Young Entrepreneur Generation

As you’ve no doubt heard, the economy is going through a difficult period of transition. Jobs are fewer and competition is
higher than in previous years, and while this affects every level of our society, it seems that young people are being hit the hardest. In 2013, unemployment among Millennials rose to 13.6 percent, higher by far than the national average of around 8 percent. Unlike previous generations, a college degree by no means guarantees a job. Rather, it is seen as the absolute minimum requirement in many fields. In addition, college tuition costs have been steadily rising for years. The result is that the average college student graduates with huge debt and few prospects. Unfortunately, the trouble doesn’t end there. Even finding a stable job is no guarantee of security or satisfaction. Competition at the top is even fiercer than competition for entry-level jobs. Pensions are almost completely a thing of the past. There are questions about the long-term reliability of Social Security. What was once a clear path to a comfortable retirement is now a murky road with many forks and dead ends.

It’s no surprise that, faced with such a difficult and uncertain road, Millennials are increasingly choosing a different one. The path of an entrepreneur is no less difficult and no more certain, but it is potentially much more rewarding, and more and more Millennials are choosing it over more traditional paths. Millennials are blazing their own trail so much, in fact, that they are being called by some the “Young Entrepreneur” generation. When you consider the benefits of starting your own business, it’s easy to see the appeal:

• Working for yourself means setting your own hours and answering only to yourself.
• Being in the driver’s seat means that you can choose projects you’re passionate about, which will make the hard work even more rewarding.
• If you work hard and grow your business, there’s no limit to how much you can earn.
• No matter what happens with your first business, you will gain experience, insight, important skills, and confidence that will help you achieve success in your next venture.

However, there are also myriad pitfalls that make starting your own business dangerous. A third of all startups fail within the first two years. If it were easy, everybody would do it. Finding financing, beginning the process of learning the necessary skills, developing a plan, and having the fortitude to weather the tough times are all daunting tasks for the aspiring businessperson. This is true of everyone, but even more so for young people. Younger people often have little or no credit history, which can make getting business loans difficult, and they usually lack the business experience that would encourage people to take them seriously.

That’s where Nerium’s Young Entrepreneur Program (YEP) comes in. YEP combines the opportunities of starting your own business with the security of an established brand in an extremely profitable, rapidly expanding industry. If you are a young adult between the ages of 18 and 24, then joining the YEP program will gain you access to a career that will offer excitement, satisfaction, security, and the wisdom of industry leaders and mentors.