Christopher Pund came to meet the region's most famous young entrepreneur, the guy who made his first million before graduating from high school.

But when Roanoke native Cameron Johnson had to cancel, Pund settled in to learn all he could Wednesday from a host of presenters and from pinch-hitting keynote speaker Fahad Hassan during a daylong Entrepreneur Workshop. The event took place at the Roanoke Civic Center's exhibition hall.

Pund is no slouch. Now a junior at Radford University, Pund launched his first business in high school. He still operates ProfessionalGFX, a Web site development company. Later, he and partner Zach Chapin started Radford Auctions, which sells items on eBay and handles payment collection and shipping for those who don't have the time, know-how or inclination to do it themselves.

"My parents are both entrepreneurs and have a successful business," Pund said during a lunch break. "I knew right from the beginning I didn't want to work for someone else."

But Pund and others at the fair heard speakers who cautioned that being one's own boss can be equal parts agony and ecstasy.

Scott Tate, a community viability specialist for the Virginia Cooperative Extension, said small business owners "need to be good at managing chaos." He described financing options and emphasized the need for cash reserves.

And no one needs to tell small business owners that long hours are the norm, especially during the early years.

Pund knows about fighting the clock. He's a college student, with a major in business management and a minor in media studies. He's a member of Collegiate Entrepreneurs, a campus organization. He runs two businesses. And he has a girlfriend.

"If there were 40 hours in a day I'd have enough," Pund said.

Hassan, who stepped in as keynote speaker, is 21 years old and about to graduate from Virginia Tech. He started Daylert, a Web site designed to help students organize their lives.

Are these the kinds of young entrepreneurs the Roanoke and New River valleys would like to recruit and retain? Yes.

Will they linger after graduation? Probably not.

Both Hassan and Pund are from Maryland. Hassan said he will head home after graduation. Pund said he'll probably return to Maryland initially but would like to return to the New River Valley.

"It's up in the air right now," Pund said. "Eventually, I would like to come back to the area. There are a lot of opportunities for things to grow down here."

That's the kind of testimony Stuart Mease wants to hear. As special projects coordinator for the city of Roanoke, Mease's primary focus is attracting and retaining young adults -- a demographic group Roanoke and many other cities are trying to lure.

A Jan. 19 article in The Providence Journal in Rhode Island used four paragraphs to describe Mease's efforts in Roanoke, including an event held in late December to provide information to students home for the holidays about regional opportunities.

On Wednesday, though, Mease said the Entrepreneur Workshop was meant to serve all ages.

Wanda Sharp, 54, said she was there to tap business expertise because she is becoming an independent insurance agent.

Wednesday's event was co-sponsored by Wachovia and LeClair Ryan.

Harold McLeod, Wachovia's Roanoke president, said the bank works hard to support small businesses.

"The lifeblood of our business is the entrepreneurial spirit," he said.

Ronald Bew, from the Richmond office of the federal Small Business Association, touted the SBA as an important resource.

"Your tax dollars pay for us, so I encourage you to use us," he said.

"Everything is possible in small business," Bew said. "The SBA, our whole mission in life, is to help you go into business or expand your business."