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How to Start a Business as a Student
Elev Community Member • Aug 03, 2020
"You will be able to boost your selling, communication, and management skills."
"You will be able to boost your selling, communication, and management skills."
**This article was submitted by an Elev Community Member and does not necessarily represent the opinion of Elev Labs or any of its affiliates. All views expressed are intended to represent the sole author only.**
Tips on How You Can Start a Business as a Student
a. Setup your priorities
This is the first thing that you need to do to manage your time effectively. It can be very difficult for you to do both school and business-related activities at the same time. Thus, it crucial that you make a clear schedule, so you can set up your priorities in your daily life. By doing so, you should no know exactly how much time to delineate to both your studies and business. Don't forget to set up your short-term and long-term goals that you will achieve in the future. By setting up simpler and more direct goals, you can learn how you can achieve your more indirect and complex goals and priorities.
b. Take some courses for improving your knowledge and skills
Before you start your business, you can follow this tip for improving the chance of becoming a successful business owner. When you look at the market, you can find a lot of courses that are available these days. Some of these courses can teach you how you can improve your skills and knowledge that are related to your business model. Finding a good business course can help you understand the fundamentals at what it takes to build a sustainable business.
c. Engage with other students from your school
Input and advice is tremendously important for solving the most dire problems and coming up with effective and innovative solutions. Your friends may come from your high school class or any business course that is available on the market today. You should consider working as a team, especially when your business is considered as a start-up. Networking can improve your opportunities to achieve great success in both business and school. You can work together with your friends, especially when you are planning to finish any tasks immediately.
d. Use free resources from school
When you are still studying in a college or university, you can still enjoy some free resources that are available for all students. Some of these free resources may include free WiFi, copy and printing services, online resources, library materials, and access to both other passionate students and knowledgeable professors. All of these free resources are very useful to help you increase the growth of your business effectively. When you need to use any software, you can get this type of software at a discounted price. If your budget is limited, you need to learn how you can maximize all resources from school or university.
e. Get funding options
If you want to be successful in your school and your business, this is an essential point of advice. As a business owner, you will certainly need to have some money for scaling your business. You can contact your college or university, especially when you want to get federal grants, fellowships, scholarships, secure loans, etc. As a student, you can also get access to any specific funding options that are available for all student entrepreneurs.
Many other useful tips can help you do your school and business tasks at the same time. If you are serious about building a business from scratch during your study period, you can take a look at the Elev Labs. This is an accelerator-incubator hybrid company that will help you build a successful business from scratch. You can find their lab scientists who are always available to assist you through their unique lab-based process at getting your idea off the ground and into a revolutionary company. They come with a lot of skills and knowledge in this industry, and are ready to give you insights and ideas about how you can grow your business significantly without having to leave school.
Elev Labs brings student ideas to life through a supportive and empowering lab-based community process.
Have an idea and ready to get started? Apply now.
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I am confident that just about everyone would agree that the year 2020 has presented a number of challenges for people all over the world. It came as quite the surprise when nearly every normal aspect of our daily lives became significantly altered. One day, I was attending in-person lectures with hundreds of students at school and the next day, I was on a flight home to endure what would be a several month break away from my college. For many, including myself, it became so easy to sulk over all of the missed time and opportunities that we thought 2020 held in store for us. With entering the new decade, so many of us created hopes, dreams, and ambitions, and in a matter of a few weeks, we were in what felt like an infinite stay-at-home lockdown. After being sent home, I tried to stay busy by investing more time into my school work. Each day, I’d spent hours staring at my laptop, trying to make sense of all of this extra time we had been given in quarantine. I felt the need to constantly be productive because otherwise, I’d feel like I was wasting my time. I wish I had realized earlier that taking time to relax is crucial to mental well-being, especially during these adverse times. Eventually, I’d learn to take long walks each day as a way to reduce the stress and anxiety of attending my now-online college. With all of these abrupt changes, establishing any sort of routine was difficult. By dividing up my time for specific tasks and allotting time for breaks in my schedule, I was able to exhibit some normalcy. After months of feeling like I finally had a grip on my “pandemic situation”, things changed. Due to my health, I was categorized as “high-risk” for COVID-19 and was unable to return back to school in-person. I watched all of my friends return to campus, while I stayed back at home, in order to protect myself from the virus. My illness was taking my college experience away from me. I had yearned for it throughout quarantine and it was heartbreaking to see people experience college, while I sat at home. However, looking back, I recognize the silver linings of quarantine and being home during college. The truth is I will never get this amount of time again with my parents and family, so I’m grateful for that. I’ve been granted time to pursue more endeavors, including Elev Labs and new hobbies, so I’m grateful for that. I’ve spent time becoming a better version of myself, so I’m grateful for that. Despite how notoriously bad 2020 has been, there has been some good in all of this. Maybe that’s why they say “Hindsight is 2020.” By reflecting on all of the events that have transpired in the last year, we now have a much better understanding of the elements in life that are most important to us. Whether that be prioritizing family after not being able to be around them or prioritizing studies after being granted more free time or whatever it may be, 2020 should be acknowledged as a pivotal year that caused many to grow and improve. It is essential that as we move into 2021, we continue to recognize that we are grateful and that there is always a light amidst the chaos and to keep flourishing through adverse times. Maxx Wexler is a junior at the University of Florida. She is also the Community Director at Elev Labs.
