Student entrepreneurship is on the rise; many students eagerly start their very first business venture while they are still in high school or college.
Well, launching a business right from the college itself is a big achievement, but challenges at this young age are different than the ones that older entrepreneurs face. Since college students are more vulnerable to risky environment including drugs, predators, and crime etc. the first and foremost is your safety and security. Moreover, being a student entrepreneur, you may also encounter, stress, depression, and anxiety, which may affect the overall mental health.
This article will discuss the ten important considerations student entrepreneurs should take to ensure their safety and well-being.
1- Choose the Right College:
Yes, everyone wants to go to the best college, but the best college should also be the safer one. While you are searching for the best college, do make sure you look for the safety standards too. This list of 2019’s safest college campuses in the US researched by Nuwber will be quite handy to make your search easy.
Most colleges and universities have campus safety office that provides on-campus crime statistics; whether you plan to start college in your own city or in another state, do verify the on-campus crime stats so you can prepare yourself accordingly.
2- Take a Safety Tour
The first thing you should do when you join a college, is to know your surroundings. Ideally, you should take a safety tour of the campus along with your friends. Make sure to have this tour is broad day light. Just in case, if you miss some areas, cover those the next day.
Your campus safety tour should help you determine where the
campus safety office is, where to find help during the day and at night,
emergency call numbers, and areas to avoid.
3- Run with a Pack
Whether you are new to the campus or have been there for
quite some time, traveling alone, especially at night and in more desolate
parts of campus is a big NO. Avoid isolated shortcuts no matter how tired you
are after a long day of studying and working on your project.
4- Empower Yourself
You don’t need to be a black belt in order to protect you,
but knowing the right self-defense techniques is a must. Sign up with a friend for
a self-defense course and empower yourself to stay safe.
5- Protect Your Property:
Protecting your property is important for every student, but it is crucial especially when you are a student entrepreneur. You would certainly not want your business idea or business plan to be stolen. So, do not leave your personal items like backpack, laptop or cell phone unattended at any time.
6- Do Not Fall for Fraud:
Donation requests, spa packages, and earn easy money are
most common schemes criminals use to take your money. Do not provide your
personal information or opt for any such subscription, even if it is recommended
by another student. Say no to them politely
and notify the campus safety office immediately.
7- Maintain Privacy on Social Media:
Social media can be a great platform for your business to grow, and sharing updates with close friends and family. However, you should learn to use social media with caution, when you are engaged in an entrepreneurial concern. Ideally, you should maintain strong privacy on your personal social media account, i.e. avoid geotagging your photos, do not accept unknown friend requests and so on.
Regarding the business use, off course, you should take social
media quite seriously to take your business to the next level.
8- Beat the Stereotype of Being Young:
When you are young entrepreneur, chances are that you will
be doing business with people who are older than you. Many times these people stereotypically
turn you down considering that you do not have experience, you are too young to
do this, and you cannot handle this and so on. The best way to beat this
stereotype is to look and behave professionally.
Invest in yourself, gain skills, take relevant vocational courses and deal the matters professionally.
9- Know the Art of Dealing Criticism:
You are young and have already started your own business; your friends
and family will surely be genuinely happy for you, but some people may have
other concerns. Some might not like the idea of you being independent at such a
young age, some may feel threatened by your success and others may doubt your
abilities by telling you how hard it is to do business.
The best part is that, this is the time for you to learn dealing with
the criticism. Some criticism is really great, that helps you find and fix the loopholes,
but many people criticize you just for the sake of criticism or out of
jealousy. This is where you have to differentiate between the two; take the
constructive criticism to advance yourself and ignore the negativity just as
you didn’t hear a word.
10- Learn to Say “NO”
One of the success factor for any entrepreneur is the ability to say no. In college, you are vulnerable to not only to physical and emotional risks, but also to the exhaustion caused by doing favors to others. Be nice to everyone, participate in activities that give back to the community, help others, but also know when to say “no” to anything that overextend you.
Knowing your boundaries is an important part of becoming a
business leader, and there’s no best place than a college to learn this
leadership skill.
The Bottom Line:
Student entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming popular,
and starting your own business in student life is a great step. But in order
ensure safety for yourself and for your business, and to move in the right
direction, you need to do little extra effort as discussed in the ten tips
above.
Pro tip: Create a rewards system and allow yourself to go
out for a drink with friends only if you complete both a school and business
task for that day. Plus, negotiating why you must focus on school or work is an
essential quality to learn for business relations.
