Maybe you have always suspected it was about time you started your stuff, then read on to confirm you got the right vibe.
When I say before 30 I mean everything between 21- 30, because this time in your life is when you are statistically most likely to have the least amount of financial outgoings each month. Think about it, no mortgage, no consistently large bills and no children. These things aren’t going to apply to every person under the age of 30, of course not, but it will to the majority. Not having regular, hefty financial outgoings is brilliant when starting a business as it gives you freedom.
The lack of financial pressure will also enable you to focus everything into your idea. Financial pressures, such as paying a mortgage, often put people off starting a business, even if they believe their idea could be a successful or profitable one. These people fall into the trap of having to work in order to pay a mortgage, and their real passion will go unfulfilled. Don’t become a slave to your mortgage.
30 years of age seems to be the time when our parents and family want us to do grown up stuff; like getting a mortgage, settling down with a partner, thinking about marriage and having children.
Family pressure is huge and deters so many people from becoming an entrepreneur, if you have a supportive family then it makes life so much easier. If you don’t, find some entrepreneurial friends that can be the support mechanism for you.
Working in a start-up, or having a go at starting a business, will make you appreciate and value your time so much more. It will switch on the light bulb in your head which makes you more conscious about your decision making when it comes to deciding what you are prepared to put your time into, and more importantly, what you get in return for your time and that portion of your life.
The majority of under 30s are either in further education or working in a graduate, low-level role. I know, I’m stereotyping massively here, but this will apply to most. What this gives those people is, more often than not, time. How we use that time and where we choose to invest it will be critical to our future.
Outside of studying and working a nine to five job we have a large amount of time to dedicate to something, and in my opinion, that something should be a start-up. The time you can put into that seed of an idea means it could grow into something big, and if it doesn’t, that time would have passed anyway. If nothing else, you will have developed some new skills that can be used elsewhere to further your career.
Being under 30 is the time in our lives that we meet so many different types of people. If you study at University or college, think about how many skills there are on that campus. Tapping into those skills can be crucial for life beyond 30. Don’t stay in your circle of friends who study the same things as you, go and meet people from other fields and develop relationships with people who have opposite and complimentary skills to you as they could be a great value to you and your future.
If you can’t start, then join
Not everybody will want to start a business, and that’s fine. For those who don’t want to start a business, I would recommend you join a start-up, whether that be as an intern, co-founder or part of the first group of staff. Working in a start-up will give you exposure to situations and develop key skills that working in a corporate or larger organisation won’t give you. The energy and speed at which things happen, along with the excitement of a start-up, can’t be replicated anywhere else and it’s something everybody should experience.
If it doesn’t work out, you have the rest of your life to do all the ‘grown up stuff’ that society tells us that we should do. Beyond 30, you don’t have to live your life by what society thinks we should do or have. There are many stories of very successful companies being started by people over the age of 30. However the one thing all these people have in common is that while under the age of 30 they had a part-time businesses, or entrepreneurial experiences that stuck with them through their time in employment, until their own great idea hit them.
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