Zachariah
If I want to sell my product, should I wait for my schooling to finish to try to start?
I want to sell comics, but I have to wait to get set up first. I'm going to college to be an entrepreneur, but I want to know if it's a better idea to wait until I finish schooling. Or, is it a better idea for me to get some sort of experience as a potential entrepreneur first. #entrepreneur #comics #college-bound
2 answers
Lynette Smith
Lynette’s Answer
Unless your business idea has time sensitivity that will make or break its success, then it would be ideal if you could wait until you are in college, or completely finished, before you launch. There are a lot of advantages to being able to learn while in class, rather than in real life where the risks are more substantial.
In college you’ll learn fundamental business skills like economics, finance, business administration, marketing, and business law, all of which can help you make sound and confident business decisions that will help your business thrive.
Some courses may even allow you to work on your business, as part of your coursework. For example, you may get to develop a business case, create marketing campaigns, or research the laws and regulations that impact your industry. The feedback and advice you get from your professors, advisors and peers can help you refine your approach and processes, prior to launch. You may get to study other startups, and learn why they succeeded or failed. You may even meet a classmate with skills or ideas that compliment yours and decide to partner, or you may decide to go in a new direction, altogether.
By waiting to launch your business, you can also concentrate more fully on your college coursework, and get more out of your educational investment than you will if you are also trying to manage a demanding business startup at the same time.
If you have the luxury to better your chances by going to college, investing in yourself and your future, before you invest in a business, then I hope you decide to take full advantage of it. Good luck!
Lynette recommends the following next steps:
Christy Marx
Christy’s Answer
Hi, Zacharia. It's unclear to me what you mean by "product" and "sell comics".
If you're talking about being a publisher and publishing comics that are created by someone else, then I think Lynette's answer above is good.
If you're talking about opening a shop to sell comics, then I think Lynette's answer above is good.
If you're talking about writing and/or illustrating your own comics, that's a creative endeavor, and while you need to have some smarts about the business side of creating your own comics, it's a creative endeavor that you should start on whenever you feel ready. Creating comics are a love of labor, not something that will make you rich, so bear that in mind.