I have being really lucky this past days to be able to interview so many young entrepreneurs with tonnes of potential. This is surprising because I just started this blog and am surprised to what I have achieved so far ( I know I havent achieved much but…)

So the other day via Twitter I got to know Steven, a young entrepreneur from France of origin who started his first business at 15. He was kind enough to share with me and all of you what he has learnt by being in business so early and he says

My age has helped me a lot recently, as I get noticed more now as people will ask me questions about business and so forth.

Introduction about you

My name is Steven Haggerty; I am 17 and founder of Salut World. I currently live in France however was born in the UK and raised in Surrey. I started my first company at just 15, selling computer hardware online however due to GCSEs at the time I had to stop the shop.

Introduction of your business idea

Salut World currently offers website & graphic design along with Hosting services. We are all you need to get your business “online”. Salut Designs (which is the graphic & website design part) was formed first when I was 16. Before this website design was just a hobby. Then I started to offer Hosting services and before I knew it Salut Hosting was formed. Salut World is for all “Salut” companies that I will be forming in future.

Where did the idea come from?

The idea of doing website and graphic design came from moving out to France, there was not a good local design firm that spoke English and could help you with everything you wanted, from magazine design to big corporate websites. Same idea with the Hosting, a very small amount of people offered excellent hosting services at great prices.

The idea of the name “Salut” came whilst being in England visiting family, sitting in my brother’s living room on my laptop trying to figure out how to get into the hosting business. For some reason it just hit me “Salut” that’s what I should call my business. From that point on everything I have done has been because of “Salut”.

How has your age helped or hindered you?

Good question, I think my age has both helped and hindered me.

Firstly I think it is a lot harder doing business at 17 because you have to earn peoples respect before they will even talk to you. You have to show them that you are just as good as everyone else, if not better! There are a lot of people out there that will not take you seriously and it does get you down from time to time. But you just have to remember why you started doing what you do and just keep your head up and it will pay off.

My age has helped me a lot recently, as I get noticed more now as people will ask me questions about business and so forth. Also you get some good advice from the “big business people” who may have started off like us (young entrepreneur).

Most important business lesson you learned

It’s not what you know but who you know, I think that you have to form great business relations with anyone you meet, from your first customer to your last, from the local shop keeper to someone like Richard Branson. Its key if you want to succeed people will talk about you a lot more if they remember you, rather than saying “oh he is just some business guy trying to make it”. As long as you know what you’re talking about you will make it. Just remember to keep your contacts updated with what you do and what you are going to be doing. Once I started to do that I soon saw I was getting more business.

Biggest mistakes you ever made in business

Not working hard enough, last year I didn’t work hard at all looking back on it now. I would do the odd website and then use the money to party for a month or so then move onto the next website. However since October last year I have been working all day every day, from the moment I wake up and turn my computer on I am working to when I go to bed. You must work, whatever age you are, in business if you want to “make it” then you have to work for it. A lot of people just want to party and see their friends. But you have to work out your time. I did so now I work a lot and it pays off and also means when I see my friends and go out I will have more fun as it is a break and I can enjoy it a lot more

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What advice do you have for all other young entrepreneurs?

Keep At it and have fun! Make sure you are doing something you enjoy and not something that just gives you a good pay check. If you do something you enjoy you will find the benefits overwhelming. Make sure you keep at it, if you feel you are hitting a brick wall talk to someone like your parents, friends or other young entrepreneurs. Trust me it always helps to talk to other people about problems even if they don’t really understand the business side of things.

Treat your customers as if they are gold, show them respect. You will find they will pass your name on to others.

Just remember to enjoy what you’re doing and have fun. It’s a waste of your life if you do something you hate for 50 years.

Long term plans you have in mind

My long term plans for Salut World are to expand into different sectors of business, I would like to get into property rental & management and so much more. I plan to expand later this year so it’s all very exciting for me. For now I am just focusing on expanding Salut Hosting by getting more customers. In 6 months I will look at everything then see where I can go. I am very much looking forward to the next few years. I also aim to expand my contacts in the business to gain further knowledge and to help others.

You may connect with Steven via the following links.

Links

http://fr.linkedin.com/in/stevenhaggerty

http://www.salutworld.com

http://www.stevenhaggerty.co.uk

http://www.twitter.com/stevenhaggerty

At what age did you start your first business?

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