BEFORE YOU BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR AS A STUDENT

Anybody can be an entrepreneur, a student, an unemployed person, a married person. Your status as a student is never a limitation to becoming an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship in this twenty first century has taken a turn, we can see it play out in different industries especially in the fintech industry. Entrepreneurship hasshifted to theyoung, many innovative ventures are springing up and their founders are mostly young persons. Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook foundedwhen he was just 19 years and he was a college student.

According to the 2022investopedia financial literacy survey, generation z adults (those between the ages of 18 and 25 years) are more financially sophisticated than any previous generation was at their age.

The question is no longer if its possible for za student to become an entrepreneur, there is however certain questions to be answered as it regards you as a student becoming an entrepreneur.

Questions you should ask yourself are;

Why do I want to become an entrepreneur? But before asking why, do you understand what? Do you know what entrepreneurship is, what it entails, how much do you about being an entrepreneur?

WHO IS AN ENTREPRENEUR?

An entrepreneur is someone who is ready to start anew business venture, an innovator, who can build, develop, and produce a new product. A new product is not necessarily something that never existed before, it can a new and better way of rendering a service, or an aspect of an existing industry that has been neglected or making accessible an information that is needed but not within peoples reach. Whatever business, whatever venture, whether fintech, health, sports, entertainment, or food. You can become an entrepreneur in any venture.

The next important question is WHY you want to become an entrepreneur? Your why is very important when you have decided to become an entrepreneur. There are a lot of reasons young people decide to become entrepreneurs, the most prevalent is to MAKE MONEY. As much as making money is good, it should not be your number one why.  The WHY of every entrepreneur is creating value. Value is created when there is a need. When a need is met two things are created; value and money. An entrepreneur creates value and he gets moneyas a return on his value created. As an entrepreneur also Seek to make an impact or change in your community, solve a humanitarian need.

 If we have established our WHY as value, the next thing to consider is WHAT value do we want to create, and since we also know that value is created when a need is met, this question then comes down towhat need do you want to meet.

This is the second most important thing to consider. You don’t want to just meet any need but the one people really want. you have to study your environment and find out what people lack that they need and want. An example is food, everyone needs foodbut not everyone would want to be fed, there are those whoprefer to cook their foods themselves, those who prefer certain kind of food to others, so if you are to meet the need of food in a particular area you would have to find out what kind of foodthey really want. You also have to be open minded in your research for a profitable venture. Be open various to business ideas, innovation can be from anywhere. listen, observe and learn. Your idea could come from an industry or a sector totally outside your primary interest. This is why intensive research is required.

When you finally decide on a product, make sure it is one that inspires you, choose a product or service that would challenge and motivate you.

It is important to build interest in a particular niche you’ve chosen, this is what would sustain you after you’ve started.Anybody can be an entrepreneur, a student, an unemployed person, a married person. Your status as a student is never a limitation to becoming an entrepreneur. Then again, you do not need to quit school to start running a business. You don’t have to start a business that is too big for you to handle, find out those needs you can meet at your level, start with the resources you have don’t overwhelm yourself.

Learn as much as much as possible, gather information; seek a mentor, seek guidance, you can watch You-Tube videos, read eBooks. Every successful entrepreneur survives by mentorship. You may not necessarily have a physical human mentor, but you can follow successful entrepreneurs especially those who have succeeded in your niche or industry.if it is something entirely new, seek guidance from someone who has succeeded at something similar to it. Build a strong professional network that would help you in opportunities in the way of help, advice, contacts, friends and future business.

Have a decent budget; start with what you have, don’t shoot yourself in the leg. You can seek for grants. Several grants are available for students who wish to start business along their studies. Join communities, you also learn by joining a community of like minded people with similar interests.

Write a business plan; a business plan is a document that details the objectives of your business and strategies for achieving them. Evaluate your business skills and knowledge.You should have knowledge about marketing, finance, accounting, technology and human resource, as it relates to the business niche or industry you’re venturing.

Remember that entrepreneurship is not for everybody but anybody can become an entrepreneur.

When you become an entrepreneur as a student, you become a problem solver,you become wise in managing time, you develop basic life skills and experience, you become a wise spender. You becomeindependent and self-reliant. You become financially stable, you become confident, you become a job creator

Start a business that would save your education and future.