With billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett starting their road to success as fresh faces in the business industry at only 19 and 11, the ages of those in business appears to be getting younger and younger. But what difference can this new generation make in the business world?
Many PV students and graduates have become entrepreneurs, demonstrating how Gen Z can influence the business industry.
Senior Drake Hanson has been running his own lawn business for a while now, and has recently started a photography business. His business, 23media, focuses on taking pictures at different activities.
What started off as a way to make money developed into much more. “I need a distraction or something to do. I would like to use that time to be productive and do something that I not only enjoy doing, but that I can make money doing,” Hanson said.
However, time management can be a problem. Like any other high school student, Hanson has multiple time-commitments. “There have been many days when I got little to no free time because I was either doing homework, playing sports, doing yard work or at school events taking pictures,” Hanson continued. “But, the best thing about running your own business is you get to work on your schedule and you can decide when the best times to do work are.”
PV alum Jamy Hill has his own car detailing business fresh out of high school. After already having experience working on cars alongside his father during his high school years, Hill had developed all the skills he needed to start his own business. So after the opportunity to start his own detailing company presented itself, his decision was already made.
While most of his high school classmates are spending their days post-high school partying and enjoying the “college life”, Hill sought the more unconventional route. “Seeing most people go to college and live the college life can feel weird in our [him and his business partner] lives. Giving up that experience was a large part of accepting our new lives,” Hill said.
Although Hill doesn’t have much free time, it was a sacrifice that had to be made when considering his future. Not only are there benefits financially, Hill was able to escape the scary idea of being trapped in a cubicle for the rest of his life. “To think that when our grade graduates high school our business will be three years old and have a great head start,” Hill said. “We will be debt free, have a solid job and be consistently growing.”
Despite being a recent graduate and high school student, Hill and Hanson have seen a lot of success with their recent businesses. Which leaves one question to be asked: Why?
The question as to why the younger generations have seen great success in the business world can possibly be explained by differences in generational experiences. Generation Z, can be roughly defined as anyone who was born between the years 1997-2012. As this generation makes their way into the workforce, they appear to be skipping the general employee part and heading straight for the CEO position.
Reasoning for this generation’s success can be credited to the nature in which they were raised. Born just before or soon after 9/11, the uncertainty of the future was constantly highlighted for this generation. In addition to war and an increase in violence around the world, Gen Z is starting their careers during a time of growing inflation, increasing homeless population and housing crisis and an impending recession.
As a diverse generation, they learned how to communicate and work with all types of people. Gen Z not only knows what they want, but they also frequently seek out novel ways to get it. This ever changing mentality created flexibility in their work. Higher pay, shared ideals, flexible work hours and better mental health support are given more weight by them.
Gen Z is a generation of those who want to learn, and the workforce provides a constant learning experience. “I think that my management, organization and planning skills have all improved greatly. My lawn care business has taught me how to be quick and productive all while maintaining quality results. These skills can be applied to any part of my life,” Hanson said.
Hanson and Hill are just local examples of what this generation is capable of. As the world continues to evolve, the rise of young entrepreneurs is a good sign for future generations.
