Starting A Business After College | 10 Avoidable Mistake To Look Out For

While you may not be able to predict and prevent some mistakes while starting a business after college, there are certain avoidable mistakes you should look out for.

In this post, we’ll spell out the 10 avoidable mistakes to look out for while starting your business.

Intro…

Getting your small business off the ground is probably one uphill you are certain to face, yet one of the most rewarding if you trade with caution and avoid certain mistakes.

According to Warren Buffet, “you only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” His statement further opines that avoiding a bad business decision or mistake is as important as making the right one; as such you need to be knowledgeable and have to embrace careful business planning.

Right after college when it feels like the world is waiting in anticipation for you to become is not a time to play around, rather, it’s a time to channel that energy and excitement to start a business after college. 

Businesses To Do After College

Here’s a list of what to do after graduating from college.

Fashion and Clothing

According to forecasts, the global apparel market is expected to be worth $1.6 billion in 2020, up from $1.2 billion in 2015. That’s a huge increase, fueled partly by fast-fashion retailers like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo that can transfer entire collections from the runway to your wardrobe in less than a week.

If you have an eye for design, you can shoot out and explore the world of fashion and clothing. Even a small clothing company like RAGs Collection can gain an edge over bigger businesses if they leverage their strong points.

Electronics Repair

According to Pew Research, around 96% of Americans now own a cellphone. Smartphones. This new normal creates a lot of potential business opportunities for technical-minded college students.

It is a well-paying profession. According to ZipRecruiter, the average yearly salary for electronics repair technicians is around $32,947, but a business owner in the industry can make far more.

Electronics repair becomes much more profitable if you manage to acquire the skills necessary to repair essential, everyday devices like refrigerators, televisions, fans, etc.

Fitness Instruction

Being a fitness instructor is a great business to do after college. Holding one-on-one fitness classes can pay you up to $70/hr and the more you hold fitness classes, the more money you make.

Fitness instruction isn’t restricted to physical routines: If you know about nutrition, you can also advise people on diets that are compatible with different workout routines. It’s even better if you have a diet plan that you follow yourself to show your clients. 

Graphics Design

The graphics design industry is worth over  $14.8 billion in revenue, with forecasts suggesting that the number will rise in the next couple of years. In today’s digital-centric world, making a good first impression is heavily reliant on how you present yourself online.

Those of you asking what to do after college can take up this business venture. 

Creatives can pursue two career tracks in graphic design:

  • Establishing yourself as a personal brand via your art
  • Joining a company or a group as part of a team of artists

Content Creation

The ever-rising economy of freelance writers and content creators is one industry on the moon. By choosing content creation as a business path after graduating from college, you’re building your skills and preparing yourself for the bigger picture.

10 Mistakes To Avoid As You Start Your Business After College

Before starting a business after college, here are the certain mistakes you should avoid.

#10 Not Knowing Your Target Market

One key trait of any successful marketing campaign is understanding who your ideal customer is. Creating a marketing budget that encompasses publicity, promotions, advertising, and a lot more is just a  little bit of the main job. You need to identify your market by carrying out market research or survey to know where they are located, how they’ll react to your product, and how they perceive other products in your niche.

This will help you know the strategies and techniques to adopt in order to generate increased sales and make more money.

#9 Overspending

Starting a new business after college should not require huge financial commitments. Therefore, try as much as you can to create a business budget you are sure you can finance without having to borrow a huge amount of money to avoid running into debts.

This will help you utilize the money in your budget and proceeds better. It will also help you optimize for the best business facilities.

#8 Underspending

While you’re called not to overspend, underspending is one avoidable mistake to look out for while starting a business. Underspending as an act is capable of limiting your business’s potential for success. Remember, if a business must stand, it has to stand firmly from the onset.

#7 Undervaluing Your Products or Services

Lack of confidence in our business or ability is one cankerworm that eats deep into our success pack. When you undervalue your product, your uniqueness will be reduced and it will obviously affect your earnings. 

