The Costly Mistake That Every Student Entrepreneur Must Avoid

If there were two types of people that should earn society’s respect I would nominate a working mother and a student entrepreneurs. Both do two jobs that are equally challenging where perfection is the name of the game. Both have to manage time the right way because it’s a limited precious resource.

I have some strategic advice for the student entrepreneur. I am fortunate enough to regularly meet with university students who manage their own businesses or are thinking of starting one and I have noticed a few things that I could share.

The strangest thing I have noticed is that there’s seldom a link between the studies and the business venture of the student entrepreneur. In other words, she could be studying medicine and yet run a gourmet cooking teaching academy or he could be a law student and manage his own little café.

Students start businesses for various reasons. To cover tuition and related bills, to profit from something they’re passionate about or to simply build a company that will be their bread and butter after graduation.

A student entrepreneur just like all entrepreneurs should also start a business to capitalize on opportunities instead of just entering in a market for the sake of being entrepreneurial.

If you’re going to spend a lot of money, time and effort studying to get a degree and if you are going to have to invest money, time and energy in a business venture, please make sure that somehow they’ll complement each other in the long-run!

We often hear of people who studied medicine for ten years and after graduation opened a little restaurant because that’s what they were passionate about. While that may seem a feel good story, it’s really not the smartest way to go through life.

Photo: berbercarpet

Time, money and effort are precious resources that should be cherished. What if the student entrepreneur in the mentioned example had not even bothered with medicine and went into restaurant management?

I understand that student’s goals do change but it’s very rare that one makes up his or her mind about such a move overnight. The idea usually germinates a few years before and as time goes by it becomes more real.

If you’re a medical student thinking of being entrepreneurial and yet you’re 100% that your business concept that will ultimately be your life has nothing to do with medicine, think hard and change courses.

If you’re a medical student thinking of being entrepreneurial but also want to practice your training, then look for business opportunities in fields related to medicine. Not every medicine student has to become a physician. You can be a student entrepreneur whose market is physicians or whose concept is somehow related to medicine.

To all the student entrepreneurs out there, act on opportunities. But do make sure that they’re somehow related to what you’re investing your money and time to study for. Don’t think for a second that your field has no opportunities. Every sector has opportunities waiting to be exploited by an observant student entrepreneur. Be the one doing the observing.