The Question of Being an Entrepreneur while Schooling
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Institution

The Question of Being an Entrepreneur while Schooling
Personal Report
This personal report is an observation that continuing students and graduates are increasingly interested in entrepreneurship. They also have positive attitudes and values towards entrepreneurship (Roudaki, 2009). As a student, I strongly assert that students have a positive attitude towards becoming entrepreneurs while schooling, but they are hindered by the perception that entrepreneurship has administrative complexities. The fact is that very few ongoing students start enterprises. This may be linked to financial constraints and inadequate practical training in colleges. In line with most student entrepreneurs, I emphasize on the importance self-confidence, expertise, and a suitable market niche as incentives of starting a business while in college.
As a freshman in college, I had difficulties coping with the expensive life in campus. Financial challenges from home got me thinking of ways to pull myself out of the situation. During this period, I contemplated skiving lessons for a part-time job in a nearby Business Process Outsourcing firm. However, my roommate and I decided to work as online freelance writers. Motivated by the need to be financially stable and having a good social life, I used the income earned to trade in shares. The only asset that was invested was a personal computer. Other resources incorporated were the power and the internet connection offered by the college.
One of the critical lessons learnt was to be grateful for what is in my possession. It is also important to frame goals and objectives so that you don’t deviate from the envisioned course. From a personal experience, planning and organization are critical ingredients of success. We were amazed when we started meeting our targets both academically and businesswise. A daily visualization exercise almost always works, and the things people focus their energy towards are most likely to bear fruit. It is also critical picture a lifestyle one wants to live. This happens to guide an individual in coming up with an image of the nature of the job or business they desire. Market niche and business idea are often inspired by practice. In addition, successful training programs in early stages of the college education strengthen the faith and expertise in own abilities (Backes-Gellner & Warner, 2007). In order to facilitate academic entrepreneurship, educators should encourage students towards setting up translating their business ideas into viable opportunities and also provide knowledge and skill on entrepreneurial practice. According to Backes-Gellner & Warner (2007), sourcing information about how to become an entrepreneur while in school develops on the motivation for entrepreneurship. One of the key reasons for college entrepreneurship not being feasible is inadequate finances to start up a business, given that current economic conditions make the timing inappropriate (Ippolito, 2012).
In summary, the development of entrepreneurship among students has critical benefits, both socially and economically. Entrepreneurship in college is not only a propelling force for growth, competitiveness, and job creation; it also adds weight to personal achievement and the realization of social objectives.
Interview report
This section is an interview report covering two entepreneurs from the author’s neighborhood: Sandra Kiprich and James Smart. They are the co-founders of Digital Docs, successful entity specializing in electronic document management solutions and on-line analytics.
“You’ve got to know what you want and stick with it. This is the basis of any successful entrepreneur.” That was Sandra Kiprich’s advice and it certainly worked for her. This was in response to her position on being an entrepereneur while schooling. In the same line, James Smart said, “As you can see, we are doing well, but I have to admit that everything you partake in life has its own challenges.”
As Kiprich pointed out, their business idea was conceived in early 2012. Originally, the company was called EDocs, and one year later it was reorganized as Digital Docs. “This business idea came up as a result of school work assignment on business plan. The assignment was a group activity, and in the process of our research, we decided to take chances and implement out findings,” Smart added.
According to Kiprich, at the initial stages of the business, they were ridiculed by most students and to make things worse, their parents were furious about the whole idea. The idea was perceived as avenue of running away from academic work, however, they they were dertermined and went own to implement the idea.
“It has always been a teamwork operation, and it’s going to be managed that way for a while,” Smart noted. This was in response to how the buniesss was managed. He continued, “We could not run it as individuals or break away, but I prefer it this way. Even now, the company in managed as a team from marketing and administration to the actual implementation of the electronic document management system for our clients. I recall one time that we worked for over 1200 hours on one site, and we only got paid half the initial quotation. We’ve learned since then.” She continued, “ This far, we’ve worked for companies such as Softage International, Greystone Devices, and Blueboard, Inc. I do major on database design along with on-site scanning solutions and other features of Digitization.”
