l am a 23 yr old female and l am attempting to start a promotional marketing company. How can l use my age to my advantage? How can l be taken more seriously? What can l do to take the proper steps in building a solid business foundation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

founders of youtube, myspace, facebook

all young people. l think you should go listen to what they have to say :)

Obviously, market yourself. Get to know the local media outlets (cable companies, tv & radio stations, newspapers). Learn what they can offer & their prices, see if u can get hold of their demographics (you do not want to be advertising funeral homes on a station whose audience is 20-somethings).

Next, create a promo campaign for yourself - the same way u would do a promo campaign for a client. Like l said, u need to sell yourself first. Who is ur target audience (is it every business in ur area, would u do better marketing to a specific group?), what do u bring to the table (other experience, college degrees, etc.). Start small - approach companies u have not seen on local cable, or where ever. Offer them something unique (who r their clients, & how do u attract more of them).

Once u have one of two clients, create & maintain a portfolio - u r going to use this for two things. First, if the promo is successful, u r going to use the campaign as part of ur resume - show other potential clients ur successes. If the promo campaign is unsuccessful or not completely successful, use this portfolio to get better - analyze ur mistakes, etc.

If u have extra time, approach places like churches & other small not-for-profits & offer to create a campaign for free (in exchange for using them as a reference). Do not spend a lot - use ur brainpower instead of ur pocketbook. Seek out who will provide PSAs for not-for-profits & shoot a cheap ad to run as a PSA. Just make it look professional.

Good luck.

No, 23 is not too young. But, if you are asking all these questions, step back a bit and get yourself more sorted before proceeding further.

Write a business plan. Do plenty of research.

Why do you need to use your age to an advantage? This will come in the natural order of things when people meet you. The other side of the coin is that people may see it as a disadvantage. Merit, ability and experience are what you need to concentrate on, not age.

You are never too young. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to speak properly, clearly and confidently. Also, dress the part. It is going to take time and hard work to establish yourself, but if you put in the effort, you can do it.

research the type of business you want to create including who is your competition, write a business plan to see it it can realistically make money