To be on the front foot, before you start a business explore the market to find out the best price for the product or service you intend to sell.

#6 Not Making a Business Plan

Starting a successful business after college is one that demands a good business plan. As a startup, you need to map out a business plan that will serve as a guide.

This business plan should contain your business model, business goals and objectives, sales strategies, growth plan, financial implications, competitive analysis, and market opportunities.

#5 Not Registering Your Business

This is one of the mistakes to avoid while starting a business. Registering your business legalizes your business, makes it reliable, and also worthy of trust.

Therefore, ensure you register your business and pick the right business entity in order to protect your intellectual property. 

#4 Not Knowing Your Partners

Before choosing a partner for your new business, ensure you know your business partners or investors.

According to, Krish Subramanian, co-founder, and chief executive officer, of Chargebee, A company’s first set of investors will make or break it. 

Before you put your confidence in a partner or investor ensure you’re assured of his level of competency in the business. Your interactions with partners or investors should be one that is focused on the growth and sustainability of the business.

#3 Launching Too Quickly

As much as you have to kick the ball rolling, don’t go out there unprepared. One of the biggest mistakes startups make is launching before they are ready. While it’s appropriate to take any action, it’s expedient to ensure you’re well prepared to handle the business.

What this entails is that before you go public there should be a testing face where test run your strategies and also identify inherent issues and potential flaws.

#2 Being in a Hurry to Expand

One of the mistakes to avoid while starting a new business is avoiding the urge to expand in a hurry.

Starting a business after college and watching it stand and allowing it to go is one that demands carefulness and thoughtfulness.

Most startups get the instant urge to expand their business the moment they start seeing traits of success. Sadly, that’s not the way to go. If you expand your business too quickly, it could have dire consequences. 

In most cases, you will find that your period of growth was only temporary, and taking a quick move to expand is only shooting yourself in the foot. Nevertheless, it’s advised you take a slow and steady approach to business.

#1 Giving yourself the wrong salary

Paying yourself too little or too much is a mistake that can cost you your business. To prevent this situation consider paying yourself a percentage of the revenue that aligns with your business plan. This will help you manage resources well and effectively.

How To Manage Your Business Credit

Once you have your small business set up, endeavor to properly manage your business credit as you would your personal credit. Here are a few tips:

#1 Create a business credit file

Starting a business after college is one that will always require money; however, there are hacks that can help you manage your business credit better. If you don’t have a business credit file, do well to create one. 

If you already have a business credit file, carefully go through it to know the information it contains. This will help you correct the errors where need be.

#2 Establish your business credit history

Small business owners usually use their personal credit and financial resources when they’re just starting out. However, they must establish a separate credit history for their business. This can be done by placing expenses, like a business phone line, under their business name, or opening a commercial bank account and using it to pay business-related bills.

#3 Pay your bills on time

In order to manage your credit scores, you need to build a good payment history. As much as you can, try to pay the exact amount of every bill on time.

Also, be sure to use your lines of credit carefully.

#4 Keep your business credit file updated

You need to monitor your business credit so that you may know if there are any changes in your credit ratings, as these may affect your relationships with customers, financial institutions, and suppliers. 

Always ensure that your credit file is updated and accurate, and shows any changes like location, number of employees, and revenue. These all have an effect on your credit rating.

#5 Monitor your customers’ and merchants’ credit

Performing credit checks will give you an idea of the credit standing of your customers. This will in turn help you decide how much credit, and on what terms, you should extend to them.

Final Words

Starting a business as a college student will be backbreaking at the first stage. But, don’t forget, the first stage will go a long way to determine the second stage. So, if you fail to avoid certain mistakes as a result of sheer ignorance, your business might experience a plunge.

While you may not avoid mistakes entirely, the light from this post is enough to set you on the right path. Go out there are keep trying!

References

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