The 7 things 25 self-made young millionaires have in common
Nick Tart and his partner are only 22 years old, but they have become experts on the so-called Generation Y entrepreneurs
After interviewing 25 young millionaires, who have made six figures for themselves, the two authors of the book: 50 Interviews: Young Entrepreneurs, What You Need to Do More Than Your Parents
What they found is something that all of these young people had in much the same way
As children these young millionaires on weekends between school were passionate about spending time on their hobby that would later become their business.
And there are several details that separate these successful young people from the rest of their normal, normal classmates. These details are mainly 7
1.- Unconditional family support.
All 25 come from families that at no time doubted their ambitions. This does not mean that they received financial support; the main support was emotional. Except in the case of Catherine Cook of MyYearBook.com who received seed capital from her brother, the rest of the millionaires founded their own project
Some of these young millionaires received loans that they subsequently repaid. One of them received $10 from his parents to buy a domain name. Emil Motycka, a 21-year-old made his money with a lawn mowing business, co-signed an $8,000 loan to buy his first lawn mower. Both repaid their debt within a year like the rest of their generation, these entrepreneurs were told they were special. And at this point, they still are
2.- They started with something manageable.
Whether they were bloggers or lawnmowers, each young millionaire started with an idea they could execute. Taking on something manageable built their confidence, and helped them build their reputation as entrepreneurs
“I think they’re all in bigger businesses now,” says Tart, “but they had to start small to build their names in the business world.”
One example is Juliette Brindak, 21, founder of MissOAndFriends.com. After eight years of her working on her startup, she received an investment from Proctor & Gamble that set a valuation of her company at $15 million. In time, his idea grew from manageable to masterful
3.- Working hard and being relentless
Most entrepreneurs try hard and fail until they strike gold. Twenty-five-year-olds are no exception
Adam Horowitz, 18, started 30 websites in three years before succeeding. In the end, he sold his first six-figure product. After that, he sold another successful product, and then another.
“Approx. three months ago, Horowitz came out with another product that produced 1.5 Million in revenue in 3 days,” says Tart. “This would not have been possible without his initial 30 failures.”
4.- A sacrifice adults don’t have to make: Childhood/Youth
What do young people have to lose? Not much. Most don’t have to pay rent, feed a family or go to work. Fortunately, young people don’t have a lot of burdens; they have the freedom to do what they want, when they want, and that includes entrepreneurship
5.- One thing these 25 kids had to sacrifice? Their childhood/youth.
Emil Motycka’s founder was invited to the swimming pool by his friends. He traded that for going to mow the lawn instead. Motycka was mocked for his business priorities; friends who had no responsibility didn’t understand his logic. Now Motucka’s work has paid off and he has acquired a house that he often takes advantage of with his friends
6.- Everyone was told he couldn’t succeed
There is no greater motivation than being told you can’t do something. Most of the 25 entrepreneurs Tart interviewed encountered a great deal of negativity from their friends and teachers. Michael Dunlop is an exceptional example
School was very challenging for Dunlop because he was a student with dyslexia. Teachers told him he could not succeed, and the enterprising young man ended up dropping out of high school. Despite his disability, Dunlop began blogging and started his project Incomediary.com. This website earns him a six-figure income and has an Alexa rating of 12,000
“His writing is not the best, but he has millions of readers,” says Tart, “Dunlop has excellent business intuition, and his opinions are always highly valued.”
Catherine Cook, founder of MyYearbook.com, also received negativity. A year after launching the site, Cook received her first offer to sell. When she turned it down, her prospective buyer told her, “You’ll never reach the 3M users needed. You’re making a big mistake.” She took it badly. Now My Yearbook.com has 22 million users
7.- They keep their personal and professional lives separate
Gen-Y can be thought of as narcissistic. But many of these young millionaires don’t want the glory associated with being a young founder. Four of the 25 entrepreneurs interviewed do not use their real names
One reason is that they are careful about their identities because of their young age. Another reason is because they want to keep their business and social life separate
“It’s like they want to start their business by not being them,” says Tart. Catherine Cook [founder of MyYearbook.com] worked on her website only when her roommate went to bed. She wanted to keep her business and her personal life separate.”
Young entrepreneurs also don’t want their friends to know about their income because people tend to take advantage of them. Andrew Fashion, an entrepreneur who made $2.5 Million and happened to tell on his 22nd birthday learned the hard way. His friends lived in his house and didn’t pay him rent, and when he bought a friend’s car, they made him pay for it. These young men have learned that not everyone can be trusted
Born as salesmen
According to Tart, most of the interviewees started selling trinkets when they were in elementary school
“Michael Dunlop started out selling Pokemon cards. He realized that the cardboard pieces were in high demand and had been undervalued.”
Keith J. Davis sold bubble gum to classmates, a desirable treat that was banned by teachers
Keith J. Davis sold bubble gum to classmates, a desirable treat that was forbidden by teachers. Andrew Fashion turned mechanical pencils into rocket launchers
Young millionaires practiced selling from an early age and never stopped
so is an entrepreneur born or made? These young millionaires were no doubt born with the bug in front of them, but they would not have succeeded without relentlessly pursuing their unprecedented impulses.