The university structure and the support of professors and researchers can facilitate entrepreneurship, increasing the chances of success and learning about business development and management. If that’s your goal, check out these 10 tips we’ve separated to help you become a successful entrepreneur !

1. Don’t give up your studies

Entrepreneurship in college is exciting. Developing an innovative business that can change your own life and that of many people is something that moves many young people to follow this path. Driven by this enthusiasm, many university students drop out of graduation to dedicate themselves exclusively to the enterprise. This is not the best way.

The ideal is to be able to combine the two things and, preferably, undertake in an area that has affinity with the career you have chosen. That way, you can put into practice what you’re learning. The knowledge acquired in college can bring techniques, experiences and insights that will make all the difference in business management.

2. Make the most of the university experience

College is a rich environment that offers students a range of exciting experiences. This is the case of lectures, workshops, congresses, fairs, study and research groups, among other activities. Follow the calendar of events and be sure to participate in those that are compatible with your goals.

This is a way to go beyond the knowledge gained in the classroom, meet new people and expand your cultural background. You will definitely make useful discoveries for your venture.

3. Get Organized

To undertake in college you need to have dedication and discipline. When starting the entrepreneurial path, you cannot neglect business planning. At the same time, you need to follow the academic calendar and pay attention to your studies. Both things are important and complement each other. Therefore, it is essential to organize your routine well, defining periods and times for each activity to be carried out.

4. Plan the business

Every enterprise is born from an idea. The problem is that in this initial phase, few are concerned with starting to plan how the business will be. We are talking about putting ideas on paper, even if they are still incomplete. We call this process business model building.

5. Innovate

You should know the history of a number of successful companies and startups. Perhaps, you have noticed something that is repeated in the trajectory of these ventures: generally, they are businesses that emerged to solve a problem or that were created to take advantage of a business opportunity. The big idea is to do something in a way that nobody has done before.

6. Be inspired by success stories

The trajectory of those who undertake and prosper can not only inspire their journey but also bring useful advice for their business. Seek inspiration, mainly, in success stories related to the same area in which you intend to act. Thus, it is possible to identify similarities, common difficulties and possible differentials that you can apply to your business.

7. Create a good network

One of the main advantages of doing business in college is the network of relationships you can build in the academic environment and beyond. Take advantage of the interaction with students from the course and from other areas to identify partners and, who knows, even partners who can contribute to the evolution of the enterprise.

Another way to strengthen networking  is to get closer to professors and researchers. These are valuable partners that can pave the way for you in competitive markets. And it is worth returning to a tip that we have already presented here: take advantage of academic events to meet people and create a network of relationships.

8. Join a junior company

Participating in a junior company is an excellent path for those who want to undertake in college. Junior Enterprise is a non-profit group created and managed by university students. The objective is to promote interaction between students, companies and faculty.

The role of organizations is to support the development of projects that will be led by students. The university also invests in the junior enterprise offering an environment conducive to innovation. For those willing to undertake, this is a golden opportunity to obtain financing, something so difficult at the beginning of the business, and to absorb knowledge from entrepreneurs, investors and researchers.

9. Seek support inside and outside the college

We highlight here the important role played by the faculty in supporting student entrepreneurship. Identify all support mechanisms offered by the academic environment, such as research centers, business school, junior company, career accelerator, etc. Then, evaluate which solutions are most suitable for your business. Does any initiative offer financial support? How can teachers and researchers contribute? How does the interaction with partner companies work?

10. Test your business model

As you can see, when you undertake in college, you will be surrounding yourself with a wide support network. At this initial stage of the business, partnerships can contribute a lot, so this is the ideal time to test the model developed in the previous steps. Evaluate performance and test acceptance of the developed product or service. Don’t be afraid of criticism. Use them to discuss with your partners how you can fix problems or improve results