DMA Portland: Why 20-Somethings Are the Most Successful Entrepreneurs

DMA Portland reviews what some of the most successful entrepreneurs are doing with their time in the following post. It is re-blogged from the original post:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brockblake/2012/11/30/why-20-somethings-are-the-most-successful-entrepreneurs/.

The management at DMA Portland reviews several factors which contribute to a person's success in business, relationships, and their personal lives. In later posts, DMA Portland will review and give opinions on some of these traits, but the management at the company is not the only ones saying these things! Read through this post and leave a comment!

DMA Portland Reviews Entrepreneurs

When it comes to building a successful company, most investors and business advocates look for companies with an experienced management team.  They want someone that has a “successful track record” with experience forming teams, writing business plans, building products, and managing a P&L.

You can’t blame them.  As with almost everything in life, practice makes perfect and experience provides learning lessons that allow for improvement and growth.  While betting on experienced batters can certainly produce doubles, triples, and even home-runs; the grand slams of entrepreneurship come from the young and ill-experienced 20-somethings.

Yes, I said it.

That’s not what you’re going to read in the textbooks.  You won’t hear that from a venture capitalist.  And, you certainly won’t hear that in your MBA classes.

I know, I know.  Some of you will say that I am biased because I was a 20-Something young entrepreneur when I started Lendio, but let’s look at the facts:

(Some of the) Most Successfu l Entrepreneurs of our Time and Their (Age):

1. Founders of Google:  Sergey Brin (25) & Larry Page(25)
2. Founders of Apple:  Steve Jobs (21) & Steve Wozniak (26)
3. Founders of Microsoft:  Bill Gates (20) & Paul Allen (22)
4. Founder of Facebook:  Mark Zuckerberg (20)
5. Founder of Wal-Mart:  Sam Walton (26)

Anyone else recognize the pattern?  Each one of the founders was between the ages of 20 and 26 when they founded what turned out to be one of the most successful companies of our lifetime.

20-Somethings Have Nothing to Lose

Most of these entrepreneurs are used to living in a cheap college apartment and eating ramen noodles.  At that age, the entrepreneur usually doesn’t have a mortgage, a car payment, or a built-up lifestyle to maintain.

On the contrary, a more experienced entrepreneur that is starting a company later in life has everything to lose.  By this time in their career, they are used to a strong-paying salary.  They live in a nice neighborhood with a comfortable car — maybe even a luxury car with a monthly payment attached.  When his/her spouse thinks about starting a new company, he/she will also consider the stark reality of losing the comforts of life that they have worked hard to build up during their career.  Suddenly, when thinking about all that he/she has to lose, the experienced entrepreneur’s plan to build a successful company include hedges, calculated moves, and conservatism.

20-Somethings Can Swing for the Fences

With nothing to lose, young entrepreneurs can look at solving problems with a completely different mindset.  There is very little at risk. They aren’t required to hedge.  And only the thing that crosses the entrepreneur’s mind is the drive to solve the identified problem in the best way possible.  Fortunately, the young entrepreneur has the energy to consistently burn the midnight candle.

“I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one.” — Bill Gates

Finally, without having been in the workplace, the young entrepreneur has a fresh perspective untainted from the way-it-is-supposed-to-be mindset that is so prevalent in most boardrooms.  Consequently, their solutions are new, innovative, and groundbreaking.

If You’re a 20 Something…

Go for it.

There will never be a better time in your life to live your dream of entrepreneurship.  Swing for the fences with a goal to add your name to the prestigious list above. If you fail, it will have been one of the best learning experiences of your life.

 - Brock Blake, Contributor to Forbes, CEO of Lendio, Culture Creator, Business Lending Expert

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brockblake/2012/11/30/why-20-somethings-are-the-most-successful-entrepreneurs/

So there it is, just go for it. A manager at DMA Portland reviews his philosophy: "I'm not very scared of a boxer who has something to lose. He's going to play it safe and not go for the knockout. I'm extremely cautious of someone who has nothing to lose. They WILL go for the knockout, many times, too often." For additional insight from management at the company, please visit DMA Portland Reviews post on 'SUCCESS'. DMA Portland reviews several topics pertaining to achieving success in business, relationships, and in our personal lives. Subscribe to this blog to receive frequent updates as we continually add unique content to its pages.  

DMA Portland Reviews Why 20-Something's...Comments? Opinions?

Feel free to leave your comment or opinion. Who knows, it may spark some great conversations and future topics to address more common themes that entrepreneurs are facing these days!

Thanks for Reading DMA Portland Reviews Why 20-Somethings Are Most Successful!

DMA Portland Reviews The Difference

Our choices define who we are and what others will remember us to be. Many times throughout our lives we are given different options, or forks in the road, in which we ultimately have to make a decision. A manager at DMA Portland reviews this philosophy: "Whether its in business or in our personal lives, we are where we are as a result of the CHOICES that we have made along the way. So, it only makes sense that life will continue to be this way in the future. So wherever we want to be, whoever we want to be, is all dependent upon the choices we make."

DMA Portland Reviews 'Choices'

When you come upon a fork in the road, do you take the road less traveled or the well maintained path? Well, it all depends on where you want to end up. If you want to something different than most people, choose the road less traveled. According to management here at DMA Portland Oregon, if you want the same things that everyone has gotten, choose the well-beaten path. Neither road is necessarily the wrong one as they both lead to somewhere, but that somewhere is different.

If you want a great career or business, you have to make different choices than other people who have tried and failed. You have to review the different avenues and make a choice. Many people try the road less traveled, but often run back the 'safe' road because they realize all of the work that lies in front of them. If you are truly committed to your goals, and your goals are lofty, making decisions contrary to the norm is a prerequisite.

A manager at DMA Portland reviews this idea: "All of our staff here at DMA Portland have several different choices throughout their career. Many of my staff get approached with job opportunities every single week. They choose to pursue their career with DMA Portland because it is hard. It is the road less traveled and they get a sense that 'something' is in it for them on the other side. That something is actually quite remarkable. We give them a piece of our company, a large budget, and profit sharing."

For more information on DMA Portland jobs, please visit our DMA Portland Job Review where you can see what's in it for taking the road less traveled.

DMA Portland Reviews Your Future

Whatever or whomever you wish to be in the future is totally up to you. There are several studies done about nature vs. nurture and it turns out, that it is a little bit of both that affects the way we behave. Cognitive-behavioral psychology tells us that we are ultimately in control of our habits, our way of thinking, and ultimately our future. The way we perceive the world affects they way we will think. The way we think affects our actions. The way we act dictates our future.

To secure your future, choose the road less traveled. Create something for yourself. Don't look for a job, create your own value and market yourself. Chances are, you have some skills that others are seeking. Capitalize on that need and secure your own employment. Don't just jump on some job that will pay you a decent sum in the short term...that's the road that everyone takes, and a lot of people are now out of jobs, laid-off, underemployed, and have to wait several more years before they can retire. Most people do not have adequate savings to support a decent lifestyle if they do, in fact, choose to retire.

Don't do what the American public does, or you will become the American public. Create something for yourself and choose the road less traveled.