Whether you’re a freshman or graduating college in a few months, you may already be planning your dream career and wondering what the future holds. Working hard towards a degree during your college years will pay off if entering the corporate world or securing a 9 to 5 job is what you dream about. However, many people find entrepreneurship to be a more rewarding career path, an opportunity to branch out and create something of their very own.

1. Entrepreneur 101: How
To Become An
Entrepreneur In
College, And Why You
Should Do It
by Richard Maize

2. Mark Zuckerberg didn’t develop
Facebook on his own, he worked with a
group of friends who eventually became
part of his business team. Consider
teaming up with like‐minded students
who can provide unique insights and
observations, and contribute with
different skill sets. Whether you’re
launching a new app or looking to open a
retail store, you will need a team by your
side. Your business classes and any
extracurricular activities you are
involved in related to entrepreneurship
or startups are some great places to find
these people.
01
Team Up with Like‐Minded Students

3. Hard work and dedication will take
you to the top but you need to be
truly passionate about your business
and concept before you can move
forward. If you are the owner and
founder of the company, take the
time to hash out exactly why you are
doing what you are doing and what
you expect to bring to the market.
Think on a larger scale so you can
identify your mission statement and
key messages. How would you
describe your business to somebody
that knows nothing about it in a few
sentences?
02
Choose an Industry You Are Passionate About

4. You’ll be surprised how many of your
college professors have launched their
own business venture at some point in
their career or are part of startup and
incubator teams in the community. Don’t
be afraid to reach out to any of your
professors to serve as a mentor or simply
provide advice and guidance on how to get
your business venture started. If you are
enrolled in any type of entrepreneurship
course in college, you may be able to make
your final project a real business project
where your professors could provide direct
advice and guidance on making it a
success.
03
Connect with Professors

5. Your college years will be some of the
most memorable years of your life but
also a prime time in your educational
career to learn and grow. If you aspire
to be an entrepreneur, seek out colleges
and universities that support student
entrepreneurs with resources and
opportunities for advancement as an
independent business owner. Look for
schools that partner with startup
incubators and investors so that you
have the opportunity to connect with
these business professionals and fully
develop your ideas.
04
Maximize School’s Startup Resources

6. You have many research resources at your
disposal when you’re in school and access to
social and business networking groups where
you can talk about different ideas and market
trends. Make use of these resources to do
some in‐depth research about your
competitors, read about their stories and
startup phase, make note of what they are
doing now and keep tabs on any press releases
or news about them so you can identify any
market opportunities. Knowing what your
competitors are doing is critical at every stage
of business but even more so in the startup
phase when you need to identify your key
markets — and ways to crush your
competition.
05
Research Your Competitors

7. There’s no rule that you need to wait until you
graduate to launch and operate your startup
venture. If you have good time management
skills and are passionate about your future
business, don’t be afraid to get your pre‐
launch strategy together while you are still in
school and even launch your venture before
graduation day. Take the time to figure out
what you need to do to register your business
and open up shop. Hire interns to help out and
consider pulling together some funds to take
care of marketing and other business
expenses on your own. Explore crowdfunding
options such as Kickstarter or even a Kiva
loan to help you get things off the ground.
There are many different ways to get your
business off the ground and you don’t need to
wait until graduation — or even drop out of
college — to make your dreams a reality.
06
Prepare to Launch Before Graduation