10 Tips to Starting a Successful Business during College

The cost of attending college today can range from $30,000 – $60,000 a year. Unfortunately, the expense of earning a degree is forcing more and more students to juggle a full-time student workload with working a substantial number of hours off campus. In fact, about 40 percent of full-time and 73 percent of part-time college students ages 16 to 24 were employed in 2010 (National Center for Education Statistics).

However, college students need jobs that allow them to choose their own hours with revenue-generating opportunities outside the traditional 8:00 a.m. to -5 p.m. workday. Ideally, the position would be entirely portable and offer the chance to migrate from a job to a full-time career when the student was ready.

More and more students are finding it’s possible to earn a living while still in college by starting their own business. For students interested in choosing an entrepreneurial route during college, here are 10 tips for success:

Ø Select a business opportunity that has little overhead

Keep your start-up costs down.  Try to avoid endeavors that require you to take out a loan, rent office space, spend a lot on marketing or advertising, pay franchise fees, etc. For example, some virtual call centers offer graduates the ability to establish a home-based contact center servicing Fortune 500 clients with start-up costs of less than $500.

Ø  Calculate the return on your initial investment (ROI)

Research any potential partnerships to make sure they work with your goals and mission.  Determine what the return on your initial investment will be and when you’ll be cash-flow positive.  Avoid any opportunities that require more than six months to generate an income.

Ø Find an opportunity that lets you control growth

Determine the long-term goal for your company and develop a growth plan. If you want to grow the business quickly, can you?  If you want to remain small and not employ others, is that acceptable?  Decide what your lifestyle goals are before settling into a position.

Ø Leverage what you are learning in school

 Put your expertise to work and look for opportunities that hone in on your talents. You’re working hard to earn your degree, so no matter how you decide to apply your knowledge, make sure you find the opportunity that makes the most of your individual talents.

Ø Find the work-school balance you desire

Just because you’re the boss, doesn’t mean that you have freedom. It’s just as easy to be tethered to your company as it is to be tethered to your cube. Be wise about the business you start and remember to do something that provides a flexible work schedule to that fits with your school schedule.

Ø Look for flexibility

Find a business that offers the chance to generate revenue anytime of the day – not just between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.  Service-based businesses, like a partnership with a virtual contact center, offer the chance to assists callers 24 hours a day. Plus, as a business owner, students choose their own work hours in 30 minute increments.

Ø Continuity after college

Choose a business opportunity that is portable, meaning if you move or graduate, your career can move with you. Working in a service-based, 100% virtual environment, means that as you can go through college, your career can progress as well.

Ø Diversity for your career

The best business opportunity is one that provides you with exposure to a wide variety of industries.  Operating a contact center services business, for example, allows students to work with Fortune 150 Clients from all sectors including retail, telecommunications, and high-tech.

Ø Access to additional resources

When selecting a business opportunity, look at the support available to help owners get started. In addition to running the business, students also may need marketing tips, information on setting-up an office or tax and health insurance resources. Also Independent Business Owners should be offered access to social media sites designs for sharing ideas and asking questions of other student entrepreneurs.

Ø Tap into your community

Students looking to grow their new business have unique access to a pool of talent interested in flexible opportunities for generating income. Selecting a business that allows you to leverage these fellow students is important for future potential income.  Also, some types of businesses offer referral incentives for connecting with new professionals or business owners.

No longer do students need to settle for a job at the coffee shop or bookstore. Instead, by following the above tips, they can own their own companies, generate real revenue and build a strong resume for success.

{This post has been reposted from CEO Blog Nation}

This guest post is courtesy of Ken Jackowitz. He is the Senior Vice President, Independent Business Owner Operations for Arise Virtual Solutions Inc.

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Our History: 1st Black Woman to Establish 4 Year Accredited College

Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.– Mary McLeod Bethune

Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was a child of former slaves. She graduated from the Scotia Seminary for Girls in 1893. Believing that education provided the key to racial advancement, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute in 1904, which later became Bethune-Cookman College. She founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935. She was also the first Black woman to receive a major appointment from the federal government was Mary McLeod Bethune, who was named director of Negro affairs of the National Youth Administration by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 24, 1936. Bethune died in 1955.

 

More info:

http://www.biography.com/people/mary-mcleod-bethune-9211266

#Vote

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ A letter to my SiStErs Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

First I want to say thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.

I was motivated to write this to you, because sometimes certain things can’t be communicated verbally.

I am truly grateful that you chose to extend your skills, talents, gifts, time, and energy to this cause.

You could have joined many other groups, cliques, or organizations, but you see that this is bigger than that, even if you did purue other opportunities.

SSE can only survive on love and support. The heartbeat of the organization is solely based on what we all contribute to it.

