HERMITAGE, Pa. – They’re known collectively as Generation Z – people born approximately between 1997 and 2012 who are now coming of age in a very different economic environment than previous generations.

This is an economy driven by the digital revolution and a generation that has grown alongside the fast-paced changes in technology – technology that these young people were exposed to at an early age.

These changes have reframed how this generation has approached the entrepreneurial culture, bringing with it a sense of independence that many young people find appealing as they build their businesses and prepare for the future.

Creating a Business

Quentin Lee Jr. became interested in starting his own business during his junior year in high school.

“Around that time, my dad gave me a new car,” the 19-year-old Lee recalls. “I reached out to one of my friends about cleaning it and found out he had all the equipment. I thought we could get into this long-term.”

Today, Lee and his business partner, Isaiah Harvey, own IQ Mobile Details of Sharon, Pa., a mobile vehicle detailing service that offers customers the option of having their vehicle cleaned without traveling to a car wash or other service. “It just started as an idea between two friends,” Lee says.

Soon, that idea gathered steam after Lee enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Academy – or eAcademy – at LindenPointe in Hermitage, Pa. “That’s kind of where we decided to grow the business.”

The eAcademy, launched in 2014, provides a year-long curriculum for high school seniors in Mercer and Lawrence counties that is intended to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Lee, who just completed his first year at Penn State Shenango, says the experience gave him the confidence and ability to move the company forward.

“It helped put structure behind the business,” Lee says of the eAcademy, such as developing a business plan, and engaging in customer discovery by reaching out and identifying clients that could best benefit from IQ Mobile Details’ services.

“What I always preach now is time management,” Lee says. “Balancing school and work.”

Since finishing the eAcademy program, Lee and Harvey have expanded and reinvested in their business. Initially, the company received seed capital from Lee’s father, which was used to purchase some lower end equipment. “From there, as we grew, we were able to invest in more expensive and better equipment.” The new equipment helped to speed the detailing process, making the operation more efficient.

Lee says a mobile detailing service presents a more flexible alternative to clients who might not have the time to visit a car wash or be inconvenienced by having to drop their vehicle off for hours or a day for more extensive detailing. “We’re in and out in two to three hours,” he says, whether the client’s vehicle is parked at home or their workplace. “We’re doing pretty good.”

Lee, a marketing major, says social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are the preferred means of advertising. “For our generation, those are important. We get the majority of our business from Facebook,” he says. “We try to post two to three times a week, trying to keep at the top of everyone’s feed.”

Old-fashioned visual marketing has its place, Lee says. At each detailing job, for example, Lee makes sure to display a double-sided sandwich board with the company’s name and contact information. “We get clients who will walk past, see the sign and stop and talk, or take a picture of it,” he says.

Other more traditional methods include a partnership with Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant, Lee says. “When they host their bike nights and stuff like that, we’ll set up a tent there,” he says, noting connecting with people and word-of-mouth referrals are equally as effective for growing the business.

Lee says the business is doing very well and believes he can expand with other mobile services in the future, such as oil changes. “There’s a lot of different things in the works that could be done,” he says. “We have a client list that’s growing, so there’s definitely a market for it.”

Digital Age Entrepreneurs

Bradley Calleja, executive director of LindenPointe Development Corp., which oversees the eCentre@LindenPointe, a business incubator and accelerator, and the eAcademy, says the idea is to encourage entrepreneurship among young people and build a strong, regional economy by retaining talent.

“We make that connection between the eAcademy and the eCentre, so any student that completes the eAcademy can get access to all our services and space for six months,” Calleja says.

The eCentre provides early-stage companies with services such as internet, office and conference space, and access to equipment such as printers, Calleja says. One entrepreneur who graduated from the eAcademy in 2015, for example, is currently building an information technology business and uses the eCentre as its offices. IQ Mobile Details uses the eCentre’s services as well, he says.

“We like to start them in high school so they can take ownership and build something themselves,” Calleja says. “Once they get out of the eAcademy, we continue to support them on an ongoing basis with the resources that we offer any entrepreneur in the community.”

It’s also evident that younger people have embraced the idea of owning their own business and becoming their own boss, Calleja says. “In our accelerator program, more than half of the companies we’re working with are founded and run by people who are under the age of 35,” he says. “We have really talented entrepreneurs.”

Many of these entrepreneurs have other full-time jobs as they work to build their business, Calleja says. “They’re starting to recognize that if you can figure out your time and commitment, it does create a level of personal freedom to build something on their own.”

Working for Themselves

Recent data has shown that Generation Z Americans are among the most entrepreneurial-minded age groups in recent history. Advances in technology, work-from-home capabilities, a crippling pandemic, and the rise of the gig economy, for example have all helped make working for yourself an attractive option.

According to a survey conducted in 2023 by Square, 72% of Gen Z business owners believe that their generation has had fewer economic opportunities than previous generations. Yet 84% of these entrepreneurs still planned on owning a business five years from the study. A previous survey by WP Engine found that overall, 62% of Gen Z had plans to start a business in the future.

“Our business was started by my sister in 2018,” says Anna Kavulla, now a 21-year-old student at Thiel College entering her junior year. The company, A Pastel Petal, is an arts and crafts business that provides design services such as calligraphy, graphic design, watercolor, and pen and ink art that is applied to greeting cards and other customized gifts. Anna joined the business with her sister in 2020.

“Growing up, I always had kind of a business mindset,” Kavulla says. “However, I wanted to pursue the medical field.”

That changed during her senior year in high school, when she opted to enroll in the eAcademy. “It really shifted my perspective on my future career, and it was a pivotal moment in my life,” she reflects.

The business began as a digital storefront on Etsy, an e-commerce website that is most identified with the arts and crafts community, Kavulla says. “It sold digital download cards,” she says. The eAcademy, however, helped Kuvalla hone her entrepreneurial skills that enabled the sisters to take the business to new heights. “I was able to take the skill sets I learned throughout the curriculum and expand this,” she says.

Today, A Pastel Petal offers two business lines, Kavulla says. “We have the product side, which is producing stationery, journals, cards, stickers, tote bags and a wide range of gift products,” she says.

The other side of the business focuses on services such as designing new logos or marketing materials for area companies, Kavulla says. “We’ve increased and grown that over the last couple of years,” she says. The company relies heavily on digital marketing on social media that draws attention to the store’s website, the launch of new products, or announcements related to events such “pop-up” stores at certain locations.

Kavulla credits her experience at the eAcademy as instrumental in providing the entrepreneurial foundation from which to grow. “Before you build a business, you have to think like an entrepreneur,” she says.

During the first semester, Kavulla says, students were introduced on how to adopt soft skills – proper communication, teamwork, punctuality and problem-solving, for example – and apply it in a business scenario. “These are skill sets that you might not be taught in a traditional classroom and is something I’ve been able to use throughout my business.”

In her second semester, the eAcademy focused on developing “hard skills” such as marketing, customer relations and discovery, and creating a solid business plan. “The whole process was great,” she says.

Still, Kavulla says she’s not sure whether the business could be a full-time career. She is considering pursuing a law degree once she graduates. “Art and watercolor are a passion of mine, so I feel like if I were to expand it to be my sole basis of income, I won’t love it anymore,” she says. “That’s one thing I really don’t want to happen.”

Nevertheless, Kavulla says that her experience through the eAcademy and running the business has proven invaluable and helped prepare her for any future ventures. “It’s been exciting to build this business from the ground up,” she says.

Pictured: Quentin Lee Jr. and Isaiah Harvey of IQ Mobile Details, and Anna Kavulla, owner of A Pastel Petal.