As the old quote goes "Entrepreneurship is all about living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t."
Being young and full of energy you have an opportunity to live differently and change the world… like most good CEOs do. However, this will only happen if you make a few compromises here and there.
Here are just a few commandments to abide by.
*1. Ask yourself this question before you go to bed*
The future is shaped one day at a time. Every night before you go to bed think about this question: “If I live every day the same way I did today, what kind of future would that create?”
Once you reflect like this you will constantly be able to examine whether or not your actions are lining up with your priorities. Learn to make wise choices each day as these will eventually determine who you become later on.
*2. Be in an environment that allows you to succeed*
Live in an environment that equips you with relevant experience and motivation. The more experience you gain, the higher the likelihood you’ll be a good decision maker and therefore a good CEO.
The more you are motivated, the higher the likelihood you'll out-perform your potential. So, don’t hang around people who aren’t progressive and don’t invest your time in worthless activities
*3. Maintain a good reputation*
In order to be a good CEO, you need to have a good reputation. Be mindful of the little bad things you do every day as these might come back to haunt you in the future. Of course, this involves respecting those around you – your family, neighbors and colleagues.
Remember, reputation and respect are directly correlated. So if you want the former, be sure to work on the latter starting early enough.
*4. You have little to lose, so take risks*
Taking risks at a young age allows you to have more years to make up for losses. Moreover, even if you fail you have many years to spend practicing the art of measuring risk and executing your choices successfully.
Remember, Mark Zuckerberg seemed out of his mind at some point when he took some risky decisions along the way – he became a CEO of Facebook at age 23. Clearly, without a little bit of risk, you cannot get to the extra mile.
*5. If possible, start your company from scratch*
Many of the youngest CEOs achieved their position by launching their own companies. So, if you want to be a CEO at a young age, start a company and call yourself a CEO.
The bigger your company grows the bigger your role as CEO will get and the more respect you’ll command. Statistics show that it takes much longer to get to the CEO position in another people’s companies.
*6. Invest in learning IT & claim your spot*
Most of the young CEOs we see around come from the technology sector. Clearly the IT sector still has a lot of opportunities to offer to young innovators more than other areas of the economy.
If you’re a young marketer, think about taking a course in digital marketing. A young artist? Think about incorporating IT in your works… and so forth.
Locally, you can think about people like Eric Kinoti and Samuel Gichuru both who managed to become CEOs of their own successful companies before reaching 30 – all because, they embraced techno-business from a young age.
*Do you think you have what it takes to be the next big CEO in Kenya?*
In order to become a successful CEO from a young age, you need to constantly remind yourself of the big task ahead. It's important to find an environment that nurtures you to prosperity even as you work hard to build a good reputation.
Keep in mind that risks are always there to be taken especially if starting from scratch. Above all, choose a niche that is in the technology/internet field as most emerging opportunities are tied to this field.
*Written By*: Justine Nyachieo
Business Man & Mentor.
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