An entrepreneurial idea doesn’t always come to a person well into their career. There is an innumerable amount of college students who have a plan for the next big thing. This prompts the question; should college students wait or leap to begin their startup while they’re still in school?
Take Advantage of Time-Saving Resources
Beginning and running a startup takes a lot of time. This can be a lot for some college students. After all, balancing assignments alongside business can be a little overwhelming. Before giving up, though, consider the fact that as a college student, you have access to resources that can help you get through.
For instance, having to storm through assignments to prep for a business meeting often means that the student will need an extra pair of eyes of a professional writer to proofread their work. There are several writing platforms available that can help out with lab reports, last minute editing or even writing the whole thing from scratch. College students also have control over their class schedule which gives them some ability to have some sway over their agenda when planning.
Availability of Mentorships
Another great thing that college students have access to is a plethora of experts in their field. Professors hold a lot of information, and most are willing to help students however they can. These professors want to see students succeed and go beyond just helping them get a satisfactory grade in a course.
These mentorships can help students learn from another person’s successes and mistakes which allows them to gain lessons without dealing with personal pitfalls.
Time to Learn
Aside from gaining a mentor, there are more ways that students can learn how to run a business. The most obvious answer is to take classes on how to run a business while in college.
Colleges today have classes on almost every aspect of the business. Whether you want to learn management skills or how to handle accounting and financing, many courses can help students along. Some levels even teach business classes centered directly on entrepreneurship.
It’s also important to work to get the most out of these classes. Doing the bare minimum won’t help your business. Instead, be sure to study hard and be vocal in quality with any questions you might have.
Peers Can Be a Great Help
Some students have excellent ideas for a startup, but they may not know every aspect of how to put it into practice. This is where working with your peers can come in handy.
While in college, students meet plenty of other students. These are often other students that have a different concentration or even major from one another. This array of skills can be a great help.
For example, if you study computer science and have an idea for the next significant tech innovation, you might not know where to start to put this into practice. However, with the help of a peer that is a business major, you could create a valuable partnership through this networking.
Funding
This can be the biggest point of contention for many college students. Most students aren’t exactly rolling in money. As such, there is the concern that funding to bring an idea to life isn’t possible.
There are many ways that students can find funding for their ideas. Once again, college resources such as scholarship and finance offices can help advise students on finding loans, grants, fellowships, and scholarships. Certain funding options are specific to students.
Many entrepreneurs today also crowdfund. In other words, they explain their idea – sometimes with a prototype – and garner donations. This is also a great way to build a customer base early on.
Has It Been Done?
By now, we’ve gone over some of the considerations of a student who wants to kickstart their entrepreneurial ideas in college. So, let’s take a look at some examples of successful entrepreneurs who got their start from a dorm room.
The most famous example is Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook. He started this social media giant in 2004, while, he was still a student at Harvard. Today, this early start on his entrepreneurship early led to a multi-billion dollar industry of which Zuckerberg owns $70 billion worth of shares.
Another example of a college-aged entrepreneur making a fortune on his idea is Michael Dell. This occurred in 1984 in a pre-med student’s dorm room at the University of Texas. This dedication to a startup led to the birth of Dell Technologies.
It can be intimidating to begin your startup in college. It can also be a great opportunity, though. If you have faith in your idea and aren’t afraid of a little hard work, don’t wait to put your plan into practice.
