The College Advantage: Making The Most Of The Campus Community

Thanks to the unique environment furnished by college campuses, students hoping to start their own businesses have a variety of resources to draw upon.

Social Support

Many traditional entrepreneurs start their business ventures with very little social support or advice to guide them.  Students, on the other hand, are often involved in a variety of social circles and groups.  There are a variety of opportunities to network with other young people who share similar interests and drive.  College is a place where most people are still unencumbered with family and full-time work obligations.  Friends can be excellent sources of support and advice.

Professional Advice

Young entrepreneurs seeking expert advice must only look as far as their university’s faculty directory.  Professors are generally happy to help a student that is enthusiastic about their field of research or interest.  Whatever subject you want to discuss, from marketing strategies to product design, there is almost certainly a college professor who will point you in the right direction.

Finding a mentor

If at all possible, find a mentor.  Possible mentors abound on college campuses. Whether your mentor is the chair of the business school or a successful MBA student, having a mentor provides a wide variety of learning opportunities.

An A for effort

Most colleges offer credit for extra curricular projects that fall within your field of study.  It is not uncommon for business schools to offer undergraduate credit to students who attempt to start their own business. Generally, a professor is assigned to supervise and sign off on the student’s efforts. Many colleges also offer the option of completing a senior honors thesis based upon your extra-curricular work. Even if the business proves to be less-than-successful, you still have something positive to show for it on your academic record.

Social Networking

College can be a great place to network.  The student body of an average state university hails from all corners of the globe. Social networking sites make the task of keeping in touch easier than it has ever been before.   Your roommate from Beijing who shares your love of green technology might be the key to taking your fledgling business multi-national.  At the very least, you’ll make tons of friends.

This is a guest post written by Alexis Bonari. Alexis is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is a passionate blogger on the topic of education and free college scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

What kind of business do you want to run? One where you are an absentee owner or one where you are an owner operator? Not sure what the difference is? Click here for the long version, or read on! Okay, here we go: an Absentee Owner is a business owner who can leave their business alone and not be involved daily, yet still run an effective business. An Owner Operator business is just the opposite – where you as the owner are down in the trenches working everyday within your business. Interested in learning more about the two types of owners? Then head to www.hands-onsolutions.com where you can find lots of articles and resources on the topic.

I think it’s pretty obvious that we all hope to become an absentee owner where we can just let out business run and not have to worry about whats going on all the time. With techniques such as outsourcing, automation, and utilizing technology, this is more achievable now then ever before. Guys like Tim Ferriss talk about it their books all the time. However, as a young entrepreneur, sometimes it’s hard to set up your business that way from the start and you have to start out being an owner operator and living in your business day to day. Plus, your business is your baby, and at such an infant stage, you don’t want to just abandon it, now do you?

As you grow your business, streamline your activities, and determine what actions make you the best return for your time, you can start to slip into the ‘absentee owner’ mode and start to let your business just run by itself. Think you can handle that? One of the great things about the interenet is that it allows you the chance to make it happen much more quickly then when everything was “brick and mortar” based.

If you want to check out 63 other ways that absentee owners think and act differently than an owner operator, check out the website of Hands On Solutions, a Seatle based consulting services business. They’ve got a great archive of resources and articles on the topic!

Starting a business is fun and exciting. It’s also frustrating and sometimes even depressing. But being the entrepreneur you are, you are constantly thinking of new business ideas that you would love to do. The only problem is how you decide what business you start and how you are going to get funding.

Going to business school, you are taught to write up a business plan. I just want to say this is a bad idea. Sure, it will probably be required down the road for some annoying reason, but not right at the beginning. At this point, it’s a time waster.

All business plans that are drawn up at the beginning of a venture normally just talk about the ‘market potential’ of the business. This means nothing. Especially when you are trying to get some funding to get it off the ground.

Instead of spending your time writing up a business plan, run a PPC campaign. This will truly help prove (or disprove) the market potential you think there is.

There use to be a time where you had to look at market surveys and data available to you to determine whether or not you had a shot or not with that business idea. Turns out, that data is really expensive to come across and just not viable for you to acquire as a Dorm Room Biz person.

Luckily though, you can get that data all on your own. Take $500 or so of your own money and invest it into a PPC campaign. Here’s a short step-by-step way to implement this plan.

