Starting a business can seem pretty daunting to anyone the first time round. But when you’re a young entrepreneur it can often feel like you’re presented with an additional set of challenges beyond what your older counterparts have to contend with.

We often hear from young entrepreneurs who are worried that they won’t be taken seriously, or those that think they lack the relevant years of experience to aid them in starting a business successfully. But in reality, the fears that many young entrepreneurs have about starting a business are almost always completely unfounded.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world have started out at a young age (Take Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson for example). Â Being young should never be the reason that you decide against starting a business, so we have laid out 7 top tips to help you get on your way.

Being a Young Entrepreneur can be great for PR - Use it!

Contrary to what you may think, being young and in business can actually be a huge advantage. Many people are intrigued by the success of young entrepreneurs, and the media know this. You can use your age as a point of interest when pitching press releases to journalists.

Use your knowledge of what other young people want

Being young likely means that you have a better understanding of emerging trends and what’s popular with other young people. Use this to your advantage when developing and marketing your new business. It could well keep you a step ahead of your older rivals.

Find a Mentor

Having a mentor is a crucial part of succeeding in business at any age, but when you’re a young entrepreneur and your practical experience is limited, having a mentor is even more critical. A good mentor will be able to help guide you through the tricky early days.

Be confident and believe in your own ability.

One of the most important parts of achieving success in business is to have unwavering confidence in yourself, your business and your ability to succeed. Don’t let your age make you doubt your ability. If you are good enough at what you do, then you are old enough. Your age is irrelevant.

Get out and network

When you are starting a business, it’s no good sitting at your desk waiting for people to call you. You need to be out there raising awareness of what you’re doing. Going out and networking with people in your industry is absolutely essential. You need people to know that you exist, and the best way to achieve that is to go out and shout about your business. The important thing to remember though, is that networking isn’t about trying to give a sales pitch to everyone you meet. Focus on building quality relationships with people first.

Leverage the power of social media

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool, and using it wisely can have a huge impact on your business. Beyond simply being a platform for you to share content and news with an audience, networks such as twitter give you the opportunity to directly reach people who in the past you would never have been able to reach. Whether it be celebrities, Blue Chip CEO’s, or other entrepreneurs. If they have a social media account then they are potentially just a key stroke away.

If you haven’t already done it, start a blog.

Blogging is a great way to start creating awareness about what you’re doing, and is fast becoming an essential tool for any business. When you are starting a business it is a great way to show potential customers that you know your stuff, it acts as a means of attracting people to your website, and it will help your websites search engine rankings if done correctly.