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They tend to be casual. (Xerxes Nabong goes by the nickname "Zeus" to some financial-planning clients.)
Occasionally brash. (On mk3y.com, computer whiz Michael Key promises to deliver "kick ass websites.")
Intense yet undaunted. (Coffee shop owners Mike Aston and Christopher Shelton said if their place doesn't work out, they can simply sell their equipment to pay off the business loan.)
They're all under 29, and they already run their own businesses.
The ranks of young entrepreneurs are widening. The under-25 category was the second fastest-growing age bracket in the U.S. Small Business Administration's count of self-employed people over the last decade.
Ellen Thrasher, director of entrepreneurship education for the Small Business Administration, said the growth is fueled partly by the economy ("people who cannot find jobs are creating their own jobs") and by an "explosion in entrepreneurial education." That covers everything from Girl Scout cookie sales to entrepreneurship classes at colleges.
The disadvantages to starting young include a lack of experience and assets, said Jim Carroll, executive director of the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads. The biggest hurdle, according to some local young entrepreneurs, was making initial contacts and finding customers.
What they offer, they say, is technological savvy, unconventional thinking and flexible schedules, usually unencumbered by family commitments.
Still, some encounter questions about their age. Nabong, boyish-looking at 27, has a reassuring response: "When they retire, I??ll still be in the business."
Passion crosses age boundaries among businesspeople, Thrasher said, but the young bring a particular vitality. "I might have one business, I might have two businesses, I might do a foundation while I'm still in college," she said. "It seems the dynamics are really fast-moving."
Carroll warned, though, not to exaggerate the innovative edge of young entrepreneurs. "I've seen some rather creative ideas from some gray hairs running around," he said.
Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com
Carolyn Shapiro, (757) 446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com
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Glad to see they aren't relying on govt funding for revenue
This certainly is good news. Most people aren't aware that this is how the majority of employment happens in this country. Would be interesting to check in with these puckish entrepreneurs in 6 months or a year from now to see if they are
1) still in biz,
2) hiring or expanding,
3) whether they consider all the various taxes, govt regulations and requirements helped add to or detracted from their business success,
4) whether or not they provide (any) employees full healthcare coverage and retirement plan, and
5) if their education (both formal and informal) prepared them for these endeavors.
I wish them well; congrats on the bravery to pursue these dreams. We need more like them!