Category — Financing Education

A business student is someone that goes to business school, takes courses, graduates and looks for a job. An entrepreneurial student is someone that starts their own business while still in business school. If you lean to the latter, here are a number of low- to medium-capital businesses that you can start while still in business school, either singly or with partners.

Some people are natural entrepreneurs, even students. Numerous successful business powerhouses - such as Dell Computers, Microsoft, FedEx and Apple - got started in college. You don’t have to be a geek, but you do need some basic accounting, advertising, market research and business skills, and a specific salable skill (how you’ll earn your income). College is actually an ideal place to start a business because students tend to be bright-eyed, passionate and unjaded. As well, classmates tend not to mind other classmates promoting their business.

Here are a few businesses you can start in college for relatively low capital, then build on them as income comes in. Because you’re in charge, you can take as much or as little work as fits your study schedule.
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If you’re headed towards business school, you already know it can be expensive. The Sallie Mae also just announced that they will no longer give private loans to students who have low (below-prime) credit scores. These days, with credit cards being sent to dogs (really), it’s not hard to fall to the temptation of easy credit at some point and then find negative marks on your credit report. You’ll have to rebuild your credit, but what do you do in the meantime, especially if you’re already in school or have been accepted?

Here are some tips for alternate ways to fund your business school degree that won’t leave you scared of debt when you graduate.

1. Loan from family. Money from family/ friends is often easier to gain than from other sources. The typical downside is that unresolved money issues often divide families. You could make things more official by having loan papers drafted, which include a clause that you pay some sort of percentage return. So your loaners get something in return for their investment in you. On the other hand, if you’re undisciplined in paying off debt, this is a bad idea. So, then, is going to business school.
2. Awards. Many schools offer awards to students with top marks. Check your college’s website for awards, scholarships, grants, etc., then check with your college counsellor. Don’t forget that in the United States, there often really obscure grants/ scholarships that have the oddest acceptance criteria, but which you might qualify for. The downside is trying to find such awards.
3. Government or military assistance. This falls into a vein similar to awards, but funding comes from the government or the military, rather than schools or private organizations. The downside is that to qualify, you often have to be in a “minority” group, such as a veteran, disabled, single parent, etc.
4. Work part-time. Many students have worked their way through college. It’s quite a common practice. But if your marks are high, you might even land a department job as an assistant to a professor. This does not always pay more than some outside job, but it’s very good to have on your resume. The downside is that some departments only let full-time students work 10-20 hours. You have to weigh out the pros and cons. [Read more →]