When Is the Best Time of Life to Set Up a Business? - Unit 4

C1 Advanced · Cross Text Multiple Matching · Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition, Macmillan Education

You are going to read four extracts from articles on setting up a business. For questions 1–4, choose from the extracts A-D. The extracts may be chosen more than once.

Eddie Weston

At what time of life should you start a business? According to statistics, the average age is 40. However, a recent report indicates that 15 per cent of tertiary level students intend to set up a company once they have graduated, and that approximately 52,000 undergraduates already run their own enterprise. These start-ups range from online gifts and fashion to games creation and AI-generated music apps. It may sound counterintuitive, but the fact that most young entrepreneurs are a little naïve can be a good thing. If they understood the potential threats, it might scare them off. Instead, they are willing to have a go. Even if their company does not turn out to be a success, they should realise their newly acquired knowledge and practical experience will stand them in good stead for a future venture. This is why it is pointless applying for positions that do not prepare them to be their own boss.

Fang Chen

It is wonderful to see the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well in young people. Start-up articles often push them in the direction of seeking a mentor – anyone with a long history of business success – but I cannot say I agree. As well-intentioned as a mentor may be, they will recommend sticking to a traditional workplace model. This may curb the enthusiasm of some young entrepreneurs, who have a different vision. Furthermore, as business owners, young people will be responsible for things like human resources management and branding – responsibilities they are unlikely to have as recent graduates in someone else’s company. For this reason, it is better to dive straight in and acquire the skills necessary to run their own business. In the event that things do not go as planned, so be it. They must recognise they are young enough to start afresh, and that it’s all a process of trial and error.

Biren Patel

There is obvious appeal in starting up your own business; you can be your own boss, there is the potential for making a tidy profit, the freedom to make your own choices. On the other hand, there seems little advantage in seeing your company go under; it can be a costly mistake and demotivating. This is why young would-be entrepreneurs must avoid jumping in headfirst. Whether it’s a job in a fast food restaurant or doing machine work in a factory, starting at the bottom will teach you the value of money, respect for co-workers and management, how to manage customers and so on. The further you work your way up, the more skills you will acquire. At the same time, listen to those in senior positions; your chances of realising your start-up dream are higher when you surround yourself with the wisdom that comes from years in the industry.

Sandra Giles

A typical job has little to offer the would-be entrepreneur, as it often requires an employee to repeat a limited number of tasks. In a start-up, however, a young person will, by necessity, be engaged in multiple roles per day, such as doing the accounts, enhancing product design and seeking new marketing opportunities. There is no reason, then, to waste time in regular employment. Furthermore, because the business world is largely unknown, young people tend not to be held back by fear. As such, they are more likely to take chances and succeed in getting their business off the ground. This is why people in their thirties or forties may contemplate the idea of a start-up, but do not often have the stomach for it. Working in young people’s favour is their confidence and ambition, and a flexible lifestyle. It is fair to say that age will help not hinder their efforts.

Which expert has a different opinion from the others on the value of work experience before setting up a business?

Which expert shares an opinion with A regarding the awareness of risk among some young entrepreneurs?

Which expert expresses a different view to C about whether the advice of older people in business is useful to young entrepreneurs?

Which expert takes a similar view to B on how failure ought to be viewed by young business owners?

When Is the Best Time of Life to Set Up a Business?

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