By David Purtell

david.purtell@salisburypost.com

Last Sunday, the Post published a story focusing on two new businesses in Granite Quarry with owners who are young and new to the world of entrepreneurship.

Brady Reavis, 24, and Jamie Vanhoy, 26, made the brave decision to take a chance on something they love. Reavis opened up a truck- and Jeep- accessories store, BSC Off-Road, this summer, and Vanhoy opened Wahoo’s Diner in early September.

Reavis and Vanhoy are part of a trend: Young people taking control of their careers by starting their own business.

One reason for the trend is the bad economy. In the midst of the recession, many young people and recent college graduates were unable to find work, and a lot of them decided to create their own jobs.

Another reason for the increase is technology. Today, a few young programmers can develop a smartphone app. The app gains widespread popularity in a couple of years, and the programmers sell their idea to a giant tech company for a few billion dollars. The business goes from a few people to several hundred employees.

The way businesses grow and develop has changed over the years, but the concept is still the same: Create a product or service that is useful and a business can have success.

In the case of Vanhoy and Reavis, the entrepreneurs chose to start a business close to home. Vanhoy lives in China Grove and Reavis grew up in Granite Quarry. This is important because their businesses will feed back into the local economy. And if they grow and hire more workers, the economic impact will continue to grow.

It’s important for communities to support locally-owned businesses. Money spent in the community stays in the community. The more young people who choose to stay home and build businesses in their communities, the better.