I think it's a good start to become an entrepreneur during your student life. Since you're not a full-time business person at the moment, consider it as a part-time endeavor. Take small steps in the business, achieving incremental successes and improving little by little. This approach will help you transition into something bigger after graduation. Simultaneously, you can balance your studies and business together.
Balancing ambitious growth with academic demands requires student entrepreneurs to prioritize ruthlessly, delegating tasks efficiently, and utilizing technology to automate processes. Building a team of reliable, like-minded peers can share the workload, while flexible schedules and leveraging study breaks become essential for strategic planning and execution. Ultimately, success boils down to mastering focus, maximizing time, and embracing collaboration to build a scalable business without sacrificing academic pursuits.
By making a plan. Execute it according to the plan and even allocate more time in case it doesn’t go according to the plan, working harder, sleeping less, sacrifice vacations or going out. All that until everything is on track and works efficient.
In a curriculum of a public higher education institution, students of BS in Entrepreneurship program are being given a smaller number of courses during business plan implementation to be able to cope with the academic demands and test their business ideas during the last year in the academe. It makes them earn profits while studying through hard work and commitment. It further let them decide for their future after this exposure.
Scaling a business poses a significant challenge for entrepreneurs, and this challenge is particularly pronounced for student entrepreneurs who must navigate the complexities of growth while concurrently managing their academic responsibilities. The delicate balance between entrepreneurial aspirations and academic commitments requires a strategic approach to ensure success on both fronts.
First and foremost, time management becomes a linchpin for student entrepreneurs aiming to scale their businesses. Creating a well-structured schedule that allocates specific blocks of time for academic pursuits and business-related activities is essential. Prioritization becomes paramount, and identifying the most crucial tasks in both realms allows for a streamlined approach to managing diverse responsibilities. Utilizing productivity tools and techniques, such as the Eisenhower Matrix or Pomodoro technique, can aid in maximizing efficiency and minimizing wasted time.
Collaboration and delegation are also indispensable for student entrepreneurs scaling their businesses. Building a reliable team and assigning responsibilities based on individual strengths can alleviate the burden of managing every aspect of the business personally. Effective communication within the team fosters a cooperative environment, ensuring that everyone is aligned with the business goals and can contribute effectively.
Moreover, leveraging university resources can provide valuable support for student entrepreneurs. Many educational institutions offer entrepreneurship programs, mentorship opportunities, and access to networks that can aid in business scaling. Integrating academic coursework with practical business challenges can provide a holistic learning experience and contribute to the growth of both the business and the entrepreneur.
Finally, maintaining a realistic perspective is crucial. Recognizing that scaling a business is a gradual process and that setbacks may occur allows student entrepreneurs to persevere through challenges. Seeking guidance from mentors, professors, and fellow entrepreneurs can provide valuable insights and encouragement during times of difficulty.
Although it is not so easy to start a business besides studies, a student can still take this risk to be success. There goes a proverb, "Start small, but hope big." It refers to the gradual growth and setting ambitious goals despite initial limitations. Besides studies, a student can start a small business with the minimum capital. This will be make him/her more concern about time management and disciplined life; because running a business alongside studies indeed demands effective time management and discipline. Balancing these responsibilities can instill valuable life skills. When a student takes the initiative to start a business, he/she can easily implement the knowledge, strategies or techniques acquired from the academic institutions, and eventually this experience will make him/her ahead of others. Students should carefully consider their academic priorities and the feasibility of managing both responsibilities.
Treat business while studying at university as a way to gain and consolidate really in-demand competencies. Don't rush to scale during your student years. As my mother said when I was growing up: you can’t make all the money. The best investment at this time is an investment in your knowledge and skills. They will then give the greatest return. From my twenty-eight years of experience studying at university managers, I can advise students the following: in the penultimate year, invest your efforts in grant support for a future student business, and in the last year of study, open it, doing as much academic work as possible (including graduation) to develop this business.
First embrace the opportunities you have balancing entrepreneurship and academics. With that said, (depending on your business), step back and draft a "realistic" business plan with short term (30/60/90 day) objectives and deliverables which should align to your long term strategic goals. Warning: Don't make it complicated.
Keep in mind the opportunities you may have in your academic community to leverage talent, relationships, knowledge and resources to support your business.
What an exciting time for you to start a business - Congratulations!
It's clear that managing the scaling of a business while juggling academic responsibilities is no easy feat. In France, we have a program called PEPITE (Student Poles for Innovation, Transfer, and Entrepreneurship), which provides training and, most importantly, university incubators. This allows them to be mentored by expert coaches and join a community of entrepreneurs (500) who have gone through the program.
Happy to engage with those interested in discussing best practices !
To do this, you must have a special personality that makes it possible to face different fronts. If academics are related to entrepreneurship or its management, it is also a learning process.
At GBS we have a range of support in place for our students. There is an Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Program (EEP), a wide range of support through our careers team which includes mentoring and regular speakers. My advice to any academic/entrepreneur would be to find and get a solid experienced mentor who can help support and direct some of your thinking.
It depends on your focus, is the entrepreneurship endeavour or the studies comes first? Either way as an entrepreneur you must look into the practicality and the importance/urgency. No one really can decide for you. At the same time, one thing which important to remember: the best entrepreneurial endeavour is with a team. Solo entrepreneurs will always have more challenges in scaling compared to entrepreneurs who have a founding team. My suggestions to student entrepreneurs is always have a team. Work at the fundamentals of team work which requires skills in Communication and Emotional Intelligence. All the best.