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More twentysomethings are taking a chance on self-employment

More youngworkers choose self-employment

Sarah Levy loved being a restaurant pastry chef – but not the long hours, the relatively low pay, or the constant yelling that goes on in high-stress kitchens.

By Martha Irvine
The Associated Press

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_2453832

So this spring, the 23-year-old Chicagoan moved to a different kitchen – at her parents’ home – and launched her own business, Sarah’s Pastries & Candies Inc.

”I feel better when I’m working for myself and building a name for myself,” says Levy, who started turning a profit last month.

She is one of the lucky ones; she got financial backing from her dad to help start the business. But she is not alone in her decision to strike out on her own. A number of young people are doing the same, driven by everything from a wish for more flexibility to a chance to test their own ideas.

A few recent college graduates, including 22-year-old Noah Thomas, say the tough job market they encountered last spring also motivated them to create their own options. Thomas, who lives in Columbia, S.C., and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in marketing and finance, spent about three months looking for a job with no luck.

”Nothing was happening for me,” Thomas says. ”I didn’t hear back from a lot of people – didn’t even know what happened to my résumés.”

So with a small amount of savings in his pocket, he started checking out less-expensive franchise options and bought into All About Honeymoons, a travel business that specializes in trips for newlyweds. As his business is getting off the ground, he also is teaching an SAT prep course to supplement his income.

Growing trend: Nationwide, it is difficult to estimate the number of young small-business owners: The federal Small Business Administration does not keep statistics by age.

But there are signs of growth. The Virginia-based Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization – a group founded in 1987 that requires $1 million in annual sales before it will admit a business owner – now counts 95 U.S. members younger than 30 in its ranks.

And a first-time survey done this year by the National Association for the Self-Employed found that about 15 percent of its members are in their 20s or early 30s.

Gene Fairbrother, a small-business consultant at the Texas-based nonprofit, says the percentage is significant because – even as recently as three years ago – young people rarely called for any sort of small-business advice.

”But not anymore,” says Fairbrother, who believes cutbacks in some job sectors have played a role. He also credits the growing number of university programs that focus on entrepreneurship.

Worth it – for some: That doesn’t mean that self-employment is for everyone, says Stacey Mayo, an Atlanta-based certified career coach. Some people, she says, start researching a business of interest only to realize that they would rather fine-tune their current career than deal with the headaches of long hours and the tough decisions a boss has to make.

Still, ”it’s definitely worth exploring,” she says.

Even if self-employment is not a long-term endeavor, it can be a way to stay afloat during a job search. That’s what 29-year-old Frank Strong learned after he got laid off from a startup public relations consulting firm in 2002.

”I resolved to learn what I could as a freelancer until the right opportunity came along,” says Strong, who lives in Arlington, Va., and now has a full-time job with a business communications firm – much to his relief.

”Out on my own, the full gravity of capitalism – with both its opportunities and its drawbacks – set in,” says Strong.

Challenge of flexibility: Regardless, Ana Sanchez, a graphic artist and recent art school graduate, says she still would rather have flexibility than job security.

”Freelancing keeps me on my toes,” the 22-year-old New Yorker says. ”It forces me to do my best work because I know that my next job depends on my performance.”

Conor McDonough agrees. He recently left the Web design job he got after graduating from Cornell University last year.

McDonough now runs his own Web design firm, OffTheÂPathMedia.com – mostly from his home base of New York. But he has found that having his own Web-based business has another advantage: He can do it from just about anywhere. That allowed him to travel to Boston on short notice to gather around a TV with friends as the Red Sox won the World Series.

”That definitely would not be possible if I worked for a big corporation,” says McDonough.

Back in Chicago, Levy already has hired some part-time staff to help her fill candy and pastry orders – working to the sound of music videos playing on a TV in the background. Mom and dad stay out of the way, too. And she makes it a point to be a placid boss.

”My kitchen atmosphere is definitely very calm,” she says. ”No yelling.”

© Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune.

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Do some research before taking self-employment plunge

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_2453831

Self-employment can be a rewarding career path. But experts say you should think about a few things before you make a move:* Have you ever worked in the business you are considering? If not, get a job in the field – or interview several people who do what you want to do. ”You want to learn from the people who are doing well,” says Stacey Mayo, a certified career coach and author of I Can’t Believe I Get Paid To Do This.

l How much do you know about running a business? Do you have a business plan? Do you have seed money? Many higher learning institutions offer courses and entire programs on self-employment. Experts also suggest visiting a library or local bookstore to check out the many books written on the topic.

”Somebody may be very good at what they do; they may be good with a computer, or a good graphic artist or a plumber,” says Gene Fairbrother from the National Association for the Self-Employed. ”But knowing how to be a good plumber is not going to make them successful in their own business.”

Fairbrother also advises against moving too quickly, especially if you have never run your own business. As he often tells people who want to work for themselves, ”Speed kills.”

– The Associated Press

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