Young entrepreneurs are being primed for success in various ways, sources report. As a restaurant owned by young businessmen in Boston grows and teens plan the future of California, the next generation of business leaders is already getting started.
An early success
It has been almost a year since Daniel D’Elia and Ralph Verrocchi opened their restaurant, My Cousin’s Place, in the north end of Boston. According to Patch, the two locals, both still in their 20s, grew up down the road from their business’ location.
Verrocchi, a cooking pro, told the source his goal has been from the start to create a community feel.
“I like the fact that the coffee shop is in my own neighborhood,” he said. “I also like that the people who watched me grow up come to my business and support me even though I’m a young business owner.”
Because the two have started a business in a familiar place, the environment is inherently communal, Patch notes: Friends, family and complete strangers meet at the spot for coffee and other local treats every day. They might tell you their best financial investment advice is to stay close to home.
Before they get there
While D’Elia and Verrocchi’s experience has already begun, young people in San Francisco are getting their feet wet in business with a competition to better California’s financial plan. The contest will have participants write business plans around improving local organizations’ contributions to the state economy, and is associated with the the Business and Entrepreneurship Center (BEC), a part of the Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) program run by the state’s community college network.
Director of the BEC Mike Roessler noted that hosting such an event will make business ownership a reality for young people early on and eventually benefit the kids involved as well as the state.
“Statistics show that it is the entrepreneurs and small business owners who fuel our economy, so we wanted to start even further downstream by encouraging and mentoring our young people to gain the skills and knowledge to start their own business,” he said. “This competition is designed for young people who really want to start their very own small business.”
The BEC’s main objective is to erase negative connotations associated with small business ownership, especially in areas that require getting hands dirty and interacting directly within a community as an essential part of daily business.