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Young people today face some pretty significant challenges when it comes to getting a solid start in adulthood. The cost of a college education is through the roof, and as a result fewer people are going to school and the ones who are graduate with an average of $27k in student loan debt. When you add this to the fact that wages are stagnating, young people are putting off things like getting married and buying houses at rates never seen before. In fact, according to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors, young people are putting off buying a home for seven years longer than previous generations did at their age thanks to stifling student loan debt. As parents we want what’s best for our kids, even if we can’t afford to write a check for college. Fortunately there are some alternatives.
It’s never too early to sow the seeds of entrepreneurship in our kids. Helping your kids organize a lemonade stand or a bake sale for a school fundraiser is a great way to teach them at an early age how commerce works. Helping them come up with ideas for an entrepreneurial venture when they are teens instead of dropping them off at the local burger joint can teach them a whole set of business skills they would never learn from flipping burgers, and it can set them on the path to be light years ahead of their peers by the time they finish college.
These days 72% of high school students say they want to start a business some day, while 61% say they would rather be business owners and not just employees after college. There are lots of opportunities for younger people to start small businesses, like Etsy and Fiverr. Starting small can give young people the chance to learn the ropes while mitigating the size of any failure.
Young people can have a difficult time starting a business. You have to be at least 18 years old to take out a business loan, open up a credit card, or rent a hotel room for a conference. Many payment processing systems won’t allow minors to use their systems, and networking often takes place where you have to be 21 years old to enter.
But youth can also be advantageous. Gen Zers are digital natives who are more likely to be early adopters of tech that could revolutionize an industry. Nurturing Gen Z’s entrepreneurial spirit is probably one of the best ways to prevent them from falling into the student loan debt/stagnating wages trap that Millennials are mired in currently. Learn more about Gen Z entrepreneurs from this infographic.
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Infographic Source: InsuranceQuotes