Mikaila Ulmer, founder of Me & The Bees lemonade (https://abc7news.com/me--the-bees-mikaila-ulmer-honeybees-honey/6315796/) won a children’s business contest with her lemonade at age 4. Her parents encouraged her to keep working on her product, and by the time she was 11, she had an $11 million distribution deal with Whole Foods.
Now, if you aren’t quite 18 yet, you’ll have to think through some challenges. You may need the help of your family members to secure startup capital and talk with lenders. But if you have an itch to become an entrepreneur, it’s never too early to scratch it.
I am teaching my 5 year old grandson, Khari Meyers how to make body butter which he always wants to make when visiting at Casa Waverly. Even after we've made a batch and filled jars, Khari insist on making more. I hope he keeps this enthusiasm as he becomes a youth and ultimately an adult. On the other hand, my 12 year old granddaughter, Nahlani Meyers seems to have lost interest in making sea moss gel that I taught her and my youngest son, Milan Meyers and begin focusing on her dance performances. We are o.k. with it as she is really talented and can definitely become the owner of her own dance studio one day.
But what if you’re older? I fit that category and was a late bloomer when I started my Roc-A-Natural Body By R.A.N B-Butter and B-Oil business at age 50. I was influenced by the natural hair business while being a natural hair model for many years and had been featured in Essence Magazine for New York’s legendary Stylist, Derrick Scurry and Thando Kafele; however, it was my brother from another mother, Adisa Mangin who gave me some raw shea butter and encouraged me "to create a butter that can make us some money."
I believe you are never too young or old. Colonel Sanders started the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise when he was 62 years old. Before that, he had actually been fired from a number of jobs, including a position as a lawyer.
While research does show that older entrepreneurs are more likely to start successful businesses, that doesn’t mean younger ones can’t. In the grand scheme of things, many businesses don’t succeed long term. If you’re young and you have the drive to create a business, go for it. It will give you experience that you can’t get anywhere else.
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