This is the first of my series of blogs by no-box-thinkers.   I have invited someone, each month, to write on a topic where they demonstrate that there are no limits – only those we impose ourselves.

Hannah Liversidge runs AmethystPA where she specialises in letting business owners focus on their business, by taking care of the day-to-day tasks for them.  Having worked in our family business from the age of 17, at 22 she is into her second year of her own, successful enterprise.  Here, Hannah shares her approach to her age and how it has impacted her business growth – and her own.

Hannah chooses not to put herself in a box

So, there I was, seventeen years old and I’m up at 5:30am to go to a networking meeting called BNI for my father’s roofing company. Who’d have thought anyone would be up at this time?! I pick up my 60 seconds as written the night before (luckily I typed it up as there were too many scribbles to be able to read it) and get onto my bicycle with my dress in my bag. I walk into a room with a large group of well-established, experienced business owners and I’m the youngest there! Phew, no pressure then! For three years of my membership I was the youngest member of BNI in my region and after overcoming my fears that people wouldn’t take me seriously, I was darn proud of it.

After four and half years of being a member for Reliable Roofer I took the plunge and started my business AmethystPA. Thanks to creating my credibility with these members I was able to have clients within two days of starting Amethyst, age was definitely not a factor there then!

After four months I decided to change my market which meant I had to leave the group I had become comfortable in and had grown to love. My next networking event wasn’t for two months and it was at an Athena group where, yet again, I was the youngest business owner there. Stepping into those “youngest here” shoes again was a little unnerving I must admit. Thankfully, overcoming those fears happened in a flash as I started chatting with like-minded business women.

Being labelled “young entrepreneur” can be a difficult label to take when you are concerned that young could be taken negatively. Turning up to networking meetings as the youngest business owner can be daunting, threatening and quite liberating too. After all my practice at BNI you’d think networking would be a doddle. The public speaking is fine, I don’t shake anymore which is great, it’s the getting into conversations that are my downfall: “What if they think I’m not credible?” or “Do I look like I could own my own business?” the worst thought, for me, was “I don’t look experienced enough”.

If you’re reading this and agreeing that these are regular thoughts going through your mind, whether it’s too young or too old, then you need to realise what an incredible benefit you have.

I have learnt that being young is my greatest asset in business. I run a business that focuses on skills in sectors that I have been brought up on such as E-newsletters and social media therefore my clients would expect me to be of a younger generation. People regularly greet me with questions about my business and what made me start so young, that they wish they’d have had the courage to do it at my age. What an uplifting way to start a conversation (on my side at least!) so why did age matter to me so much?

Having people around you that know you’re great at what you do and want you to have more business can help you to overcome your fears of age. If you tell someone that you think you’re not the right age for a certain event you’ll get an honest answer (which is usually “you’re being absolutely ridiculous, of course you’re the right age!”). You need to embrace your age and love where you are. If you are a young entrepreneur utilise it, ask experienced entrepreneurs how they got to where they are today, they’ll love helping you and they’ll help you by giving you the advice they wish they’d had at the start of their business. If you feel you are too experienced, then speak with people who are younger and take on board their advice. As a young entrepreneur who has been asked by more experienced business owners about my thoughts on a subject I was overwhelmed with the thought that they actually valued my opinion. That is how you’ll make the person you ask feel.

Overall, age is not a factor in business; it is an asset and a great way to learn. Never be scared to ask for help wherever possible and embrace your age, after all, we’re all in the same boat. We all took that step to freedom and entrepreneurship.

Hannah can be found on Twitter @AmethystPA
AmethystPA website and Hannah’s Un-natural Networker blog