Entrepreneurship For College Students

Entrepreneurship Projects for College Students

Google. Apple. Microsoft. Facebook. Wal-Mart. Wondering what all these companies have in common? Aside from being some of America's most successful brands, their founders were all between the ages of 20 and 26 when they were launched. College-aged entrepreneurs enjoy unprecedented benefits and support, making it the perfect time to test the waters of business ownership. Whether taking advantage of entrepreneurship programs or seeking advice from alumni entrepreneurs in residence, there will never be a time where more assistance or encouragement is so readily available. Keep reading to learn about ideas for college businesses, tips for success, and what our expert has to say about being a young entrepreneur.

College Business Startup Ideas

Are You Ready to Start Your Business in College?

Are you able to juggle multiple responsibilities in a timely and organized fashion?

Yes

Do you have a clear business idea in mind?

College is a great time to learn time management and multitasking. Focus on building these skills and uses them to launch your business idea after graduation.

Have you done market research to determine if your idea is valuable to your prospective clients?

While owning a business sounds appealing, you must have a winning idea for success. Head back to the drawing board and develop a viable venture before committing. 

Are you able to secure or provide funding to support your venture?

You might have the next Facebook or Google, but you still need to confirm that your idea is marketable before bringing on investors. Even the best business ideas need funding. Perfect your pitching skills, start making calls, and secure your financing.

College Entrepreneurship Profiles

Social Entrepreneurship

The Social entrepreneurship support organization Ashoka defines social entrepreneurship as a sector dedicated to developing solutions to the world's most pressing issues. Rather than focusing on the bottom dollar, social entrepreneurs are change makers who apply business principles to social causes. Whether addressing food scarcity in Ghana or providing innovative answers to pet sheltering in Ohio, social entrepreneurs are passionate professionals driven to make the world a better place.

• TOMS is a great example of an entrepreneurial venture with a social cause. For every pair of footwear purchased by a customer, the company donates another pair to a child in a developing country.
• Numerous academic institutions offer undergraduate degrees in Social Entrepreneurship; in 2008, Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee became one of the first.

Social Entrepreneurship Resources

• 130 Ways to Fund Your Social Venture:
  SocialEarth compiled this list of ways social entrepreneurs can find capital for their venture.
• Ashoka:
  Since 1980, Ashoka has been the leader in connecting social innovators and change makers ready to address global crises.
• Duke University Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship:
  Duke provides information on metrics of success, venture support, and sector-specific resources.
• Five Tools for Social Entrepreneurs:
  Entrepreneur Magazine highlights five helpful tools to assist social entrepreneurs find and measure success.
• Stanford University Social Entrepreneurship Hub:
  This website offers roadmaps of success for social entrepreneurs and practical tips for growing an idea.

 Minority Entrepreneurship

Minority entrepreneurship includes (but is not limited to) any business owned by African American, Asian, Hispanic or Native American individuals. Minority-owned businesses grew by 46 percent between 2002 and 2007, according to CNBC, while a 2016 Entrepreneur Magazine report found these entrepreneurs own more than 15 percent of all American businesses. As individuals in minority groups are set to become the majority in coming decades, businesses created and owned by these populations are set to continue growing. The opportunity to be an entrepreneur is appealing to minority groups as it often allows them to find more economically secure and viable paths than working for someone else.

• As the first African American billionaire, entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson began his rise to mogul status when he started a cable television station in 1979. Johnson sold his company, which he called Black Entertainment Television, to Viacom for more than $1 billion in 2001.
• According to the National Minority Supplier Development Council, minority businesses produce more than $400 billion in annual revenue. There are many resources for the minority entrepreneur, including government set-asides to facilitate business.

Minority Entrepreneurship Resources 

• Black Enterprise:
  BE provides a wealth of resources to Black entrepreneurs working to get their enterprises off the ground.
• Minority Business Development Agency:
  Operating through the U.S. Department of Commerce, MBDA worked with minority entrepreneurs to secure more than $3.6 billion in funding during 2012.
• Minority Chamber of Commerce:
  Similar to traditional chambers of commerce, the MCC works with minority entrepreneurs to provide training opportunities, events, and support for their businesses.
• Regional Economic Development Programs:
  Aside from national organizations, many cities – such as Cambridge, Massachusetts – have programs available to assist minority entrepreneurs.
• U.S. Small Business Administration;
  This governmental department offers numerous helpful resources to minority entrepreneurs, including the 8(a) Business Development Program.

 Women Entrepreneurship

Women-owned businesses grew by six percent between 2007 and 2012, according to the U.S. Census, and now account for 36 percent – or 9.9 million – of all American companies. In a sector historically dominated by men, the substantial and steady rise of the woman entrepreneur signals a changing tide in business. Given that in 2015, female workers still earned only 79 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, women entrepreneurship opens avenues for enterprising females seeking a level professional playing field.