1. Get a domain name. Any name related to whatever you are doing, not necessarily the one you will end up using. If you are going to start a cookie selling biz, get cookieseller101.com.
2. Find some cheap hosting and install a CMS.
3. Create a few landing pages. Up to 5 should be enough and ask questions on them. You are looking for answers from the people in the market you want to serve. You can even go ahead and offer your service now.
4. Setup your campaign in Adwords and spend the allotted amount.
5. Collect all the data and read through it. Pour over your keywords and clicks data from Adwords and even send messages to some of the people (your new ‘customers’) and try to get some more information from them.

Once you’re done, you should have some information. And if you didn’t get any, well, you might want to start rethinking that business idea right away.

Then you need to take that data and reflect over it. Find new perspectives that you think the business should take. If you think you need some more information, try running another campaign and see what you can gather from that.

This can really work. It’s how I helped start my Surety Bonds company with some friends.

And it’s also what saved me from wasting 9 months of my life and a lot of my money chasing the idea I had of starting a local textbook buying and selling website.

This is a guest post from Kevin Kaiser, a web entrepreneur and college student. You can connect with him on twitter, @kevinckaiser.

wise management of personal finance is the best way to avoid cash crunch and debt problems. The necessity of wise money management has been urgently felt in the face of a crumbling economy!  In fact, it is very important to cultivate this habit at a young age.

For those of you keen on perfecting this habit, start managing your money now!

To start with it, you may consider investment in stocks as a great option. But you must keep it in mind that smart stock investing for young people differs from that for the veterans. The main reason being that the youngsters in the age group of 20 to 30 years tend to go through spending sprees. Their monthly expenditures are often quite high and leave minimal scopes for savings.

Wondering what smart investment is? Smart stock investment is nothing but investment that maximizes gain and minimizes loss. It is

Some smart investment in stocks can actually secure your finances for future, without having your monthly luxuries curtailed.

Investment can be real time peppy idea and here are some hot tips on investing for all you youngsters:

1. There is never really an ideal time for investment, especially when you are a newbie. But do keep a track of the stocks for at least three years at a stretch, before you embark on first your investment.
2. Smart Stock Investing requires constant practice; while it takes a lot of work, the more you put in the better you get.
3. Try to be extremely logical and analytical while you invest. Do not worry! You will get better at differentiating good investments from bad ones, as you gain experience.
4. Google for a cheap online stock broker to help you buy the stocks.
5. Develop the habit of putting aside some money for investment every month. It can be so that you have to go for a debt consolidating measure and would require making monthly payments. Whether you’re in college or in the working world, you surely save up some extra money each month after paying off your bills. Keep about 10 to 15% of that money for investing in stocks. This percentage, on one hand, will not affect your entertainment/luxury expenses. On the other hand, it would ensure your monetary profits for you.
6. Whenever you zero in on a company in whose stocks you would like to invest, do not forget to do an exhaustive research on that company. Go through its financial statement. And it would give you a fair idea whether the company’s stocks are worth investing in.
7. Check the price of the stock before you make the transaction. For this, log on to your online broker’s website and type in the stock’s ticker symbol on the Stock Trading page. You may also get the information on stock prices at Google Finance.
8. The stock brokers usually charge a commission fee when you book stocks via brokers. The commission fee is usually around 10$ and it gets added to your total stock price.
9. Once you have invested, keep a track of your stocks every day. This will keep you updated about the diurnal rise or fall in the price of your stocks.
10. Developed the habit of reading financial news and statements. This will not only help you learn about the pros and cons of your investment but also sharpen your foresight for possibilities of future investments.

So, you can see investment is not an exclusive area of experienced, grey haired veterans dealing with stocks for years. Youngsters like you too may try your luck at it successfully. All you need is a bit of patience and a rational approach. And you are sure to secure your finances with some intelligent investment!

Guest post provided by: Dorothy Anderson

By: Mike Fiorini –Owner of Real College Student LLC

Starting your own business is tough, especially in the current economy.  I’ve recently started up a business called Real College Student LLC. Only a couple months ago, I launched my website www.RealCollegeStudent.com into the business world.  I’ve created these helpful building blocks throughout my venture to guide other young entrepreneurs how to complete your goal of starting your own business.

