As many of you may know, I am a freshman at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. A leader in the business industry, and churning out well rounded students into the workplace/”real world”, whatever you want to call it, Bryant is a great place for me to hone my business skills, and get the help I need to get my business to the next level–a goal of mine this summer. There are a few things that benefit me to own my energy bar business in college:
Business Professors
There are a number of professors here that have helped me shape my business, how I go about expanding, and improving my online presence. For example, Mr. Greenan (he thinks I walk on water) has been a great mentor to me, letting me know that education should be what’s important to me now, and that when I graduate (kind of like getting laid off from IBM, Ann), I become a full time energy bar manufacturer, and I have unlimited potential. The professors here are great. You don’t even need to be enrolled in their class to go to their office hours–it’s amazing!
Campus is like a little town
The Bryant campus is its own community. Everyone knows everyone, and as I develop my routine each semster, I see the same people inbetween class, at lunch, etc. People talk to people, and everyone knows everything within twenty-four hours. There are buildings on campus here that provide products and services essential to students. Could Eddie’s Energy Bars be one of those products? I am getting in contact with some people here on campus that might make that happen–it would be awesome! The great thing, is that there is a mayor (president) of every little town. I can go knock on his door and ask him to help me out in getting my product on campus. As the little kid in Angels in the Outfield says, “it could happen.”
Your Business is on a College Budget
To some people, this might be a bad thing, but to me, it is definately a plus. While in college, your business is probably part time, as mine is, and I only have so much money I can put back into my business. I haven’t worked in the corporate world, nor do I really want to, but I know I am limited to the money in my savings account and checking account. If I don’t have the money, I can’t run that special promotion. Being on a small budget gives me the ability to think creatively about promotions and products on a shoestring budget, something that will come in handy in the future when I have a bigger budget to play with.
Dorm Room Office Space
No normal college student can throw down hundreds of thousands of dollars and buy office space in the middle of a big city. This is why my dorm room is my office while at school. It is fantastic because I have my own desk, all the office supplies I need, and even my own phone line (my cell phone-haha). Granted, I share my “office” with a roomate, and visitors are frequent, but either way, it is still my office, and I conduct business frequently, and have the ability to work on my website from any computer with an internet connection (I thank Billy from Keyworth Graphics for that).
Continuing to run a business in college was a risk I was willing to take. Family and friends are continuously helping me out, and I thank them for that, but I am accomplishing so much with where I want my homemade energy bars to go, and from the college student perspective, this is real-world experience that I shouldn’t be getting till May 17, 2010.
Your College entrepreneur,
Michael
Eddie’s Energy Bars
