If you haven’t done so already, Student Entrepreneurs will get to a stage where they graduate and must make the decision as to whether stay, or become, an entrepreneur, or alternatively go into a graduate job. It’s a big decision to make and there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Being an entrepreneur at a young age means that you can start building your business early, you are in control of where you are going and have the potential to make it big early on. On the other side most graduates don’t have too much commercial experience and also there is the small issue of making a living. You need to be making a living and supporting yourself somehow
Going into a graduate job can teach you the skills needed to be in business, or have your own business, and get paid for it at the same time. Of course a lot of this will depend on what job you go into. A graduate training scheme in a big firm can teach you about many aspects of business and at the same time you can build your network up. In a small company you can get a lot more responsibility and variety in the role and also have the chance of seeing the business grow.
Whatever you choose my advice would be to think everything through carefully and whatever happens you are still young and can always start again.
The advantages of being young:
- Most Student Entrepreneurs are young. Some people see this as a disadvantage, however, youth can be used as an advantage:
- A 20 year old becoming a millionaire is a bigger story than a 40 year old
- More people want to help and mentor you
- Shaking up industries gains more PR when you are 20 rather than someone that has seen it all at 60 i.e. James Murray Wells at Glasses Direct
- You are naïve. A lot of people wouldn’t go into business if they knew what they had to go through
- You have less (or no) commitments. Mortgages, families, children come later
- If you lose it all what did you have to start with? And you are still young enough to start again
- Universities are ploughing a lot of money and support into helping budding entrepreneurs
- You’re not ‘institutionalised’ by the world of work
And when is the best time to start…Now!
