Start a Company From Your Dorm Room

By Harrison Kratz on November 12, 2011
What do Facebook, Microsoft and TIME magazine all have in common? The founders of each of these companies came up with the idea and started the business while still in college. More and more students faced with dim job prospects or not wanting to work for a big corporation are deciding to start their own businesses while still in school. The good news is that technology has made this easier than ever before.

startup school

Photo by Robert Scoble on flickr.com

Whether starting a business is simply a way to make some extra cash while working towards your degree or whether you have bigger plans, here is some advice about how to be successful:

First, you have to start with an idea, which is often the hardest part. It’s wise to focus on something you enjoy, such as a specific interest or skill you have. Start by looking around campus for potential market opportunities. Is there something on campus that you think you could do better, or something that frustrates you because it is slow or expensive? Think about how you could leverage technology and your skills to do something innovative.

Once you have an idea of what you want to do, make a business plan. This does not have to be a business plan in the traditional sense, which is normally a 30-page document that an MBA might write, but just a document where you think through the costs and resources needed to get off the ground, who your customers could be and how you would reach them. Knowing this will help you evaluate whether your idea is achievable and what it will take to get there.

Next, get to work. Build your website or product, and start marketing to your customers. The largest limitation students face is capital, so leverage technology in any way you can to start making money without having to spend much. Use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to market your business and attract customers. Reach out to your friends if they can help. Perhaps one of your friends is talented designer and can help with your website or advertising, or another is a good computer programmer who will help you build an iPhone application.

While you are doing what you can on your own and with your friends, seek out help from others. Your college might have an entrepreneurship club that can connect you with a mentor or give you access to workspace for free. Ask your professors for advice on your business plan and idea. Use the alumni network to find more experienced business people who can advise you and connect you with possible partners.

If you are really interested in taking your business to the next level, look for business plan contests you can enter. Many universities host their own contests where students present pitches to a panel of judges, and winners can receive cash awards, free office space and consulting services. More important than any of these material awards, however, is the practice you will get in pitching your idea, the connections with business people at the event and the press from winning. Plus, winning a competition gives your business validation, which will help in securing customers and investors to take it beyond your dorm room and into the real world.

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