One of the emerging trends that I’m seeing in my research and travel around the country is the rapid emergence of young entrepreneurs from the Millennium Generation. Keep your eye on the “kids” in your town. This next generation is going be the most entrepreneurial in the history of the USA. What are you doing to cultivate them? I’m going to be posting stories of a few of the ones that I’ve found over the next couple of days.
When most kids are sitting in class, seventeen year old Nick Graham is greeting customers at his own grocery store in Truman, MN (population 1,259). Graham is a hero in the town and is given a bit of slack for being truant from the start of classes.
Graham was born and raised in Truman and lived there until his dad was killed in a snowmobile accident when Graham was four. His mother remarried and moved to Iowa where Graham lived for ten years. He raised turkeys, saving money from each sale.
Graham decided that he wanted to move back to his hometown for his senior year of high school, living with his grandparents. When the local grocery closed its door, Graham’s entrepreneurial bug engaged and he decided to open the Main Street Market. He did his homework, figuring that enough people would prefer to buy their groceries in their hometown rather than driving the twelve miles south to Fairmont, a town of 10,000.
He bought the building on October 1st and opened for business 34 days later on November 3rd. A lot of local people pitched in to help him get started.
Don’t you love young entrepreneurs like Nick? Even if they are sometimes a bit late in getting to class?
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