1. Just Do It!
   The number one difference between an average person and an entrepreneur is whether or not you act on your ideas.  Being creative is a huge characteristic of being an entrepreneur! Having amazing ideas is just as important.  However, unless you act on your ideas…they only stay ideas.  Entrepreneurs take ideas and make them into reality through hard work and the acceptance of risks.  For example, if you have an idea for a website, and you have a general business plan for your website made up, what’s stopping you from making it reality? Money? Maybe a few unanswered questions? Instead of waiting around and letting your idea dissolve, go out and buy the domain name for your idea for only $10.00!  That’s an extremely small investment, but it will get your mind motivated and in gear to obtain the goal of creating your website.
2. Create Goals
   In order to achieve in any aspect of life, you need to set goals.  Goals are what drive people to obtain higher levels of achievement.  In business, goals give you forward direction.  Make daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.  Literally, make goal lists.  Crossing off goals that you or your business achieved is a great confidence booster, and will push you to obtain more distant targets.  Create small celebrations for when you achieve a goal.  For example, the owner of Amazon.com used to ring a small bell every time they received an order as they were starting up—for numerous reasons they don’t ring the bell anymore.
3. Pinching Pennies
   There are millions of tiny ways to save money when starting up your business.  They may seem small at first, but they add up quick.  For instance, let’s say you begin selling products through a website you create—you’ll need to find a shipping carrier.  Depending on your product, US Postal Service “Flat Rate” boxes are the way to go!  UPS charges for pick up and by the weight of your box.  You’ll save at least a dollar on every package–but like I said it depends on the product.  Another way to save money is your telephone bill.  You need a business line for your company.  There is no reason to pay $60.00 a month for a business line from big name brand companies.  You can use call forwarding companies such as Grasshopper.com which give you a toll free line, 100 minutes a month, no contracts, and calls sent to your cell phone for only $9.95 a month.  Little savings such as those two aspects of startup monthly costs will help you become profitable.
4. Count On Yourself
   If you want things done in your company, be prepared to do it yourself!  Friends and family will help out, but you have to understand…It’s your company.  People tend to only perform tasks for other people for incentives.  If you are a sole proprietor, find ways to give people incentives to help you with small tasks to improve your company.  Free t-shirts, memorabilia, discounts, shout-outs, and quid pro quo (this for that) are all non monetary ways to get help while starting up.
5. Entrepreneurs Drive Home In The Dark!
   The 40 hour work week does not apply to you.  You go to work before the average person, and leave after they left.  Entrepreneurs never get stuck in “rush hour” traffic, because leaving work at 4 or 5 o’clock everyday doesn’t apply. You are an entrepreneur.  You work until the job is finish or you are satisfied!  This means you might work 10 hours, get dinner, then come back to work for the night.  Much like in college, you’d need to pull an all nighter to study for a test or write a paper.  When you’re a business owner, you stay up and put in as many hours as possible or else you don’t get paid!
6. Write All Your Ideas Down
   According to Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, only 1 out of every 100 of his ideas actually became successful.  That didn’t stop him from writing them down.  Learn to write everything down!  No matter how relevant it is to your idea, it may prove to be helpful in your endeavor.  Once you begin to get wrapped up in a business venture, writing things down is the only sure way you’ll remember something.  Many times you’ll become distracted or lost in deep thought and forget about these magnificent little ideas.  UNDERSTAND that most ideas don’t pop into your head when you are in front of a computer or a pad and pen.  They come when you’re out for a walk, lying in bed, or even in the shower!  Don’t let the ideas slip away no matter where you are…Write them down!
7. No Money? Not An Excuse!
   Money is everywhere.  If you have an idea, make a business plan.   Talk to you family, friends, teachers, or neighbors and see if they would invest in your company.  Show them what their return on investment in your company will be in order to get them interested.  If not people you know, try banks, investors, venture capitalists, or check your college or SBA.gov for business grants you can apply for! Money should be the last item on the list when you are pursuing your goal.  If all that fails, look for a partner or propose giving away equity of the company for capital.
8. Ask Questions!
   Knowledge is vital for the success of any business.  You need to know every angle, even if they don’t exist!  Part of starting up is learning from other companies or personal trial and error.  The business world is continually evolving due to Economic Darwinism—survival of the fittest company.  When starting your own business, you are basically hitting the ground running!  You’re going to have to figure out your unknown questions quick! Don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Ask everyone:  business owners, web designers, employees of other companies—even if their company has nothing to do with your business.  Taking advice from other business owners is important to evolving your business.   By communicating with a wide variety of people you’ll stay diverse business minded—which you need to be to cover all the angles and problems in the future.
9. Stay Confident
   Getting down on yourself is part of being an entrepreneur.  You WILL run into road blocks though out your millionaire voyage.  Stay confident.  Road blocks only block one path, there are millions of ways to get around or over them as long as you remain positive.  When you hit a road block, before you become too frustrated or angry, take a break.  By break I mean completely walking away from what you were working on for a few hours and go to the gym, get coffee, or some food before going back to work on it. The break will relieve you of your stress and allow your mind to not focus on the problem, but the solution.
10. Patience…You don’t become a millionaire over night!
    Rarely, do people become a millionaire over night.  Every company takes time to grow and become recognized.  Just because your business is up and running doesn’t mean you will automatically receive sales.  This is why everyone isn’t a business owner.  There are risks, a lot of them!  By starting your own business takes guts, but putting in numerous hours and sticking by your company through hard time’s shows true entrepreneurial character.  With hard work, patience, and perseverance you can make things work. If you love what you do, then see it through!

