Generation Y Entrepreneurs

The Benefits of Starting your Own Business

By: Megan Gartrell, Staff Writer

The landscape for employment has shifted. With a struggling economy, more youth attending post secondary education and fewer employment opportunities, a college degree no longer guarantees a job. Nor does taking the leap into the world of employment mean a lifelong commitment spent in one office. That kind of job security has become a rarity. The odds of spending decades in the same position have dwindled. Most post grads will undergo numerous career changes and jobs in their adult lives unlike previous generations.

Big companies are downsizing and competition for positions is stiff, however; this isn’t necessarily negative because it’s leading youth to discover their talent for business and these Generation Y budding entrepreneurs could be the boost needed to kick start the economy. Statistics Canada shows 3 per cent of small business owners were under the age of 30 in 2007, and as the population ages, this number is expected to grow.

Young minds have the energy and drive to want to build new careers and find success by following their own paths. No longer will they wait for that dream job to come to them, instead they will create and develop their own. If you can’t join them, surpass them.

Who hasn’t daydreamed about coming up with the next Google or Facebook and the money that accompanies a fresh idea? For most the thought of being your own boss is enticing enough to strike out on your own. But what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Is having a clever business idea enough?