When it comes to starting your own business, young entrepreneurs not only want to draw their own path in the business world, they want to learn how to walk down it.
While a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs actively use Internet guides to help them in the beginning stages of starting their businesses, many of them still value real-world experience over Internet education. Because of this, one online resource for entrepreneurs is looking for ways to help teens gain hands-on experience and break into their desired career.
MindYourOwnBusiness.org, an organization started in September 2005 as a collaborative effort of the United States Small Business Administration and Junior Achievement Worldwide, claims it can turn “your entrepreneurial dreams into reality,” if you follow the “five easy steps of business ownership” featured on their website.
The five easy steps-Explore, Decide, Build, Connect and Succeed- were designed to provide useful information and advice for young entrepreneurs at every level- whether they’re still in the brainstorming phase, or trying to create a sound business plan.
The Explore and Decision sections help aspiring entrepreneurs turn their brainstorming ideas into actual plans. From there, the Build section helps with legal issues; the Connect section stresses the importance of mentors and advisors; and the final section, Succeed, offers success stories and closing pieces of advice such as “listen to good advice,” “ask for help” and “take action.”
Stephanie Bell, public relations manager of Junior Achievement Worldwide, said one of the major bonuses of having this information compiled on a website is making it accessible to people who might not have access to formal entrepreneur training.
“The Internet is so accessible to everyone and it’s a great resource for everyone,” she said. “You just have to log onto your computer and the tools are right at your fingertips.”
Entrepreneurial Management Institute Director at Boston University’s School of Management Peter Russo said the “well-organized” site not only provides useful information beneficial to young people looking to start their own business, but it also makes the process seem less daunting.
“For someone who doesn’t have an education in business or entrepreneurship, it can be a tremendous amount of information,” Russo said. “But I thought it was very well-organized and nicely put together. It was easy to get around and not intimidating.”
Russo also said Internet resources like MindYourOwnBiz.org are valuable because of the individual attention they provide.
“We can’t give everything to everybody and their specific needs in one course,” Russo continued. “The fact that there are websites where people can find useful information for their particular interests is a very valuable part of the online resources.”
However, despite the valuable and accessible information provided on MindYourOwnBiz.org, a recent poll conducted by Junior Achievement Worldwide showed teens felt “hands-on” experience would be more beneficial than Internet resources.
According to Cecelia Taylor, press director of the SBA, the Junior Achievement-conducted Interprise Poll on Entrepreneurship not only showed a large number of teens were interested in entrepreneurship and “creating and following their own path,” but the poll also showed teens value “hands-on experience as the most valuable tool” when deciding the best resources for entrepreneurial education.
According to the poll, approximately half of the 1,472 students surveyed said, “working in the same industry first’ is an optimal means to learn a business.” Internet resources were chosen “most valuable” by only 15.3 percent of the students surveyed.
Bradford Hines, an entrepreneur and graduate of BU’s SMG who now works for Yumdomains.com, also emphasized the need to teach young entrepreneurs the hard work involved in building a business.
According to Hines, most teens considering careers as entrepreneurs have the most trouble in the final stages of building their business, and not in the brainstorming process.
“I think the biggest issue facing young entrepreneurs is themselves, specifically their understanding of the importance of following through with their plan and bringing it to life through hard work,” Hines said.
Similarly, College of Engineering senior Mikhail Gurevich, who started his own business, ClickFacts Inc., last year, found the Internet helpful in the beginning stages, but attributed most of his success to working “face-to-face” with fellow entrepreneurs in the Boston area.
“Obviously we scoured the Internet for answer to our start-up needs,” he said, “but after talking to many successful entrepreneurs, we started to realize that there are set rules that start-ups have to live by or fail, which are really the foundations of almost any startup.”
Gurevich also said hands-on experience with fellow entrepreneurs can build valuable connections in the industry.
“One very important thing people don’t realize is that who you know opens doors, what you know gets your through them,” he said.
In an effort to help the success of young entrepreneurs, MindYourOwnBiz.org recently added three new resources to help young entrepreneurs gain hands-on experience.
According to Stephanie Bell of Junior Achievement Worldwide, as of last week the site began featuring a student activities guide, a volunteer guide and an assessment tool to compliment the website’s existing five-step program.
“We wanted to expand the website and actually get some tools and hands-on activities that not only the teens could use, [but] also teachers and others could help instruct teens and give them hands on experience and show them what kinds of things they need to think about,” Bell said.
Taylor also said the new online resources are beneficial teaching tools.
“Additionally, the SBA and its resource partners…are often asked to give presentations on entrepreneurship in schools throughout the country, and the assessment tool and guides create a ready-made and practical program to use as the basis of a presentation.”
The student activities guide and the “Make it Your Business Volunteer Guide” offer ideas for classroom or student group activities that stress hands-on experience. There are also “interest inventory” sections that cover the basis for owning a business.
Taylor explained that the new features on the Web site were made with education in mind.
“The additions to the Mind Your Own Biz Web site were made in part to augment [Junior Achievement’s] school-based program,” she said. “These added resources will enhance the delivery of information to in-school and after-school programs.”
While MindYourOwnBiz.org was already popular among a variety of young entrepreneurs, ranging from 20-year-olds with computer companies to ten year olds selling baked goods, according to Taylor, the site’s traffic drastically increased once it announced the new features. Since its start in September 2005, MindYourOwnBiz.org averaged 5,000 unique visitors a month. In the week after the addition, 12,000 people visited their web site.