If you ask me “when is the best time to start a company?” I will tell you “in your 20s” because that’s the best period of our lives. In your 20s, you have the strength and the mind to do tough things.
Hardly does anyone get judged for risking it all in his 20s? Except you are making excuses. Nothing is stopping you from starting your own company in your 20s.
In this blog post, we’ll be sharing with you; How to start your own company in your 20s.
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Believe You Can Do it
Believe me, most great entrepreneurs are ordinary people like you. The only difference is that they believe they could do it.
Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, you can”. To start a company in your 20s, you must believe that you can do it.
Stop thinking about your poor background or what you don’t have. Focus on your enormous capacity as a human being and dream big. If you think you can build your own company, you can.
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Think it through
We all get jumpy with excitement at the thought of doing anything we want to do to get money. Being answerable to yourself, and making decisions that will affect you by yourself, are motivations to delve into a business you have always imagined yourself to run.
In order to be successful while you’re still at it, first, think that business idea through. Ask yourself questions like:
- Am I interested in pursuing this idea to the end?
- What about it that interests me?
- Am I mirroring someone else’s aspiration?
- Does this idea offer unique solutions to a problem, or is it another duplicate of an already existing product or service?
Do not make the innocent error of permitting some other person to do the thinking for you. Remember, you are the one preparing to venture into risks. Do your own thinking by yourself.
However, don’t overthink stuff. Don’t be a victim of analysis paralyzes. Make plans, but don’t wait till you get all the answers.
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Study and learn as much as you can
You’re going to stand on both feet as a business owner. Fine. You’re expected to equip yourself with the right knowledge for running a successful business.
Read books in your area of interest and study materials on entrepreneurship, business management, accounting, and investments. Learn people skills, including communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving skills. Study the dynamics of business as it concerns your locality.
Take courses online. Ask questions that will open your mind to more knowledge acquisition. Never delude yourself with the thought that once your business kicks off, you will learn accounting, sales, marketing, and customer service on the job.
As much as you are opportune to come across, digest information and add them to your store of abilities. By doing so, you eliminate the stress that accompanies naivety in keeping a business strongly founded, a common happening in many new establishments.
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Don’t expect it to be easy
Forget the movies and the stories of get-rich-quick. Life is tough, and so is business. Don’t ever expect this to be a job or something so smooth or easy.
Be prepared to multitask in your business at the beginning. Be willing to make mistakes and fail. Be willing to sacrifice several months or a few years.
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Start anyhow
You might be tempted to wait until you feel ready, before kick-starting your outlined business plan. There’s no better time for anything worthwhile than NOW.
If you have an idea of what you want, have thought it through, and have studied the basics while learning important skills of running a business, it is best to start off, no matter how little you do, start. It is interesting to know that there are many businesses that required little or no money to start up.
So, you better abandon the fear of not having ALL it takes to launch a business; the SOME you’ve got are more than enough to set you up for success.
You can’t keep learning and waiting until you feel ready without practicing the real thing. If time waited for anybody, there would be no need to persuade you to act now.
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Understand the internet and other technologies
The Internet is no longer a fad or trend. It has become a major part of our life and industry. If you want to run any company in this era, you must understand how the internet and other technologies work and how you can use them for the good of your company.
This is not hard. Just don’t be lazy. Google and learn about how to promote your businesses on different social media platforms. Learn how YouTube, Google, and all these giant internet empires work to help companies.
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Hang around really smart people
The best advice you can ever get is to hang around people who are forward-thinking and positive-minded.
Entrepreneurship isn’t easy. Don’t be tempted to hang around teenagers and 20-something because it’s fun.
Hang around people who will challenge, inspire, and teach you the important stuff. Through this, you can come up with better ideas on how to promote and grow your business.
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Make integrity your watchword
Trust is the blood of business. As time goes on, you’ll need investors, customers, and employees. All these people must trust you or you go nowhere.
Whether you are into producing writing pens or offering mowing services, ensure you create a brand that people will come to trust.
A lot of businesses have crumbled for their owners’ lack of integrity. Either they consistently disappointed their clients in the quality of goods and services they offered, or they underestimated the power of the word of mouth in business.
It may not be quite easy to do, however, make it a point of duty to have a set of working principles that you should adhere to, and which everyone who is involved in your business should know in detail.
If you don’t run home services, spell it out from the onset, and do not include it in your business card, pending when you’ll start offering the services in four years’ time. Whatever promises are made to your business patrons should be fulfilled. Never take integrity for granted. It has cost many businesses lots of loyal customers.
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Don’t believe the lack of capital can stop you
Most people think it’s money they need to start a business, but that’s not true. Napoleon Hill said, “Capital is everywhere for those who know how to use it”. You’ll be amazed by how much you can achieve if you’re open-minded, even if you don’t have any money.
Don’t be caged by the dogmas. If you truly want to start your own business, you’ll figure out how to do it, even if you have no money.
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Start Stupid
Maybe this is a repetition of the previous point, but it’s a good reminder. The best way to start anything is to start it.
Don’t be deceived into thinking that tomorrow may be a better time. So many adults who are poor today dreamed of starting their own empires when they were in their 20s. Unfortunately, they procrastinated all their lives. If you can’t start stupid, you can’t start.
Be it as it may, the 20s are full of risks, victories, and failures. While a greater percentage of youngsters in this age bracket are having fun partying every weekend, for the lesser percentage, it is a decisive period in their lives when they push toward liberation from the stereotypical way of earning money.
Regardless of the success or failure encountered, they have left a mark on the sands of time as entrepreneurs. You too can be one of those who do great things in their 20s. Go ahead and win the world!
Thank you.