Hector Gutierrez became an overnight celebrity on the University of Alabama campus after he was thrust into the spotlight earlier this year with an embarrassing email faux pas.
While applying to his school’s honor society, he mistakenly sent a letter of recommendation from a business school professor to a university mailing list with thousands of recipients.
“I started getting phone calls and text messages saying, ‘Why are you emailing me? Why are you emailing me?'” Gutierrez told me wealth. “My Outlook started exploding.”
While he initially found himself cringing at the mistake, the exposure proved to be a boon to his small business. It turned him into a social media star, earned him a meeting with the university president and landed him a feature in the school newspaper — all of which thrust his small business into the spotlight.
Gutierrez, 18, started Hec’s Pet Sitting about three years ago. Instead of working a traditional teen job at the local Publix supermarket, he wanted to start his own business. The company he started in high school in South Florida has grown into a registered LLC with 10 part-time employees and annual revenue of more than $10,000.
“I started by just posting flyers around my neighborhood that said local pet sitters,” he said. “I was lucky enough that someone trusted me and I did a good job taking care of their dogs, and then it started to expand, and then it came to a point where I needed to hire people.”
Now in his first year studying business management at Alabama, Gutierrez’s unexpected fame has opened new doors for him — including potential clients in his college town. Business revenue also helps offset the more than $50,000 in annual enrollment costs he faced as an out-of-state student. But balancing a growing company with a full course load is no small feat, and he’s not the only one trying.
As traditional routes to work become increasingly unreliable, more and more young workers are redefining what work looks like and starting work earlier than ever.
A 2023 survey of U.S. students aged 16 to 25 by Samsung and Morning Consult found that 50% of respondents had aspirations to start a business. Likewise, an Intuit survey found that nearly two-thirds of 18- to 35-year-olds have started or plan to start part-time.
Meanwhile, the job market doesn’t offer many guarantees. Three out of five college graduates are pessimistic about their career prospects, according to a Handshake survey.
Jacob Stone Humphries, a business lecturer at the University of Alabama who wrote a letter of recommendation for Gutierrez, said it boils down to a generation facing deep uncertainty.
“Gen Z can see the writing on the wall. When you’re not sure what the future holds, you start building things yourself. Entrepreneurship is less about ambition and more about survival,” he told us wealth. “The students we work with every day understand this instinct; they just need guidance on how to channel it well.”
Artificial intelligence is both a driver of this uncertainty and increasingly a tool for resolving it. What once cost hundreds of dollars to build—a business plan, website, or marketing materials—can now be generated in minutes. Chatbots can also serve as de facto business partners, providing guidance on everything from payroll basics to deciphering complex tax language.
Elijah Khasabo is another example of what’s possible. While completing his senior year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he founded Vidovo, a user-generated content platform startup on track to generate seven-figure revenue.
“I really believe this is just a generational thing,” he previously told wealth. “I think we have a digital advantage.”
While something like an accidental email might seem disastrous at the moment, learning from your mistakes is often the fuel for success. It’s a mantra that even top business leaders live by.
For example, Linda Tong, CEO of Webflow, a $4 billion technology company, says it has become an integral part of her career.
“Looking back at my experiences, from being thrust into a role before I was ready, to failing to be a great teammate, to letting my ego get the better of me, I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she told ” wealth last year. “They shaped me into the leader I am today. They were painful at the time but left me with lifelong lessons.”
The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs admitted that his fear of death ultimately drove his life decisions and allowed him to overcome his fear of failure.
“Remembering that I will die soon is the most important tool I have ever encountered to help me make the big choices in my life,” he told Stanford’s 2005 graduates. “Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—those things disappear in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
Although Gutierrez accidentally emailed thousands of strangers, he had internalized this advice: “Always be patient, trust God, and never give up.”
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com