Dear 38% of 18-34 year old American would-be entrepreneurs who are letting the recession get in the way of your start-up plans, I hear you! It’s scary to take your superficially safe day job and chuck it out the window in favor of your dream. If you’re dream fails, does that mean you fail? And if that happens, does that mean you will never get another job? Ever? Better to stick it out in a place that isn’t ideal, but could be good enough if we closed our eyes, ears, and hearts to our true calling, right? Think again.
You’ve heard about these statistics: how many great companies started in the wake of a recessions: FedEx, Microsoft, CNN, and the modern days of Apple. But here’s a stat that surprised even me – an eternal optimist about the potential of entrepreneurs: 54% of all Americans 18 – 34 want to start their own businesses. They don’t want to buy into an existing business or climb the ladder to a high position within an existing company. More people in that demographic are interested in working for themselves than are interested in working for someone else. It’s a remarkable statement and it’s cause for great enthusiasm and consumer confidence!
Now is the time to dream bigger than ever. 18 – 34-year-old entrepreneurs at heart, you’ve got loans to repay, retirement accounts to fund, and experience to build. Fine. I do, too. 38% of you aren’t beginning your entrepreneurial journey because of the bad economy. The lack of reasoning there is that the state of the economy has had very little to do with the success of the overall economy. You have no substantial reason to delay your dream.
Here’s what I really don’t want you to do: please don’t focus so much on climbing the ladder in the place you happen to be due to the Great Recession and place your entrepreneurial desires on hold. Find a way to make small steps forward:
- Freelance in your spare time
- Begin to lay the foundations for your own future as defined by you and you alone
- Don’t use the recession as an excuse; use it as fuel to get going
Our illusion of safety inside another company exists only in our minds. You’ve got what it takes to at least give your entrepreneurial dream a shot. You owe it to yourself to try with everything you’ve got. I’ve been giving this idea a spin in my mind since seeing my friend, Rodrigo, a great pal from business school.
Rodrigo asked me how my yoga was going, what the business model is, and why I’m so passionate about Compass Yoga’s mission to help people with physical and mental health challenges. He could easily see my dedication to the idea.
And then I told him how much I care about our healthcare system and why I feel such an allegiance to his company, GE Healthcare. You see, GE Healthcare saved my mother’s life. Their imaging machines detected her breast cancer when it was smaller than a grain of sand. Her scans have been clean for 5 years. I’ll be forever grateful for the extra time they’ve given my mom and I. There’s no way to put a price tag on that kind of gratitude.
“If yoga doesn’t work out, give me a call, Christa,” Rodrigo said. “GE will want you.” I laughed and then he said, “I’m serious. Call me.”
And I knew in that moment that even if I jump tomorrow, out of corporate life with two feet into Compass Yoga, I’ll be just fine. The whole idea could go bust and I’ll still be okay because I’m skilled and I can tell an authentic story.
Rodrigo showed up with just the right message, at just the right time: now’s the time to give my dream a whirl and see what I can do. The worst that will happen is failure and I’d rather fail trying than wonder what I could have done if I’d had more guts.
Christa Avampato 