My goal when I started out was to get to the point where I could tour a lot and make a living which means getting paid enough to hire my own band travel and end up with a bit of money but I'm still nowhere near that point. Because I didn't have a band and fan base when I started I did everything backward.
The thing about youthful offenders is that no one seems to care about them. Most people don't like adolescents - even the good ones can be snarky and unpleasant. Combine the antipathy we feel toward the average teenager with the fear inspired by youth violence and you have a population that no one wants to deal with.