I want to start my own business but..

[ogloom]

Hey guys, long time lurker... ITT I wish to describe my situation and I would love any suggestions on what I should do:

Ever since I could remember, I always wanted to start my own business. Throughout the years, I've had many ideas run through my head, that I've always dismissed due to the fact that I am only 17 years old and without the funding required to 'start-up' my ideas without having to ask my father for a loan. I am very talented at science and maths, and for the past 2 years, convinced myself that I would have a career in medicine (as I don't do the correct subjects in school to study economics/business in uni, and it seems to risky to abandon my academic/medical career and attempt to start up my business). Up until recently, I was quite satisfied with my medical career choice (even though I still wanted to become an entrepeneur), however, after 2 weeks of work experience at 2 NHS hosptials... I've almost completely changed my mind on medicine:
- Theres so much administration/higher-ups telling you what to do, where I prefer doing stuff on my own and being my own boss
- The work the doctors were doing involved huge quantities of paper-work and legal documenting
- I don't like the idea of training for 15 years to work up to the rank of consultant. I feel like I will be a student for the rest of my life
- The money is terrible, with senior consultants having to work in private practice to get a good wage
Compare this to the time (when I was 15), when me and my friend had a go at trying to run a server hosting company. We both spent around £200 and got a few customers. Even though the business completely failed (we had done no market research and were still learning the basics about hosting servers once we launched), it was still the most fun/excitement I have had in my life, and tops everything I experienced during my 2 weeks of work experience...
Now, my dad has put a lot of time/effort towards my career in medicine: money, books, calling in favours for work experience etc... so I lie when he says to me: "so that work experience hasn't put you off medicine I hope!".

My dream would be to finish school, get a loan and start up a web-business... but with my current situation, I don't know if that would be possible. What do you guys recommend I do..

P.S. sorry about the wall of text and any poor grammar/spelling

[ware-am-i]

hey I completly understand u I'm 16 and want to start my own company

[ogloom]

hey I completly understand u I'm 16 and want to start my own company

heh, its good that I'm not alone then :P. I just hate the feeling of being trapped down one career path (as its far too late to change what I study at uni)

[pboychuk]

I can probably give you some advice or atleast what to expect. I also wanted to become a doctor. But, after 2 years of college i decided I cannot put 15 years into school, knowing it is not what I really want to do, and I wont make any more money. I also changed my mind after shadowing a doctor and seeing my business grow. I would rather be free from managed care 14 years of schooling, and souring wages.. I can tell you this much. If you are studying to become a physician, it will be really hard to operate a business at the same time. You have to study a lot there is a ton of pressure to prepare and make good grades. I decided to set my priorities toward business versus schooling. I am only 20, still have many years to see the outcome, but I know that it is what I really want to do.

[chrispalko]

There should be no "but's" when it comes to your business. If you come across a problem, solve it.

I see you have an issue with your family, more specifically your father.

Go to my site, YoungBusinessOwner.com, and there is an article on gaining your family's support. It's a good read.

Next, if you are planning on starting your own "web-business", you should be a little more specific. Will you be offering web consulting, web design, web development (yes, design and development are two different things), web hosting, or a little bit of everything.

If you are doing design, it would be very easy to start freelancing and start making money that way. Especially in the niche of web design/development, I would strongly recommend NOT getting a loan, unless you are using it for a computer. Other than that, everything can be done for relatively cheap. Print flyers out of your printer, put ads up on Craigslist, and tell EVERYONE know that you are getting into the business.

I started with basically no start-up capital. I bought a laptop (which I needed for school anyways) and got the Adobe Master Collection (I do a lot of design, editing, publishing, etc.). You do not need a top of the line computer and industry standard software to start your business.

You need a text editor and an FTP program. (search Notepad++ and Filezilla) Both are free. The rest is just knowledge and persistence.

Don't let anything come in your way. If something seems too expensive, find a cheap or free alternative.

There has been times where I didn't even have a phone to contact clients, yet I still made money designing, because I persisted through email contact and was honest with my situation.

My site is constantly being updated with information for young entrepreneurs like yourself who have a dream but feel like there are a lot of obstacles. Be sure to check it out. And I hope this post gives you a better idea on where to go with your business.

[andersonlevel1]

yeah i definitly felt the same way when i was 16 and 17 and Im 21 now it took me 4 years to finally break free and start making some income online. It's not much but it makes me comfortable and helps push my finiancial goals. The real question you should asks your self isn't (this is for every young person that sees this) so much what business you want to start but in 5 or 10 years where do you picture you self and reverse map a way to get there. my journey took me through scams great mentors and a solid education and for the most part i can honestly say that i have a way to map my path to be a millionaire within the nest 2-3 years probably sooner if i push hard enough. for a way to make some easy money though checkout my sig try it and see if you like it i know you will

[ClassiClean]

I'm in that same place right now. I'm 19 and have always wanted to own my own business. There are a couple people in my family who are business owners. One who has owned many many businesses, most of which failed, but I think she had fun doing it and made alot of friends along the way, and one who has had the same business for many years and is finacially stable now and enjoying life. I plan on following in their footsteps very soon. I've just lately been doing research into really starting up my business. Hopefully I'll fall into the more stable business rather than the failures, but either way, I'll have fun doing it. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone. So glad I found this site....

