Time and time again, you�ve been daydreaming about being your own boss ever since you started working� However, you continually convince yourself you don�t have the time, the knowledge, or even the resources to embark on such a journey! Where would you even begin anyway, right? What if I were to tell you it�s actually possible to start your own small business as a full-time student?

Skeptical? Allow me to share my own experience today. I founded my small business, Paimon�s Boutique, as a full-time student over two years ago, and it is still growing successfully!

Brainstorming

I have piqued your curiosity I see!

The first thing you�ll want to do is brainstorm and think of what you would like to sell. Take five minutes of your day, gather a piece of paper, a pencil, and start writing down some ideas. A classic mantra you�ll hear from entrepreneurs is �Address a want or a need�, and this is exactly what you should aim for. Find an idea people want to buy, and ideally, with a certain degree of originality. A good place to start is yourself! What are you missing? What do you want to have right now?

I�ve heard many times that starting a clothing business or a fast-food chain, for example, was a bad idea, because of the current oversaturated market. However, that�s only partly true. If you can introduce original designs or ideas to a well-established market, you can most definitely still succeed. Otherwise, there would only exist one fast-food chain, one clothing store, and so forth. Each one of them sells variations of certain products which sets them apart from their competitors. The same can be said about services.

As a full-time student, keep your ideas relatively simple, as well as time and cost-effective. Seek inspiration from other successful small business owners. Don�t be afraid to reach out to them directly to learn about their story.

Where to start

I�m glad I convinced you to give it a shot! Now that you�re excited about your idea, you�re wondering where to start.

I�ve taken entrepreneurship classes and was always told �we need to conduct extensive market research�. While that�s the approach we would go for in an ideal world, and if we had a lot of time and money, it�s simply not realistic when you�re a full-time student. My first piece of advice would be to ask your friends and family what they think of your idea. Are they interested in the product or service you�d like to offer? If the answer is yes: keep going; if not, go back to brainstorming! Honest feedback from friends and family members can be extremely valuable in helping you find a viable idea.

Another realistic step you can do is a simple SWOT analysis to gain an understanding of the challenges you may encounter within your target market. Manage your time and resources wisely and don�t put too much pressure on yourself: do it step by step whenever you have free time.

How to start on a budget

You�ve made it this far and are ready to take the leap of faith!

As a student, you only have very limited financial resources you�re willing to put into the project, and that is 100% okay.

If you want to sell a product, I�d recommend creating a prototype or investing in a sample. This allows potential customers to really see what they�ll be purchasing. Subsequently, look into social media trends to establish your business account and create free promotional content. Additionally, consider exploring crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Backerkit, which allow risk-free product launches. I�d recommend opening pre-orders for your item(s) rather than carrying a stock to save money. I will be going into more detail about sample making in the following article of this series.

Regarding services, you may want to consider renting the items or software you need for a short period of time rather than buying everything upfront. Because let�s be realistic, startups do not always succeed with their first-ever idea! Services are trickier, as you need to establish credibility in the beginning but you also don�t want to be offering free services. You will need to think about how you want to offer your services, so you don�t lose too much money! Try to find a service you can offer with the materials you already own to minimize your investment.

Pricing

Unfortunately, there is no �one size fits all� formula to determine ideal profit margins.

You�ll need to factor in your fixed and variable expenses in your products at some point. It is crucial to leave yourself room for error in case anything goes wrong (e.g.: defective products). Consider your time investment, website fees (possibly in the future), material costs, packaging, and other relevant expenses.

Go little Rockstar!

You are now ready to start your own business as a full-time student!

The key points of this article are the following:

�        Start with a simple, small-scale, realistic idea.

�        Seek advice from friends, family, and other business owners.

�        Establish a budget and take calculated risks with your budget.

�        Consider all your expenses and potential risks when pricing your product/service.

I will be going over more aspects of owning a small business in the upcoming weeks. Do not miss out on this experience with The Market Mavericks.