Through my blunders and accomplishments, I hope these 10 building blocks help and inspire all young entrepreneurs.  Take these 10 building blocks and use them to construct your ideas into reality. I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors! NOW QUIT READING, AND GO START YOUR BUSINESS!

About Real College Student: We specialize in items that REAL college students need.  We have over 400 different products, a classified section (post your used text books directly to your school for free!), and a funny college blog. Please contact me though the website if you have any questions or ideas to improve my website!

Today we have a great interview for you all with Anthony Adams who is the creator of The Hangover Cure! Enjoy!

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Hi Chris, thank you so much for having me here today.  I graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock in 2006 with a degree in marketing and spent the next two years doing sales for a very large computer/tech company here in Dallas.  I currently run a dietary supplement company, Apollo Nutrition LLC.  Our flagship product is THC-The Hangover Cure.

1. Now that we know a little bit about you, let’s find out some more about your business. When and why did you decide to start THC – The Hangover Cure? What promoted you to make the leap?

I founded my company in February of 2009.  Like a lot of people I know, I was laid off in January, took a month off to evaluate where I was in life, and then decided to make the leap by forming a limited liability company and creating my product, The Hangover Cure.  I always planned to start my own business at some point and I figured there was no point in putting it off any longer with the amount of free time I had been given.  I think I was pretty disenfranchised with working for other people at that point, so I looked at being laid off as a great opportunity, as I probably wouldn’t have voluntarily quit my job with the way the economy was going.  My actual ‘aha’ moment for the product came to me in college, but I had been putting it off in favor of a career up until being laid off.

2. There are many similar products to THC on the market, which claim to cure hangovers…or help reduce them. What makes THC stand out from the rest? Is THC more affective/better than the others?

It occurred to me while in college that there really wasn’t a hangover product that was marketed correctly.  No one came up to me in the dorms and mentioned an existing product as a good cure, nothing had a ‘cool’ factor to it.  Competing products sell in health food stores and gyms; they are being marketed to the wrong audience.  Our product sells in liquor stores and bars, it’s just a logical extension of what’s already for sale.  I look at the success of Red Bull; most people who drink it don’t care what’s in it, they like it because it gives them energy and it makes a great mixed drink.  They drink it because it works.  That’s what I wanted to create; a product that is geared towards people who actually need hangover help in a genuine way.  So our marketing strategy is geared towards that demographic.  I will gladly put The Hangover Cure’s formula up against anything on the market because I know we will win, it’s literally the most potent nutritional drink on the market today.  And that’s where those hangover pills miss the mark; they don’t help rehydrate you after a night of drinking.  If you aren’t rehydrating and replenishing your body, you will have a hangover.  So yes, I would say our formula is the only complete hangover prevention product on the market today.

3. With the business being less than a year old, what’s been some of the biggest challenges that you’ve had and lessons that you’ve learned from them?

Early on, it was convincing my family that I was committed to making this work.  They saw it as more of a hobby and were probably worried about me not finding another ‘real’ job.  I’ve learned that you have to be vocal with your family about what you are doing, especially with online business, which a lot of people simply don’t understand.  I’ve also learned to keep a level head.  The nature of my business is full of highs and lows, so I have to remind myself that no matter how good or bad a situation is, it can change at any time.  It’s fleeting.

4. A question a lot of young entrepreneurs ask is if it is necessary to have a formal written business plan in this “day and age”? Lots of the “way things used to be done” mentalities are being shattered by younger entrepreneurs.

