Who’s waiting around to grow up? Now more than ever, age is becoming less and less the qualify_ing factor in starting a business. Young people want to be their own bosses and aren’t waiting to do so. Generation Y (born between 1981 and 1995) is three times more likely to have started a business right out of school than their Baby Boomer counterparts, according to a _survey from OPEN, a team at American Expresses dedicated to the needs of small business owners.
The eagerness of young individuals to venture out on their own is best attributed to the generational gains in areas such as _education, technology, and available capital, as well as shifts in attitude. Case in point: In terms of risks, the findings (based on data from an equal number of entrepreneurs polled from each generation) reveal that nearly three-quarters of Generation Y entrepreneurs (72%) say they are likely to take risks compared with just more than half of Baby Boomers (53%). The younger _generation understands that mistakes–such as the dot-com implosion–are a part of growth, so they anticipate stumbles along the way. In addition, these younger individuals are setting their sights on being serial entrepreneurs, owning more than one business.
Coming of age simultaneously with the Internet seems to have given Generation Y a greater ease with technology: Two-thirds consider themselves tech savvy compared with less than half of Baby Boomers. Conversely, both groups agree that experience trumps tech savvy in terms of business success, with more than half of those surveyed from Generation Y believing older entrepreneurs have somewhat of an edge based on their years of experience. Of course, young people remain resolute in their aspirations, determined to make up for any deficiencies while moving forward with their entrepreneurial efforts.
On the following pages, black enterprise highlights three entrepreneurs in their 20s who took their passions to profitable heights sooner rather than later. Not only did they launch _businesses, they surpassed expectations by growing them into million-dollar enterprises. Sure, there were risks involved, _challenges to overcome, and naysayers to ignore along the way (there always are), but they fearlessly brought their idea to _market–and are ready for just about anything.
Tina Wells, 27 Founder/CEO
Buzz Marketing Group (Voorhees, NJ)
“I never said, ‘Oh, I’d like to own a marketing agency.’ I didn’t even know what that was at 16,” says Tina Wells. “I knew I was a kid who was passionate about fashion, beauty, entertainment, and pop culture.” All grown up, Wells is now a savvy businesswoman continuing to redefine the way companies identify, interpret, and respond to young people.
As the founder and CEO of Buzz Marketing Group (www.buzzmg.com), a Voorhees, New Jersey-based market _research firm, Wells focuses on the interests and needs of people ages 16 to 24. “It’s more than what people are buying,” says the 27-year-old. “It’s about understanding and getting to the heart of the problem.” The innovation of Buzz Marketing stems from Wells’ ability to recognize consumer triggers and use them to separate the fad from the future, which companies consider vital information in tailoring their outreach and products.
Now in its 11th year, Buzz Marketing Group’s revenues for 2006 were $3.5 million, and in 2007, they were just shy of $4 million. Its clients include: Procter & Gamble, Sony BMG, Sesame Workshop, and Time Inc., as well as companies in countries as far away as Brazil and Israel.
Wells’ journey into entrepreneurship began at 16. She wrote product reviews for a newspaper, eventually starting a business to help clue companies in on what teens want. Some clients didn’t take the buying power of teenagers seriously, but Wells solidified her credibility with thought-provoking and insightful research studies on topics such as Internet downloading, sex, religion, and politics. “You don’t always tell people what they want to hear,” she says. “But I think it’s important to be known for telling them the truth.” By 2002, Wells was a graduate of Hood College, with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts. She was unsure of the road ahead for Buzz Marketing, which was in its sixth year and generating steady revenue.
Wells contributes a love for writing to her current successes. And she’ll bring her passion full circle when Harper Collins publishes her book series, The Adventures of Mackenzie Blue. Scheduled to launch in 2009, the multicultural books will
target tween girls in an effort to positively tackle the issues young people face. In recalling her own adolescent angst, Wells is amazed at her tenacity. “I look back and I always say, ‘The hits I took as a kid, if I had to take those same hits
today, I wouldn’t make it.’ When you’re young, you’re unafraid and unstoppable.”
–Tennille M. Robinson
Andrew Ryan, 29 CEO/Founder ARC Solutions (Washington, DC)
“There’s always risk. I have this goal, whatever it is, there’s no path to that goal without risk,” says Andrew Ryan, the 29-year-old CEO and founder of Washington, D.C.-based ARC Solutions Inc. (www.arcsolutionsinc.com).
It was that tenacity and fortitude that led to Ryan launching the management software company at the age of 23. ARC Solutions’ Polaris On Demand Association Management Software allows membership associations to efficiently manage the business end of their organizations, including tracking membership fees and donations, fundraising, and accounting. The software is designed to increase efficiency, cut costs, and eliminate paper. Among the clients are the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, Black Data Processing Associations, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
The 25-employee company came into being after Ryan, an MIT graduate with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering, began consulting for NSBE. “That was the epicenter of the dot-com boom. And all the irrational _exuberance and the things you hear people talk about reminiscent of the time–ridiculous bonuses and insane corporate valuations–was happening at MIT,” Ryan recalls. “We had _venture capitalists posting fliers soliciting business plans. When you hear about 19-year-old kids starting companies and exiting out at 20 and making millions of dollars, it changes your view of what’s possible.”
