Advice And Insights For Millennial Entrepreneurs – From A Millennial Entrepreneur

In the past 10 years, quite a few companies have been created by Millennial entrepreneurs. How are they different from say, Baby Boomer or Gen X entrepreneurs? What insights into entrepreneurship should they seek? Olivia Starling, founder and CEO of the jewelry brand Starlette Galleria shared some interesting insights with me from her point of view: a Millennial entrepreneur. First though, take a look at some research and statistics about these entrepreneurs and learn more about who they are.

Guidant Financial issued a study titled: 2019 Trends – Millennials in Business, A look at millennials in business in 2019. Here are some of the highlights from their study.

– Millennials are the most diverse group of small business owners, compared to every other generation. A millennial entrepreneur is 77 percent more likely to be African American than a “baby boomer” small business owner.

– A quarter of millennial small business owners are Hispanic, compared to only 11 percent of Hispanic boomer entrepreneurs.

–  Women account for 28 percent of millennial small business owners, 12 percent higher than the national average. In addition, millennial entrepreneurs are 22 percent more likely to be women than boomer entrepreneurs, with women making up 28 percent of millennial small business owners versus 23 percent of boomers.

– The majority of millennial men who own small businesses are very happy in their vocation, with 53 percent reporting their happiness at nine to 10 on a 10-point scale (10 being the happiest.)

– Millennial women, meanwhile, tend towards only moderate happiness, with 10 percent fewer women than men in the 9 to 10 range of the scale.

– Overall, 52 percent of millennial entrepreneurs are very happy as small business owners, comparable to the 54 percent of very happy boomer small business owners.

Olivia Starling, founder and CEO of the jewelry brand Starlette Galleria, posits that even though starting a business can be an overwhelming and daunting task, there are ways to help make the process far easier, more enjoyable and more successful. Here are Olivia Starling’s top five insights every millennial business owner should pay attention to, from a millennial business owner.

Remember that this is not your parents’ business. The way that Millennials do business today looks completely different than the way our parents did business. If you are anything like me, your parents might not understand what you do at all. And that is okay. Just remember, they have valuable insights, but it might not align with your business or the digital age we live in.

Know how to do every job in your business. Don’t hire out a position before having some kind of basic understanding of how to do it yourself. When you first start out and it’s only you, you will know how to do everything. But once your business grows and scales, you will start hiring out various roles. Before you make decisions on who to hire, make sure you understand the job for which you are hiring. That way you will know if they are doing the job correctly.

Invest in a mentor. Find someone that is where you want to be, and work with them to guide you on the path to success. You need to learn from their previous mistakes, gain access to their network, and hopefully, that will accelerate your growth. Spending key time with mentors is a decision I have never regretted.

Stop asking people for directions to places they have never been. Be careful about who you ask for advice. Well-intentioned friends and family might throw out advice easily, but if they are not in the same marketplace as you, or someone you look up to in business, don’t ask for or take their advice. They can take you so far off the path you are supposed to be on.

It’s okay to be youngest person in the room. Don’t ever feel intimidated by age. Being young is your superpower. Use your intuitive technology skills, social media awareness, ecommerce understanding, ability to pull late nights, and youthful energy as a weapon as you grow your business. You are never too young to start something amazing.