19 Years Old & Dreams of Starting a Business - What do You Know Now That You Wish You'd Known Before?

[Rogue]

Hey everyone, hope to be an active member of this great website.

I'm 19 years old and currently in college, but my passion has always been business. I realize that no matter what degree I may get, I will definitely start my own business.

Just two questions that I currently have:

1) For anyone who's started a business young, how exactly did you start? Where did you find the best advice and get the money necessary? What were your 'Plan B's' in case anything failed?

&

2) What do you know now that you wish you had known when you first starting your life in business.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate the replies!

[ZingerIntl]

The only plan b is there is no plan b. If you are an entrepreneur you will know one thing and that is that no matter what you will be ok. You will want to start by finding something you love to do and spend 4 hours a week figureing out how to get paid doing what you love. THIS IS SOOOO REAL. Ok business is hard at times and if you dont love it you will not pull through the tough times. I am 25 going into my 6th business, What I did is found a business that was needed right now. (ex. over heard lady saying she could not find a contractor to drywall her basement. I told her I did that(i know how to drywall) she said ok come over and quote. and that weekend I bought the tools and made $4500 in 2 days with the help of one friend. It grew to being a nearly full time small handyman business. I made twice what I did at my full time job but when business makes you miserable it will fail. I learned a lot. And made a descent income but spent it all to make my misery go away. That is the attitude of entrepreneurs. We like to work for money AND fun not money FOR fun. You will have to deal with many non-entrepreneurs that will tell you not to take risks and to just get a good job climb that stupid ladder to the top so you can make just enough to never retire. The strongest survive so figure yourself out. Good luck and you dont need to wait. You can easily pay for college with a business right now. Set it up and make $20 - $30 an hour instead of regular min wage college job. I was in high school and made about $110 an hour in my last 2 years in biz but it was seasonal so I only made it for 3 months a year.

(p.s. is it just me or do you most of you entrepreneurs have a slight case of A.D.D when writing advise or doing anythoing at all.)

[jeremylorino]

Well I started very young. I guess I had a lot of push from my family and some of it was just natural wanting for more. You must always seek out the people that you want to be like and gain their knowledge. I have had many mentors throughout my business life and they have all taught me various things.

You need to start with something that you know well because that will give you the best success rate. You need to pay attention to the steps you take while you are in business and apply that to different industries and different business. You have to learn from yourself. Fail, waste money, and learn from it. Most kids your age are going out and partying and spending a bunch of money on drugs, alcohol, and fast food. Imagine wasting money on web design or on a real estate deal or in the stock market.

The most important aspect of succeeding is concentrating on succeeding. You don't need to concentrate on your 'Plan B' because there is always something out there you can fall into. Put all your energy into succeeding and say to yourself "I don't need 'Plan B'". It's all about your mindset. And don't worry the worst that could happen in a business deal is bankruptcy and seven years is nothing for someone in college.

The only thing I could say I wish I would have known earlier was money management. I've spent a lot of money on things that I really didn't need when I never had anything. Allocate your resources in ways that will help you the most. Instead of putting $25,000 down on a new Porsche, put it down on an apartment building or a house that will pay the monthly payments of the Porsche.

What avenues in business do you plan on taking?

[Rogue]

You guys are awesome, thanks for the replies.

Jeremy, I plan on going into a web-based computer-related business or a business in the entertainment field (ie: comedy club, night club, etc). I'm just reading a lot so I can figure it all out, and possibly start my dream.

And the best part about both posts was the "Don't rely on a Plan B" approach, it really makes sense considering that you need the right mindset to succeed.

[dmetcalf50]

Welcome to the forum man. This has been a major learning tool for me and I come on here several times a day and always learn new things.

It's always nice to have a degree outside entrepreneurship because that degree means nothing to anyone but yourself, so smart choice there.

I started my first business my senior year of high school and it's been the best experience I've ever had. Best experience you can get is hands on man. Your young and you have the opportunity to mess up and learn from it. The first thing you need to do is research, research, and research. Find a niche and go hard at it. I wrote three business plans over about two years and then my forth one I wrote is my current business. You need a business plan because failing to plan is planning to fail.

Try starting a business that has low start-up costs because it's really hard to get money to start a business when your young. Go to your parents and see if they will borrow you some money.

If your not committed 110% your not going to succeed so don't even attempt it unless your committed.

It's pretty easy to explain to people what your business is going to be and then you begin to get over your head about how much money your going to make so don't let that get to your head. Whatever your making you should invest back into your company to generate more business.

There are so many things that I wish I would have known but you just learn from them. You'll learn so much from your mistakes. You can't really try to pick out every little thing that you wish you have have known because you'll figure it out over time.

Good luck man. Entrepreneurs take risks so be ready to take risks and take them head on. Seeing your business grow and become a reality is the best feeling ever.

P.S.

Zinger, split up your post because its way easier to read them when its not one big paragraph.

[Kyo_X]

Hey rogue thanks for posting this , were almost in the same boat except im only 18 and wish to enter a different feild of business.

i learned a few things from this so thanks

[GPowell]

Im in that age rage, but been writing business plans since 16. One thing is that noone will invest in you if you don't invest in yourself at least %90.

[matt_15]

Don't dream, just do it. Dont dream too much, otherwise you will build up the idea of running a business, in your head, as being some impossible huge thing. Dont think too much, just do it. Act on instinct. Also, Dont ever listen to anybody who is giving negative advice without any figgures to back up their comments. Go at it to become a millionaire. Have a vision of where the business is going to go, and who you can sell it to for millions of dollars.

[Rogue]

Don't dream, just do it. Dont dream too much, otherwise you will build up the idea of running a business, in your head, as being some impossible huge thing. Dont think too much, just do it. Act on instinct. Also, Dont ever listen to anybody who is giving negative advice without any figgures to back up their comments. Go at it to become a millionaire. Have a vision of where the business is going to go, and who you can sell it to for millions of dollars.

Thanks Matt, I like that idea a lot.

Just curious, have you started any businesses in the past? How is it going so far?