Jun 23, 2014

5 Reasons To Start Your Own Company Right After College

Hear ye, Millennials! Stop applying for jobs! Okay, that might be a bit hasty. But not altogether bad advice. Here’s why you should strongly considering jumping straight into entrepreneurship right after college:

You haven’t learned (too many) professional bad habits

Being part of someone else’s company for long enough means you learn things according to their standards and means of operating. That could be a beneficial thing – or not. When the first company you work for is your own, your still going to seek advice and input from more experienced people in your industry, and you’ll do diligent research, but mostly you’ll be basing a lot of decisions on instinct and logic (which, unfortunately, are not the driving factors in the decision making of so many more established companies.)

You’re more idealistic

That’s not meant to sound condescending, and certainly it’s not true of all recent grads (you poor, prematurely bitter old souls), but it can absolutely work in your favor when starting your own business. You’re newly sprung from the inspiring world of academic input and internships, and there’s a lot to be said for taking that energy and investing it directly into building your own thing, as opposed to giving it up to someone else’s thing.

You are more in control

More than any other time in recent history, the job market is undergoing a radical transformation at a truly dizzying pace. Technology and social media are creating brand new industries and job roles while rendering others antiquated and quickly left in the dust. No one is aware of these changes, or will embody the future of how the working world functions, than Millennials. Given that unique position and perspective, why not build a business around filling a new need?

Fewer obligations and responsibilities

I guess some people get married and/or have babies in college (I don’t pretend to understand why, but hey, do what makes you happy) but largely, new grads are unencumbered by other people who are depending on them to have a stable, consistent income with good health benefits. Not that you wouldn’t enjoy having those things, but you get the point – it’s way more acceptable to take a risk when you’re just putting yourself on the line. Fewer 20-somethings have mortgages and car loans, etc. Later in life when convention says is a more “normal” time to start your own business, you might not have the freedom and flexibility that you’re currently, fleetingly enjoying.

There’s risk in “real jobs” too

Who are these people claiming that not starting your own company is less risky? Have they tried finding a job lately? Have they tried living on the tragically low salaries offered to fresh graduates? To be honest, it feels like you might as well put your effort into working for yourself, doing work you actually want to do, because the alternative isn’t altogether easier or more secure.