America's Top Entrepreneurs: To Be Or Not to Be?

Youth Should Pursue the Entrepreneurial Dream or Focus on Studies? 

Young Americans are coming up with intuitive ideas to start up their own business ventures from their bedrooms, while the rest of us are struggling to pay our debts; these youngsters are making mega bucks. By the time they get to their twenties, they are self-made millionaires. Perhaps you can sense the tinge of jealousy in my tone! Well you'd be right!  

America's Best Young Entrepreneurs 2007 was revealed by Businessweek.com, proving how America's "youngsters" between the ages of 16-25 are earning their millions in a very short time frame. This study revealed how many start up businesses are based on the internet, with some exceptions in retail and publishing. Nevertheless, these young entrepreneurs are developing fantastic new ways of earning money, while still at school or university. It begs the question:

• Should we be encouraging our kids to combine intellectual studies and external activities?
• Or should we be encouraging our kids to stay at school and university?
• Or neither?

It seems to me that young people are not afraid of failure or of risk and hence why they are finding it so easy to make their millions at an early stage. Should we encourage our kids to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, even if it clashes with their educational curriculum?

I think I’ve answered my own question- we should encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in all of our kids, but keep a careful eye on their studies. A combination of both seems to work just fine!