| Not So Large, But In Charge! |
|
|
|
Young entrepreneurs are not waiting to cross the threshold of adulthood before they start their business. Instead, they are utilizing immediate capital-gaining techniques to jump-start their own moneymaking vehicles. These fresh spirits believe their success rides on developing the foundation for a prosperous business now, and then seeking traditional access to capital later. NFTE alumnus Ray Grandoit insists it is a great idea to start early. “Do whatever you can do by yourself, then go out.” One reason is the natural one. You have more time to grow. Whether the risks are small or large, he says young people have more time to adjust to changes and educate themselves. Exploring the ups and downs of running a business teaches youth how to make their money work, something Grandoit says is key to survival for a young entrepreneur. “Coming from limited resources, you have to be really careful. Business is cut throat. Business is business! They don’t care that your mother passed away,” he explains. Proper management during the beginning stages positions you well for future success. Grandoit made his money work for him at 17, when he created Ray Grand Apparel. He pre-sold 40 tee shirts to teachers and students for a high school basketball tournament. When the vendor’s bill arrived 30 days later, he profited enough that day to pay it back, plus more. “I just kept ‘flipping’ ever since.” Flipping is a familiar technique businesses use to double a return on sales. According to NFTE program manager for the Greater Washington, D.C. area Lucas Ames, NFTE encourages students to embark on a business they can start tomorrow, but also build over the years. He says it is their best bet at longevity since they are limited based on a lack of significant credit history, a solid basis for funding, and predatory lending practices. These are major hurdles for young entrepreneurs to hop over as they seek traditional access to capital. “I think it would be difficult to tell youth they could rely on traditional sources,” Ames says. Those avenues are absent for them so they should capitalize on sweat equity. He described sweat equity as the time one has to put into building a business. For youth, time is their main cost and they should spend it while they have no real responsibilities yet. Ames knows many successful young entrepreneurs who relied on alternate resources to build their business. “We want the NFTE classroom to be a laboratory of resources,” he says and students should leverage whatever are their current resources. Communities like NFTE are willing to help because disadvantaged students endure greater difficulty gaining access to capital. “Discrimination still exists against minority businesses,” he suggests. Chante Goodwin, NFTE alumna and owner of “Your Way Computer Services” networked with the people and businesses in her neighborhood to get the help she needed to repair and customize computers. At 15, she required very little start-up capital for her service business. She already had a job at a computer repair shop where she received guidance from co-workers. With little aid, Goodwin’s customer base grew considerably in two years through customer referrals. As a result, she was able to satisfy 20 to 30 clients while attending college out of state. While she has no regrets, she says balancing an education and a business invited the greatest challenges. After just one year, she transferred back home to maintain and expand customer relationships. Goodwin is grateful for communities like NFTE that helped make her dreams become reality. “They opened doors [for me] from people from higher social classes.” For instance, a judge she met through NFTE provided her current internship to her. The NFTE program is like the highlight of my life,” says Jabious Williams of Saja Originals clothing line. After mastering the flipping technique, he eventually began considering additional means of financing suitable for mass production. Williams went right back to where he started, NFTE and his church. “We [students] established relationships with them. They had our best interests at heart,” he says. It is not easy to attract investors traditionally or nontraditionally, so gaining an investor’s respect is vital, he believes. The journey from gaining start-up capital to building a functioning business is a long, sweaty one, but Williams thinks investors might be more willing to invest in you if they see you have motivation. Everything he did in the mean time improved his confidence and preparation. “I would have preferred to have gotten totally financed before venturing out versus a shoe string budget,” says Denton Malcolm, alumnus and CEO of D.A.M Companies. “However, while implementing, I had some fun, made some money, and gained some valuable experience.” Alternate routes lead to main roads for those who experienced continued success. For them, confidence, not capital, was key. |
| < Prev |
|---|
