Article Contributed by Chris
There are (of course) about a million things that make being a student one of the absolute best times of your life. Among them:
- Meeting new friends
- Living away from home for the first time
- Expanding your mind with knowledge
- Gaining new independence and experience
Being a student is also a really good time for trying things out. New hairstyles, new cuisines, maybe even using your extended summer holiday to go and have an adventure in a new country – or even a new continent!
One thing that more and more people these days are doing is going into business. People from all walks of life, too – from young mothers to the mature and sage self-employed folks.
And it really makes sense for many to start up a business – and if you’re a student, it’s good to have interests outside of the curriculum. Plus, it also means (hopefully!) having a little bit of hard earned cash to save or spend.
Breaking Into Business (While Also Studying for a Degree)
There’s an idea that entrepreneurs are people who have this lightning flash of inspiration and suddenly introduce the world to a whole new set of things. But not all entrepreneurs are Elon Musk, Steve Jobs or Richard Branson. In fact one guy I was at college with started a cleaning business while doing his degree. And after finishing his degree? You guessed it – he pursued his business dream, grew the business – and now does pretty well.
What my fellow student did not do was to sit there dreaming, or overthinking what the world needed. He just saw a service that is massively important, got going with the business nuts and bolts – and made a good living. What he didn’t do was in fact probably the two of the most important things that we all need to avoid in business:
- He didn’t needlessly spend time reinventing the wheel
- He didn’t get put off by the understandable challenges of starting out
What Business Ideas Could Students Consider?
Obviously there are lots of ideas out there, but today I just want to concentrate on a few – just to illustrate the kinds of ways that people can – and do – start up in business.
Retail. Of course if you’re studying, then a bricks and mortar store might not be practical. This of course is where the internet comes in handy. However, a lot of markets are crowded and it may take a little time, thought and inspiration to find your selling niche.
One good example of a student business selling something that others may not have thought of is Sakura Health UK – which specialises in Japanese influenced therapy products. Read the fascinating story of this business here.
Services. If you’re studying abroad, people may want to learn your language – and to pay for the privilege. Or you may be a brilliant guitar player and also have a facility for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm. If you have a set of sellable skills, think of ways that you could use them to make a profit – and also about how you could grow your business once it’s off the ground.
Making things. Okay, so this one is a bit of a toughie, unless you have the wherewithal and the skills to build stuff. But let’s not forget that Apple was started in a garage, while a lot of people who make furniture and so on also work out of garage-sized proportions. There are actually quite a lot of products that make it onto the mass marketplace that started life as someone’s home project.
Being a lucky outlier. Okay so this one’s not quite so easy – but for a small (and growing) number of people, using platforms such as YouTube can mean making a fortune. And you don’t even need to be a performer: among the rising stars on YouTube (and with literally millions of subscribers) are people presenting things as varied as make-up tutorials and wacky short comedy sketches. Unfortunately, there’s no business roadmap for this one – what goes viral, goes viral. And what doesn’t, uh, doesn’t. Could be worth a try though: with no hard and fast formula, nobody knows what the next big thing will be.
Getting Tooled Up For Business
Professionalism isn’t all about your product, service or grand idea, though. A lot of it is grounded in practicality and the boring backroom stuff: the profit margins, the projections, the revenue stream, and so on. But if you know how to build the foundations of a business, you will far better placed to look at your achievements (and, yes, failures) in perspective.
There’s a whole world out there offering support and advice for people starting out in the world of business. So make full use of it. Here are some useful jump-off points to explore this world of commercial advice and support in more detail
Startup incubators – never has there been a better time for seeking help with your early-stage company. Incubators exist for a simple reason – even the biggest and the best (like Apple and Google) start off small.
Indemnity and liability cover – depending on your type and size of business, these and other insurances are likely to be a statutory requirement. This US Government guide covers the basics. If you’re in the UK, the Association of British Insurers trade body has a helpful guide here.
Business toolkits – these cover a wide range of topics that you’ll probably want to think about, including writing your business plan, growing your business plan, becoming an employer and so on. This guide has a lot of these covered – and if you want to find out about government support and grants, this UK Government toolkit is very useful.
Networking – this can take many forms, and lead you to new ways of thinking – as well as making vital connections with suppliers, customers, and also help you see what the competition is up to. This article by Smarta goes over the main points.
Putting it all together
If there’s a universal golden rule in business, it’s this: perseverance. Of all the self made multimillionaires out there (and there are loads of them, a full 100% of them started out with little more than hope and an idea. Plenty met failure along the way – and a good proportion of them have stated that they value the mis-steps and the off-targets. Why? Because these were valuable lessons they put to use when they stepped back on the road to success.
Being on your own in business can be very hard work, and it can be lonely sometimes. So make sure you step back now and then and realise you’re not really alone at all. Get some books by business and entrepreneur gurus and read what they have to say – even giants like Richard Branson started right at the very beginning. Reading the stories of the biggest and best in business is often an inspiration in itself.
About the Author
My name is Chris and I manage the Spend It Like Beckham blog where you’ll find all things sports and finance. When I’m not writing there, I’m spreading the good word wherever I can, covering areas such as business, student life and technology. You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter