It’s official, Biz Kid: the playing field has been leveled. For all of last year’s despair and destruction, it delivered some unexpected advantages for aspiring teen tycoons. Some of the biggest hurdles faced by young entrepreneurs have suddenly been demolished. What you make of the moment is entirely up to you.
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Fancy offices are out.
Here’s a quiz: what’s the difference between a 17-year-old graphic designer and a Madison Avenue ad agency? Yes, the big guys may have more experience due to unlimited graphic design jobs they’ve worked. They certainly have bigger invoices. But more than anything else, they have the façade that gives clients confidence.
The allure of the prestigious address has long put Biz Kids at a disadvantage. Sure, you may be a talented painter, but this other guy has a studio in Greenwich Village. And you’re….at your mom’s house? Suddenly, everyone is working from a makeshift home office. Address advantage: neutralized.
Virtual work is leveling the playing field.
Big cities used to snag all of the big deals. “The difference between New York City and everywhere else,” once quipped SNL producer Lorne Michaels, “is that the things that happen here matter.”
In the era of Zoom meetings, to be in a gleaming tower in a metropolitan city means nothing. Wish you could snag a client in a city 1200 miles away? Today, your suburban locale is no longer a strike against you.
Tradition is being tossed.
There are plenty of good reasons for tradition. Some things are done the way they are because they’re the best or most efficient ways of doing so. But others are simply a matter of habit. Over the last nine months, the traditional ways of doing everything have been rethought, reworked, and renegotiated.
Consider cash. For years, people have been foretelling the demise of our cash-based society. Between cards, Bitcoin, and Venmo, surely we had no need for dead presidents anymore, right? And yet familiarity kept cash in pockets. Only when germs became a concern did the overhaul finally happened. Suddenly, many stores refused to accept cash at all. Habit: broken.
The question for you, Biz Kid: what opportunities has the breaking of tradition created for you? What familiar ways are being reconsidered? What inventions could save people time, money, or concern?
Your answer could be the ticket to making 2021 the year of the young entrepreneur.
Looking for more resources on becoming an entrepreneur? We’ve devoted an entire page to the topic, complete with video clips, downloads, and even games.