Too Young to Be Self-Employed? - Advantages, Problems, and Tips for Young Founders
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| Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash |
But are there disadvantages to starting your own business at a young age or does it even offer advantages?
In this article, I will address this question and provide tips.
Can You Be Too Young to Be Self-Employed?
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| Too Young to Be Self-Employed? - Advantages, Problems, and Tips for Young Founders |
I started my own business in 2006. I was 31 years old at the time and could already look back on several years of professional experience.
At the time, however, I didn't have the desire to start my own business for very long.
When I was 18 I started studying and then I looked for a job and then found it. Neither after my Abitur nor during or after my studies, I thought of starting a business. At that time, the only option for me was a permanent job.
It was only during my working life that I wasted my first thoughts on self-employment. Through the contact with self-employed and the professionalization of the Internet, a perspective opened up over time.
For me, however, there was also the fact that I only really developed an inner drive when I was around 30 to build something myself and also developed the necessary self-confidence and the know-how to try it on my own.
For me, self-employment at the age of 18 or immediately after graduation would have been too early.
The Age Structure of German Founders
I don't seem to be alone in this view.
If you look at the age structure of German company founders in 2012, the focus is on 25-44 years.
Only around 14% are between 18 and 24 years old. Most of them are around 30 years old.
Another statistic shows that the start-up age in the high-tech sector is quite high.
So much for the myth of the predominantly young founders. But since this is average, there are of course younger founders here too.
Problems of Young Founders
After my experience and through conversations with other founders, I see the following problems among young founders:
- Experience
If you are still very young and want to set up a business after school, training, or studying, you usually lack practical experience in the world of work. Nowadays, especially when it comes to self-employment online, it is no longer necessarily the case that classic work patterns are important, but experience in professional life is important and helpful.
For example, when I was founded, I learned to appreciate the commercial experience during my time as an employee almost more than the technical know-how that I acquired there.
In my opinion, professional experience helps when setting up a business. - Know-How
Technical knowledge is of course one of the cornerstones of successful self-employment. You have to know your industry well and do a very good job so that customers are satisfied.
Those who have not had an apprenticeship, study, or day-to-day work routine will often not have enough know-how to become self-employed. Gray theory from books and the web are usually not enough.
There are of course exceptions here as well. In the internet environment, there are of course some possibilities to “work” from home. Anyone who has been programming websites as a hobby for a long time does not necessarily need to have worked as an employed web designer to implement good websites for customers. - Social Skills
One should not underestimate social skills. If you have customers or if you have to deal with the readers, advertisers, etc. of a blog, good social skills help immensely.
Many young people have little experience in dealing with potential customers, companies, trolls, and the like and that can get in the way. But of course, there are also differences here. - Discipline
Being self-employed often means working overtime, especially at the beginning, and mostly alone. Those who cannot concentrate well and have problems doing tasks until they are finished are not so well suited for self-employment.
And often it's just the younger ones who can't say no when their friends want to go out again in the evening. There should be a degree of self-discipline. - Trust
If you work for customers and have to actively acquire customers, I have already seen that as a young person you are sometimes not taken very seriously.
Social skills also play a role here, even if there are of course many companies that have no problems with young self-employed people. But when you are young, one or the other potential customer may see it critically or want to take advantage of it. - Finances
As a founder, it usually takes a long time to earn enough money to live on. Young people usually do not yet have these reserves.
In addition, one should cultivate a responsible approach to money. In this context, forward-looking financial planning with taxes, levies, etc. is particularly important.
And in some cases, there is a considerable shortage of young people. How should they know if they have never made any money?
Of course, none of these points apply to all young people. There are already very knowledgeable and experienced young men and women who are ready for self-employment. And many things can be learned quickly if you are ready to do so.
Advantages of Young Founders
However, I do not want to mention only negative points here. Starting a young company can also have advantages:
- Less Dependency
As a young person, you usually have no family, no house, no loans, etc. That means that you are much more independent and need less money to live on. - Longer Time
Those who start a young company do not usually have to earn a full-time income within a few months. The previous point comes into play again. You just have more time to build something. - More Energy
As a young person, you simply have more energy and can often tear off over time without any problems. I have already noticed that night shifts are not so good for my productivity in the long run. - Not Run in
Young people are often more flexible and more open to new ideas. That helps in self-employment. In addition, they are more mobile and more willing to go elsewhere if it makes sense for their own business. - Funding and Costs
There are good funding opportunities, especially for young founders, and there are also many running costs, e.g. for the old-age provision or health insurance *, lower.
Tips for Young Start-Ups
So is it generally good or bad to start-up young? This question is certainly not that easy to answer. Some advantages and disadvantages can affect success.
And since everyone is different, you should honestly analyze your situation and assess whether you have the necessary prerequisites for independence.
You should talk to the self-employed and get an insight into the world of work through summer jobs and internships.
If you are unsure, part-time self-employment can be a good alternative to gain initial experience and to be able to make an informed decision.
Opinion Poll
In the following survey I would like to know from you whether, in your opinion, age plays a role at all when starting a business.
Does age play a role in starting a business?
- No, the age doesn't matter. (70%, 85 votes)
- Yes, you should be a bit older. (13%, 16 votes)
- Yes, one should be young. (12%, 14 votes)
- I do not know. (7%, 8 votes)
Number of participants: 121 (1 vote)
Your Experiences
I am happy about your experiences, especially of course if you started a young company. Just write them in the comments so that all readers can benefit from them. :-)
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