There are all things that we must work on to become better women or VIRTUOUS women (if your heart skipped a beat, or if you feel like that statement is for you, it is…) ---

But that is why we are striving for Excellence. Excellence is above average, not perfection. Excellence is equivalent to high quality…That alone should demonstrate to others your our Worth.

This group is bigger than me & u; WE are creating history.

Do you realize that you have the power to influence the next generation?

Do you understand that in this very moment, you are reading this because you are purposed to help other women become everything that you are striving to become---which is better....Your BEST. #AboveAverage #Excellent

Sometimes we fight with our family members, because disagreements are inevitable. But we must forgive one another and keep moving forward.

If I have done anything to anyone of you, I apologize, sincerely. I promise from the bottom and top of my heart it wasn’t intentional. Now that I have taken accountability for any wrong actions, I commission you to do the same with your sisters. We all chose each other...

You are a light that shines in someone’s eyes. You are being watched by others. Be a great role model. When you decided to wear the name Sister Striving for Excellence across your chest, you made a decision to be an ambassador for a cause that will assist our future leaders and women.

We are Women with a purpose. We are Sisters Striving for Excellence! 

 

Butterfly hugs & kisses Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Tawana

You cannot LOVE while HATING, PROGRESS while OPPRESSING, come TOGETHER in DISUNITY, BUILD while TEARING down, JOIN while SEPARATING, UNDERSTAND while not LISTENING, GIVE while WITHHOLDING, CREATE while DESTROYING, OVERCOME while in FEAR.

 

IT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE! -Iyanla Vanzant

BCA

#ApplySiStErs

Let them wait. And wait they do. -Jackee'

All relationships are like like contractual agreements.
Each party expects to receive certain things.
In our intimate relationships, sex is like a signature on the contract.
Unfortunately, many of us sign the contract without reading the fine print.
By the time we discover what kind of deal we are being offered, we are bound by our signature.
Some contracts have a ninety day grace period.
This gives the parties the opportunity to examine the merchandise, test the service, make any necessary adjustments or bow out of the agreement.
It makes sense to apply a grace period to our intimate relationships.
We may need time to assess behavior, true intentions and the performance history of the prospects.
The fine-print issues such as habits, motive and background cannot be seen with closed eyes.

Iyanla Vanzant
July 31 - Acts of Faith

Top 10 mistakes on a Resume: A Recruiters Advice

For all of the college graduates....

#1 - It HAS an objective. An objective is very 80's and if you want to make an immediate impression that are you not "with the times", put an objective at the top of your resume. (Don't let anyone tell you any different, there are many better options!)

#2 - It has no focus. If I can't figure out what you are wanting to do in the first 5 seconds that I read your resume, you can be assured that no one else is going to know either. Don't assume, tell us.

# 3 - Too much white space. If your key accomplishments are 3 words or the 2nd page of your resume is only 5 lines long, you have a problem.

#4 - It just doesn't look professional. I compare it to walking into an interview with your shirt untucked or with food on your face from lunch. If you screw up the first impression, you might as well pack it in. Your resume IS that first impression.

#5 - It's too long. I tell clients all the time......unless you are a C-level executive with 40 years of experience, there is rarely ever a reason your resume should be more than 2 pages. Always keep the reader in mind when you know they all have a short attention span. No need to tell us your life story, just need the highlights.

#6 - You mention "references available upon request" as the last line of your resume. Please, please, please - take it off it now. That is always assumed, if someone wants references, they will ask. It makes it look like you are trying to fill space on your resume - which is all you are doing.

#7 - Way overusing, fonts, bold, and italics. It's OK to use them, but use them sparingly and be consistent. Anything else and your resume can turn into a mess quickly.

#8 - Putting bullets on every single line of your resume. This one kind of cracks me up because if the point of a bullet is to highlight a key accomplishment, if every line has a bullet - how can I tell what's important? Bullets are great, but always save them for key specific details that you want the reader to find easily.

#9 - Putting months on a resume. This one is a personal preference, but when you tell me that you started a job in Jan of 1990 and left in Dec of 1991, that's a bit more information than I need to know. I think just saying 1990 to 1991 makes it much easier for the reader to determine time frames. You are still being honest, but if someone needs to know more specifics, they can ask.

#10 - Spelling and grammar issues. This could be the #1 killer mistake on a resume. If you can't put a sentence together correctly or figure out how to use spell check, I might question hiring you too. Proof read it over and over, have someone else read it and proof read it again. It's that important!

I hope this was helpful. If you have any interest in doing a one on one resume review with me, send your resume to me at mike@maetzresumeconsulting.com

Check out http://maetzresumeconsulting.com