5 Tips for Starting a Small Business in College

Starting a business while still enrolled in college isn’t an option for everyone. College is stressful enough, and running a business is a whole new ball game. If you’re especially ambitious and bursting at the seams with ideas, it may be worth overcoming the fear of that stress to help your future materialize. In some respects, your college years are the best time to start a business. Using your current situation to your advantage can actually provide you with better opportunities.

1. Do it at the Right Time

As your graduation date approaches, you’re probably considering how you intend to settle down. You might want to rent an apartment, or purchase a house. Maybe you want to move, or accept a great job offer. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at running your own small business, do this before you make plans that will cement you to a long-term life path. Attempting to manage a business while contending with set commitments will only make things more difficult. Get your idea off the ground before you have a mortgage to pay.

2. Use the Things at Your Disposal

Colleges offer tons of resources to students. You have access to great, secure internet. You have libraries full of books and course materials that you can use to research your business plan. These all come with your college experience, and they’ll be difficult to access after you graduate. You’ll have relatively few overhead expenses while you’re in college, making this the best time to experiment with ideas. Never pay for something you can use for free.

3. Turn Peers and Professors into Mentors

You’re not the only college student interested in starting a small business. Your campus is the best place to find potential partners. Many professors are teaching classes that pertain to the areas of business you’ll need to be well versed in, and most of them would be glad to provide you with some guidance and a little direction. It’s unlikely that you’ll find yourself in the same building as all of these useful people after you graduate. Make these connections now. Even if you don’t immediately use them, they’ll still be there for you to fall back on.

4. Be Careful Raising Money

Most people find that the only obstacle standing between themselves and their ability to achieve their dreams is money. Starting a business is expensive, and the majority of college students don’t have that kind of pocket money to play around with. You’ll need to find some partners and investors. Many of them will want a stake in your business, and this is a reasonable expectation. Make sure you aren’t giving away too much of your business. In the event that you decide to sell your business in the future, you’ll receive relatively little for all of your hard work.

5. Protect Your Ideas

It may take you a while to get your idea off the ground, and the last thing you need is someone else beating you to the punch. If your small business involves any innovations or inventions worth patenting, do so immediately. You can even put trademarks and copyrights on your name and logo. Forming an LLC, or even a corporation, will help protect your business as it continues to grow. Even if you don’t rent your first office space until long after you’ve graduated, you won’t have to worry about your idea becoming obsolete.

Though it certainly adds to your workload, your college years are one of the best times in your life to start a business. Your environment will support your ambitions, and you won’t be held back by the obligations that will cloud your life once you’ve settled down. If you’re willing to double up on the effort, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Author: Emily Burgess is an avid blogger who enjoys writing about all aspects of improving a business, be it marketing, project management or training. Emily is currently sharing some of her ideas at Course Guru – experts in the field of online education. Personally, she’s a great fan of foreign languages.