I GET a lot of emails and direct messages (DMs) from so called “teenage entrepreneurs”, the young prodigies of our generation.
Wow! It’s insanely great and inspiring – having the drive to build a company and a personal brand at a young age should certainly be commended.
But when they ask me for my advice, when they ask what they should be doing as 15, 16, 17-year-olds, I always feel like a tool.
What I actually want you guys to do is to shrug off the pressure of being “founders” and actually start learning. Remember, slow and steady win the race.
The real world is more than just the title we place on our social media bio. Sure, placing “CEO and Founder” is a trend today but I would rather use these years in my life to learn as much as I can, way before I kick off a start-up.
Sounds mean, right?
Well because to me, building a passion-based business is like being anything else. You have to learn the right skills, know how to make them relevant, and then strike out on your own.
Building your own business idea involves blood, trial and error, but you’ll make a lot less mistakes if you can learn them while working professionally.
There are always going to be young hustlers and influencers whom you can look up to. The Zuckerbergs of the world who started companies as teenagers and went on to be billionaires. That’s great. Good for them. But they’re the exception, and not the rule.
Remember, even Steve Jobs worked for Atari before he founded Apple.
Experience is important. When you’re a teenager, when you’re a young founder with no real world, real job knowledge, you can start a company. It’s not too hard.
Where you’re going to stumble into some tough rut is when you try to run that company. And the best way to learn how to run a company is to work for someone who’s already doing that.
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Need more tips in life, career and beyond? Invite me to speak in your event or reach me at "Coach Pat de Leon" on Facebook.