While doing his consulting work, Michele Lezama, then _executive director at NSBE, wanted to make the organization automated and increase its functionality. “The closest thing out there cost $1 million,” Ryan says. And so Lezama asked me, ‘Can you build that?’ And I said, ‘Sure I can.’ I was 23 years old. What did I know? So I ended up building it for them.” Once Ryan knew he could build it, he thought it was his opportunity to _become an entrepreneur. “It was a rough ride for me, not really having a lot of work experience and not having experience building these products. How do I monetize it and position it and market it and grow it? These are all things that you learn through trial by fire.”
Venture capitalists, however, liked what they saw. VC firms _Enhance Capital and Advantage Capital anted up a total of $3 million. Thanks to that investment, the company rolled out its product in 2007 and now has 35 clients and expects revenues of $2 million.
For Ryan, the lack of risk aversion paid off in spades. “The way I look at it, I feel fortunate to even have the opportunity to take the risk. If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out, but there’s no way I can get to where I want without risk.” –Alan Hughes
Scott A. Graham, 29 Founder/CEO, Xtreme Personal Assistant Concierge Service (Newport Beach, CA)
At 29, Scott A. Graham has been an entrepreneur for nearly a de
cade, starting Xtreme Personal Assistant Concierge Services (XPACS) while a student and basketball player at California State University, Fresno in 1999. Through his coach, Jerry Tarkanian, Graham met many professional athletes and noticed that they often had no time for personal errands. His solution: “Concierge services could alleviate unnecessary stress from their lives,” Graham says.
He started doing odd jobs, such as making restaurant reservations and handling travel arrangements, charging anywhere from $10 to $100 in commission. Having completed two corporate summer internships, Graham, an international business major, decided to focus on his business full time. “There were too many restrictions in corporate America,” he says. “I like creating my own opportunities.”
Graham sought funding from friends and family. He also attended business conferences at Stanford University, where his sister was a graduate business student, and pitched his idea to anyone who would listen and provide money to invest. “I would meet venture capitalists or individuals who had connections,” he recalls. “I shook a lot of hands, would run stuff by them, and some of them took a liking to me.”
In all, Graham raised about $25,000 to get started, with most of the money going toward marketing materials and travel costs. To find clients, he met athletes and agents at sporting events such as the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star Game. Graham also started serving the entertainment industry. “A lot of entertainers would be at those events too,” he says.
By 2004, XPACS (www.goxpacs.com), based in Newport Beach, California, had contracts ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. And by 2006, the 10-person firm had made just under $1 million in revenues. That was also the point where _Graham decided to expand his client base again.
“We had the ‘Lexus’ market,” he says. “We were doing OK, but we realized we were missing out on a huge market, and that’s the ‘Toyota Corolla’ market. What could we create that would be beneficial to the masses?”
The answer took Graham back to corporate America, and today XPACS offers Fortune 1000 companies concierge _services for their employees. The new business model _increases XPAC’s profit potential. “Contracts can range anywhere from $500 a month to a million-plus annually,” Graham says. The company expects to make $2.3 million in 2007. Being willing to revamp the business model is crucial, says Graham. “You have to adapt and adjust.” –Tamara E. Holmes
LOOKING TO LEAP
Here are some Websites and organizations offering resources for budding young entrepreneurs
- Young Entrepreneurs of America (www.yeabiz.com) is aimed at secondary education teachers and students. YEA _offers workshops, seminars, conferences, and scholarships.
- Young Entrepreneurs Organization (www.eonetwork.org) This global organization, with members’ revenues at $1 _million-plus, helps young entrepreneurs grow their business.
- Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (www.c-e-o.org) _informs, supports, and inspires college students to be _entrepreneurial and seek opportunity through enterprise creation. It includes a global network of 30,000 students.
- Zero Million (www.zeromillion.com), created by a young _entrepreneur, offers information on getting started and growing your business.
- Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) offers _training and education programs for all levels of entrepreneurs, as well as a special program for teens.
- Score (www.score.org) provides expert guidance, how-to’s, and resources for those looking to develop business skills and grow a business.
- Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (www.kauffman.org) offers multiple training and education programs for entrepreneurs of all levels.
Million-Dollar Babies
The following books and programs can help you take your business to the $1 million mark:
- Make Mine a Million (www.makemineamillion.org), is a program of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence (a nonprofit microlender) and founding partner OPEN from American Express The program provides access to money, mentoring, marketing, and technology tools that women entrepreneurs need to help grow their businesses.
- Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out by Farrah Gray and Fran Harris (HCI; $14.95)
- The Real World Entrepreneur Field Guide: Growing Your Own Business by David H. Bangs and Linda Pinson (Dearborn Financial Publishing; $59.95)
- What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business by Harry Beckwith (Business Plus; $21.95)
- Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed from the Grounds of Starbucks Corporate Culture by John Moore (Kaplan Business; $22.95) –Tennille M. Robinson