That said, two years in, our company has taken off and grown at an enormous pace because we were willing to not listen to what others told us we should/shouldn’t be doing. We give our customers a better overall experience than the old-school incumbents in our industry because we place an emphasis on solid customer service, more user friendly technology, and an efficient back-end that enables us to offer prices that others cannot. 100%+ growth in this economy isn’t too bad.

Whether you agree or disagree with how we do things, it has worked. I am living my dream right now. I have a great company with great partners and wonderful balance in my life, in part because we’ve taken advantage of a tech skillset that the older generation doesn’t have (from what I’ve seen).

I’d also implore you to take a look at the entire body of work that is this blog and not just one post from one moment in time.

In that light, I’m closing comments on this post now. I think everything that’s been said has been said. To see a “you’re a jackass” comment in my inbox every few months really does nothing for me or for this blog. I realize a lot of people have landed here from various places across the web and haven’t read other posts on this blog. I am lucky enough to be in my twenties and running a pretty successful business, so everything I write is meant to encourage more young professionals to consider entrepreneurship as a career. Please read the about page and a few other posts, and if you still feel the need to talk to me, I’m always available via email at adam [at] adam-mcfarland [dot] net.

With people under 30 (known as Generation Y) working alongside middle-aged managers and coworkers, the established older set often finds it difficult to motivate or understand their younger colleagues who are sometimes too pre-occupied texting on their phones rather than engaging in co-herent conversation. Those who’ve had success report that tactics such as short project phases with tight deadlines and frequent praise along the way to a goal work well to fuel Gen Y. In other words; they want a ‘trophy’ for merely showing up and doing as little as possible.

Also, it helps to make sure their work computers are no slower than the ones they have at home. The products of an affluent society, modern parenting and a “kinder, gentler” elementary school system, Gen Y children have an expectation of immediacy, an overall air of entitlement that even pervades their career paths. Most I have seen expect the high 5 figures in salary shortly after being hired. Also, some after being hired, add on to this the fact that they’ll be needing next week off for some to-do with friends. Well, you won’t be working here.

Many middle-aged managers can’t comprehend Gen Y’s “deserve-it-now” mind set that’s vastly different from the “prove-yourself” work ethic that baby boomers and all earlier generations used to rise through the ranks; of which I grew up with being 42 years of age. Other managers who grasp Gen Y’s conditioning adapt their work culture to more fully engage these younger workers. Yet, even among these managers, I’ve heard lots of concern about the future in the hands of those being coddled. You can just imagine what they’re dealing with.

My biggest concern with the aptly named, Gen Y is that most of their skills are only that of a so-called ‘technology basis’. Very few are looking into careers that will see them as the builders of the offices and homes that will be required to ‘house’ those that want only a computer and a desk to sit that computer on.

In essence, what I am saying is that there are few who wish to get their hands dirty anymore and think that there will be someone else there to do that. Such won’t be the case if everyone adopts that mindset and opts for the ‘paper only’ solution.

Full and well rounded skill sets are what makes an economy and society bound ahead of other countries. It keeps them viable and marketable.

It will be a sad day and a rude awakening when the only things that can be serviced by anyone are the things that get plugged into an AC outlet while the roof leaks, the car won’t start, the infrastructure erodes and no one will know how to deal with it. Scalable models on auotcad are great, but what to do without labour? It is already happening as government and the mainstream media is currently calling ours, the “service and debt based economy”.

Hard work. It’s still needed and still required. People (even Gen Y) have to think and remember where ‘things’ come from. And must think beyond Best Buy or the Apple store. The latest and greatest cell phone, video game console or computer won’t save us especially in a dying North American economy that is seeing the U.S. dollar being devalued, rapidly. Just think of where those aforementioned products are made.

Cheers.

N.B. nice to see that there aren’t any personal attacks at one another in this comments section. Makes me think that you are a minority of good behaviour compared to the socially inept I encounter both online and in daily life – ‘out there’.

However, since you attacked me personally, I’ll respond back with my personal example: I’m 25, I left my engineering career after 1 yr at 22. Our company has been quadrupling in revenue ytd for every month in ’08 thusfar, destroying competitors in our industry (in particular Detailed Image). Our oldest owner is 27, I am the youngest at 25. One of the main reasons we are successful is because we DON’T listen to what the older generation has told us about business. We make up our own rules, push the boundaries, and consequently our competition doesn’t know what to do with us.

In my limited corporate experience (internships, co-ops, and my year out of college), that creativity and ability to push the limits was stifled by my older peers. Maybe I’d feel different if I worked at different companies with different people. There are obviously very talented people of all ages.

My overall point – and I’m sorry if you missed it – is that people should be judged by their abilities and quality of work, not their age.

I’m in a technology oriented business and we do not see recent grads come in and run circles around experienced pros. It just doesn’t happen.

Your generation does have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement and you are prime example.

Good luck with that.

But the title of your post was “does our generation have a sense of entitlement”. Not do entrepreneurs. I geared my answer towards your initial question and title of the post.

Thanks for the comment. I can certainly see your point, and I’m sure that’s how many people feel. However, my experiences (which of course are limited) don’t point to that at all.

Myself and the majority of young professionals and entrepreneurs I know aren’t that way. I’m not advocating being cocky and disrespectful, I’m advocating that everyone gets an equal chance based on skill regardless of age.

To your point “Some may make fast money, but for most being an entrepreneur is just as hard or harder than working a 9-5 for a corp” – I don’t know anyone who has made “fast” money. Every entrepreneur I know has had to work harder than they would in a 9-5 to succeed. You can almost always make as much or more money in a 9-5 as you can running your own business. That’s not why I/we do it. I run my own company because I feel like that gives me the best opportunity to change the world and make it a better place. In the corporate world, I struggled to find work that I truly found meaningful. As a business owner, if I don’t like the ethical dilemmas of a project I don’t take it on. And I try to spend most of my time on projects I think can truly impact society.

Call me crazy, but I don’t think the lifestyle of being 25 and single should in any way shape or form impact the way people evaluate me. Business, especially on the web, has a way of being very non discriminant. My customers and clients work with me because I’m good at what I do and I can fill a need in their life. Most don’t know or care that my company is run by four 25 year old guys. The better I am at what I do, the more success I will have. From my experience, corporate settings are very much the opposite and you aren’t always evaluated solely based upon what you bring to the table.

That translates into business as well. I think that there are too many “entrepreneurs” who think it’s easy and expect to make money right away.

Some may make fast money, but for most being an entrepreneur is just as hard or harder than working a 9-5 for a corp.