If you look at a number of the successful entrepreneurs from around the world you’ll notice that a number of them have a very similar trait in common; very few set out with the desire to make billions of dollars and become an entrepreneur.
Quite often you will find that some of the most successful entrepreneurs set out either following a passion, or developing a solution to a problem they had.
They innovated out of necessity and didn’t always have the traditional business skills and experience that most think are essential to build a multi-billion dollar company.
As an example, the Thank You Company was launched by a group of 19-year-old university students in Melbourne looking to make a difference in the world by giving people in third world countries access to clean drinking water. After initially googling ‘how to start a bottled water company’ the three teenagers started setting up meetings with bottled water manufacturers despite their founder Dan Flynn often joking at the time they only had a cumulative net worth of $1,000. After lots of hard work and determination the team now sell their products in over 5,500 outlets across Australia. A great example of young people setting out to make a change, and developing their entrepreneurial skills to make this dream a reality.
Another fantastic example of this is the online graphic design tool, Canva. Started by a Perth University student, their founder Melanie initially teamed up with a friend from university to create an online graphic design tool after getting frustrated with tools such as InDesign and Photoshop. Aimed at helping schools and universities create beautiful yearbooks simply and easily, the company took off and quickly morphed into the $6 billion multinational we know today as Canva, run by 32 year old Melanie Perkins.
Entrepreneurship is often thought to be reserved just for the ‘business kids’, but instead is a skill set that anyone, from any discipline, can use to bring their ideas to life, create change and develop solutions to the challenges that they, and others experience.
To be an entrepreneur you also don’t always need to be thinking big. Building businesses isn’t reserved for the people looking to revolutionise industries as they build the next Facebook or Uber, it can also be for people looking to make money by doing something they love.
In short, businesses come in many different shapes and sizes. You don’t always have to have an MBA to launch your own business, and entrepreneurship is a set of skills that will help you do this.
For more information on how you can bring your passions and ideas to life through business, make sure to have a look at our Young Entrepreneurs Hub. Alternatively, make sure to download our free Young Entrepreneurs Starter Kit.
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