Owning your own business would be a dream come true for most people.
And with the advances in technology and the internet, owning your own business is more achievable now then ever before.
Motivational speakers will tell you that anyone can make their dreams come true if they work hard enough.
It simply won’t fall into your lap. You need to get out there and make it happen. But don’t expect it to happen over-night.
While that may be true to a certain extent, some of the circumstances that may hinder your ability to be successful in business are:
- Age;
- Experience;
- Financing;
- Industry;
- Competition;
- Location.
You may experience multiple failures before before you experience success. If you fall into this category, focus on the positive factors out of this situation as its a great learning curve for small business owners.
Finding Success at a Young Age
Can you be successful when you buy a business at a young age? Absolutely!
There are more and more young entrepreneurs kicking goals and finding huge success on a daily basis than ever before. Especially in the online world and in the hugely popular ‘app’ niche.
Check out the list below of a young entrepreneurs who made millions before they turned 20:
40 Young People Who Became Millionaires Before They Were 20
Here is another list of 10 top young business owners from around the world:
Reality dictates that there are some roadblocks to success that younger entrepreneurs have to overcome if they are going to be successful. But you need to stay focused and believe in your idea and in yourself.
Just like the young entrepreneurs mentioned above, the sky is the limit and don’t allow negative people to hinder your progress or slow you down from reaching your goals.
Accepting Failure
With maturity comes the ability to accept and learn from failure. This is a test of character and for most entrepreneurs will give them the drive to continue forward until they are successful, learning from previous mistakes and experience.
When you fail, you can learn how to:
- Improve your process;
- Understand the competition;
- Fine tune the circumstances that cause failure;
- Use that feeling of failure as motivation and drive.
But all of this is only possible if you have the maturity to separate business failure from your personal feelings.
Emotional development is different for every person, but the ability to accept and learn from failure is something that is essential to every successful entrepreneur. To develop that positive approach to failure usually takes age, experience and maturity.
The Law
In Australia, your ability to start working depends on the laws in your state.
Some state governments have no restrictions on how old you have to be to start working, but they do restrict the hours you can work and the type of work you can do. These laws apply for both employee and the business owner.
The basic labor laws for the Australian territories are:
- Australian Capital Territory – No minimum working age, but there are restrictions to the type of work you can do under the age of 15;
- New South Wales – No age limit or restrictions;
- Northern Territory – You can start working at any age, but workers 15 years of age and younger cannot work past 10:00 p.m.;
- Queensland – You must be 15 years of age or older to start working unless you have your parent’s permission, or you work in the entertainment industry or for a family business;
- South Australia – There are no age restrictions;
- Tasmania – No age restrictions, but anyone under 15 years of age is limited to the type of work they can do in public areas;
- Victoria – Same rules as Queensland;
- Western Australia – You can work regular hours if you are 15 years of age or older, but those under 15 years of age are restricted in how many hours they can work.
If you wish to work during posted school hours, then you must be no younger than your state’s minimum age for leaving school. All of these rules and laws will dictate how you would be able to run a business, if you decide to start one in your teenage years.
It is important to understand these laws if you want to be a young entrepreneur in Australia.
How To Get Started
There are plenty of success stories around the world of teenagers and people in their early 20’s starting their own businesses and being successful. But if you are young and new to the business world, then it would be to your advantage to buy a business that is already established.
This means that your best chance for success lies with either buying an existing business, or buying a franchise that has the backing of the company to help you get started.
Learn From Others
As a young entrepreneur, you will have a lot of questions that can be answered by an established business or franchise. The mistakes you would normally make as a young entrepreneur have already been made and the solutions for those mistakes are already laid out for you.
If you have the urge to start a business, then you are never too young to give in to that urge.
You will have to learn how to handle failure and you also need to understand the labor laws in your country before you can get started. But if you are a young professional in your early 20’s looking to grab the world by the horns, then starting out with an established business or franchise can be the best way to help you learn the business world without feeling too much of the pain.