Smart pointed out that upto the time of the interview, they did not have any scarcity of contracts. “We like the industry because it’s more flexible, so that if we need to diversify, we can get the contracts we need; and if one of us takes a break for a while, we don’t experience any problems,” Smart explained.
By spending between 50 and 70 hours a week at Digital Docs, the business provided them with a steady income. However, business operations consumed much of their free time. “Much of the time is spent after classes and late at night, and our parents don’t really appreciate that so much,” Kiprich said. She also ponted out that despite this, their parents were overylly supportive of the whole venture.
In conclusion, Sandra and Kiprich had some earlier experience prior to the implementation of their business idea. Kiprich outlined that they ventured into the information technology industry due to the exposure they had as a children. Moreover, their teenage friends networked them to the computer industry. Despite being younger than most of the entrepreneurs in the technology business, age was not a issue. In fact, they were used to most of their challenges which were in technocrats. James Smart had worked at Adept International and familiarized himself with the technical and administrative aspects of the business. In addition, he was prepared to enter the industry having already started learning various programming languages and networking concepts at the beginning of junior school.
Synthesis paper
People are largely motivated to join colleges with the aim of getting a job after the education. However, as it is depicted today, more students are drawn into institutions of higher education to create their careers through entrepreneurship. Indeed, administrators in most institutions of higher education have noticed the trend of students launching startups immediately after graduation or sometimes while still in college. Therefore, the idea of becoming entrepreneurs should be encouraged. One of the main challenges facing college students is the need to start and boost entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship in college is one of the objectives of improving their performance in terms of social cohesion, employment, and economic reform.
Several years ago, geographic and cultural boundaries between students in higher education were far less permeable than they are today. Colleges imitated communities, but there was a weak link between these communities globally. Transformations have been witnessed, and for better. Students around the world can have academic, personal, and entrepreneurial relationships with each other in ways that were undreamt of years ago. The people behind these modern community relationships are abundant. Students are equipped with the global communication tools such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and proliferation of distant learning or study abroad programs to connect to the business world. As much as students have the tools to communicate, synthesis is often missing when it comes to entrepreneurship and social change. Global communications should help more students to be entrepreneurial by having various opportunities and multiple perspectives of the business world. Students can exchange experiences and business ideas with peers in other institutions to grow as innovators and entrepreneurs. To build a strong ecosystem of social and economic improvement, students, institutions of educations, and other stakeholders must be in a position to understand the context in which business thrives. People must also look externally and collect the perspective or knowledge to grow internally. Global educators must also create an environment in which students can learn basic entrepreneurship skills at early stages of their education to promote financial literacy and economic empowerment.
According to the Stanford Graduate School of Business (2009), they should be encouraged to spend their time developing and implementing social business plans for their societies and the globe as a whole. Student initiatives include starting small businesses or companies, empowering farmers through value chains and supporting the production of clean energy. Partnership among students can be modeled in return for shared profits. That is why most governments consider that it is their duty to encourage entrepreneurial initiatives among students so as to unleash the growth potential of its economy and citizens. The diversity of economic and social business initiatives mirrors the students’ creativity and the zeal for social good. Looking at the graduates who were employed in liberal professions, the proportion of those who consider it feasible to start a business while in school is lower than those who are self-employed. In developing countries, the preference of self-employment through business startups is lower than the need for liberal professions (Autio, Keeley, Klofsten, & Ulfstedt, 1997). When most students are asked about their greatest fear if they were to start up a business while schooling under the current economic conditions, majority quotes the possibility of going bankrupt. The other barrier is the uncertainty of not having a regular income and the risk of losing their assets.
In conclusion, many factors play a role in the decision to start up a business while schooling (for example, the need to acquire new skills or financial obstacles, the existence of a market or a suitable opportunity, and any prevailing administrative complexities (Kuip & Verheul, 2003)). Lastly, the dynamics of the business landscape should be presented to students through projects posing challenges and encouraging responsibility.
Argumentative essay
As of this writing, the globalized economy was uncertain, driving many people towards self-employment, especially undergraduates and young graduates who could not find work. However, starting up a business while in college or straight out of college is bundled with advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, we explore the question of becoming an entrepreneur while studying as a proactive initiative of creating employment.
