4 Ways Young Entrepreneurs Can Leverage Their Education

No, you’re not imagining it. There is an abundance of media chatter about young entrepreneurs disrupting legacy industries and making good money in the process.

That’s because more young people than ever before are choosing to take control of their own economic destinies. According to a survey conducted by Junior Achievement USA, about 60% of teenagers are more interested in starting a business in the future than working a traditional job.

This statistic shouldn’t come as a surprise. The allure of entrepreneurship is evident to anyone who’s taken the plunge: flexible hours, a greater sense of purpose, and theoretically uncapped earning potential.

Of course, teenage and young adult entrepreneurs have to worry about something their older counterparts don’t: balancing school and business ownership. Sure, some well-known entrepreneurs dropped out of college to focus on their businesses and did just fine—Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg come to mind. But far more future leaders take an even bolder path: leveraging their education to open up entrepreneurial pathways that would otherwise have remained off-limits.

How to Leverage Your Education

If you’re a young entrepreneur mapping out your own business journey, use these strategies to put your education to profitable use.

1. Get Involved in Entrepreneurial Groups and Extracurriculars

Virtually every higher education institution has at least one student group dedicated to entrepreneurship, as do most medium-sized and large high schools. If you are eager to scratch the leadership itch, you have no excuse not to get involved.

There may be an abundance of options, which can be overwhelming. Joanne Sallay, the President and CEO of Teachers on Call, a Canadian tutoring organization for K-12 students, recommends young entrepreneurs find a mentor to point them in the right direction. “I was fortunate to be exposed to caring teachers who nurtured and cultivated my curiosity in business and taught me that learning never truly ends,” Sallay explained. “These early experiences were an integral part of my entrepreneurial journey to ultimately prepare me for my current role, which just happens to be leading an education company.”

2. Leverage Academic Research

You don’t have to be a hard science major to leverage the power of academic research in your entrepreneurial endeavors. Possible pathways include:

• Partnering with science majors or faculty to pursue research on an idea for a new product, process, or compound
• Reserving lab time to pursue your idea on your own, if your school allows this
• Approaching faculty to serve as advisers for your new business
• Diving into academic journals to find obscure or emerging ideas that have high commercialization potential

Whichever approach you choose, be bold about leveraging the academic research resources at your disposal. And remember that you’re not limited to what’s available at your own institution; digital research journals are just a few clicks away.

3. Seek out Mentorship and Mentee Opportunities

Education institutions are ideal places for young entrepreneurs to find mentorship opportunities. If you commit to them, these early relationships can be incredibly valuable in the critical first years of your business journey.

Be mindful of the special considerations you face as a young entrepreneur who is juggling academic and business leadership responsibilities. You need to manage time effectively, focus on academic goals while pursuing entrepreneurial ventures, seek mentors who understand the dual nature of their commitments, and structure mentorship sessions to address academic and business concerns.

Though intended for non-student leaders, the advice shared by Harvard Business Review writers Suzanne de Janasz and Maury Peiperl is worth considering here. The pair writes, “Special considerations must go into making a match between mentor and mentee, structuring their sessions to deliver the intended benefits, and prioritizing the process so that it isn’t crowded out by other demands.”

Also, it’s never too early to begin thinking about the other side of the relationship. As you progress in your entrepreneurial journey and get more comfortable as a business leader, opportunities will arise for you to become a mentor yourself. After graduation, stay in touch with your school’s entrepreneur community and the individual staff and faculty members who supported you along the way. Pay it forward by making yourself available as a resource for the next generation of founders.

4. Cultivate Interdisciplinary Skills

Education is all about making connections—social, intellectual, and otherwise. Educators and their institutions increasingly recognize the importance of such connections. That’s giving rise to an interdisciplinary approach across the sector, especially in non-STEM fields where students and future leaders benefit from a holistic understanding of the matters at hand.

This can be fostered by taking courses outside your major, participating in interdisciplinary projects, and seeking out opportunities to collaborate with people from different backgrounds.

Joan F. Marques, dean and professor of management at the Woodbury University School of Business, observes this in her own students. Of students enrolled in interdisciplinary study programs, she writes, “As they immersed themselves in their educations, these individuals were empowered to examine their professional performance, reflect on their passions, and muster the courage to explore unconventional paths. As a result, they achieved goals they had not previously imagined.”

Your success or failure may well depend on your ability to piece together disparate strands of information and unlock solutions that no one has yet considered, Marques’s words might as well be a mantra. An interdisciplinary approach is important in other ways too, such as supporting personal and team resilience.

Beginning the Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey. For some, that journey begins very early—bringing with it the responsibility of running a business before any of the traditional responsibilities of adulthood.

If you count yourself part of a growing group of teenage or young adult entrepreneurs, you have an amazing opportunity your older peers don’t: the option to leverage your education to sharpen your leadership acumen and learn the skills you’ll need to be successful in any future endeavor.

You won’t get this chance again and shouldn’t pass it up. To make the most of it, remember what you’ve learned about the benefits of early involvement with entrepreneurial groups, the intersection of academic research and business leadership, the value of mentor-mentee relationships, the importance of personal and team resilience, and the vitality of interdisciplinary learning and doing.

Your leadership journey won’t be quick. It won’t be easy. It definitely won’t unfold in a straight line. But it’ll be all yours. So start today, and leverage your education to make the most of it.