• In 2005, Arianna Huffington co-founded The Huffington Post after launching numerous other successful websites. Although the exact value is unknown, outlets have speculated its worth is around $1 billion.
• Women-owned businesses grew by 74 percent between 1997 and 2012, or at 1.5 times the national average for all new businesses, according to Fortune. This percentage skyrocketed to 322 percent for African American women.

Women Entrepreneurship Resources

• Global Women's Leadership Network:
  GWLN brings together the most powerful women leaders from across the world to empower and learn from one another.
• Investment Firms Led by and Focused on Women:
  Perkins Cole offers a full list of investment firms that frequently support women entrepreneurs.
• Ladies Who Launch:
  This organization offers free resources to female business owners and entrepreneurs, including a section on role models.
• National Association of Women Business Owners:
  For more than 40 years, NAWBO has empowered women entrepreneurs and business owners by providing helpful resources, advocacy, and training opportunities.
• U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce:
  This professional organization provides female businesswomen with a raft of services, including training, advocacy, certifications, and frequent events.

Planning Your Path to Entrepreneurship

 Resources

• America's Small Business Development Center:
  This nationwide network helps entrepreneurs develop their businesses in sustainable and successful ways.
• BPlans:
  This comprehensive website bills itself as a complete guide to business planning, providing information on concepts ranging from pitches and funding to business planning and management.
• Center for Business Planning:
  CBP has sample business plans and a range of resources for emerging entrepreneurs.
• Small Business Development Center:
  The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business provides an entrepreneurial incubation for students, as do many other programs across the country.
• The Company Corporation:
  Individuals looking to incorporate or become an LLC can find much information and support via this organization.

Tools & Apps for Building a Business

Starting a business requires dedication, focus, and long hours: a 2015 survey by Inc. found entrepreneurs work more than 60 hours a week on average. While there are a lot of tasks and responsibilities that require your undivided attention, the good news is that apps and tools are available to lessen the burden. Some of the top options are highlighted below.

Document Management

Want access to your documents from anywhere and allow your employees or customers the same? Check out these document management tools.

• Dropbox:
  This platform allows users to store and share files that can be accessed by approved users anywhere in the world.
• Google Drive:
  Accessible by anyone with a Google or Gmail account, GD provides easy file sharing and multi-user documents.
• Box:
  Towing the line between security and ease of use, Box allows users to store, share, manage, and collaborate on a variety of different types of documents.
• OneDrive:
  For users of Microsoft devices and platforms, OneDrive provides access to files from any location, on any supported device.

Project/Task management

Managing projects effectively and efficiently is the hallmark of a great team, especially when members are dispersed around the country. These tools help keep all of you on the same page.

• Wrike:
  Team managers seeking a digital project and task management platform are often drawn to the many different features offered by Wrike.
• Asana:
  Teams, especially those with remote workers, need a platform to manage work and ensure all tasks are completed efficiently – Asana can help with these needs and more.
• Trello:
  The collaborative online project management tool helps ensure teams, no matter their size, are all on the same page.
• Clarizen:
  Clarizen not only provides project management, it also automates workflow to increase productivity and synergy among teams.
• SmartSheet:
  With a focus on collaboration, SmartSheet helps businesses coordinate workflow no matter their size.
• ActiveCollab:
  ActiveCollab provides tools across the lifespan of work, ranging from task management and team collaboration to tracking and invoicing.

Accounting

For many small or startup businesses, the entrepreneur may be working overtime to ensure accounts are managed, invoices are paid, and hours are tracked. These accounting programs manage these areas and more.

• Wave:
  This free application provides basic accounting and invoicing services for small businesses.
• Xero:
  As an online accounting platform, Xero users can access their accounts from any location or device.
• Freshbooks:
  Freshbooks offers services including invoicing, expensive, time management, payment tracking, and reporting.

Sales & Marketing

A company may have the best product and greatest customer service, but it won't matter if sale leads aren't followed up on and marketing strategies aren't properly deployed. These platforms and tools ensure sales and marketing won't be your downfall.

• Authoritas:
  Businesses looking to take advantage of search engine optimization can use this platform to gain insight on current rankings and find ways to improve them.
• Unomy:
  This database style platform provides lists of targeted prospects and leads to help companies track their sales and marketing efforts.
• InsideView:
  Looking to increase your lead-to-revenue figures? InsideView can help.
• MatterMark:
  Rather than wasting your time sifting through unusable leads, why not use MatterMark to connect with relevant, high quality prospects?
• Datafox:
  Datafox helps entrepreneurs and sales teams manage the lifecycle of a sale to ensure prospective customers are being contacted at the right moments.

