“Your student years are the perfect time to at least try to start your own venture.” You’ve probably read or heard this so much it’s become such a cliché. But even though you might be tired of seeing or hearing it, that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Need some convincing? No problem. Let’s break down the seven biggest reasons why starting out on the entrepreneurial journey while in school is the best timing possible.
It’s Easier to Make Time for Growing It
Ask any student, and they’ll tell you they have no free time at all. They have homework, classes, essays, extracurriculars, etc. But they want to hang out with friends every once in a while, too!
But don’t let that fool you: it’s not impossible to make time for your own business. And it’s not just that. When you have a 9-to-5 job that you can’t quit, it will get in the way. You won’t be able to just decide to have fewer working hours or outsource your job to someone else.
“How can I even think about my own business if I have that huge physics assignment due next week?” Well, you can always find a college essay helper at EssayPro to do that assignment for you. “But what about attending classes?” You might be able to skip out on some of them, too.
In other words, if you prioritize your business over school, you’ll always find ways to balance the two. And make no mistake: growing your own business is a full-time job. It’s demanding, and it’s exhausting – but it’s rewarding, too.
You Don’t Risk That Much
Imagine a thirty-something-year-old who wants to open up a café. Do you know how much they’d have to risk to act on that dream? Here’s just a quick overview of your imaginary adult entrepreneur’s constraints:
- They have student loans, a mortgage, and other loans to pay off;
- They have a kid or two to support and take care of (and having kids is expensive!);
- They’re used to a certain level of comfort, and they don’t want to lose.
You’re free from all of that right now. You don’t have others depending on you financially. You’re not tied down by mortgage payments (yet). And you can easily sacrifice your comfort for following a dream.
Besides, if you fail, you can still graduate and use your degree to find a job. In other words, failing won’t be the end of the world: you’ll be able to just go on with your life.
Your Inexperience Can Be Your Superpower
Do you know what makes an idea revolutionary in retrospect? It’s not just its impact on the industry or the world. Revolutionary ideas are described as such because they were deemed impossible or unfeasible.
Any industry has an often-unspoken set of rules that determine what’s possible and what’s feasible – and what isn’t. But if you have no idea they even exist, there are no limits you set for yourself and, by proxy, your business.
This means you can manage to achieve the unthinkable and do the impossible – simply because you weren’t treating these ideas and goals as such.
You Have a Lot of Resources at Your Disposal
You might be baffled right now. A lot of resources? You might not even have a penny to your name!
But you can use so many things that a working adult can’t:
- Free Wi-Fi and office space (yes, adults have to pay for those!);
- On-campus competitions, hubs, and incubators (some of them come with founding opportunities);
- Plenty of experts who are willing to help you with advice.
You’re Surrounded by Like-Minded People
Entrepreneurship is rarely a tale of a lone wolf. Microsoft was founded by two people. Reddit was the child of three college roommates. It took three people (also students, by the way) to create Snapchat, too.
And those aren’t handpicked examples. Go to Wikipedia and search for any company that pops into your mind. There’ll be more than one person in the “Founders” section 95 percent of the time.
Finding the right person to be your co-founder is always challenging. But when you’re in school, you just can’t help but stumble upon someone else who shares your passion and your product vision. That someone can be your roommate, classmate – or, who knows, maybe even a member of the teaching staff.
Your Test Market Is Right Within Your Reach
This is especially true if your primary demographic is students like you. You can approach your friends and ask them to take your product or service for a test drive. Then, you’ll be able to improve it based on their feedback.
Did you know that tech startups have to organize user interviews to get this kind of feedback? And they pay handsomely for that, too – while you can DIY this for free!
But students aren’t the only demographic you can find on your campus. Even if you have an idea for a product targeted at the 25-32 age group, you don’t have to go far to find your “test subjects.” Just talk to the campus staffers who fit the bill.
Finding Support Will Never Be as Easy Down the Road
For one, there’s a 99% chance that there’s an already-established support structure for entrepreneurial students like you on campus. That includes the hubs, competitions, and incubators mentioned above.
But that’s not all. You can find support in more informal, unstructured ways – when you pick someone’s brain over the intricacies of product launch, for example. That person with the know-how can even become your mentor, investor, or co-founder down the road.
Besides, having people around you that want you to succeed, encourage you, and help you with their wisdom is essential for success. It helps you maintain that can-do attitude even when you’re facing the toughest of challenges.
Final Thoughts
Yes, not all startups turn into multinational companies worth billions. Many of them don’t even manage to stay afloat. But that’s not an excuse to stay put and do nothing. Even if your venture fails, you’ll gain the most valuable asset in the world: experience.
Plus, think about it this way. Before Bill Gates went on to found Microsoft with Paul Allen, his Traf-O-Data venture couldn’t manage to stay open. Milton Hershey, the person behind Hershey’s Chocolate, initially failed at the candy business – three separate times!
Yet, they persisted, just like most other now-famous entrepreneurs. They learned from their mistakes and used those failures to their advantage – and so can you.
