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By on December 26, 2017 in In the Workplace, Saving Money

Photo by Olu Eletu on Unsplash

If you dream of running your own business but have a limited budget, don’t despair! There are ways you can get your venture off the ground without a big bank loan or support from relatives. Here are a few tips on how to start your own business with little to no money:

Work from Home
Working from home rather than investing in office space is an ideal way to save money as you start your business. Try to create a dedicated workspace. This will make you more organised and help you to switch off from work at the end of the day. Alternatively, if you have a little bit of money and don’t find working from home conducive, find an office sharing facility where you can rent a desk rather than an entire office. Retailers may also be able to find shared space at local venues.

Keep your Day Job
If you’re still at college but have some free time, now is the perfect opportunity to start working on your business venture. If you’re already at work but don’t have any money to invest in your new business, it’s a good idea to keep working for as long as possible. Use your lunch breaks, evenings and weekends to work on your business idea. And save some of your salary to fund it.

Choose a Business Carefully
Some businesses require more initial investment than others. Businesses which operate with a lot of stock require storage and if you have to deal directly with your customers you’ll need a shop front, which can be expensive. If you love the idea of working for yourself but don’t have a fixed business idea in mind, consider prospects with low initial overheads. For instance, freelancing as a writer or graphic designer only requires a computer, an internet connection and some software. Or setting up a cleaning business, like 1300 Rubbish, just requires some insurance and cleaning products.

Don’t Opt for Bricks and Mortar Right Away
A bricks and mortar residence for your business – be it an office, a retail outlet or a workshop – costs a considerable amount in terms of rent, utilities and insurance. If you can avoid it, try to keep your business online to begin with. With a good website, you can tell customers all about your product or services and even sell to them, too. Not only do you save money on premises, you’ll also open your business up to customers from all over the country, not just those walking by your door.

Use Online Platforms
A great website is a cornerstone of any good business. But if your budget won’t stretch to what you’re looking for, consider whether an existing online platform could do the job in the meantime. eBay, Shopify and Etsy are good options for retailers, Airbnb could work if you’re setting up as an accommodation provider, and freelancer platforms are great if you want to find work without a strong online presence.

Get Social
If you’re running a tight budget, it’s unlikely that you’re going to want to spend hundreds on a big marketing campaign. But you still need to get your company name out there. Make the most of social media. Develop a presence on a number of platforms and use them to engage with potential customers and share information about your company. A well-maintained Facebook page can even work in lieu of a business website.

Setting up your own business with little to no money requires a lot of dedication and resourcefulness. As you develop your business and begin to make some money, invest back into the company. That way you can work towards having the office or the website or the marketing budget that will take your business to the next level.

This article was contributed by guest author Melanie Saunders.

By on August 23, 2017 in Saving Money, Self-Assessment

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

A lot of entrepreneurs and successful startup employees swear by starting businesses while you’re still a student. The philosophy behind that idea is that you’re ready to leap off the ground the moment you finish your education. While this sometimes works, you can never quite predict what life is going to throw at you. Everyone needs a backup plan – especially when dealing with something as ambitious as starting a business.

You’re Dealing with Time Constraints

Students are at least as busy as (or even busier than) business owners. This is especially true as graduation approaches. If you’re already devoting massive amounts of time to your education and you have a side gig to make some cash, you’ll be lucky to ever sleep again if you start a business. Some people won’t face the same kind of workload, and actually have the necessary time to devote to starting a business. If that’s not you, you’ll need to be able to find the time to keep yourself sane and healthy.

If you’re worried about time, start by focusing on long term planning. Devote your spare time to planning what you’ll do in the future, rather than actually implementing your plans. You won’t need an exit strategy if you haven’t actually started your business – there’s a lot less pressure when you focus on preparing for your future rather than building one from the ground up.

Your Education Might Take You in a New Direction

You’ve started a business, and things are difficult. You graduate, and you get a job offer that you would never have conceived being offered. You really want to take it, but you’re tethered to another obligation. What are you going to do? You don’t know what’s going to happen a few years down the road, and you don’t want to miss an opportunity to live your dream.

If this happens, you’ll need to know you can safely leave the business. Co-founding your business with others might be your best bet. If one or more of you needs to leave, the business will still be able to survive. If things are going really well, you might even be able to find someone to buy you out. You’ll be free, and your former business might even wind up better because of it.

You Want to Be Careful With Costs

Being a student is expensive. You need to be able to keep your head above water while you’re finishing up your education. Student loan debt is very high in some parts of the world, and the financial juggling act that comes with learning can be a real nightmare. If running your business is costing you money or it isn’t as profitable as you need it to be, you have to be able to pull away quickly.

This is easy to do when you’re running a business like a profitable blog or an eCommerce service. You can always sell your website and walk away with some cash. You’ll be able to pay off what you need to pay off, or use that cash to carry you through until you land a stable and profitable position.

Hopefully, you’ll never need to use your exit strategy. If you consider every possibility before you start a business, you’re more likely to be able to prevent or quickly resolve any hang ups you might run into along the way. On the other hand, there’s no such thing as being too prepared. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into – you’ll have a much easier time.

This article was contributed by guest author Amber Brunning.

By on January 30, 2017 in Extracurriculars, Saving Money

Image by Noah Hinton, unsplash.com

In this day and age, the idea of becoming an entrepreneur is budding amongst even the youngest of college students. And, who can blame these full-hearted, ambitious, and inspired kids when the likes of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates have turned entrepreneurship into multi-million dollar success stories?

As parents everywhere shake with fear at the thought of their college-aged child not finishing their degree, and students everywhere seek out ways in which to make more money than any college education could prepare them for, I suggest finding a middle ground.

There is no doubt completing a college degree has many benefits. If anything, it provides students with lessons related to setting a goal and achieving it. Moreover, statistics continue to show that having a college education will yield almost twice the annual salary when compared to someone with just a high school diploma. However, that does not discount the advantages that running an online business during college can bring.

So, why not do both?

Being able to manage an online business and the demands of gaining a college degree is no easy feat. However, with enough determination and information about how to balance both, anyone can achieve the success they seek. That’s why today we are going to discuss some of the best ways to effectively manage an online business while still in college.

Find Your Priorities
Trying to excel at both your college education (e.g. securing a perfect GPA and attending all extracurricular activities) and your online business (e.g. making money!) is near impossible. While some may be able to do so (lucky them), the truth is that is extremely difficult. In the end, it is likely that both your grades and business will suffer and that is not the goal.

Deciding early on where you see your future career path going will dictate your overall priorities. If you see your college education garnering you a successful job position post-graduation, make your grades a priority and use your online business as a side hustle to earn extra cash. On the other hand, if you see it the other way around, and your online business is going to be what makes you the big bucks, use your college education as a building block to becoming a successful business owner by learning what you can, but don’t stress over every grade.

Want a bonus tip? Try integrating your business into your schoolwork. For example, take courses that will support your business goals and give you the expertise and knowledge needed to become a more successful business owner.

Make Time Management a Daily Task
As a college student, you will experience plenty of downtime. Whether that be when you are not physically in class, on the weekends, or even on summer vacation. The same is not true when you are attempting to run an online business while in school. Your business will not wait for the weekend to end. And, it will definitely not take summer vacations. As a college student managing an online business, you must dedicate a certain amount of time each and every day to your business if you wish to be successful and continue to grow a reputable brand.

Here are some great time management tips you can try:

• Design a schedule so you can focus on school or business at any given time
• Don’t try to work on both school and your business tasks at the same time
• Arrange your class schedule so you can have off days to focus solely on your business
• Put your social life in check
• But make sure you schedule breaks into your weekly schedule – see a movie, go out with friends, visit family
• Make sure you schedule enough time for rest

Utilize Campus Resources
As a college student, you will have access to a multitude of resources that might otherwise be unavailable to you.

Not sure what type of resources college can afford its students? Look here for some of the best one available at most universities:

• Experienced faculty members. Those working for universities not only have a lot of first-hand experience with what it takes to be successful after college, they have access to all of the resources you could possibly need to help you learn the modern business models and make your grades count.
• Advisors. Advisors are great for keeping you on track when it comes to graduating on time. They can also help guide you when it comes to choosing a major that coincides with your newly started business. This way you learn all of the necessary skills that will carry over into your online business.
• The writing center. Starting an online business typically requires you to start a blog as well. After all, a blog is the best way to inform potential customers about your company, products you sell, and overall valuable information about your niche. In addition, it’s a great way to encourage people to make purchases. Becoming a strong writer is necessary when it comes to online blogging. Utilizing your school’s writing center is just another way to achieve success with your business.
• The career center. Your campus’ career center can help you determine a major, seek out internships, and practice networking and interviewing skills. All of these things are welcome because you never know far your online business might take you. Being able to function in the real world as well as behind your computer is a necessity.
• Student Organizations. Without overextending yourself with too many activities (remember time management is key), there are college organizations that can introduce you to like-minded people. In fact, some universities hold business-plan competitions that you can enter that give out prize money or even invest in your idea. This may be something that comes in handy depending on what your online business is.

Become Proficient with Online Websites
One of the easiest ways to manage going to school and running your online business is to become proficient and knowledgeable about online websites. For starters, it is important to choose a well-established content management system (CMS) to build your website on. For instance, the popular WordPress platform is currently used by 58.5% of all websites worldwide. Plus, WordPress offers the following advantages:

• It’s free to download, install, use, and modify
• No experience needed – it’s easy to use
• Thousands of free and premium themes and plugins make it extendable
• It is SEO friendly
• The built-in updater makes it easy to manage
• It is safe and secure from outside threats
• It can handle multiple media types – images, video, and audio content

In addition, WordPress works for all different types of websites. This includes blogs, online shops, portfolios, galleries, a rating and review website, membership sites, and much more.

After deciding which CMS to use, the next most important thing to do is become familiar with the different web hosting providers. Finding the best solution will depend on the various features you are prioritizing as the most important – bandwidth, custom support, speed, security, feature set, and of course cost.

Altogether, if you learn about even the basics behind starting and building a website, you will find managing your online business and school much more doable.

Final Thoughts
In the end, balancing both an online business and school can be a demanding process. However, by implementing some of the above-mentioned tips, you will find managing your business and college degree is easier than you thought. All it takes is a little extra thought when it comes to your priorities, time management, and available resources.

Have you started an online business while attending college? What are some of the best management tips you can share with fellow entrepreneurs? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!

This article was contributed by guest author Dev.