For many young professionals, our 20’s and 30’s are all about getting started in our career and growing it. We’ve worked hard to obtain our job, and (rightly so), are focused on doing well in it. However, for many of us, there is a dream of being an entrepreneur, and one day owning our own business. For some it’s just a dream that they’ll work on one day, for others, it’s a dream that has turned into a plan that has turned into action. Of course there are lots of things keeping us busy as young professionals -social outings, families, traveling, shopping, but all that energy can actually be directed towards achieving your goal of owning a business, even in your 20’s and 30’s! Here are a few things to keep you motivated and focused as you consider your path:

Put Down the Distractions

Being a young professional comes with kind a lot going on, even during COVID there always seems to be something busy happening, demanding our attention. Even writing this post, I find myself distracted by notifications, reminders, or other websites I want to check. Simply put, if you’re attempting to build your own business (or side-hustle) as a young professional, it’s going to take focus, and time. Time is something that’s always in high demand and short supply, so just know that for you to be successful at something (a business in this example), you’re going to need to put down the distractions and focus!

What are common distractions for young professionals? It could be as simple as our phone (which I just chucked to the other side of the room to allow me to focus!), or could be things like TV shows, or whatever our social life looks like. Whether it’s going out to eat or drink or just hanging out, as important and as fun as those things may be, if they get in the way of you and your goal, they’re a distraction!

If you genuinely want to pursue entrepreneurship, be mindful that your weekends are prime time for productivity. You might argue that weekends are your time for rest from a whole week’s work and that you can’t do much in 48 hours. But, many things can happen in 48 hours. Allotting at least 20 hours of your time on a weekend for your business venture can give you days-worth of progress!

Wake Up Early

You’ve probably heard this a lot from those “motivational” YouTube videos: waking up at the crack of dawn or 4:00 AM means you’ll have time to get more tasks done. That could be true, even though most would wake up grumpy before having that cup of coffee.

In the world of business, those who have already set their sights on achieving goals for the day usually have the best chances for success. Taking the initiative by playing offense will yield better results and help you grow your business.

So, set your alarm for the earliest hour you can afford to wake up, exercise, drink coffee, and start working. If you do this frequently, you can take it easy on the weekends because you’d have done much from Monday to Friday. Although you might have regrets about missing nights out with friends, this is better than regretting not having enough funds in your 30s due to partying too hard.

On a personal note I’ve always been a bit of a morning person, but have really come to appreciate getting a jump start on the day. I normally workout several mornings during the week and get up early to do so. Waking up early means going to bed early, but I’ve learned that honestly I never really benefited from staying up later and felt I was just wasting time! Getting up early allows me to start my day off with what’s important to me, and by getting what’s important out of the way allows me to better focus on my day!

Invest in Business Infrastructure

It’s important to remember that hundreds of businesses are also vying for control on the same market and will do everything that’s needed to give themselves an advantage over their competitors. You also need to give yourself an advantage over other businesses by investing in your infrastructure. The good news is that infrastructure is often scalable and won’t break the bank right away.

In the digital world, data and information is everything. Your business will likely have a lot of information, and likely that information is sensitive, and you’d rather not put it on display for all the world to see. As such, safeguarding and protecting sensitive business data and information should always be a priority. Fortunately, there are cloud-based firewalls for businesses that you can incorporate into your business model.

As you look to get started, make sure your technology is best of breed, scalable, and secure!

Build Your Brand

You’d be surprised at how much entrepreneurs are spending solely on their social media marketing. Although many small businesses have budgets for their social media pages, like Facebook or Instagram, what’s surprising is that some of these pages don’t have official or dedicated domains that can improve the experience for their customers.

If you’re going to build your brand, you need to have your very own domain. Many hosting websites usually offer their service for hosting. You might want to consider searching your name on these hosting sites. If it’s available, you should get your site going. Not only will this serve as a good portfolio of your works and the products you’re selling, but it will also attract potential business partners and prospects.

Find a develop a professional brand, and make sure it’s consistent across all areas of your business!

Summary

You may still be setting up the foundation of your career in your 20s, but it’s possible to run your own business simultaneously. Being disciplined and investing time, money, and energy in your business is the best way to get it off the ground while you’re still young. Carefully manage your finances and know who your market is. Starting young will help you become financially stable when you’re older!

Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links that earn me a commission.