Can High School Students be Entrepreneurs?
Updated: Aug 19, 2021
Written by Owen Hu July 25th 2021
Can high school students be entrepreneurs? Read through Owen Hu's article to discover the answer to this question.
When we think of the paradigm entrepreneur, we usually think of a young university graduate, fresh out of college, growing a “side hustle” until it becomes so successful that they quit their day job. And although this does illustrate a stereotypical entrepreneur, the tides of shifted in recent years. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, more high school students than ever before have explored the endless possibilities of entrepreneurship.
Traditionally, entrepreneurial opportunities have been limited in high school. Sure, some schools offer courses in business and entrepreneurship, and there certainly are opportunities for those that are more serious about pursuing this sector. Now, not only have these opportunities become more accessible to a broader range of students, but there is also a greater understanding of the benefits of entrepreneurship in general. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the volatility of many jobs to high school students, and how self-sustainability is an important concept to help combat the fragility of standard careers. Unsurprisingly, this has lead to a surge in high school entrepreneurship.
Many high school students are not afraid of failure and believe that the life skills that entrepreneurship teaches them far outweigh any drawback that comes with pursuing entrepreneurship so early. Even if success rates are limited, high school students understand that they will advance their collaboration skills, expand their horizons and connections, and become better problem-solvers and critical thinkers. So ultimately, entrepreneurship can be seen as an opportunity to develop oneself rather than as a summit that is to be climbed - this mindset has allowed high school students to repeatedly give entrepreneurship a try.
Even more, entrepreneurship in high school students is more widespread than one may think. Many students tend to believe that they could never come up with a business idea or be successful in the process - and although yes, entrepreneurship certainly is not for everybody - this assumption may simply not be true. According to the student-oriented organization Empowerly, 69% of teens believe they have a business idea. With only practical considerations, such as financial concerns and experience hindering these ideas from reaching fruition, it becomes increasingly clear that high school students certainly can be entrepreneurs.
The bottom line is, the picture we often imagine when someone says the word “entrepreneur” may not actually be reflective of reality. Seldom do we include teens in the image, but statistics and historical accounts have proven that high school students can make brilliant entrepreneurs. With these ambitious minds being the global leaders of the future, perhaps this growing popularity in high schools is something that we can all appreciate.
Works cited:
Alton, Larry. “Why 2020 Led to a Surge in High School Entrepreneurship.” Inc.com, 27 Jan. 2021, www.inc.com/larry-alton/why-2020-led-to-a-surge-in-high-school-entrepreneurship.html. Accessed 26 July 2021.
“High School Entrepreneur Programs to Actually Help Teens Launch Startups.” Empowerly, 25 Nov. 2020, empowerly.com/blog/high-school-entrepreneur-programs-to-actually-help-teens-launch-startups. Accessed 26 July 2021.
“What Is Entrepreneurship? How to Become an Entrepreneur | Ownr.” Ownr Blog, 18 June 2020, www.ownr.co/blog/what-is-entrepreneurship/.