Though the following statement may seem to be a cliché, it is true: When you are young, you have your whole life ahead of you. Taken at face value, those words mean the following: The younger you are, the more you have time on your side to benefit from life choices or to overcome their potentially negative consequences. In other words, consider your 20s the ideal years for starting a business. Whether you hold a fresh diploma or are just a few years removed from college, take a moment to embrace these incentives for joining the ranks of youthful entrepreneurs.

You Have Less To Lose

When starting your journey into adulthood, you likely have less at stake than in later years. Consider the following financial, familial, and other responsibilities that may encumber you over time:

• Mortgage
• Auto loan
• Partner relationship
• Child expenses
• Job tracts

Because you can’t just set aside the intense, long-term commitments you make as you progress through life, get started in a business before you add too many to your life-ledger.

You Can Pick Yourself up More Easily

If not saddled with so many other commitments, you can afford to fail if necessary. Because so many businesses struggle, your own initial attempt may not make it past the first year or two. However, consider that failure is a learning experience, that learning is a life-long pursuit and that early failure will set you on a path toward growth and future successes.

You May Build for Your Future

Even if your first take on being a business owner is not wildly successful, you will start to gain valuable assets. Unless you declare bankruptcy, you will have experiences to show future creditors or investors. Even better, when you do succeed, you can start to pad your bank of savings and earn lifelong income. As initial income comes, you can begin your retirement investments early; also, you should be able to generate income for years to come if you do run a solid business.

You, Will, Grow Up Fast

School may prepare you for life, but it does not parallel what you will find in the real world. No matter how many case scenarios your professors present, these scripts will never replicate the high-stakes environments that you will experience on the street and in the office. Running your business will teach you to think on your feet, and you will gain invaluable skills and knowledge.

Starting a business can be daunting for anyone. However, by taking on an entrepreneurial position at a younger age, you can apply energy and exuberance to the challenge and come out ahead in the end.