8 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Started Their Own Businesses

When it comes to starting a business, you’ll need a driving force behind you—something more than money.

Whether that is a desire to make some small corner of the world a better place, or the feeling that you could be the one to perfect a certain product, you’ll need to hone in on that deeper motivation to be successful. Otherwise, it’s hard to keep going when times get tough.

To get a sense of what drives successful entrepreneurs to start, we asked entrepreneurs from the Young Entrepreneur Council: What motivated you to start your business? Here are their starting
stories.

I Started My First Business at Age 9: Here’s What Kids Can Learn from Being Entrepreneurs

When I was nine years old, I never dreamed that the small, quarter vending machine I owned would turn me into a small business owner and a college graduate.

Wanting to inspire a sense of entrepreneurship and business in his daughter, my dad brought home a vending machine he had purchased from a friend. Setting it down in front of me in our living room, he asked—in all seriousness—“Do you want to start a business?”

I owned 15 quarter vending machines by the time I left high school, with all of the profits going toward my college fund. In addition to being a great bonding experience for my family, I cannot tell you how many skills I learned from starting and growing my very own venture that helped me gain responsibility (and looked darn good on every application I’ve ever submitted).

After graduating last month from the University of Portland with focuses in marketing, social media, theater, and entrepreneurship, I am thrilled to pass on my story to fledgling entrepreneurs. Since selling the last of my business at age 21 to a 10-year-old (also named Tori, because that’s just how this crazy world works), I now get to mentor her through the process.

How to Write About Sourcing and Fulfillment in Your Business Plan

A traditional business plan includes a section that describes the business offering, which is the product or service.

That description normally includes sections to describe the products or services, their main features and benefits, the technology involved, their competition, future products and services, and what I’ve always called “sourcing and fulfillment.”