The Quantify Group

The Challenge of Being a Young Entrepreneur

The Challenge of Being a Young Entrepreneur

These are just two examples of how I used my age to my advantage. Everyone’s situation is different. Maybe age isn’t an issue for you but something else seems be holding you back. Whatever it is, you can overcome it.

If you are a young entrepreneur, I would encourage you not to let your age come in the way of chasing your dream. Look for ways in which your age is an advantage and make it a key part of your marketing strategy. Being a young entrepreneur can be hard but I promise you can turn what appears to be a “weakness” into one of your greatest strengths.

Have a great weekend!

Typically, accountants don’t like technology or change. Ones that have been in the profession for a long time usually have no interest in embracing new technology. They are still really good at what they do but I saw this as an opportunity. I grew up with technology. It is something that comes very natural to me. I decided that utilizing the latest technology could separate us from most other accountants.

Being younger also meant that I was going to be around longer than most other accountants. Our clients didn’t have to worry if I was going to be with them for the next 5, 10, 15 years. This would give us the ability to grow together and build a long-lasting relationship. Continuity in business is important and I could offer it more than any other accountant around.

Being a young entrepreneur can be challenging. When I started by business I was 25 years old. Lacking significant experience, it was hard to garner respect for the first couple years. It was especially difficult when you are 25 trying to sell professional services. For a while I never thought I was being taken seriously. Sure, people would meet with me and say how impressed they were that I started my own business at such a young age. But the work just never came in. That told me more about how they felt towards me then anything they could ever say.

At that point, I decided I needed to find a way to use my age to my advantage instead of the market seeing it as a disadvantage. Here are a couple of ways I was able to do this.

Conclusion

I hope that is was helpful for you in some way. If you want to see these 3 skills in action, reach out to me and lets grab coffee (just kidding on the skills part). A big goal of mine this year is to expand my network so I would love to chat with anyone that reads my blog. I hope you all have a great weekend.

3) Provide Value

I go into every meeting trying to find a way I can give more value than I receive. Does that always work? No, but I always try my best. I am sure you are asking yourself, doesn’t he want to grow his business or get more referrals? Of course I do. But I also genuinely enjoy helping people. I know that if I always put others before myself, a byproduct of that will be them wanting to help me. So I don’t worry too much about what they can do for me.

2) Get to the point

Ever been in a meeting with a person who is using nothing but industry jargon and wont stop talking? Pretty brutal right? While I respect their passion for what they do, we all need to learn to get to the point. The key to a good meeting is to get to your point and not use a ton of language that only you and others in your industry will understand. If you do, they will become uninterested very quickly and ultimately check out.

Now, I am not saying there isn’t time to talk about other things outside of the main reason for the meeting. I am all for building relationships and this is a huge part of that. The key here is to have some self-awareness and know when its time to wrap things up.

1) Learn to Listen

So many people want to start a meeting by diving into their sales pitch without taking a breath. While the feat in and of itself is quite impressive, it is typically not the best way to go about things. However, listening is so much more then just sitting there while the other person talks. Truly listening is taking a genuine interest in what the other person is saying. That doesn’t mean you need to be interested in every single thing the other person is talking about. For example, if I meet with a roofer and they go on and on about different roofing techniques, I really have no interest. However, I do have an interest in that person and what they are passionate about so I listening comes easy.

Another big lesson in this area is body language. If you are slouched in your chair or have your arms crossed you are immediately telling the person across from you that you don’t care about what they are saying. Sit up in your chair, make good eye contact and stay engaged. Those two things alone go a long way.

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. I am sure you have heard this saying at some point in your life. Heading up the business development at Quantify, I meet a lot of people and do a ton of networking. While I don’t claim to be a professional networker by any means, I have learned some things over the years. Here are 3 keys that I have found to make any meeting or networking opportunity more beneficial.

I would love to hear from you all on what “getting away” or “unplugging” looks like in your life. Everyone is different, and there is no magic bullet that works universally. However, it is absolutely critical to figure out what does work for you and make it a priority. Not doing this will negatively affect everything from your income to your family.

Keep working hard but know when it’s time to step back and catch your breath.

Hope your guys are doing well — keep in touch with me (or if you haven’t, please get in touch with me). Business for me is much more than just making money; it’s very much about building relationships.