Billionaire Mark Cuban was solely 12 years outdated when he launched his first aspect hustle, so he is aware of what it takes to start out a enterprise at a younger age.
And, he says there’s one easy factor you have to contemplate if you wish to do it, too.
“The important thing to beginning a enterprise while you’re younger is doing issues that you are able to do your self — issues you are able to do with your personal time,” Cuban lately informed a bunch of highschool college students at Lewisville Excessive Faculty in Texas.
Which means beginning with what you understand, he famous.
“If it is a product, do one thing that is simple so that you can get and simple so that you can promote,” Cuban stated, including: “It actually comes down to 1 easy factor. The most effective companies are issues you possibly can management and do your self. That is what being an entrepreneur is all about.”
Cuban famously obtained an early begin studying to run his personal enterprise as a pre-teen promoting rubbish baggage door-to-door in a Pittsburgh suburb. Later, he offered a wide range of collectibles, from baseball playing cards to cash and stamps, saying the proceeds helped pay for his faculty tuition.
In every of these circumstances, Cuban used home goods and collectibles that had been accessible to a child and promote them for a revenue — following his personal recommendation for youngsters as we speak.
Equally, as a university scholar, he labored as a bartender and taught dance classes to make more money. Cuban later confirmed off his dance abilities publicly by showing on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2007, ending eighth within the competitors.
“I used to be a hustler … I’ve all the time been promoting. I all the time had one thing happening. That was simply my nature,” Cuban stated throughout a 2016 episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
Now, Cuban says he frequently tells youngsters and youngsters trying to begin their very own companies to do what he did. Construct round “one thing they’ll make or a service they’ll supply to buddies, household and neighbors,” he informed CNBC Make It in September.
That is simpler stated than achieved, after all: Efficiently launching and rising your personal enterprise is infamously difficult. Roughly 20% of recent companies fail inside a yr of launching, based on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Being an entrepreneur and beginning a enterprise does not imply it is going to be simple and impulsively you make some huge cash,” Cuban informed the scholars at Lewisville Excessive Faculty. “Being an entrepreneur is the more durable method.”
If it was simple, he added, “you all would already be doing it and approaching ‘Shark Tank’ and taking my place.”
Discovering one thing you possibly can management and do your self is difficult sufficient. Turning into nice at it — which, by the way, is Cuban’s No. 1 rule for creating wealth — is loads more durable.
It entails extensively researching your marketing strategy and potential competitors, looking for out funding, and creating backup plans to permit for flexibility if you have to modify on the fly, the billionaire has beforehand stated.
So long as you do not thoughts placing in that work, particularly after you select your corporation alternative, a world of alternative can open up for you, Cuban informed the highschool college students.
“For those who’re prepared to take the initiative and begin a enterprise, something is feasible,” he stated.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the unique off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
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