Working directly with educators - gives you access to people that are somewhat experts not only in one specific subject, but many educators (professors) have diverse areas of knowledge and expertise - invaluable partners in helping you understand the world of education, research, and overall society
4. Friends, I am glad I attended a large college that had many students. You learn a lot of basic living and social skills being on your own and having to balance life in general
5. In my own experience, I learned more about my own limits, abilities, and desires - going to college with people of many different areas helps you understand why different folks enjoy different areas of life

There is (I guess) more to life than just making money or just doing business, some reach a point in which they really would like to be able to fully retire from work (be financially free) and have the ability to not "have" to go to work each and everyday. I reached that awareness and have been financially free from just over 10 years, this has given me the freedom that none of my friends really have, things like - (1) time to study for 6 months and "live in the library" developing the next stage of my life, (2) decide to take 2 or 3 weeks off for a vacation at almost anytime that I want to, (3) relax knowing that every single debt (bill) that I have is going to be paid next month - even if I decide to do nothing to create income at all, (4) spending 6 months of my life volunteering for a couple of African Villages helping then understand how to fix their village problems and learning how and what I should do to find "importance" in my own life....dot dot dot.

The average person is on a treadmill - most aren't even aware that any other path is available, thus they can't fathom doing anything besides getting up in the morning and going to work for 8 hours. They don't know it is possible to be financially free, don't know how to become financially free, and probably will never be financially free. Tread mill - whether they are a low level employee or CEO, generally they are on a corporate treadmill, and with firms buying up other firms and layoffs being normal...some folks never move up the company ladder. Anyway, I think college is beneficial for anyone that applies themselves and desires to learn and progress.

( A ) Early retirement doesn't happen to most, some never even get enough assets to really retire well at all
( B ) Financial Freedom is also very illusive, with many folks financing their consumerism with credit (loans and credit cards) they can really never take a break from their 40-60 hour treadmill job

[jimjim89]

So i am a 15 year old guy (teen) from the DFW area in Texas and was wondering how many can truly say theyre more sucessful by being an entrepreneur than going to college and getting a job.

I know you should be finacially free by being into this stuff, by you being accountable for you income. But I make pretty good grades (A's) and I go to a privavte school so its alot more diffucult. I want to start early in something, because i know in the long run it should help me that much more.

So basically I'm asking that would I be better off working for me or under someone else?

Thanks

Read "The Second Bounce of the Ball" by Sir Ronald Cohen (the 'Father of British Venture Capital') NOW!!!!

In it, he says quite clearly "Start Young. Think Big. Stick with it". He does, however, recommend that you go to business school if you can: it saves learning painful lessons that could have been avoided.

Some of the other suggestions on here about working 7-20 years for someone else are good if you don't want to be an entrepreneur (another thing you'll read in the book), The only exception here being if you can buy into the business. If you leave it too late, you might find yourself in a 'comfortable' life with no room to take uncertain steps in the name of business.

I recommend getting yourself to Business School/on a Business degree, working for 2 or 3 years to save money and get experience then launching on your own (as Sir Ron did when he was 27).

[fatcake27]

Okay this clears up alot. My mom always impled me going to buisness school, and I think I would do that. Although the current school I go to is a somewhat small private school. Its completely college based. We go to school three days a week and have tons of homework in between. So therefore the college idea would be much more for learning, and not much socializing.

And to Brainy, I have thought about the 'treadmill'
I went to a church camp this summer, and they had topical seminars, and I took up one that was called money matters. I learned much about how basically credit cards (could) easily screw up your life, and how you need to asset your wants and needs, and how you should get your money to work for you.

The book "the second bounce of the ball" sounds good, and I truly don't mind reading especially if it helps me. Is there any other books anyone recommends?

I would love to work for someone, as like a "journeyman" or and as an "internship" even if I don't get paid much, because I would see it better as a learning experience. Although where could I go, are there buisness owners that actually look for people like me?

Im planning on writing a book to "jump start" my future. I wrote a fourm about it, its titled the unhappy meal. Any suggestions on what you think about it.

Thank you for everything. This is helping me more than you can imagine.