Website Analytics

Want to get a better sense of the parts of your website that appeal to customers the most? Use one of these website analytics platforms.

• Clicky:
  This web analytic provider gives business owners access to real time data and numbers.
• Google Analytics:
  Entrepreneurs looking to get a better sense of who is visiting their website and the most popular pages can easily install Google Analytics for their page.

Live Chat

If your business offers a help desk or live chat function, these platforms are easily imbedded and provide a range of features.

• LiveAgent:
  Whether your business has 5 or 5,000 employees, LiveAgent's multi-channel helpdesk chat features can be customized to fit your needs.
• Olark:
  For entrepreneurs with customer service platforms, Olark provides an online chat feature that can be imbedded directly in their website.

Surveys

Want to know how your customers feel about a new or existing service/product? Wondering what they think about your sales team? Create a survey on one of these digital platforms to find out.

• GetFeedback:
  These highly customizable surveys allow business owners to create sleek questionnaires that can be taken on both computers and mobile devices.
• Qualaroo:
  Unlike other analytics programs that only tell entrepreneurs what site visitors are doing, Qualaroo tells them why.
• SurveyMonkey:
  For years, SurveyMonkey has been the go-to service for creating individualized customer surveys.

Competitions and Scholarships for Entrepreneurs

Young entrepreneurs are typically already strapped for cash while trying to pay for school and living expenses, and the idea of investing thousands of dollars into a start-up can seem impossible. Fortunately, there are many different scholarships and competitions available to college entrepreneurs. Some of the most popular options are highlighted below.

Financial Backing for College Entrepreneurs

Once a young entrepreneur has an idea and does their due diligence to ensure their venture has legs to stand on, the next step is to secure funding. Whether planning to self-fund or seek out angel investors, this section helps entrepreneurs learn about different options available to them.

Venture Capitalists, Investors & Syndicates

Accelerators

Incubators

Crowdfunding

Small Business Loans

Self-Funding

Friends & Family

Expert Advice on College Entrepreneurship

How Colleges Foster Entrepreneurship

• Startup Incubators
  Many college entrepreneurs have ideas for businesses but still need mentorship and guidance to get those ideas off the ground. Numerous colleges – including the University of Pennsylvania –have business incubators to help students bring ideas to fruition. The incubation program at the Wharton School of Business is competitive, requiring student entrepreneurs to apply and interview before being accepted.
• Business Accelerators
  Programs such as the University of California Berkeley's SkyDeck allow students to be mentored and receive support for their businesses without giving away equity shares or paying fees.
• Entrepreneurship Fraternities
  Created in 2008, Epsilon Nu Tau is the country's first PanHellenic organization focused on creating a brotherhood of entrepreneurs. The organization is active on a number of college campuses and is creating new chapters regularly.
• Free Office/ Retail Space
  Depending on the type of business a student hopes to create, lots of entrepreneurship departments are able to offer students free space to get their ideas of the ground. The University of Utah's Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is but one example of this type of resource.
• Support for Non-Business Majors
  The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation at Michigan State University is an excellent example of university administration thinking outside the box in terms of entrepreneurial ventures. Since 2009, the foundation has provided seed money to students in STEM disciplines who are focused on building those skills yet also have solid concepts for a startup venture.

Student Entrepreneurship College Spotlights

STANFORD UNIVERSITY; STANFORD, CALIFORNIA

Stanford's entrepreneurship program consistently ranks as one of the top options for venture-minded students, and for great reasons: in addition to the innovative curriculum, the school also boasts countless successful alumni and a number of unique programs. eCorner is a whole website of free entrepreneurial resources, while the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies produces leading research in the field. The Stanford Entrepreneurship Network is comprised of programs, student groups, and faculty members working to explore the field through various learning tools.

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY; BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Entrepreneurial and business-minded students at MIT have access to top faculty, world-class resources, and a range of pioneering programs to help them and their businesses succeed. Students may elect to take part in a number of competitions or compete for prizes; apply for the business accelerator; take advantage of coaching from the Entrepreneurs in Residence; or join one of the numerous student groups devoted to entrepreneurship.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY; NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Student entrepreneurs enrolled at NYU are immersed in a campus-wide environment fostering innovation and creativity, allowing them to take advantage of professional resources to help them grow a business. The Entrepreneur's Challenge provides $200,000 in startup funds, while the school's incubator program prepares a business for success outside campus. Other resources include the 6,800 square food Leslie Entrepreneur Lab and the annual Entrepreneurs Festival.