The entrepreneurial lifestyle for a minor–what really goes on?

Nowadays, a lot of kids aspire to be huge in the business scene. Just the thought of having a nice car, a huge house, and a lot of money makes kids go crazy. What many people don’t really know about that lifestyle is the amount of time and effort it takes to be successful in this field. Personally, I have firsthand experience having some time being deeply affiliated in a business, so, for what it’s worth, here’s what it’s really like.

I got into the business scene last year with my father. We started our plans and set our eyes on opening a gelateria in our hometown of Burnaby. My father has a lot of prior experience in this certain niche of the food business, honing all of his skills for years in Italy, perfecting the art of “gelato.” He is known as a “maestro gelatieri” or “master gelato maker.” Back in the early 2000’s, he was thinking of opening up a shop, but with two young kids slowly growing up, he decided it wasn’t the best time to spend loads of time away from his loved ones. Now that his children are much older and starting to venture off in their own endeavours, he thought it was the perfect time to start.

I work at the shop, as well as assist my father in the affairs behind the scenes. My job can vary at any given moment, from being a server working at the front, to going to a conference with my father, negotiating with other companies for possible deals and exposure for our brand. I assist him and always have that support for him with whatever he decides to do to better our business, and ultimately, leave a positive mark in our city, and leave a legacy for generations to come.

Over the past month and a bit of being involved, I have learned quite a lot of what people call the “real world.” I feel like at the age I’m at and the career interests that I have, this is a very good start for me, and possibly could be life-changing. From a younger age, I have always dreamed to be in the business scene and really live my life involved in franchises and other branches of the massive field, and now that I am slowly starting to enter that stage, I am very happy.

Many of my peers are reluctant to start working since their time is a huge concern. People obviously enjoy their free time and activities, dreading to work, but at the same time are eager to make money to spend. To me, it is really beneficial to start working at a young age, since this is the time to jumpstart your work experience, and start making some income before heading off to post-secondary. Since you are gathering lots of experience and having hands-on learning, you can know what it’s like working for hours, anticipating the workload when you become older.

In the end, living my life as a young entrepreneur isn’t as bad as I would’ve expected it to be. Of course, I was expecting it to be filled with loads of stress and no free time at all, and I was partially right, since I have little time to myself, and I have to deal with a lot more things other than school now. In saying that, I am enjoying it a lot, because I am jumpstarting my future, and getting involved with a potential large-scale business which I can gladly say I have a big part in. Business can seem tough in the moment, but if you keep your head up, it will become simple.