TL;DR:

• Sebastian started his own business at 20 years old. This post shares what he has learned in the first 4 years.
• You are never too old or too young to do anything in this lifetime.
• Carve out your niche. Find your lane and find out what makes you different than your competition.
• Communication is powerful when building a resourceful network.

In life, we often place certain limitations on goals, career aspirations, and business ideas, based on another person’s fear or insecurities. Once upon a time in your life, you might have heard, “you’re too old or young.” I was a 20-year-old college student at my first business meeting with a school district program coordinator, a few months after I founded my nonprofit organization, The Sanders Hand.

We had just created our education programs curriculum camp and landed a meeting. Super ecstatic, this was our time to shine and pitch our services. Thirty minutes into our pitch, the coordinator stopped me and said, “this sounds like an awesome program, but you’re quite young for us to work with at this time.”

When first starting out, you need to find mentors who are doing the same thing as you at a higher level, who you can learn from. This can be a person, podcast, book, or anything that is providing valuable information. Click To Tweet

In the heat of the moment, you’re hurt, confused, and feel like your heart has been taken out of your chest. That moment taught me a life lesson that created many business lessons for me to learn from and build off of.

#1 Lesson Learned from Starting a Business: Age is nothing but a number. You’re never too old or too young to DO anything in this lifetime.

Taking my first rejection, I decided to never let my age or anyone else’s age deprive me of business. There is a young lady who created her own lemonade drink and has made millions of dollars at the age of 10. Anything is possible. Turn your dreams and passion into a reality.

#2 Lesson Learned from Starting a Business: When creating your business product or service, it’s essential to carve out your niche. Find your lane while simultaneously finding what makes you different than your competition.

Every day new businesses are created. You’re aren’t the only one with that amazing idea, but you have the ability to be the BEST at what you do. Being the best comes from the capitalization of your strengths while outsourcing your weaknesses. Develop a passion, find a lane, and figure out the blueprint to dominate.

When I first entered the nonprofit world, there were so many organizations, it became overwhelming in the beginning as a young leader to create something that hasn’t been thought of while aligning with our identity. It’s a process, but this lesson builds sustainable development of your business.

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#3 Lesson Learned from Starting a Business: Communication is powerful when building a resourceful network.

You will find quickly in the business world it’s not always what you know but WHO you know. When first starting out, you need to find mentors you can learn from who are doing the same thing as you at a higher level. This can be a person, podcast, book, or anything that is providing valuable information.

Become a sponge, listen and learn. Create connections, meet new people, and figure out how you can build a transactional relationship to benefit both parties. Our early success with Sanders Hand was heavily from networking. The very first donation was from a networking volunteer event where we met local donors.

Make that connection! Add value.

These are some early lessons I’ve discovered along the way. What have you learned so far?

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About Sebastian Sanders

Sebastian Sanders “The Youth Principal” is a world motivational speaker. Born in Houston, Texas, Sebastian is a known community leader & youth advocate since his founding of The Sanders Hand in 2017. He has been changing the lives of many families and students across the world, servicing over 2,000 youth & college students from Texas to Oklahoma. Sebastian is a graduate from the University of Texas at San Antonio with his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration Management. Sebastian is also the founder & chairman of SJS Enterprises, serving as the cultivation of community and business as we know it.

Known for his amazing work with youth, he is a perceived businessman & social entrepreneur with the creation of “Define Success” curriculum & leadership camp. Sebastian is a well-rounded entrepreneur with his unique sense of business. He thrives for change in our economy and community.

“Don’t look for change, be the change.” – Sebastian.