College and Business

[thef0x]

I'm a college student who has been using a bunch of Steve's stuff for all parts of my life, including financial security.

I teamed up with Jennifer Lynn from "Broke-Ass Student" to talk about some questions regarding the attitudes and practices of making money and attending college.

Here's the first question, the rest of the article by clicking on the link.

School and Business are like Pink and Green: Only cool in the 80’s

"- Is it possible to make money and get a higher education at the same time?

Jennifer Lynn: Yes, absolutely. It is not the easiest or most ideal situation depending on what your job is, but it can definitely be accomplished.

Denison Chapin: My immediate response to this question is why the hell wouldn’t you want to? Creating my own financial independence for myself is a very important goal, one I hope to achieve very early on. Why now and not later?

I have less to lose now, then I will later. I can risk all my money in college as long as I can pay my cost of living, which I can keep very low if I need to (food and a home). In 30 years I won’t have the opportunity to take such risks; I’ll have a family, kids, house payments, and hopefully some really cool environmentally friendly hovercraft. I don’t have hovercraft payments now, so I should act now! The rules of compound interest will also play hugely in my favor if I start earlier.

The best time to start making money and planning a financial future is in college.
"

[Sunnett]

Thanks for the link. The interview is not bad but not going into details much.

Fall in love with school and you’ll have more time to work on other parts of your life.

This sounds very nice, but no explainations on how to do that.

There are so many opportunities out there for making money while studying. Even if it’s tutoring on the side or finding odd jobs around campus, each situation brings you in contact with someone else who can help bring you closer to your ultimate dreams.

This wont cut it. I understand the idea behind it but for me it's not very helpful.

[Cassie]

Are you a student? If so, what is your major and what are your goals career-wise? It's difficult to be specific when everyone has different aspirations. So what are yours?

[Sunnett]

Yes I am. I study economics and in the future I would definitely like to be an entrepreneur. Don't know what else to write. Is this helpful?

[thef0x]

Originally Posted by Sunnett

Yes I am. I study economics and in the future I would definitely like to be an entrepreneur. Don't know what else to write. Is this helpful?

You haven't really said anything about the article.

[Sunnett]

Originally Posted by thef0x

You haven't really said anything about the article.

I did in the second post of this topic. This was an answer to Cassies post.

[Joel Chue]

Great interview but really lack the details. Would there
be an update soon for this interview?

[Cassie]

I checked this link over at the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Economics is a pretty vast field, with opportunities for some pretty great pay. Do you know specifically which area(s) you'd prefer to hone in on with your degree?

[thef0x]

Originally Posted by Joel Chue

Great interview but really lack the details. Would there
be an update soon for this interview?

What detail?

[Sunnett]

Originally Posted by Cassie

I checked this link over at the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Economics is a pretty vast field, with opportunities for some pretty great pay. Do you know specifically which area(s) you'd prefer to hone in on with your degree?

I'm not quite sure. As I see it right now, I don't want to graduate just so I could show my diploma and get some job in the industry. I would like to make something on my own.

But again, I would like to hear some details about these two lines if possible. That would be great. Thanks.

Fall in love with school and you’ll have more time to work on other parts of your life.

There are so many opportunities out there for making money while studying. Even if it’s tutoring on the side or finding odd jobs around campus, each situation brings you in contact with someone else who can help bring you closer to your ultimate dreams.

[icesar]

There's a great community of young entrepreneurs over at Mind Petals. Check them out; I love seeing how many college students are jumping on the entrepreneurship bandwagon pretty early.

[Cassie]

"There are so many opportunities out there for making money while studying. Even if it’s tutoring on the side or finding odd jobs around campus, each situation brings you in contact with someone else who can help bring you closer to your ultimate dreams."

As a full-time student, you'll need to find innovative ways to make money while also having time to do well in your studies. For me, the easiest way was to find a job right on campus. They tend to be the most lenient because they understand the stress of being a student. My first semester in college, I literally got paid to do my homework because I worked at the campus library and had plenty of time to complete my assignments there. It wasn't the best pay. But for the effort involved, it wasn't too shabby.

You could also do tutoring on your own or through your career resource center on campus. If you go through the university, you might get paid less than if you distribute flyers advertising your services. So you'll have to decide which works best for you if you decide to go that route.

I also knew of a girl who started her own business just running errands for people with busy lifestyles around her hometown. She made a pretty penny between classes doing odd jobs a couple or family didn't have time for, like picking up items at the store or dropping off someone's mail.

But I believe the key is to network as much as possible at uni. Professors are an excellent resource. Get to know them each personally if possible (this can be more difficult at larger campuses, but there are ways if you take the initiative). Get involved with projects in your department. Join a club, or start your own, with like-minded individuals and brainstorm off each other. Volunteer for things you are passionate about. This was an excellent way for me to meet people and broaden my horizons.

You want to find something which will give you the flexible to do well on your schoolwork, which doesn't involve a lot of effort, and still allows enough free time for you to build your own endeavor on the side until it can take off on its own.

[helgi]

I just found a weblog called College Startup the other day, may want to give it a look.

If there's anything more fun than reading about entrepreneurs, it's reading about young entrepreneurs!

(and btw., anyone here a student at Babson?)

[thef0x]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I just posted a follow-up article featuring a post from Steve Olson's blog steve-olson.com.

Here's that article, in part.

Monetary Generalization: School and Business: Part II

In my post, “School and Business are like Pink and Green: Only cool in the 80’s” I answered my own questions about college and business because I think people have the generalization instilled in their minds that “You can’t make money and go to school.”
Mine are as follows:

You must fall in love with education because it helps you build valuable skills for your future. You use whatever you’;re passionate about and give it value. In doing so you develop your skills and grow as an individual. If you’re smart about it, you can create something of value to give to others that you’re passionate about.
Interestingly..

Later that day, this might be because of “the law of attraction” (more on this within the week), I was reading Steve Olson’s blog and came across the following article.

I knew I had to get a hold of Steve and feature him as a prime example of my “case and point”. He agreed, thanks Steve.


Here's the link for the rest of the article:

Monetary Generalization: School and Business: Part II » Generalization Nation | Dispelling Ignorance

I hope you guys enjoy. I'm really interested in working on publishing this coffee table book. I need to use the law of attraction for that one.