Finding a job out of college is about all about connections, demand, work experience, timing and location. While many graduates go on to find successful careers, there are many who are still struggling even years after graduation working two, sometimes three jobs just to make ends meet.
But what if you’re a recent grad with no job, and you find yourself rethinking your decision to work for someone else for the rest of your life? What if you’re applying for jobs half-halfheartedly, all the while thinking you really don’t want to do this ,you have no desire to do this, and you’d rather just do something that made you happy?
I know, it seems like an irresponsible dream. Especially considering you just spent a bunch of money on a college education!
You’re going to have people saying it isn’t realistic, you need to settle down with a job with benefits, 401k and a decent salary, all small businesses are doomed to fail, etc.. trust me I have heard it all!
Did you know that more and more young people these days are starting up their own businesses out of college instead of working for someone else? These days it is much easier to carve your own path, especially with the internet.
There are a lot of reasons why starting a business after college is a great time to do it:
- You probably aren’t married
- You’re not yet committed to a full time career
- You more than likely don’t have any kids yet
- You also probably don’t own a home
When you don’t have very many commitments in life, it is MUCH easier to dedicate your time to something completely. And when you don’t have huge financial obligations like a mortgage or have to worry about providing for your kids, it is easier to make due with less money.
Look at Chad Hurley, he founded YouTube after graduating with a Bachelor’s in fine arts, or Jeff Bezos who founded Amazon after getting his Bachelor’s in Engineering.
You don’t need to start the next internet sensation like YouTube or Amazon – and let’s face it, the chances of that are pretty slim. You can start a business and be successful even if it’s just on a smaller scale.
Dom Wells founded Human Proof Designs – a company that sells custom ready made niche sites for affiliate marketing. Even though you (most likely) haven’t heard of it, this is a business that brought in over 1 million in revenue last year. Check out his post I never expected to build a million dollar company.
Check out this post for potential ideas on starting up your own business online
This goes to show you can start small and create a successful, profitable business online.. There’s so much potential on the web these days that anybody can create a company within their chosen niche.
If you’re truly passionate about something or think you have a great idea, or even if you are unsure what you’d even do… it might not be as scary or expensive as you might think.
Online Business has relatively low start up costs
Amazon and Youtube are HUGE multi-billion dollar companies that are known around the world, also Groupon, Facebook, eBay and so many more. What do they all have in common?
They are online!
Sure, they have all grown to the point of having physical locations and many employees, but they all started out somewhere.
Starting up an online business is much more affordable and realistic for most people than a brick and mortar. Think about the cost of buying or renting property. It can be thousands per month to rent or hundreds of thousands if you flat out purchase something. Most people don’t have that kind of money to start out (especially right after college).
Buying property online is as simple as buying a domain name and hosting. A domain name costs about $15 per year on average… hosting is a little more, but not by much.
But I’ll be realistic, you’re probably going to need to purchase a bit more than just a website and hosting to get a really good business up and running online. But when compared to the startup cost of trying to get started with owning a restaurant, or a hair salon, for example – it is way less expensive.
The fact you don’t have to go into debt to get started with this, and it isn’t going to take you years to recoup your initial investment is a huge bonus. Actually it’s very likely you can make back any investments within a few months to a years time.
If you do fail, you’re only out a few hundred bucks versus risking being out your entire life savings, or not being able to pay back a business loan.
Consider these side gigs to earn extra money
Consider the benefits of entrepreneurship…
Creating your own business is definitely not easy, and if you’re starting out on your own you’re going to find you need to do a lot of different things all on your own – advertising, content creation, sales, web design, the list could go on.
At huge companies, they have employees to fill all these needed roles.
If it’s your own start up, you’re going to need to do everything unless you start outsourcing different tasks. If you’re on a budget, you’re going to quickly find yourself learning how to do all sorts of things you had never done before. You quickly become experienced in different things you never would have imagined for yourself, and that only builds your skill set!
I’ve known several people who have actually landed jobs using the skills they’ve learned from creating their own business.
Online business is NOT for everyone, but it IS something to consider
Many people don’t consider entrepreneurship a viable option for recent graduations, even though there are countless stories of people succeeding this way. But considering the low start up costs of online business and the skills you’ll be able to pick up, it really isn’t that crazy of an idea at all.
The truth is, it’s definitely a lot easier to work for somebody else. Having specific job duties, not having the added stress of owning a company, and often times having a set retirement plan and benefits is very attractive to most people.
But the satisfaction of working for yourself is very rewarding, and something more people should consider whether they can’t seem to find employment or are just seeking something different than the norm.
Don’t forget to check out my #1 recommended resource for learning how to create an online business
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