As a millennial, you know all the unique challenges being a part of your generation brings – all those thought piece articles, written by the generations before us on the internet, can remind you instantly, if you’ve forgotten! But even just being able to read through these and scoff at the claims of another market that’s been destroyed means you’ve got determination in you, and you can face the world no matter what it says about you.
And that’s a great attitude to have when you’re looking to go into business. You’re sick of working for others, on long hours that fall just under the 40 hour work week, meaning you can’t grab yourself a full time position. Either that or you’re on a zero hour contract, simply because there were no other options on the table for you! You want to start doing something you could love, and something you’ve got a good few ideas about, and you know there’s a lot of benefits to being self employed…
So let’s dwell on that a little bit. You’re a millennial, and you’re going to be great at starting your own business, as long as you know how and why! Hopefully some of the points written below are going to help convince you of your business administration knowledge – you don’t even have to be straight out of Uni to know what you’re doing when it comes to spearheading a company!
Even just collecting your friends together and sharing your ideas is a great start for your own modern business. (Image Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/g1Kr4Ozfoac?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)
Because You Want a Better Work/Life Balance
There’s a lot of work to be done out there, and often enough, you work too long for too little pay. You take on assignments above your paygrade that your boss shouldn’t be relying on your for (seeing as they weren’t in your job description…), and you have to deal with all kinds of customers day in and day out. Often, that means having to grin and bare it – it’s not an ideal working situation, and there’s far too many people in the modern day and age in a similar position!
Which is why a company of your own, either starting as a side hustle or something you want to take on full time with a couple of friends who also know what they’re doing, is a great career option for you. You can become your own boss, and dictate the hours you work, and the pay you take, and the people who work around you. You can choose how to deal with customer complaints, and you can better adhere to your staff queries and concerns. You were once in their position after all, and you’re never going to forget where you came from!
Aside from that, let’s think about this in more moral terms. When you run your own business, you can create the jobs that you always wanted to be applying to when you first hit the job market. You can offer the right kind of position, and the pay it deserves, to people who have the gumption and initiative to go after the big bucks we all want to make in life. Even when they don’t have quite the right qualifications, you know how to train them, and you feel privileged to offer that program within your workplace. Ultimately, you can create a better work and life balance based on your own experiences, because they better match the millennial workforce you’re trying to endorse.
Because You Know How to Handle Your Money!
Handling money is something we all need to learn how to do as we grow up, and we’re never going to get anywhere without understanding the rules of living in a financial age. But when it comes to starting a business, you’ve got to focus on the numbers more than anything. You’re not making a profit yet, and you’ve always had to look after your money in the past; does this prepare you for managing startup costs and bringing the subsequent business dreams to fruition?
Yes! You’ve got a handle on your money because you’ve always had to handle it, with little input from parents and other relatives, or from anyone within a network you haven’t had to go out and build yourself. And when you don’t quite know how to manage the amount of money you’ve currently got in the bank, whether it’s more than you’ve ever seen before or you’re on the tightest budget you’ve ever had to live through, you know where to go for help.
You might not be able to afford the services of an accountant, but you know where you can source a free consultation with one, because you’ve already scouted out where the free resources are in your area. And foregoing that, you’ve got the internet always in your pocket. For example, you know you can look up a guide on How To Best Prepare A Restaurant Budget To Control Costs.
Even just having the initiative to go online and find an article or a website (that might be selling a product, but it’s up to you if you want to invest) that can help you in your quest to be cost effective is a millennial trait! It’s something not a lot of Gen Xs will place stock in; if a degree can’t seem to help them, how could a quick Google search do anything in its place?
Because You’re Good at Handling Criticism
As we briefly mentioned above, millennials are very good targets for the criticism of the previous generations. Younger people, people just going through college or fresh out of it and trying to work hard in their first proper job position, are apparently good scapegoats for any market crashes or devaluations of once wealthy products. And because diamonds are at an all time low, it’s up to us millennials to start investing in them more, to bring the market back up, etc etc.
This is the kind of criticism the current generation faces day in and day out, and there’s even military recruitment ads out there that focus on this fact. And being able to take on this kind of criticism, to be able to dispute (whether publicly or privately) and move on with your life, is a great skill you can use in business management.
When you run a business, you’ve got to have thick skin. You’ve got to able to head into work every day, and be able to take on any new reviews that are less than favourable, or answer any customer queries from people who like to get loud and shout-y about their problems. You’ve got be able to stay calm and level headed about what goes on in your business, and what kind of things your staff might say about that. Handling criticism like that is a skill a lot of business graduates and students are looking for, and you could be the pick of the bunch here.
And seeing as you work for yourself, you’re going to be able to take it all up with yourself! These are problems you’re in charge of, and you don’t have to put up with them within your own little company. You can be the boss you always wanted to have.
Because You Can Adapt to Your Surroundings
As a millennial, you have to be adaptable. You have to be able to take on a variety of roles, and you have to find some kind of versatility in them. After all, there’s a good chance you’re not working in the job field you dreamed of when you went through Uni, and you’re having to make do with a stop gap at the moment. You need the money, and it’s the main way you can get it.
And because you’re willing to work a job like that, and whilst you may not enjoy it, you end up with a skill that’s very good for business. If you’re someone who can flit back and forth as an everyman, doing a bit here and there, you’re capable. And when a capable person is at the helm of a startup, it’s been proven that that business is going to last longer than the others established alongside it.
You’ve got the right mindset about you, even if it’s not one you went out of your way to achieve, and that makes you a good boss in the making.
So, Could You Start a Business?
It’s something millennials are more suited to doing than anyone else out there at the moment. You know what it’s like to work rough, and to work unhappily, and you have the drive to better this kind of working situation.
Dwell on that idea a little, and let yourself think about it. You could start a business. You could obtain the funds. You could very well get up and running within the year. Just have a little belief, and do a little examining of the working environment around you!
Categories: Tips And Advice Stuff
