You're only as young as you reveal (Saturated Market)

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You're only as young as you reveal

Strategy I remember my first internship, when the owner of the company spoke to me about the goals of our marketing initiatives. He said that as a small business, it's hard to gain recognition and credibility when dealing with the big corporations. So we were working hard to make sure that in our marketing documentation and website that they came across as a capable, respectable firm (which they are, of course), without having the issue of size enter the conversation. And in the blogosphere, the same seems to be true of age.

I read an interesting post at I Hate Your Job, where Chuck pontificates on the tendency to discredit the experience of youngsters in the blogging world (which I think can extend very well to the offline world as well).

“Can such a young person appreciate the value of escaping the rat race without having spent many years inside of it?”...Yes and no. I can be thankful for my good health without ever having had caner [sic], but a cancer survivor appreciates the day when they are cancer free more than I ever could. I can be thankful for a warm meal and a place to sleep, but not in the way someone who once was homeless can.

Of course, I’m not going to try to contract cancer or lose my home in order to better appreciate my good circumstances. In the same way, I don’t believe I’ll be missing out by avoiding an extended stay in a job that makes me miserable...I just have to touch the hot stove, I don’t need to lean on it.

Click here to read the whole article.

Regardless of being younger than one would expect (and younger than one would expect could write credibly about his chosen topic), Chuck has built himself quite a blog, and has written some great advice that has many people, both experienced and inexperienced, talking. And really, I think that's what's important. Why should anybody trust a source less once they discover their age? Sure, we tend to prefer advice from the "grizzled veterans", but we can't discount the expertise of the so-called "newbies", because they might not be that new after all.

Rebecca Thorman is one Gen-Y "Princess" who is succeeding despite her age (and despite her detractors for the same reason).
Student Connections, my current employer, is based entirely on the idea that youngsters are capable and intelligent; keep in mind that hundreds of small businesses have staked key parts of their strategy, from business plans to websites, on the advice of 20-somethings still in the midst of their education!

Lest that give a hint to my age, keep in mind the range for employment at SC is 16-30. Personally, I am still young by many standards, and I acknowledge I still have a lot to learn. But I have plenty of valid experience, and a lot to say. What you do with it is your choice.

Trust and encourage us, for we'll be running your companies mere decades from now.

Until next time,