Comments on: 10 Reasons why being a Really Young Entrepreneur Sucks

By: Taylor Marek

Taylor Marek — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:05:21 +0000

Michael, these echo the exact problems I’ve had in running my businesses when I was young. Bank wouldn’t lend me money, was “young” and therefore inexperienced, etc…

And I can reply directly to the point about being too young to network. I attended New Media Expo 2008 and couldn’t get in on late night discussions and network with my older friends and mentors because I wasn’t 21 (still too young btw).

Sigh, the fun of being young and entrepreneurial… Always makes people look twice at you though when you show them who you are… 😉

By: Cassia

Cassia — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:25:14 +0000

Great topic! I’ve just started a home biz, and althoough i’m slightly older than 21, i’ve faced some problems you teenagers pointed so well. Problems like parents and solitude, but that’s not that difficult to deal with when you’re older.
The main problem when you’re older is external pressure.Since the social rules are there and you don’t wanna follow them, such as an 8-5 job or a standing, conventional job.
Since the fire was found out and the wheel was invented, many things have changed and possibilities on the web are endless.The greatest adventure on being young is that you find out these possibilities much faster and learn how to deal with it and combine it with other knowledges in order to make a brand new, cutting edge thing!

By: HeatherO

HeatherO — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:57:44 +0000

Interesting post. Surely these points are frustrations. A number of these are the reasons that I am organizing a seminar for Young Entrepreneurs ages 9&up. #1 is to CONNECT young entrepreneurs together (so you’ll have friends who get it!)! #2 is to expose them to the many possibilities that exist and how to leverage young age to your ADVANTAGE! (yes, it can be an advantage!)
I agree with Jason that there are more advantages in most cases than disadvantages. Look for them, they are there!

By: Jaxson Khan

Jaxson Khan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:35:54 +0000

What’s funny about being a teenage entrepreneur is observing the rampant and obvious spelling and/or grammatical errors of other teenage entrepreneurs.

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:58:34 +0000

I agree with some of these things but I think there are more pros than cons to being a young entrepreneur. Here’s some of them.
1. We don’t NEED to earn a living just yet so we can afford to make mistakes and take our time in learning things.
2. If you have parents that support you, it makes it a whole lot easier. You get the best of both worlds-a regular kid & a biz kid.
3. Since kids can’t legally own a biz, it would be set up in a parent’s name. That way any money the biz makes should be put in a savings acct for the kid for when he’s older. Also the parent then pays the taxes on it for now, not the kid.
4. You don’t really need a credit card. When my parents set up my biz checking acct, the bank gave me an ATM card that acts just like a credit card, obviously as long as I have the funds in my acct. Haven’t had any problems with that.
I always say no one can do it alone, not even some grown-ups so maybe that’s why some biz kids have a hard time. If they’re trying to do it alone without any help from some adult, I agree, everything would be a lot harder.

By: Lee Hayward

Lee Hayward — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:57:58 +0000

You’ll always find ways around it. I’m an entrepanuar myself, but slightly older, started much later than yourself, so I can’t say i’ve experienced all that you’ve listed. But I’ve seen friends as young as yourself cut through red tape and find ways round the system.

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:33:46 +0000

Great points. You have to check out Rhea Perry. She does a fantastic family business conference and totally encourages teens to attend and start up their own bizzes. Only conference that I have ever found that lets folks under 18 attend. Lots of professionals attend, and treat the teens with respect. Check her out at http://budurl.com/zfm4 or http://rheaperry.com

By: Alex Fraiser

Alex Fraiser — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:16:41 +0000

I definitely know how it is. I was blogging, designing and making money for about a year and a half before my parents found out. I didn’t want to tell them either, but I had to one day. They’re 100% behind me though, so some of those reasons why it sucks to be young don’t apply to me because my parents will put everything in their name.

By: lynn

lynn — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:05:20 +0000

I faced same obstacles when I was 20 and about to start home business. My parent stopped me from success business even though I did made money.

By: Kumail.H.T

Kumail.H.T — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:12:48 +0000

I think almost every point up there relates to me, My friends just don’t get it most of the time, My parents didn’t think I could make any money until I proved them wrong, Even domain purchases seem like a huge investment rather than grocery shopping, The last one is probably for our own good otherwise we wouldn’t treat out sites with care and seriousness.

Even though these problems exist a true entrepreneur wouldn’t let them come in the way, but there is one problem that will harm even those few of us that think we can overcome most of these issues, thats is MATURITY.

Most young entrepreneurs don’t have the patience to plan, research and make tough decisions. They cant take criticism and end up loosing a lot because of their egoistic nature. In this regard we need to look up to some more experienced business people like addi or collis.

Great post