I think it’s crazy, especially with a primarily online-based business, to try to predict with any degree of certainty how you will be doing business in a few years.  My business plan is pretty simple:  Create a good product that people like, sell it, and maintain strong relationships with existing customers and distributors.  That’s it.  Everything else is secondary.  Focus on tasks that generate revenue.  It’s timeless.

5. You mentioned in your first email to me that you have distribution on 5 continents, which is awesome. How were you able to accomplish such a feat so quickly?

I wish I could say there was some secret formula to it but there really isn’t.  The international interest we have received so far has been incredible and beyond anything I had expected starting out, which again shatters the notion of a formal business plan like you mentioned earlier.  I think it’s much more important to be flexible and able to adapt to whatever comes your way than to stick with an outdated plan.  But to answer your question directly, entrepreneurial minded people from all over the world seek us out online, which is a huge compliment.

6. Social Media is a major buzzword and trend right now. How are you utilizing communities like Facebook and Twitter to market THC and build your business?

Every business needs a presence on Facebook and Twitter to stay connected with its fans.  I’ve noticed companies like vitaminwater, Sprint, and TJ Maxx advertising their Facebook and Twitter pages on TV ads instead of their official sites, which I find fascinating, because those companies get it.  At the same time, a company like IBM doesn’t even have an active Twitter account, which I find a little ironic.  I live on Twitter, I think it’s a fantastic resource for business.  I’ve had a lot of success contacting bloggers on Twitter and asking them to review my product.  I then use these free and unbiased testimonials and blog write-ups to highlight my product’s credibility.  Bloggers get to write good content on a new product and I get free advertising, so it’s a win-win situation.  Also, we were the first company I have seen to add real tweets from satisfied customers to the THC testimonials page instead of static, unverifiable text.  That’s helped add further credibility to my product as potential buyers could actually tweet at the customers mentioned on my testimonial page raving about The Hangover Cure to verify that yes, these are real people who like what we sell.  But I don’t obsess about how many Twitter followers we have or anything like that, it’s a hollow number.  I would rather have 50 followers who are actively involved in the brand than 10,000 followers who never interact with us.

7. You’ve obviously seen some success so far and are stationing your business for future success too. What tips to being successful as a young entrepreneur can you share with our readers?

Don’t be afraid of failure.  No business is perfect and you will fail a lot, especially starting out.  As long as you don’t get discouraged and learn from your mistakes, you are on the right track.  The real world is a hell of a teacher and I have learned so much from failing until I get something right.  And that’s why it’s important to believe in what you are doing and care about your product, because it will get discouraging.  It’s important to have mental toughness and to keep going.  All the theory and textbooks in the world don’t compare to real world experience.

8. Entrepreneurs in your position usually work crazy hours and just get engulfed in the business, working to grow it as big as possible. Because of this, there is never a “normal” day, but what does your standard, as standard as it can get, day look like? What hours are you working, what are you doing, etc?

A typical, middle of the week workday for me varies in terms of the hours I work.  I try to break it up into morning, afternoon and then after dinner.  So I might work from 9 am to noon, take a break, then 2 to 6 pm, and then maybe 8 or 9 pm to 1 or 2 am.  I spend a lot of time working with distributors all over the world, which makes for some pretty crazy hours as you can imagine.  I make sure orders arrive on time and in good condition, find out how they are selling the product, offer advertising support and so on.  I also spend a lot of time tweaking my website and studying Google Analytics, writing site content and improving SEO with link building, which gets tedious.  Then there is time spent on Twitter, which I enjoy.  And record keeping, which isn’t so enjoyable to me.

9. You’ve obviously been using the internet a lot to leverage your business and grow it, if you didn’t have the resources of the web, would you still have been able to successfully launch your business?

No, at least not in its current form.  I really cannot fathom how people did business without the internet, I think about that often.  If it was 1977 and I wanted to find a dietary supplement contract manufacturer or form an LLC, I would have no idea how to go about it.  I came along at the right time I guess.

10. Continuing to learn as an entrepreneur is important. An easy way to do so is by reading books and following the paths of other successful entrepreneurs. Are there any books that you’d recommend to others that you like?