[capforge]

First, you aren't trapped into a life path when you are 17. It might feel like it, but you have decades ahead of you- your life is not over and decided unless you let it be. Your dad may have a hard time understanding if you decide to drop medicine, but he doesn't have to live your life, you do.

Second, you don't need a loan or a lot of money to start a business- check out the Inc 500 stats- just as many successful business owners started with a few thousand as started with $100K (or $50K in your much more valuable currency and became just as profitable and big, and the vast majority used only their personal savings to get started.

Believe me, nothing sucks worse than getting up every morning to go do something you don't like, or worse, actively hate.

Many people do it, but if you become one of them, you only have yourself to blame, as everyone has a choice- and you more than most if you are educated and live in a first world country.

[ogloom]

Guys, thanks so much for the inspirational and motivational messages. They really helped. I've got a few good ideas that I've been mulling in my head that don't require significant startup cash. As I develop these ideas, I will put my futuremedical career on the back-burner and focus on the more pressing issues regarding said ideas.

Thanks again for the kind words Guys!

[markguim]

i'm currently in nursing school while operating a blog. I want to be able to make enough from blogging so I won't need to be a nurse. I'm actually getting close to earning enough, but blogging is not a secure job. Problem: security vs. loving what I do.

[Kduffy42]

You have it in your head that you want to do something your just not sure what. Dont try and set yourself up for being this or being that or doing this or that. Just go ahead and build your network of valueable people that can help you suceed. Set a goal for yourself about saving X amount of dollars for x amount of time and then stay on track and be open to the idea of anything that comes up. Look at all the angles on it and then pounce on the one with the best upside. Remeber sometimes its proof of concept so when you do something start out with something small so you can get the bugs out and then learn from that and grow. Remeber 9 out of 10 ideas you have will fail but that one could set you up for life. Keep at it and keep an open mind.

[ejansse2]

I can definitely feel your pain. I thought throughout my entire childhood that I wanted to be a lawyer. I wrote about it when I was in grade 1 and 2, I told everyone I met that one day I wanted to go to law school and make my parents proud. One summer, about four years ago I had the pleasure of working at the largest law firm in my hometown as an intern, and it wasn't all I thought it was going to be - it was an eye-opening experience. From then, although I didn't let the idea die right away, I started to explore other options. I went to University in an Undergraduate program before being accepted into a business program, and I love it. I'm involved in my first start-up company right now and I couldn't be happier. The thought of waiting 5 more years before "Starting my life" (law school) scares me. The thought of having to slave away in a cubicle working 15-hour days terrifies me. The idea of making my own hours and being in-charge of my own future empowers me on a daily basis. You've taken the first step with the "leap of faith" in starting your first venture, don't give up.

My parents, coming from a blue collar background don't really understand what I'm doing right now either. I'm still in school, but I had a great internship with a huge company. I was getting paid a full-time wage even as a summer intern, and I drove an amazing company car but this summer I turned down the offer so that I could go start my own business.

I'd love to talk to more entrepreneurs doing the same thing. I want to teach and learn from you guys as much as I can.

[Jett]

When I was growing up I knew I didn't want to work for the rest of my life because look at those who work their all worn out and stress out. I always dream of living anywhere and doing anything I want. Which I never really know how to do that I just dream it when I was around 12. I didn't get the chance to get a vehicle where I wanted to go until my 2 year in college. I finally started my own business and still am going to college and am about to finish in about 1 year. I'm retiring after college because my business already cover everything I do. I went to college only because that is my parents dream and at the same time I have achieved my dream. When you can dream it, you can achieve it. Your daily decision determine your future and that where most people fails because they fail to make daily decision base on long term instead of short term. The most important of all is that never listen to people who aren't going no where and listen to those who are going somewhere and is where you want to be in life. I have learn much and is welling to help whoever wish to be helped.

[carinneee@hotmail.co]

Wow! I'm glad I just found this site. It's good to know I'm not the only one out there with big entrepreneurial dreams. I too am struggling with starting my own business, and convincing myself that I can do it, and I can make it over all the big obstacles. I'm 18 years old. For as long as I can remember I've been running lemonade stands, daycares, pet sitting companies, etc. I have many business ideas run through my mind each day, and I get excited. The challenge is finding the right one for me. Any ideas?

[ejansse2]

Wow! I'm glad I just found this site. It's good to know I'm not the only one out there with big entrepreneurial dreams. I too am struggling with starting my own business, and convincing myself that I can do it, and I can make it over all the big obstacles. I'm 18 years old. For as long as I can remember I've been running lemonade stands, daycares, pet sitting companies, etc. I have many business ideas run through my mind each day, and I get excited. The challenge is finding the right one for me. Any ideas?

Carinneee: What is your passion? What do you want to do most? Here is a check for you: If you had $500,000,000 in your bank account, what would you be doing?