How to Become an Entrepreneur: The Millennial's Guide

Whereas baby boomers were launching their first businesses at 35 years of age, millennials are doing it at 27 years of age.

We are starting to see many more small business ventures as millennials avoid the traditional workforce.

Before you quit your day job or invest serious time and money into a new venture, you should learn how to become an entrepreneur:

Develop a Business Plan

Too many people enter the world of the small business owner without any idea of what it is they want to do. They know they have a talent for art or writing or accounting, but they aren’t sure of how to apply those skills successfully.

By creating a business plan, you will be looking at the landscape around you. This will help you identify where your talents are best served in fulfilling a need.

Develop a business plan to help focus your business. Identify your personal goals to ascertain how much time and money you will need and create a long-term strategy for how you see yourself in the future.

For example, if you love to paint, choose a medium to start. Focus yourself on one area and become the expert. If ceramic tiles are interesting to you and you want to create an at home business venture, you will need to look around and see if there are others in the area doing the same thing.

Doing your homework upfront can save you time and money in the long run.

Identify Your Goals

If the reason you are starting a business is to stay at home more with your family, the time you put into your business may different than someone who is looking to make traveling the world their primary goal.

Identify and acknowledge what you are expecting from your business venture. You can set parameters on the time and money you are willing to devote to your effort, create boundaries for what you are willing to take on, and set a clear intention for how you want to grow your business.

The end goal is to have a product or service that you will want to focus on that will help you reach those goals effectively.

Create a Working Plan

Once you have developed a solid business plan and identified your goals, you can start to shape what your see your business will be looking like a year or more down the road. This can help set you up for success in terms of looking for business and managing growth.

For example, if your goal is to open a brick and mortar store, there are a lot of things to consider like location, staffing, inventory and business hours. This all relates back to how much time you want to devote to business, your end goals and what products are essential for getting you there.