Online interviews are more widespread than ever. Colleges, companies, investors, and others deploy virtual platforms to understand prospects more intimately and add some context and humanity into the application process. Like anything in life, online interviews come with their benefits and their disadvantages. Although this shift has primarily occurred due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we’ll likely continue to see an increase in online interviews. A virtual interview is your chance to show companies and institutions who you are beyond the numbers and statistics on paper; it’s your chance to “seal the deal.” An incredible interview can quickly move someone to the coveted “yes” pile. However, an unsatisfactory interview can even more easily move someone to the “no” stack. As a Co-founder of Elev Labs, I’ve virtually interviewed dozens of people in the past few months. On the other side, I’ve participated in many online interviews as a college applicant recently. Here are some tips to help you stand out amongst the crowd in your next virtual interview: Know what you’re getting into - While most interviews are conducted via a live platform like Zoom, some will be “on-demand interviews.” This means that a question or video will appear on screen, and you’ll be given a set amount of time to record an answer in video format. This video will then be sent to the company or school. To avoid any last-minute shakeups, find out your interview format ahead of time. Test your connection - This one may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people have a poor connection during an online interview. Go and test your internet speed ahead of time. If you can, try to connect directly to the internet via ethernet rather than using WIFI. Also, try and limit the number of other devices on your network at the same time. If you do lag at all, make sure to ask your interviewer if they’d like you to repeat yourself. Framing matters - One of the more dynamic elements from online interviews is letting people into your home. It’s fascinating how much you can tell about someone from the pictures on their walls. Even more importantly, make sure that nothing you wouldn’t want your interviewer to see is in frame. Also, ensure that you are easily visible and no bright lights are in the background to cause an annoying glare. Take advantage - Arguably, the most significant benefit to a virtual interview is your ability to have notes up during the call. Feel free to have your resume in split-screen, or even throw some post-its up in the corner of your monitor if need-be. It’s important not to look like you’re reading. But having a few talking points in mind ahead of time can only benefit you. Not to mention that by doing this prep, you’re already getting your mind into “interview mode.” Be animative - The camera takes off 10 pounds of personality! We can’t see your body language or hear your tone as well virtually. Make sure that you’re clear and direct when expressing your emotions. It’s okay to laugh a little louder and smile a little wider. Obviously, don’t over-do it, but remember that the interview’s point is to add a human element to the process. As a bonus, speak slowly and clearly. This will ensure that if someone gets a surprise email or other distraction, they can quickly address it without losing much. Lastly, don’t forget basic etiquette on virtual interviews. It’s still important to dress well and to be early, for example. Ensure that you’re as authentic as possible, and do your research to show how passionate you are in the interview. Nine times out of ten, someone who comes across as passionate in a virtual interview will be the one who ultimately gets the job. Using these tips, you’re sure to find success in your next virtual interview. If you’re interested in more tips to help you succeed, sign up for The Lab Report , a new initiative by Elev Labs to help business students succeed. Good luck! You’ve got this! Max Coppola is a high school senior based out of Long Island, NY. He is one of the Co-founders of Elev Labs.