Young People - Thinking of Starting a Business

[Jessica-Frank Team]

Hi there,

If you have dreams of being the next Richard Branson, love the idea of being your own boss, find school/uni/studies boring and slow and have a brain full of business ideas you think will work........then you are not alone!!!

Did you know that there are currently around 50,000 15 - 24 year olds here in Australia running their own businesses already?

This thread is to hear from all of the 15 - 30 year olds (who find this forum!) who are thinking of starting their own business. Introduce yourself, show yourself to the world, share your worries & excitements.......but also to provide the encouragement and inspiration to GET STARTED NOW with your business idea and dreams!

It is also to let you know of our resource for you www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au

Being young is no barrier in business. Yes the experience is different as you are often starting with no cash, no experience and sometimes not a lot of support from family.......plus add to that all of your friends living a "normal" life with full time work and partying, when you are spending hours working on your business! But believe me, it is the ride of your life and you will learn so much....and hopefully chance upon an awesome business that means you never have to work for anyone else!

I started my first business at 19 while I was at uni, and then my second at 24 years old. I have never worked for anyone else full time since leaving school and my business that I have built up now supports not only me and my life but also employs others. It has been the hardest and most exhilarating journey ever....but I would never change it and still love it. I especially love the work that we do now with young entrepreneurs in helping them further their ideas and dreams - young business, social and environmental entrepreneurs.

So - if you are 15 - 30 yrs old and wanna start a business let us hear from you...in this thread and on our website.
Look forward to telling the world all about you and your greatness!!

Cheers

[gareth_concise]

Hello!
While i'm not wanting to start a business (well maybe another one!) i was one of the wannabee Richard Bransons about 3 years ago! I'm certainly not him yet but i'm on my way!

I've had a partnership breakup, almost went broke (like Branson!) but now i have 3 offices, 13 staff, 4 websites and recently won an award! Business is going well! Ooh, and i just turned 22 and had no backing financially otherthan credit cards.

Learnt a few things, well a lot of things along the way.

Don't let anyone tell you that you are stupid or green! (means you're young and unexperienced). Do what you believe in. Don't be afraid to take risks. Richard Branson risked everything a number of times. Read his book too. Its very inspirational. Ooh and use these forums and other free advice givers!

[lastminutelegal]

Hi there!

I'm also a young person wanting to start my business.

I have only just begun but i'm filled with passion to get it going.

I have always wanted to use my skills for something that I would get a direct result and sense of achievement from. I have had such a long background (even at my age of 25) of administration and office management, and coupled with my background of legal knowledge as I am now finalising my law degree, I felt, what better time is there to really do this?

And now, Last Minute Legal is on it's way. So here I am learning as much as I can to really do something with it. Make my mark

I think any young person who wants to start a business should just do it! There's never a better time with all the information, guidance and support available through the internet at the very least.

Go for it. At least you can say you tried!

[Chrissie]

Hi! My partner and I (I'm 22, he's 23) are in the midst of getting a business up and running. As mentioned in the introduction to this thread, we are working out a lot of very creative ways to make it work with no money - which in the entertainment business, where good quality equipment is expensive, is not easy!

My partner has some experience with starting businesses before, with reasonable levels of success, but did not have the right people around him to take it further.

Now we are building up a strong, talented team together (who fortunately are all willing to take a chance on our idea and help us out) and things are already looking positive - all we need now is a bankroll!

One thing we're really having difficulty with is our business plan, since we're finding we're too close to fairly represent what we're doing - in some cases we're even underselling the business! Anyone with tips feel free to PM me!

[Warren Cottis]

Hi...I posted this on another thread as ... “ if you have good all round business advisory skills then please take a look at http://www.360digitalperformance.com...portunity.aspx because as SMEs realise that they have to be smarter with their marketing I have lots of enquiries” .... but hey, I’d love to talk to budding Richard Bransons

[kattatecopywriter]

Hi all,

Great to see other young guns starting businesses

I'm 23 and have just launched Kat & Kaboodle professional organisers, based in Sydney. Website should be up soon - very exciting!

While the whole process has been daunting, challenging and draining, it's also been thrilling and has brought me much joy. I know being an employee has never been for me, and after 4 years in PR and journalism, it's time to finally do what I love to do and just go for it!

Fear is the main thing that's creeping in at the moment, as I'm in limbo between start-up and being fully operational, so any advice about combatting those feelings would be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Kat