6 Tips for College Freshmen Starting Up Their Own Business

Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s crazy to start early. As a freshman, your obligations are usually limited to your classes, giving you the free time you need to start. You’re young enough to adapt to a business environment, and you have less to lose in the event your first try doesn’t go as well as you planned. If you want to get the ball rolling now, you’ll never find a more perfect time. It won’t be easy, but the deck is stacked in your favor.

1. Use Every Resource at Your Disposal

 Being in college, you likely have access to a fantastic library, and professors who know what they’re talking about. Most of the things that will help you be successful in college can easily be translated to the business arena. Use it while you have it. If you can make the best of everything you have now, you’ll have set yourself up for a profitable venture by the time you graduate.

2. Choose Your Classes Carefully

Your business may be a passion that isn’t directly in line with your major, but you can still make adjustments to accommodate your desires. Marketing and business classes are obvious choices. If you’re already taking too many classes, there’s always summer classes or separate online courses that will offer you a little more leniency. Choose what you need, and use what you choose.

3. Throw Down The Copyright 

You may develop an excellent foundation and you aren’t able to execute yet. Don’t let someone else come out with something similar while you’re waiting to go. Keep your thunder from being stolen by filing any copyrights, patents, and trademarks you may need before it’s too late. You’re in an environment with a lot of ambitious people, and you don’t want any of your creativity being borrowed just a little too much.

4. Find the Right Internships

 There are a lot of internships readily available to college students, and you’d be a fool to pass them up. After you graduate, you’ll be able to put your focus solely on your business, and entering with experience is the best way to go. Think of internships like a sampler platter. Getting a little of this and a little of that will give you a more broad vision of exactly how different components and fields work together. You’ll be able to see the entire horizon from the beginning, which will make you more likely to prosper.

5. Team Up With Likeminded Colleagues

Even if you don’t plan on working with these people after college, everyone can use a sounding board. Look into campus events geared for entrepreneurs, and see what you can take from them. If you’re offering your perspective up to someone with a vision that’s entirely different from yours, they’ll be able to do the same for you. Getting new ideas and hearing different perspectives will increase your ability to be innovative, which is ultimately what will set you apart from competitors.

6. Be Cautious About Funding

Crowdfunding and direct investments are a staple for many startups, but that staple can become a double-edged sword. Try not to take capital with too many strings attached. Before you know it, you will have a boatload of expensive obligations. Even worse, you may find that you’ve given away so many pieces of your company that it’s barely yours anymore. When you’re still a freshman, slow and steady wins the race. You’ll have plenty of time to find other opportunities, and it’s not worth signing away your soul to establish yourself.

7. Make sure you have the correct insurance

When running a business, depending on what type of company you want to set up, you will most likely need to take out some type of insurance product. These insurances will vary from business to business, but standard ones include professional liability insurance, general liability insurance as well as looking at workers compensation lawyer. If you know anyone who runs their own business, it could be worth reaching out to them to see which ones they have.

These next four years will be formative for you in a variety of ways. Make sure you’re maximizing your education and resources so you can better utilize what you’ve learned in the future.