Dan Willis tells young entrepreneurs under 25 how to gain credibility in business meetings. Listen more than you talk, deliver ideas with high energy, and bring unconventional thinking. Older colleagues feed off youthful passion and expect fresh perspectives from you.
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Find yourself as a young guy in the room? Nobody else wants to listen? Don't worry, young entrepreneurs, we've all been there. Let me give you some encouragement. Stick around. So we've all been there. You're the new guy at the table, you're the young blood, you've just joined, you're talking to your first client, whatever the case may be, but you're a young entrepreneur. We're talking 25 and under club here, guys. Anybody that couldn't possibly have finished their college or university yet, you're going to fall into this young entrepreneur category. And for most of you that are out there that are struggling with finding new consultants, engaging with leads, having a voice at the table with your company, you know what I'm talking about. You know the struggle and frustration with this. So there's a couple advantages that you're going to have as a young entrepreneur that I want to give you and you need to keep in mind because they're going to go a long way to helping you get where you want to go. So let's do this. Young entrepreneurs have tons of ideas, tons of excitement. You guys are ready to go. You just want to spew your ideas out all over everybody. The reality is the thing that you need to bring to the table first and foremost if you're going to be successful as a young entrepreneur is this. See them? There's these things attached to the side of your head. These are called ears. Super important. I remember when I was starting out as an entrepreneur, This was on overdrive, these didn't get used, and it killed me. But a vital lesson that you can learn from my mistakes is this: the first and most important thing you need to do is humble yourself and open your ears. Now, why do I say this? I'm not telling you to shut up. I'm not telling you your ideas have no value. What I am saying is this though: you are new to the table. You don't know everything. You know a lot. You've got skills, you've got understanding, But the reality is you need to be the one to stop, listen, process, and then speak. This will go a long way to showing people around you a couple different things. First and foremost, you've got the maturity to understand where you are, as well as you have a desire to not just spew but contribute. Listening is a key requirement to contributing, guys. So if you wanna give that instant boost to your next meeting, call, lead, whatever, Make sure that you've got your ears on, you're listening, and you take the time to pause and think about what people are saying around you. You've engaged the ears, you've listened to the table, you understand what's happening in the room, and it's your turn to speak. You're ready to say it. Don't say it like this. Don't raise your hand to say it. Don't be meek, don't be mild, guys. If you're a young entrepreneur, there's one thing that people expect from you, and that's energy and excitement. So, when it's your time to speak, back to the listen first, when it's your time to speak, speak with enthusiasm. Be excited about what you're talking about. Show that passion. And what people will find is, those that have been around for a while, and maybe aren't as excited about these endeavors, they're gonna feed off your energy. They're gonna just, yeah, this guy, whatever that idea is that he just said, how he said it was as powerful as X, Y, or Z. And when I say he, guys, it's a general catch-all. He, she, they, whoever. But the reality is this: if you speak with confidence and excitement and passion for the thing that you are sharing after you've listened and scanned, it's gonna go a long, long way, guys. Long way. Last, guys, is no idea is a bad idea. And this is that much more an advantage for the young entrepreneur. So young entrepreneurs are expected to come to the table Understand that they've got new different ways of wanting to try and do things, and the older generations are expecting that from the millennials. Oh, this guy is always gonna have that new different twist on what we're doing. So the advantage this brings you when you're in your next meeting, call, whatever, is don't be afraid to share ideas that aren't the usual typical solution to things, right? If you're a young entrepreneur and you're actually passionate about trying something new, taking a company a different way, taking a client a different way, innovating your product in a new way. Great! Use that excitement, share those ideas. People expect that, and more often than not, when you take the time to listen first, speak with encouragement, speak with zeal, with zest, with pizzazz, and then you give an idea that is something completely outside of the box that nobody was expecting, it's gonna go a long way to building credibility, authority, and passion for your ideas moving forward. It gets you a seat and a voice at the table. You will become known as the young guy with the sharp ideas that sees things in a different way and can push things where we need to take them. That's it for today though, guys. If you enjoyed the video, go ahead and click that subscribe button over here, down there. Great. But the reality is this, guys. If you're a young entrepreneur, we are pumped to have you in the channel. I love seeing new ideas, new thoughts, Let me know what you think are the greatest advantages to being a young entrepreneur in business today in the comments down below, and we will catch you tomorrow for another great video.
