Business start up awards encourage fresh thinking
120 companies from around Australia representing a broad spectrum of industries showed just how diverse entrepreneurship can be. Whether it is new products and services, simply a great new business idea, or even an old idea revamped with a new twist, the inaugural SmartCompany Crown Lager Business Start Up Awards showcased the lot and brought to light the entrepreneurial spirit of modern Australia.
According to SmartCompany they did not want to showcase just the fastest growing start up company, but the entrepreneurs who were really trying to do something different or new and making a difference in the community. They maintain that the common denominator in the competition is the entrepreneur’s passion for their business and their willingness to do things differently. And it seems that the younger the business owner the more adventurous they seem to be. The statistics show that the average age of the business owner entered into the Start Up awards is 36 (23 of them are under 30).
The vigour of youth mixed with the determination to succeed balanced with inherent entrepreneurship is a formidable force and Australia is at the forefront of the new driven entrepreneur.
Although many may bemoan the fate of a lost generation to Playstation and Xbox, the determination shown by these young business minds is nothing short of inspiring.
MediaPoint founders 26 year old Jason Xuereb and 21 year old Jamie Xuereb got their start-up capital of $500 to start a business making stickers for their friends. Jamie was barely 18 at the time and he got his share of the start-up capital working in a bottle capping factory.
Their old printing machine broke down soon after they began their business so instead of giving up they got a loan, purchased a new machine and launched a highly competitive printing company that had the fastest turnaround times in industry history. They expanded into banners and larger scale printing and have not looked back.
This refreshing do-it-yourself take on business is an interesting new development for young entrepreneurs. Instead of following the herd and lining up for either angel investors to finance a great new idea or simply never doing it at all, they showed a new spirit of entrepreneurship. And, it is these fresh new business minds that will help the economy recover.
These days instead of relying on expensive market research, the younger entrepreneurs are using social networking to survey their potential customers and in some cases start whole new ventures. Adam Penberthy is a 25 year-old who started Fresh Marketing because he was tired of not being able to wear jeans, shorts and thongs to work. He has 7 people on his payroll and they are all under the age of 27. Their business? Youth marketing. He and his employees access a specific market and turn away clients that they believe are not in line with their vision or sphere of influence. By creating a niche and specialising in it they have managed to grow a thriving business out of a desire to wear shorts and beach sandals.
The encouraging signs of out-of-the-box thinking and a dedication to new and vibrant ideas is a positive step in business growth. As entrepreneurship moves into the forefront of the minds of the youth of Australia the future is growing ever brighter for the country.
At 16 your idea of financial independence is slightly different from a slightly more mature viewpoint. Although there are definitely a few things on my wish list that haven’t changed. Just because you are older doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun.
A driven group of young Australians are setting up their own businesses and have been able to achieve financial independence before they hit the big 2-0. In fact some of them aren’t even in their teens!
