7 Reasons to Start Business While at University

I started my business in 1999 when I was still a student. There were also good and bad in this, but I am very grateful for the experience and would recommend it to other ambitious entrepreneurs.

Low Risk, High Reward

What do you have to lose? You don't own anything, you have some commitments in your life, and the worst possible scenario is to get back to what you're doing right now.

That doesn't mean you need to take an approach to start a business. Your years at the university will end before you know it, and suddenly the danger will be greater. You probably have time to start a serious business venture in college years and within 12 months to figure out if it's gonna work. Perhaps you will succeed the first time, perhaps change your method, perhaps give up or begin something new. The sooner you test your ideas, the better.

Campus sources

Universities have access to faster Internet connections, free advice from professors who often want to be involved in primary student businesses, meeting rooms, and other sources for which you would pay a lot outside campus. The truth is, you're paying for these resources campus, through fees and schooling, so take advantage of them.

Education in the Real World

You can learn a lot in class. The world of initial businesses is a major bridge between the materials learned and applied concepts. There is no better way to accelerate growth than to build a company, says student entrepreneur Jordan Gonnen, a first-year student at Washington University in St. Louis. It's 100 times harder than anything that happens in class, but it's also 100 times more valuable than any book lesson.

Reachable Consumers

Students are a valuable source for testing your ideas. They're free, and they tell you if you don't like what you have to offer. If you can make students pay for something, it is a good sign that your product or service is likely to succeed. Students are also connected. They have the power to produce spread.

Counseling

When I was a student I had access to everyone. All I had to do was contact an executive chief's assistant and tell him I'm a student in BYU and I'm starting a company and I'd be interested in getting some advice from you and so on. Successful entrepreneurs like to give advice to new entrepreneurs. They'll take the time to find someone else, and they'll talk openly to you because they don't see you as a threat or as someone with further motivation.

Co-founder

True, students have no experience, but think of it this way, the successful entrepreneurs of tomorrow are at the university today, and when will you have a better chance of recruiting them than today, when they still don't understand what capacity they have? The next Zuckerberg may be the guy or the girl sitting next to you at finance class who looks upset.

Building a Career

Even if you start a college business and he fails, it's a big plus on your resume. Starting a business shows that you are active and creative, the kind of successful workers that successful companies seek. The experience of initial businesses while at university can put you on a fast track to leadership opportunities in another company if you decide that you are not ready to be full-time entrepreneur and want to gain work experience first.

Are there negative aspects of starting a business while you're at college? Of course, you can spend money washing your business and losing long hours without sleeping. But these investments are repaid in other ways, making it a rewarding experience for which you will always be grateful. (Joshua Steimle/ Entrepreneur)