I would highly recommend two books by Paul Arden:  ’It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be’ and ‘Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite’.  They are the two most motivational books I have ever read and I think any young entrepreneur would benefit from them.  I honestly believe that every secret to success can be found in their pages.  Also, ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins.  Specifically the chapter on the ‘Hedgehog Principle’ as he calls it.  ’Purple Cow’ by Seth Godin is also an interesting take on marketing that I refer to often.

11. Along that same line, do you have any business role models that you admire?

I admire Phil Knight, the founder of Nike.  Nike’s marketing is always insanely good and I probably would have tried to build my business the way Knight built his early on if I was starting out in the pre-Internet age.  It’s hard not to admire Steve Jobs for what he has done, and Apple’s marketing is also fantastic because they keep everything so simple and clean.  In the beverage/supplement industry, I would say J. Darius Bikoff of Glaceau/vitaminwater and Dietrich Mateschitz of Red Bull, for the way they both built great beverage brands from nothing.

12. What’s next for The Hangover Cure? Where do you see your business in 3-5 years?

I’m looking into a canned beverage form of my product in 2010 as the functional beverage market is booming right now and growing distribution networks worldwide.  Like I said earlier, it’s almost impossible for me to predict where I will be in a few years with the way everything is changing right now and the opportunities that are out there.  I do see my brand’s national and international visibility growing in the coming years though, that’s about as concrete as I can be.

As an entrepreneur there are so many distractions that can take your attention that you can quickly get off track from reaching your goals. As a young entrepreneur, it can be 100 times worse! It’s important that you stay focused, driven, and headed towards your goal because no one will just hand you want you want in life; you’ll need to take control and get there yourself.

A few normal distractions that we as young entrepreneurs face:

• School – Probably the biggest distraction you could face at a young age.
• Relationships – Boyfriends and girlfriends can easily get you off track and take up a lot of your time. Learn to balance the relationship and set some ground rules for when you need to be focused on your business.
• Friends – During school you’re friends are always looking to be going out, partying, drinking, and getting crazy. After you graduate, it doesn’t change too much but it may slow down some. Saying “no” to your friends is a hard thing to do but if you’re going to be starting a business while also working a job after graduation, you need those evening hours and weekends to hustle and grow your business.
• Life – Sometimes you just may not feel like doing any work or just want to have a normal relaxed evening. That’s fine; just don’t let it happen every day, otherwise your ambitions of starting your business up will quickly slip away.
• Sports Fan? – Are you a big football fan? Don’t waste 4 hours on a Sunday sitting in front of the TV drinking and eating, being non-productive and wasting your time. Either record the games, read the highlights the next day, or leave it on in the background while working. For young entrepreneurs, especially dudes, sports can be a major distraction…almost every night of the week. Don’t let it overcome your life like many people do. Watching a 4 hour football game won’t better your life; building your business will.
• Work – I know, it sucks. There’s no two ways about it. If you’re an entrepreneur and stuck working a normal “9-5” type job, you’re just itching to get out and leave that place.

In all of these cases, it comes down to one thing – your passion for your business and future. If you’re passionate about your business, then you HAVE to keep moving on and not let these distractions get in your way. Now, on the flip side, it’s also important that you do have a life outside of your business, don’t think that I’m suggesting you don’t.

There has to be a balance of work and play, and you should try to not blur that line as much as possible. If you are passionate about what you are working on it, then it will be easy to stay driven and focused. This is the key to success, and everyone is talking about it! Being passionate about your business, your baby in most cases, is what makes the difference for most people. Just working something on the side for a couple hours on a weekend is cool and all, but you’re clearly not passionate about it. If your driven, you’re going to be working on that business ever moment that you are awake.

Are you focused on your success?

Are you on a mission? Do you have a vision? Are you itching to get your name out and make a difference in the world? If you answered NO to any of these questions–that’s okay.

It’s time to get inspired.

The opportunities to connect with millions of like minded people are limitless through the power of the internet. Social media has made it incredibly easy to meet people who want more out of life than the average person you’d meet walking down the street. It’s not that every person online is inspired or on a mission–it’s the ones that stand out who are. The people who reach out to you, who you seem drawn towards, who are intriguing to talk to, are the ones who are doing the leading. The conversations they are having make them leaders, make them popular and make their businesses grow. They’ve achieved this success online because…

They took the leap.

It’s time to stop thinking and start doing. It’s time to open your mouth or moving your fingers to have real conversations with real people. Want people to know about your brand? Your Twitter search better be streaming at all times, tracking your industry. Get into the trenches and start conversing, answering people’s questions and finding people who have the same passions you do. It’s this network of people who will grow your brand for you.

