Emerging Adulthood—often referred to as “the age of exploration” that occurs between ages 18-25—is the life period during which individuals rapidly develop and evolve their self-concept and formulate long-term academic, career, and interpersonal goals, all while navigating the collective perils and pitfalls of modern day life. The ability to exercise autonomy, explore one’s environments, and navigate situations that require critical thinking and creative problem solving strategies are at the pith of self-actualization, and personal growth.

It is no surprise that the second largest age cohort of entrepreneurs are those in their 20s–so let’s weigh the pros and cons of business ownership in the first adult decade of your life.

PROS:

Your 20's are largely defined by exploration, risk, and the capture of novel experiences. As the shape of your future begins to take form (with or without your conscious construction of it), you may find yourself aiming for financial independence and professional success on an earlier time scale than your peers. After all, you are the arbiter of your own fate–an entrepreneurial spirit is one that thrives on creativity, passion, ambition, and competence. You are more resilient to stressors and less risk averse, which, combined with having less obligate focus on medical, marital, familial, or personal matters (relative to later decades in life), positions you to invest considerably more time and energy taking a hands-on approach to growing your business.

With the majority of life still ahead of you, you benefit from having additional lead time to recover financially from potential career setbacks, provided you have taken measured risks. These factors alone paint early entrepreneurship in a favorable light–but they are not the only considerations at hand.

CONS

Beginning a business venture earlier in one’s career is not without its risks. Lack of relative career experience and financial literacy can present a cascade of vulnerabilities when it comes to running a business and managing finances.

Financial instability and uncertainty about long term career objectives is common for people in their 20s, but are major vulnerabilities for prospective business owners who are putting themselves and a considerable amount of their money on the line.

One would do well to engage thoroughly with the research phase of this process, taking care to account for any and all risks–financial or otherwise–that this endeavor will present.

CONSIDERATIONS

It is not uncommon for business owners in their 20s to question if their existing knowledge base, interpersonal skills, or personality is the right fit for business ownership. As such, it may be a comfort to know that while research reflects a general decline in the rate of personality change over the course of one’s life, personality as a whole remains mutable–that is to say, both personal experiences as well as conscious interpersonal work such as therapy, meditative self-reflective, cognitive behavior exercises, and intentional lifestyle changes continue to have a transformative effect on the individual. This is encouraging news for prospective business owners whose style of communication, information processing, emotional regulation, time management, or overall managerial skill sets require improvement.

Once you feel confident in your ability to manage (and/or delegate) effectively, and are aware of the risks you assume by undertaking this venture, you can begin to explore which franchises are right for you.

Take our quiz here to be paired with a franchise that meets your unique needs.