There are many people who cringe at the thought of college students setting up a business. The usual line of argument is: you should focus on school, you don’t have enough experience, you’re not prepared for that kind of commitment or you’re already scrapping by in your college life, so why add another thing to worry about? Considering the matter from a different perspective, you’ll easily see why college is the closest you can get the ‘the right time’ for starting your own company. Here are five good reasons why you should start a business while still at college.
1. You have almost nothing to lose
To put it simply, college students have less to lose. As a young person, you’ll surely make mistakes, but those are the best learning material you can get. Have you ever heard a tutor say ‘don’t try’?
At this point in your life, your mistakes won’t cost you a lot – indeed they will be more instructive than ever. Treat potential failures as another source of feedback. Not trying is always worse than failing at something – you don’t want to become that guy who always thinks about all those things he wanted to try, but never did.
2. You can be as selfish as you want
Another great advantage of being a student is the fact that you’re relatively free of obligations. Your main responsibilities are those regarding your studies – but once you leave college, the list will grow exponentially, especially once you start a family.
In college, your only responsibility is yourself and you’ll never get a better chance to think exclusively about your own interests. This is the best time to invest your mind and soul into something you believe in – simply because you’re in the best position to take risks.
3. You’ve got access to resources
Colleges are well-equipped when it comes to cutting-edge market reports and academic journals on any subjects of interest. You might not realize it, but compiling such market studies takes lots of time and hard work. Naturally, once you’re out of college, you’ll see that they’re extremely expensive. These resources combined with all the good advice from your tutors and supervisors makes college environment a very secure and comfortable place to start your business.
4. You’ve got the support
It’s safe to say that colleges are easily the most supportive environments ever – just go to a college football game to see how all students unite behind the team. Your peers want others to achieve success and do great things – they can serve as an excellent first big market.
Once they talk about your product with their friends and family, you’ll enjoy a reach wider than you ever imagined. If you decide to start you social media campaign, you’ll find that college audiences are the most receptive once to this kind of marketing. This is the best moment to build a solid base of loyal followers.
5. Failing will make you grow
College is easily the best time to make mistakes, because you’re not losing that much and instead get the best opportunity to grow and gain new experiences. Even if things don’t go as planned, you’ll carry this knowledge with you for the rest of your life. You’ll become more mature and tuned in to receive insights from the world surrounding you.
Becoming a young entrepreneur is something many people consider, but few actually realize it. Fortunately, recent years saw the launch of many valuable programs that foster entrepreneurial thinking in young people, encouraging them to realize their ideas before someone else does it.
Article contributed by Monique Craig
Monique is an experienced blogger currently working at Oneflare, an online marketplace featuring over 60,000 business based in Australia.
