Help for Young Entrepreneurs

(page 2 of 2)

"

Business Incubators: Sometimes called "hatcheries," these programs are usually affiliated with business schools. They are places where budding entrepreneurs can nurture their business ideas with hands-on help and advice. Office or lab space, mentoring and educational resources are provided for promising candidates. "The Wharton Venture Initiation Program (VIP) is open to Penn students as they progress through 'milestone-driven planning' to hone their business plans. No foosball tables, just serious planning," Winicov says.

Networking Groups: For entrepreneurs who are not in school, or who have graduated, there are myriad organizations that provide peer-to-peer feedback, mentoring, and resources. The Young President's Organization, http://www.ypo.org, founded more than a half-century ago, is one such group (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/10/06, "Not So Lonely at the Top" . "The most powerful thing in YPO is called 'Forum,'" Mellinger says. "You get together eight to 12 entrepreneurs who form a sort of mutual board of directors for each others' companies. It's a confidential place to share your company's problems, and your own weaknesses, and work as a group to solve them. It's an incredibly powerful resource."

Books and Other Media: Donald Green, the 30-year-old president of YANNtv, a startup providing original video content to young adults, took advantage of the plethora of financial information and business advice available in print and on television and radio when he was in high school and majoring in business in college. "I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and the financial literacy of [author] Robert Kiyosaki made a big impact on me. I had two dads myself, so I read and related to all his books," says Green.

With the help of his parents, and a first-time homebuyer program, he purchased a duplex at age 21 that he rented out to fellow college students to help pay for his tuition and start a savings account. "I also read financial magazines, watched TV shows, and listened to anything I could get on the radio related to business."

The availability of resources and the interest in young entrepreneurs has boomed over the past 20 years. "Back in 1983, all the media articles written about us would talk about 'the whiz kids.' It used to drive us crazy, because we felt like we weren't being taken seriously. What people didn't realize then was that we would soon become an important part of the economy," Mellinger says. "The only thing different about us was that we were young."

Karen E. Klein is a Los Angeles-based writer who covers entrepreneurship and small-business issues.