A lot of people say that being an entrepreneur when you’re young is a bad idea. I disagree. Being an entrepreneur when you’re young is hard, but it can extraordinarily worthwhile if you put in the time and energy. You’re going to be able to create a lot for yourself if you forgo a few years of fun and put in the work. It’s hard, and it can look pretty bleak in the moment, but you’ll get it when you begin to see positive results. Starting a business young is a hard go of it, but if you put in a solid four or five years of work starting right after college, you’ll end up being broke, frugal, hungry, and a builder. It’s actually a great position to be in, if you use your time after college wisely.
Starting a business young forces you to wake up
If you start a business young, you quickly realize how long it takes, and how hard it is to build a decent net worth. You realize how far off the average person is from being fiscally responsible, let alone on track to retire. The matrix isn’t after you, but we do live in a kind of matrix. The average person is living in a delusion. Starting a business slaps you awake. You’ll quickly learn the value of a dollar, and what a realistic lifestyle is.
Starting a business forces you to be above average
A great content side hustle is one that can pay for 1/4 to 1/8th of your living expenses. If you spend your 20s just creating content, you’re going to be nearly broke. But you’re going to be very, very good. If you’re in a wealth country and can earn $30,000 per year from content by your mid 20s, you’re going to be in a great position. You can take time off, get a job, and diversify a bit. I don’t earn $30,000 per year from my content, but I live in a poor country. Starting a business young will force you to be above average to get anywhere at all. This will suck when you’re young, but you’re going to be glad you did the work when you’re older.
Starting a business young teaches you the fundamentals
You learn things. Your instincts get better. You understand what it takes. You learn how to cope with failure, and work hard. This is really important if you’re a young person trying to make it in this world.
If you know how to evaluate risk and value, you can use building a business to your advantage
You just need to understand that it’s unlikely that most of your wealth will be built in a business. You need to build something small when you’re young, and just grind it out. When you’re done with your work, you’re going to be able to make money better than others, and you’ll have a whole bunch of experience. You’ll also know how to complete a task. That’s something a lot of young people don’t know how to do.
Learn economics and finance
If you have experience running a business, and you know how to invest, you can’t lose.
You will need to live at home
And your family will probably hate you, because you won’t be making any money. But if you can get to a point where you’re getting money from your content, it’s going to be highly worthwhile. You won’t want to stop once you see the gains that can be made in this regard. It’s weirdly masochistic. The harder you work at building this crappy business, the more skilled at making money you get. I think this will be worthwhile in long run. Right now I’m pretty well positioned to be one of the wealthier people in my country. I just need to keep working and writing.
Passive income means all you need is a job
And you have an above-average income. If you can set up a passive income, low-effort business, or side hustle that is easy to maintain and get a job you’re good. You just need to get the side business set up by about 29 or 30. Although that might be painful. This is why evaluating risk properly is important.
Start a business while you’re young. Do it as early as possible. It makes for a hard life, but at least it puts you in control of your income. A lot of people have no understanding of the true value of entrepreneurship, so they sleep on it. Don’t sleep on the value of entrepreneurship as a young person. Start a business and do the work.
Thanks for paying attention.
