Starting a business at a young age is exciting and ambitious. One of the biggest challenges young entrepreneurs face, however, is a lack of experience. Education, certifications and licenses provide a strong foundation, but they can’t replace real-world business experience.
The good news of all of this, though, is you don’t have to do it alone.
Learn by Doing—But Don’t Go It Alone
A lot of what business owners need to know can only be learned on the job—that’s why the most successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of surrounding themselves with a network of knowledgeable professionals.
Who Should Be in Your Support Network?
Every business owner needs a team of trusted advisors, but this network is even more important for young entrepreneurs. A few professionals who can help bridge the experience gap include:
- A CPA – While CPAs make most people think of tax time, a CPA can also provide financial guidance, help you structure your business and ensure you’re making smart financial decisions from the get go.
- An Attorney – Working with an attorney can help prevent costly mistakes.
- An Insurance Agent – Working with an experienced agent ensures you have the right coverage to protect yourself and your business from risk.
- A Benefits Broker – If you plan to hire employees later on, it is important to understand benefits and compensation strategies.
- An Industry-Specific Consultant – Every industry has nuances that an experienced consultant can help you navigate.
The Power of Asking for Help
Many young entrepreneurs avoid asking for help because they feel like they have to prove themselves by figuring things out on their own. The truth, though, is that successful business owners, no matter their age, rely on others for guidance.
Most professionals are more than willing to share their expertise if you just ask. People naturally enjoy helping others and being a part of someone else’s success. So don’t be afraid to reach out, whether it’s through networking events, LinkedIn, or local mentorship programs.
Experience Matters—But So Does Support
As a young entrepreneur, you may have the passion, education and credentials to get started, but one of the most important pieces to your success will be the support system you build around yourself.
Building your network of trusted advisors gives you the tools to make better decisions, avoid common pitfalls and set your business up for long-term success. Learning on the job is inevitable, but with the right support, you don’t have to learn the hard way.
Our team is here to help business owners at every stage of their journey—if you’re a young entrepreneur looking for support, let’s connect!
Young people who are inexperienced, um, is, is, how can they overcome that? You know, really it’s on the job, uh, experience. Uh, they can learn by doing. Um, But they also need to build some sort of network of, of, um, consultants around them, um, like a CPA, like a lawyer, an insurance agent, uh, benefits broker, maybe an industry specific consultant, um, so, uh, because you can, you can learn on your own.
But it’s hard, you know, when you’re young and inexperienced, so somehow you’ve got to accelerate that by getting support, building a network of support around you. You do have to do that anyway, no matter what age you are when you start a business. Everybody needs that little network of support around them.
But, um, but the young folks who are learning on the job, um, Definitely need it. And I have actually seen some people who were young and trying to start their own business and they really don’t have any experience doing what they’re doing. They’ve got education and maybe certification or license, but no experience at all and they’re there.
They fail. So, but, um, so somehow you got to get that network of support so that you can leverage off of it in. You know, there are so many people almost everybody’s willing to help other people if you just reach out and ask Uh because people who are helping other people it feels good Uh for them to help their people.
It’s a dopamine hit basically