Most college students have extra time than can be channeled into profitable ventures. This allows undergraduates to start and concentrate on newly formed businesses without bearing intense pressure from their academic work. A business idea might take time before it matures fully into a profitable venture. Therefore, it is advisable for college students to seize any feasible opportunities and pursue them while in college to save the hustle of doing the same after graduation. In the same line, students learn to adapt to the real world scenario characterized by long work days and less sleep. This is induced by the long hours spent reading for tests and writing long papers. Moreover, the discipline gained in school is carried down to the business. Furthermore, the stakes often are not as high. Continuing students usually are not burdened by family responsibilities or mortgage, which implies that the business revenue can be re-invested to help its growth. In addition, the school environment is open, resourceful, creative, and innovative. The school environment is highly creative and innovative. Entrepreneurship entails starting new business oriented entities or revitalizing mature organizations, especially in response to identified opportunities (Backes-Gellner & Warner, 2007). Higher education institutions provide unmatched resources that expose students to numerous opportunities and business ideas. For example, colleges offer affordable access to the internet, which is a very resourceful platform in terms of research. Smart Scheduling was founded by MIT students, and they attribute their success to MIT’s resources and MIT Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program (Ippolito, 2012). Typically, education communities are diversified. This implies that these environments are ideal for startups since they serve as samples of the real world scenarios. The architects behind Facebook got the idea and affected it from their college environment (Nisen & Giang, 2013). Students often do not carry the same load about entrepreneurship and instead feel hopeful, anticipatory, and excited about their business ventures. Students carry that initial spark or zest for success into the business. Entrepreneurship involves taking risks when translating business ideas into opportunities in the real world. In the United States, entrepreneurs have a better image than liberal professionals because they are widely seen as job creators (Autio, Keeley, Klofsten, & Ulfstedt, 1997).
One of the critical aspects of starting a business is securing capital in one way or the other. In some scenarios, the financing comes via personal investment or family support, other times through credit facilities. Students may have a harder time securing finances if it involves a lender or an investor. The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, had contributions from his friends to launch Facebook. Zuckerberg later secured $500,000 as an investment from Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder (Blaskie, 2012). Even the online or web-based services businesses require more than a website to run. The environment after school is always close ended, and graduates tend to be jaded about entrepreneurship in general. This is subject to the fact that bureaucracy can make employees feel overly governed or regulated instead of able, open, and creative (Backes-Gellner & Warner, 2007).
In summary, entrepreneurship entails seizing opportunities when they emerge, irrespective of the risk involved. The most successful approach to education is being organized and time disciplined. In the same line, success can be achieved in any business landscape irrespective of one’s level of education.

References
Autio, E., Keeley, R., Klofsten, M., & Ulfstedt, T. (1997). Entrepreneurial intent among students: Testing an intent model in Asia, Scandinavia and USA, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Babson Conference Proceedings,. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from Basbon: www.babson.edu/entrep/fer
Backes-Gellner, U., & Warner, A. (2007). Entrepreneurial signaling via education: A Success Factor in Innovative Start-Ups. Small Business Economics , 173-190.
Blaskie, E. (2012, November 2). Starting Up Right Out of College. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Fox Business: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/biz-on-main/2011/11/02/starting-up-right-out-college/
Ippolito, A. (2012, September 13). Student? Entrepreneur? I Choose Both . Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Xconomy: http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2012/09/13/student-entrepreneur-i-choose-both/
Kuip, I., & Verheul, I. (2003). Early development of entrepreneurial qualities: The role of initial education, working paper, SCALES-Scientific Analysis of Entrepreneurship and SMEs.
Nisen, M., & Giang, V. (2013, September 3). These 19 Insanely Successful College Dropouts Prove You Don’t Need A Degree. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/most-successful-college-droputs-2013-9
Roudaki, J. (2009). University Students Perceptions on Entrepreneurship: Commerce Students Attitudes at Lincoln University. Journal of Accounting-Business & Management , 16 (2), 36-53.
Stanford Graduate School of Business. (2009). Social Entrepreneurship. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Stanford Graduate School of Business: http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/podcast/Social%20Entrepreneurship?gclid=CLqo_NCCw7kCFUIV3gods34A9Q