How to Start Your First Business (as a Student) 💼

You all probably know that Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook from his Harvard dorm room in 2004. But did you know that Google began as a PhD research project at Stanford? Or that Dropbox, Reddit, and Snapchat were all founded by students while still in school?

Over 60% of Gen Z say they want to start their own business rather than work a traditional job. And I think there's no better time to scratch that entrepreneurial itch than while you're a student.

As a student, you have room to take risk and you have access to world-class resources designed to help you out. Here are the six steps to start your first business as a student.

Step 1: Spot a Problem You Can Solve

In 2011, two Stanford students named Reggie and Evan noticed a problem with social media: they didn't wanna share certain photos because they'd live online forever. So they pitched the idea of disappearing photos—a way to communicate more freely without the fear of a digital footprint.

That idea became Snapchat. Two years later, Facebook offered to buy it for $3 billion. But they declined.

The point is to pause and reflect on the small problems you face daily. Students often think they need a big idea or tons of investors to start a business. But some of the most successful businesses started off as tiny, unsuspecting ideas targeting legitimate problems.

So think about something that's inefficient or annoying. Does your school have slow cafeteria lines? Do students feel isolated? Are campus events lame?

Step 2: Use What You Already Know

Everyone has a toolkit—not literally (well maybe literally), but figuratively. My toolkit contains coding, graphic design, and editing. Your toolkit might contain writing, painting, and speaking. No matter what yours contains, just know it's enough to get started.

Your goal isn't to devise the best solution to your problem—you won't (right away, at least). Your goal is simply to provide a solution that you can build with whatever tools you have.

For example, let's say you want to help students be more productive:

• If you know how to code, you might build a progress tracker app

• If you know how to design, you might create a physical planner

• If you know how to edit, you might upload productivity videos on social media

The biggest mistake students make is that they wait for the "perfect" toolkit. But it doesn't exist.

Step 3: Build a Tiny, Testable Offer

Now that you have business ideas, the worst thing you could do is go out and build the full business.

Start with an MVP—or the "Minimum Viable Product." It's the simplest working version of your product or service.

Take Dropbox. In 2007, founder Drew Houston recorded a three-minute demo video showing what Dropbox would do. He showcased the clean UI, fluid drag-and-drop functionality, and seamless syncing. But here's the thing: none of it was real.

It was a fake demo that helped him garner interest and prove the product was worth building. The worst thing you can do as an entrepreneur is spend months building without any feedback. An MVP lets you quickly get to market and see if your idea has worth.

Step 4: Get Your First 10 Users

Time to get your first 10 users. Doesn't matter how—the goal is just to get them. This will probably be the scrappiest, most inefficient marketing you'll ever do, but the goal isn't to scale, it's just to get started.

Approach friends. Approach enemies. Approach family. Approach strangers. Here's a simple formula: "I created a [product] that helps [target customer] solve [problem]. Would you like to try?"

Clean and simple—no buzzwords. As you onboard users, hound them for feedback. Do anything you can to deeply understand why people like or dislike your product.

Brian Chesky, Airbnb's co-founder, personally emailed every single host in New York City in the early days. He flew to New York, met users in their apartments, and asked them about the platform. Only then did he discover that most listings had low-quality photos.

Airbnb succeeded because the founders had the grit to literally knock on doors and ask what was wrong.

Step 5: Promote Where Your Audience Already Is

Once you've gotten early feedback, it's time to slowly scale your marketing efforts. But this doesn't mean you have to spend money.

We live in an era where you could pick up your phone, record a short clip pitching your business, and go viral overnight.

In 2020, I uploaded a short-form video advertising my college consulting business, Next Admit. Almost overnight, we went from 10k to 50k followers and drew in hundreds of customers. I didn't pay for an ad—I simply let the algorithm find the right people.

If you've correctly followed everything thus far, the algorithm will find some people. You've identified a legitimate problem, built an MVP, received feedback, and started iterating.

Step 6: Reinvest + Level Up

You should now have a product flywheel: you market your product to get new users, those users give you feedback, then you improve the product and market it again.

Once you have this flywheel moving, now you can worry about the details—your aesthetic, your logo, the bells and whistles. Most founders obsess over these elements before they've validated their idea.

Your goal isn't to get it perfect. Your goal is just to make it exist. You can and will refine everything over time.

A quick note on all the stuff I've left out:

• Starting an LLC and filing taxes - important, but you don't need to figure it out right away

• Many colleges have resources to help with paperwork

• Look for entrepreneurship centers offering pitch competitions and innovation grants

Building a business isn't a linear process—it's a loop you'll go through again and again. Whether it's a lemonade stand or the next AI unicorn, these principles will always hold true.

Do you plan to start a business one day? What parts do you need most help with? DM me on Instagram (@goharsguide) to let me know!

If you want study help, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. I’d love to see you there.

If you’re ready to level up next school year, check out Scholar OS. It’s the ultimate Notion template designed to help you organize your classes and life in one place.

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar