The college years are typically known as the broke years. These are the years where people get used to tubs of Ramen noodles and DIY pedicures. However, there are students who don’t miss out on the latest sale, and they still enjoy their designer lifestyle. It’s either because their parents continue to spoil them through college. On the other hand, there are others who make their own money and manage it wisely. If you don’t come from a rich family, you can make your own money, manage it well and thrive in the college years. The key is to become an entrepreneur. If you want to become an entrepreneur during your collegiate years, there are a few areas you’ll want to consider.
Plan
You must maintain a plan. Since you are a college student, you only have a limited amount of time. You don’t want your grades to fall on account of your entrepreneurial efforts. Plus, you know that you have a limited amount of income to work with. You have to leverage it in the best way possible. Figure out the product you’d like to sell. You can sell an ebook online. You can start a brand as a digital influencer. You can sell clothes on a reselling site. As you figure out what your product will be, make sure you’re able to profit from it. If your profit margins are really small, it’s not worth the time. This is because you already don’t have a lot of time to spend on efforts that won’t provide a great return on investment. If you’re able to buy ten pounds of clothing for a dollar a pound at a thrift store outlet, you’ll be able to make your money back and much more. If you’re building a website to host your online shop, research factors like using big commerce enterprise vs shopify plus so that you can get the best option for your needs.
Execution
Think about how you’ll actually make things come together. If you’re planning on selling hair products, find a vendor that will cut you a deal for items at wholesale rates. If you’re selling clothing, decide how often you’re going to restock your closet. Think about where you’ll store your inventory and what your shipping process will entail. Consider your marketing plan. If you are using a platform like eBay or Poshmark, you’ll have the benefit of their marketing resources that are built into their app. However, that’s something to consider as you work through the ways you’ll execute the duties within the business. Consider the amount of time each task takes. You have to make sure that this part-time effort truly remains part-time. This means that you don’t need to spend over four to five hours on this effort each day. If you can spend less, that’s great. School always comes first as a college student. You don’t want to flunk out of thousand-dollar courses just to make a couple hundred as an entrepreneur.
Habits
Consider your habits. Are you someone who likes to sit and binge-watch Netflix shows? Granted, you don’t have to turn off the television. However, you do need to become more strategic with the ways you spend your time. While you turn on the television to watch a show, you can organize your inventory. You can prepare items for shipments. There are ways to enjoy your life while you’re managing school and work. Instead of trying to overhaul your life and create unrealistic habits, work with your natural tendencies and improve gradually. If you tend to make it to the gym in the evening, don’t try to trick your body into a 5 a.m. workout. You’ll be back in the bed by noon and sleep through your afternoon classes. Know your habits. Work around them as you improve your regimen. Before long, you’ll create a business that fits your lifestyle in the best way.
Focus
As you develop new habits and refurbish old ones, you’ll also need to know more about how to develop laser-like focus. If you’d like to get things done, you have to get on the ball regarding your schedule. So many things can throw a person off track. Whether it’s a few text messages, a social media scrolling session or an interesting YouTube video, it’s so easy to get distracted. Knowing this, find ways to maintain your focus. You can set rules that say you can’t check your email until you finish your first few tasks of the day. You can also use a phone app to block your social media accounts for a few hours. As you work on maintaining focus, you’ll be able to get more things accomplished. As you’re able to cross more items off of your to-do list, you’ll naturally become more successful with your business. There’s nothing more satisfying than gaining momentum with your efforts. In order to make that happen, you must focus. Even if it means writing down your short-term and long-term goals on a sheet of paper each morning, remind yourself of the reasons why you’re doing this. You owe it to yourself to keep going.
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