Upon graduating from college, some graduates search for stable jobs that will align with their career goals. Others find it hard to land a job they enjoy after graduating and consider starting their own business instead. There are risks involved in either path, but each can be rewarding in its own way. Despite what you may have been told, building the business of your dreams doesn’t have to wait. If you’ve just graduated from college and want to become an entrepreneur, it’s entirely possible. However, before you begin pouring resources and funds into your startup, you want to ensure you have all the tools needed to be successful. Starting your own business right out of college may be a gamble, but you can take steps to start on the right foot.
1. Come Up with A Business Idea
All great startups begin with a novel idea. If you want your business to be successful, you need to identify a problem and then come up with a creative solution for it. Find out where there is demand for a product or service, and then move toward that sector. You may already have an idea in mind, but you’ll want to run it past several other trusted people to make sure it has potential. Thinking through all the possibilities and potential pitfalls will help in the long run.
2. Research Your Competition
Before getting too far ahead of yourself, it’s vital to understand the type of market you’re entering into. Researching your competitors is an important part of your market analysis, and you need to find out which companies are selling products or services that are similar or even identical to your own. Then, ask yourself how your product or service would be different or stand out from the competition. If there are several other companies nearby selling the exact same thing you want to, consider that you might be setting yourself up for difficulty in launching your business. Not only do those companies likely already have loyal customers, steady employees, and top-notch advertising, but they have the advantage of tweaking their product or service over the years based on feedback. These things take time, so it’s important to realize the disadvantage you’ll be at if your startup is competing with other well-established businesses in the area.
3. Create A Business Plan
After you’ve developed your product or service, it’s time to create a business plan. You want to consider where you’ll be running the business, how much funding you’ll need, the amount of time required to get the business off the ground, and more. How will your customers get the product or service? Which methods of advertising will you use? How will you make money? Do you have customers lined up already? Is your product or service patented? Who are your suppliers? Make sure you are covering all the bases and paying attention even to the smallest details. The more prepared you are now, the better off you’ll be throughout the process of growing your business.
4. Set A Target Audience
Every company has a target audience, which is a group of people identified as the most likely to purchase the product or service. The individuals in a target audience normally share some similar features, often demographic traits, or behaviors. This could include criteria such as gender, age, income, geographic location, education level, and more. To determine who your target audience is, you need to conduct market research, analyze your competitors, and interview potential clients. It’s also important to know who your target audience isn’t. Once you’ve determined your target audience, you can begin to work on reaching them through advertising and other techniques.
5. Be Financially Prepared
There are many financial risks associated with starting a new business, and the process often requires large amounts of capital. A large percentage of startups fail simply because they underestimate how much money it can cost to begin and run a business. You can look into venture capital funding, turn to friends or family for the initial funding, or seek out angel investors. Just make sure you’re in a good financial position before starting as financial problems can cause many hardships for the business from the beginning.
6. Develop Your Team
People are going to help your business grow and flourish, so it’s vital to choose a team of people who are going to be committed, passionate, and dedicated. You want diversity in terms of who can do what, for how long, and to what extent. Where one person has a weakness, another can make up for it in their strengths, and vice versa. Delegation is equally important; when each person is assigned to one particular area of the business, everyone can focus fully on their part without having to worry about the others. This takes a level of trust that may need to be built over time but is entirely possible.
7. Ask For Help
If you’re just graduating from college, you likely have a large social network of friends and acquaintances. You probably also have at least one or two professors you connected with or, at the very least, could ask for help or advice from. You might ask your economics professor to look over your business plan or your marketing professor to provide constructive criticism on your marketing objectives. Your college might have resources for students and graduates who want to be entrepreneurs and may be willing to help you out as well. Ask for advice from everyone you can think of who could provide a valuable opinion. Share your business idea with them, ask for feedback, and get suggestions from them. Every conversation you have could provide you with insight into something you hadn’t thought about before.
8. Network
Networking is the process of connecting with other people in order to gain professional contacts through the sharing of information or ideas. While it’s always important to practice networking, it becomes even more vital if you’re starting a new business. The more contacts you have in your community, the more help you’ll have in spreading the word about your startup. You want to draw as much attention as you can to your business and ensure that the perception people have of it is a positive one. Networking can also provide you with new partnership opportunities, help you find a mentor, and may even give you leverage with investors.
9. Check Legalities
This isn’t the most exciting part of starting a business, but it is a necessary step. You want to make sure your business is operating legally in all regards. For example, do you need a permit or a license? Are there regulations you’ll need to abide by? You may consider speaking with a lawyer to make sure you’re not missing anything. It may be tempting to do the work on your own, but if you overlook anything, it could cost you. In most cases, it’s best to leave the legal work up to the experts.
10. Spread The Word
If no one knows about your startup, it’s going to be difficult to find customers and get the business off the ground. Luckily, there are an endless number of ways to spread the word about your new business. Social media is one of the easiest, fastest ways to inform a large number of people. You can utilize Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, or all of the above. You may be more active on some accounts than others, but you should be consistent in tone and voice on each of them. Over time, you’ll establish a personality or brand as a company, and customers will come to recognize you for it. Other ways you can get the word out are blogs, SEO-optimized content on your website, paid-for advertising, email promotions, online contests, local event advertising, sponsorships, and referral programs. The options are endless. Ensure you have marketing and PR plans in place from the start so you’re not sending mixed messages about the product or service.
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Starting a business right out of college is no easy task, but many people find the potential rewards to be well worth it. Some people simply aren’t built for the traditional workforce and prefer to be their own boss and play by their own rules. There’s nothing wrong with this, but before getting too far into the process, you must understand the risks and reality of the world of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are natural risk-takers who press on despite doubt and negativity (either from themselves or others). This doesn’t mean they ignore red flags or are ignorant of the process, just that they are passionate individuals who are motivated by success. Thinking like an entrepreneur takes time and experience and won’t happen overnight. It is an exciting, unpredictable path to take, but one that can ultimately provide you with an incredible legacy. If you feel ready to make a difference and want to provide value to the world, then don’t hesitate to get started on your own journey as an entrepreneur—despite your age or experience.