Don’t know what you stand for?

Start meeting other inspired people. The biggest leaders will shout from the rooftops to get the message out about what they believe in. Reading blogs and surfing Twitter are great ways to get to know people who love what they do. Starting taking notes from these people who are completely lost in their work.

Follow these passionate people:

@SmallBizTrends (Small Business)
@ProBlogger (Blogging)
@JohnnyCupcakes (T-shirts)
@TomZiglar (Personal Development)
@GaryVee (Wine)
@LivestrongCEO (Health)
@Under30CEO (Entrepreneurship)
@BarryMoltz (Customer Service)
@GrowthCoachCorp (Business Coaching)
@Philanthropy411 (Non Profit)

Matt Wilson is co-founder of Under30CEO. Learn to create your rock star online presence at http://RockStarBusinessSeries.com

In my short video review of the book Bootstrapping: Weapons of Mass Reconstruction by Sramana Mitra, I mentioned that she brings up the topic of mental capital. At many points throughout the book, Sramana talks about why entrepreneurs and start-ups should not go looking for venture capital, but instead focus on bootstrapping their business…hence the name of the book.

As a substitute for venture capital, she recommends getting as much mental capital as you can. Mental capital is the idea of utilizing the people around you (friends, family, mentors, and other business people) as your mental investors. It sounds pretty simple though – instead of going after venture capital (real money to surge into your business), bootstrap your business and gather as much mental capital (knowledge from other entrepreneurs, mentors, and business people) as you can. The mental capital that gets invested in your business by other people around you can be so much more beneficial to you and your company that it would worth more than any amount of venture capital.

As a young entrepreneur it’s important to soak up and get as much mental capital as you can. Talk with everyone around you, and more importantly, listen to everyone. Ask questions, discuss your business, get feedback, and then use it! If you’re a student entrepreneur, you even have another huge advantage over other young (recently out of college) entrepreneurs – you have so many more resources on campus: Your professors, library, resource centers, etc. Utilize them all, now.

Don’t let peoples suggestions just glaze over your head or in one ear and out the other. Be thankful for the time that people spend in giving you feedback, ideas, considerations, and sharing their contacts with you.

Now, go out there and get as much mental capital as you can and you will crush it.

Well, since the site is called Dorm Room Biz, I thought it was time that we got back to posting some more student business ideas. So, without further ado, here is a great list of opportunities and businesses that students can start from their dorm room, apartment, or home. Starting a business in school is a great chance to A) learn business skills, B) make some extra money, and C) to just have a great time.

• Garage Sale Marketing and Promotion Service – One of the worst parts of holding a yard sale is getting everything together, pricing items, and advertising the sale. So, why not offer this service to your local community? Now is the time to start up a service like this as the spring season is starting to get rolling, people will start ’spring cleaning’ their houses, and yard sales will pop up all over the place. Check Craigslist in your area for people advertising yard sales and offer them your services.
• Personal Conceiger Service – How hard could it be to get some reservations set up at a restuarant or to get some tickets to a game? Actually, probably pretty difficult starting out. You’d really need to be able to work your personal network and tap into other networks to make it happen. However, starting small is what it’s all about. Since you’ve got the extra time in between classes and studying, it leaves the perfect opportunity to work on getting your name out there, making connections at hotels, restuarants, stadiums, clubs, etc. Offer the service to students and faculty at your school looking to plan an event (say a Valentines Day date or a birthday party) and set everything up for them. Along the lines of a personal assistant, but without all the bitch work.
• Green/Eco Consulting – Into the idea of going green? Read up on it because it is the latest and greatest thing happening. Once you have a solid foundation from books, magazines, industry blogs, and other resources, break out on your own and create your own website promoting green and eco-friendly practicies. As your site grows in popularity, so will your exposure and ability to grow your business into a consulting service. Start working with companies and families providing tips and tricks to help them be more green. Provide home inspections and office inspections to see how green your clients are and what else they can do. The kicker here is to also offer the service of whatever you are promoting they do. So as an example, if you inspect someones house and can tell that their lightbulbs should be replaced with CFL bulbs or their windows could be replaced with more energy efficient ones, offer this service to them. This is where real money can come in because you could then outsource the work to a

What do you think? Have a dorm room business idea that you’d like to share? Leave a comment below!