It’s really tough to be everything at one time. A good student, a good Student Body President, and a good entrepreneur. The honest truth is (and not enough people truly believe this) you can’t be great at everything. But another truth is, you ARE destined for greatness, but as a student, it’s very likely you’re involved in too many things.
One thing about college is having the opportunity to ‘get a taste for everything.’ But would you rather taste a little of everything or have a whole pie? You’ll have to consider the opportunity costs.
As a student, I still manage an ecommcerce startup by the name of Blank Label. My time investment each week averages 35-40 hours. Of course I still maintain a social life, and of course I still keep up decent grades and am a full-time student, but I am heavily involved in my business. Why? Because I love what I do, and because the experience is far richer, than if I were to take a class in Greek mythology, party harder, or even study abroad for 6 months in Barcelona! By the way, I honestly gave up all of those opportunities to work on Blank Label.
You can’t be a 4.0 student if you’re managing a company, doing this, this and that. In fact, you really shouldn’t be trying to do too many things at once. Although you should be getting a slight taste of everything, you shouldn’t try to be everything and everyone all the time. There’s the old cliché that there’s never enough hours in the day and days in the week, which is completely true, especially since you’re a student and have commitments to your academics.
But something’s gotta give. You can’t be a 4.0 student and truly expect to be a great entrepreneur. There’s just no way. Certainly, you can be a prospective entrepreneur and dabble with a start-up and wait until summer, vacation, or graduation hits to really go hard at your business, but if you really want to commit yourself to your business, don’t let ‘life get in the way.’ In other words, don’t let your friends pull you away from your business every time they call you to come out, and certainly don’t just put your business on hold because you’ve just come back to school after vacation. It’s incredibly easy to be a ‘seasonal’ entrepreneur, which really means you’re not much of one at all.
Sacrificing higher grades, parties every weekend (you don’t have to miss all of them but some of them, yes), lots of time to sit down and just watch TV, are just a few things you as a student entrepreneur must do for your experience to be its richest. Just love what you do and put your whole heart into it. Don’t half-ass things because going half-ass is never going to get you anywhere.
This post was written by Danny Wong, Lead Web Strategist for Blank Label, provider of custom dress shirts. You can read more of his musings at Blank Label’s Fashion and Lifestyle Blog.
Wisdoms from a Student Entrepreneur
It’s really tough to be everything at one time. A good student, a good Student Body President, and a good entrepreneur. The honest truth is (and not enough people truly believe this) you can’t be great at everything. But another truth is, you ARE destined for greatness, but as a student, it’s very likely you’re involved in too many things.
One thing about college is having the opportunity to ‘get a taste for everything.’ But would you rather taste a little of everything or have a whole pie? You’ll have to consider the opportunity costs.
As a student, I still manage an ecommcerce startup by the name of Blank Label. My time investment each week averages 35-40 hours. Of course I still maintain a social life, and of course I still keep up decent grades and am a full-time student, but I am heavily involved in my business. Why? Because I love what I do, and because the experience is far richer, than if I were to take a class in Greek mythology, party harder, or even study abroad for 6 months in Barcelona! By the way, I honestly gave up all of those opportunities to work on Blank Label.
You can’t be a 4.0 student if you’re managing a company, doing this, this and that. In fact, you really shouldn’t be trying to do too many things at once. Although you should be getting a slight taste of everything, you shouldn’t try to be everything and everyone all the time. There’s the old cliché that there’s never enough hours in the day and days in the week, which is completely true, especially since you’re a student and have commitments to your academics.
But something’s gotta give. You can’t be a 4.0 student and truly expect to be a great entrepreneur. There’s just no way. Certainly, you can be a prospective entrepreneur and dabble with a start-up and wait until summer, vacation, or graduation hits to really go hard at your business, but if you really want to commit yourself to your business, don’t let ‘life get in the way.’ In other words, don’t let your friends pull you away from your business every time they call you to come out, and certainly don’t just put your business on hold because you’ve just come back to school after vacation. It’s incredibly easy to be a ‘seasonal’ entrepreneur, which really means you’re not much of one at all.
Sacrificing higher grades, parties every weekend (you don’t have to miss all of them but some of them, yes), lots of time to sit down and just watch TV, are just a few things you as a student entrepreneur must do for your experience to be its richest. Just love what you do and put your whole heart into it. Don’t half-ass things because going half-ass is never going to get you anywhere.
This post was written by Danny Wong, Lead Web Strategist for Blank Label, provider of custom dress shirts. You can read more of his musings at Blank Label’s Fashion and Lifestyle Blog.