Business Hacks to Build Your Startup While Pursuing a Degree

The global pandemic has caused a paradigm shift in how people perceive traditional 9 to 5 jobs. While the preference for remote work and freelancing is increasing, there is also a marked increase in entrepreneurship, especially among college students.

One of the reasons for this shift among college students is that the business landscape is changing. Aspiring entrepreneurs today have access to funding and support, which was earlier not easily accessible.

There are several advantages of establishing a startup while in college:

• You will have access to free learning resources.
• You will have access to mentors.
• A growing number of colleges have entrepreneurship development programs/ clubs. So, you may be able to build networks and access resources.
• There is less pressure on you to succeed and so you can take bigger risks.
• You will have access to a talented pool of employees in the college itself.

However, building and managing one’s own business venture is no easy task, especially while pursuing a degree. It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance and focus.

In this article, we have put together some professional tips to help student entrepreneurs build successful startups while pursuing their degree.

Professional Tips to Build a Startup While Pursuing a Degree

Set Your Priorities Straight

Managing your studies and business together can be overwhelming if you don’t prioritize. Ask yourself some important questions.

·??????Why do you want to start a business while in college?

·??????What is the value of your degree for your business?

·??????What are your long-term and short-term goals?

Once you have clarity, start setting your priorities. Use schedules and checklists to maintain a balance between work, studies and life. And learn to say ‘no’; that is an important quality for any business leader.

Identify Unique Ideas with Great Potential

Don’t rack your brain for a Eureka moment at this point. Start by identifying problems around you. Look at things you use or activities you do every day. Try to identify pain points as they have offered great inspirations to many founders. For instance, Uber was founded because its founders had trouble finding a cab.

You can also talk to your friends to understand what frustrates them. Using this groundwork, brainstorm and list out all possible ideas. You can also include ideas on how to creatively improve existing services/ products too.

Do Your Market Research

Not all ideas translate into profitable business. You have to engage in thorough research to understand:

• market trends – helps you future-proof your business
• customer preferences and buying habits – helps you understand the viability of the idea
• competitors – helps you understand if and how to enter the market, develop strategies, etc.
• underserved demands – gives you insights into opportunities in the market

For market research, you can make use of online and offline surveys among varying categories of customers. Use your college/ university resources like the library, entrepreneurship cell/ club, etc. to learn more about the industry. Ask business-oriented questions in class to gain insights about your chosen industry.

Use the internet or field visit to study competitors. Use a spreadsheet to put together competitor details like pricing, what they excel in, their drawbacks, etc.

Start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

When you build a basic version of your product/ service/ tool/ app, you can get feedback from early customers. This helps you to validate, iterate and improve your product even before launch. You can get a sense of demand. Happy early customers also create word-of-mouth referrals. And this helps to create a buzz for your product. Having a functional MVP also helps in the fundraising process. However, don’t splurge at this stage and keep your costs to the minimum.

Create a Business Plan

A robust business plan helps you stay focused for the launch of your startup and beyond. Clearly define your vision, long and short-term goals, your target audience, the products/ services and your industry of operation. List out your organizational and management structure. Create a budget and financial projections with milestones. You should also create operational plans and marketing plans.

Don’t Do It Alone!

Even the best entrepreneurs have lots of people backing them, even though they are self-made. So, don’t do it alone!

• Find yourself a great mentor to guide you through the process of building your startup.
• Find yourself a co-founder for easier funding and emotional support. Make sure to choose someone who has a different set of skills and expertise to improve your odds of success.
• Hire a small team with diversified skills from among your peers.
• Develop a support network using your college/ university resources like the placement cell, entrepreneurship cell/ club, incubation center, etc
• Attend events/communities within and outside college/ university to network. ?

Figure Out Funding

Funding is crucial for any startup to take off and stay afloat. Here are a few ways to fund your startup.

• Bootstrap – use your personal funds to build your startup
• Ask family and friends to make your seed funding.
• Use crowdfunding platforms to raise funds.
• Apply to university grants, low-interest student loans, microloans etc. that help student entrepreneurs.
• Pitch to angel investors
• Look at VC firms and incubator networks that may be interested in funding student startups.

Brand Building is Important

Brand building and marketing are crucial for startups to thrive. Create a buzz around your product and startup through social media, college radio and college events. Find other innovative ways to reach your target audiences such as podcasts, online forums, webinars, etc.

Last but not the least, take a nap!

Final Thoughts

Building a startup while pursuing a degree means long hours and full schedules. These professional tips should help you navigate your challenges better.