With social media so prevalent in our daily lives, it has made it even easier to become your own boss. Being an entrepreneur allows one to control their future and could be even less riskier than taking a regular job.
Third-year Ivey business student, Ali Savoia, owner of My Vegan Superpowers says she never would have even come up with the idea of starting a vegan health food company without first starting her blog. With all the response she heard on social media, she decided to play her part in the food revolution when she developed the Superpower bar. In the video below, she tells us what you can expect when you taste the coconut flavoured Superpower bar.
The name My Vegan Superpowers comes from the feeling Ali had when she started her plant-based Vegan diet just five years ago.
“I had more energy, I felt more confident and it felt like I had superpowers,”
With Social Media, she has been able to promote her product, let consumers know where to find her product at various farmers market and the Western University campus grocery store and connect with her audience in ways that have only been available for the past 5-10 years.
Daniel Mously, another third year student in media arts, felt the same way when he got a head start on his dream of owning an art and design store. Along with his business partner Ellie Keller, they launched a website called Abiss Designs in order to sell clothing and start design consulting. Abiss is not spelled wrong, Daniel describes the meaning behind it,
“Abiss means Art because I said so. It is the belief that art can be art just because one says it is so.”
Their initial launch focused on selling homecoming t-shirts and used Facebook and Instagram in order to promote the brand. The future of Abiss designs is a retail store and design consulting offices where consumers and businesses can see what Abiss has to offer in the art and design.
These are just a few of the young entrepreneurs that have found success at such a young age through social media. Ivey School of Business professor David Spencer believes that entrepreneurship is more acceptable in this generation because of the ease of reaching an audience. As well, he believes that with social media and crowd-funding, it has become less riskier to start your own business if you have a good idea.
“I’d like to control my own fate…Sometimes it’s riskier to put your job in the hands of somebody else.”
Crowd-funding has played a large role in understanding a market, Spencer says. Market research 20 years ago consisted of setting up focus groups, going door-to-door and spending thousands of dollars trying to figure out whether a market is viable. Now, one can set up an account on Kickstarter and raise money while finding out whether their product is going to sell. Utlizing these types of website also allow users to receive feedback on how to make their product better.
If you are a young entrepreneur looking for some help here in London, there are multiple outlets available. The Small Buisness centre provides government funded grants to young people aged 15-29. If you want to connect with other entrepreneurs to share ideas and advice, Entrepreneurs of London meets once a week. It is a great way to network and find out some great information from their weekly speakers.
