Young entrepreneurs work to follow their dreams
Many young adults want to be their own boss, but also need the financial security of working full time.
“It’s been a big dream of mine to always own my own business,” said Curtis Mayfield, owner of Shine Automotive Detailing in Des Moines.
Mayfield, 25, started his full-service automotive detailing company a few years ago, but continues to work 40 hours a week for Doug Klein at American Dream Machines.
“The reason it does work for me to work full time and have my business is because of the amazing level of communications with my co-workers and boss there,” Mayfield said.
Many people work full time as they get the business off and running, said Tom Harbison, deputy district director of the Small Business Administration in Iowa.
“There is a good deal of security that comes with keeping your job,” he said.
About 200,000 of the more than 260,000 small businesses in Iowa have sole proprietors, and it makes sense for many keep their day jobs, Harbinson said.
Four in 10 young people said they would like to start their own business someday, according to a poll by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit group that fosters entrepreneurship.
And 37 percent of the young people surveyed believe starting their own business is a possibility.
Steady income and medical benefits, however, remain top barriers for starting a small business. Regular, full-time employment can mitigate those issues.
Telling your boss about your new venture is a decision facing each business owner. Harbison advises finding out whether your employer has a policy about this, and consider whether there is a conflict of interest.
“Doug knows that I have this business to run,” Mayfield said of the owner of American Dream Machines, which buys and sells classic cars. “He knows I have my life tied up into it. My money is on the line for it, and he appreciates that, because he is in the same boat.”
The flexibility and understanding of co-workers “is kind of huge,” Mayfield said. “They want to see this work for me.”
Working while starting a business also allows the business owner to start small and grow slowly, Harbison said. This can be a benefit for the business and business owner.
“I like taking small steps - thinking it through, making the right decision and then executing it,” said Mayfield, who hopes to double Shine’s client base over the next two to three years and expand delivery to workers downtown.
The biggest problem of starting a business while holding down a job: Time. “You have to be careful not to overlap,” Harbison said.
Mayfield, a father of three boys, said the amount of time and energy it takes to start a small business was the biggest surprise: “It really consumes your life. It becomes like a fourth child.”
Karen Mracek can be reached at (515) 284-8531 or kmracek@dmreg.com
