I had the pleasure of connecting with a young 20 year old entrepreneur the other night. He had initially reached out to me on Twitter and we ended up chatting on Skype for about an hour. Looking back, there are a few things that this young man did that all millennials, entrepreneurs, or career minded people should try to emulate.
1. He Networks: As I said before, this young man reached out to me to ask me a few questions and make sure he was on track. That takes a tremendous amount of courage. He understands how powerful networking is and is always looking for ways to learn more from others. Have you had someone that you wanted to speak with but were hesitant? Go ahead and reach out to them, you never know how the relationship you can build and where it can lead!
2. He was prepared: One of the first things that I noticed when we began our conversation was that he was prepared. He had prepared some written questions that he wanted to ask me and, more importantly, he had a pad and pen to take notes. Taking notes is a bit of a lost art form. Don’t just think that you will remember everything in your head. Write it down so that you can review it and refer back to it later. If you write it down, you will remember and understand the information much longer than if you simply try to retrieve it from memory. By being prepared, he understood that my time was valuable. If you ask for someone’s time, respect it. He did just that. I could tell that he had put some thought into the questions that he was asking and it was much appreciated.
3. He has a vision: This young entrepreneur has a vision of what he wants to accomplish and has spent time thinking it through. In addition, he did what so many fail to do, and that is he has taken action. He knows what he needs to improve on as well as the kind of people that he needs to attract to make his vision of his future a reality. He knows where he is going!
4. He has a burning desire: During the conversation, we talked about how many of his friends in college want him to go out and party, etc. You know, the typical college night?! He told me that he very rarely takes them up on his offer because he barely has the time to build his business and do his college school work let alone go out and party. He wants his dreams to become a reality and he understands that time is a very limited and hot commodity. How much time do we waste on things or events that will not move us closer to our goals?
After speaking with this young man, I was very excited for him. It is great to see a young Millennial pursuing his entrepreneurial spirit and not feel like he has to fit in with everyone else. I am looking forward to keeping in contact with him, and if he keeps up his great attitude with a willingness to learn along with his burning desire, he will most definitely become a great success!
To YOUR success,
Ken Cloutier