Success in your 20s is more about setting the table than enjoying the feast, especially in today's world. In the old days, you could graduate college and have 10 job offers lined up. Today's kids (and adults) have to work a lot harder to get there, but sometimes they defy the odds and reach stardom early.

Although some celebrities made it big before age 25, most took many years to build their careers. Hopefully their stories will remind you that it's never too late or too early to fulfill your dreams. Find out what these celebrities and well-known entrepreneurs were up to at age 25!

Jay-Z

At age 25, Shawn Carter probably had no idea of the fame and fortune in his future. Although he was in the music scene by age 20, he was "relatively anonymous" until starting his own record label at 27.

Ralph Lauren

The fashion designer's career was just about to take flight before he hit age 25. Until age 24, he served in the U.S. Army and afterwards was a sales assistant at Brooks Brothers.

Martha Stewart

Before she became the go-to for advice about household lifestyle in America, Martha Stewart worked on Wall Street as a stockbroker for 5 years. After her stint there, she made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom and began focusing more on cooking.

Elon Musk

The Tesla Motors founder left his PhD program at Stanford just before his 25th birthday, because he wanted to start his own company. He later sold the company, Zip2, for $307 million and went on to start Tesla.

Tina Fey

Around age 25, the comedian we know and love was living in Chicago and working as the child-care registrar at the YMCA before joining an improv group called Second City. She boosted her career by writing scripts before becoming a star herself.

Jennifer Lawrence

Although she's still got a long career ahead of her, Jennifer Lawrence won her first Academy Award for best actress before the age of 25 for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. Today, she's Hollywood's highest-paid actress.

Jeff Bezos

This billionaire and CEO of Amazon worked at McDonald's flipping burgers in his 20s. "My first week on the job, a five-gallon...ketchup dispenser got stuck open in the kitchen and dumped a prodigious quantity...Since I was the new guy, they handed me the cleaning solution and said, 'Get going!'" he said.

Howard Schultz

Before he was the executive chairman at Starbucks, Schulz worked as a salesman at Xerox until the age of 26, when he was hired by another company. It wasn't until he was 29 that he began his career with Starbucks.

JK Rowling

Until the age of 25, Rowling had a pretty hard life. She was virtually penniless and had a young daughter to support. Fortune was smiling upon her when one day, because she was inspired at 25 to write the Harry Potter books. We all know what happened after that.  

Kat Cole

COO and President of Focus Brands Kat Cole began her career at Hooters, of all places. She worked there from age 17 and became the vice president before age 26. They appreciated her work so much that they sent her on international trips to open new restaurants.