Starting a business is difficult for just about anybody; starting a business while in college or attending a few classes can be a huge undertaking. In order to maintain your sanity, follow these guidelines when starting your business. These are just a few of the big issues I dealt with when starting my first business in college, and inevitably you will run into different obstacles-remember to take chances and don’t be afraid to fail.If you want to know about how to start an llc in Texas please read this article.
The obvious difficulty in starting an enterprise while in college is the balance between schoolwork and finding time for your business. When I was contemplating starting my first company, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to maintain my high grades. As I soon found out, I wasn’t able to. My days quickly became consumed with building the e-commerce site for my company, meeting with bands and artists, and searching for new clients, all while trying to get a decent grade in Music History. When I reorganized the business two years later and began my web design and printing company, I focused instead on streamlining the operations and automating as much of the business as possible. The details of this process will be the subject of another post, but I highly recommend striving to systemize as many aspects of your business’ operations, from taking and processing orders to outsourcing customer service, as possible.
Many startups need funding to help with securing assets, supplementing cash flow, and providing a cushion during slow seasons. As a young entrepreneur in college, finding sources of funding can be a hectic process, and one that may end in vain. One great source of funds available exclusively to students is from student loans. If you don’t already use loans to pay for school, consider taking out a small loan to subsidize startup costs. Student loan debt is usually considered “better” debt to have than credit card debt, and the terms for repayment are most likely much better.
Many young and first-time entrepreneurs start their business assuming they’ll need startup capital in the form of outside funding, but the truth is that there are many great, profitable business ideas that require almost no money to begin. Look into affiliate, drop shipping, and reseller programs, where you may not need to worry about inventory or shipping, and instead will take a percentage from everything you sell. Coupled with a good website and online marketing campaign, these programs can land a solid income for you, and are virtually infinitely scalable.
If your business grows into more than a hobby or a dorm-room venture, consider legally forming an entity to protect yourself from possible lawsuits, name violations, and tax trouble. The easiest and cheapest to set up is a sole proprietorship, for which you’ll most likely need to register a legal business name (called a D.B.A. for “Doing Business As”). The cost to do this varies in each state, but is usually very trivial ($16 in Texas). A more structured yet also more expensive route to take is to set up a limited liability company, or LLC, that lets you share some of the legal and tax benefits of larger corporations. Many law firms offer to handle the paperwork and processing for a few hundred dollars. If you plan to hire employees, you’ll need an Employee Identification Number (EIN) and you’ll need to be very familiar with the state and federal laws governing wages and other concerns.
