The Must Have Personality Traits to Start a Business as a Student

by / ⠀Entrepreneurship Startup Advice / June 23, 2013

Student EntrepreneurIt is very easy to start a business these days. Many times, it does not even require any form of real investment. A person is able to hop online and start selling the things that they already own. But, if you are looking to start your own business whilst still studying, you should really ensure that you grow your personality to suit the work. Here are a few personality traits that you are going to have to work on if you want start a business and enjoy any sort of success.

A student has to be highly organized

This is absolutely imperative. Even people with the best idea on the planet are going to struggle if they are not organized. It not just a case of being organized enough to make deliveries on time. You need to be organized in the way you market your business, how you grow your brand, how you manage your PR, how you deal with complaints, and how you manage your money. Many large organizations are managed by accountants for the simple reason that money can be organized easier. That is why big companies set budgets first, prior to building marketing campaigns or beginning a new year’s worth of product production.

A student must be a careful planner

Creating and sticking to a plan is vital. It is a little bit like trying to lose weight without some sort of diet plan. You may have a small amount of success, but it is rarely something you can rely on.

A high level of discipline is needed

This works in numerous ways. A self-employed person needs to be disciplined enough to refuse offers that are contrary to his or her business. This means that you as a businessperson will need to discipline to refuse requests that are made by your friends and family.

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You will also need to be disciplined enough to turn down any temptations. There are hundreds of little temptations that are going to pull you away from your workload. They range from things such as notifications on Facebook, to your new partner wanting to spend more time with you. You will need to portion out your business hours so that you spend enough dedicated time on your business. You will then need the discipline to be able to refuse anything that will tempt you away from those business hours.

A student must be risk averse

This is not a quality that students tend to have. This may be the reason why older people will often do better in business. It is often a student’s first instinct to try anything and to hell with the consequences. However, this tactic requires a lot of luck, which will always run out.

A new starter must be very tenacious

If you are going to start a business, then you need to able to see a task all the way from beginning to end with as little deviation as possible. As a student, there are two sides to this issue. As a student, you have even less time to dedicate to your business. This means that you have to be tenacious enough to be able to complete a project, whilst being purposely distracted by your studies.

On the other hand, as a student, you are going to have experience with seeing things through to the finish, because you will have had coursework assignments that require a certain amount of tenacity.

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Good at time management

This ties in with discipline, organization and tenacity. “Time is money” is probably the truest statement ever when it comes to the business world. Being able to manage time productively may not lead to success, but it will avoid a lot of common business problems, and will stop you from hemorrhaging money at every turn. In addition, being able to accurately judge how long a project will take is vitally important in some industries.

A student businessperson needs to be ruthless

Finding what you want, and getting it at all costs is going to provide you with a safety net that other less-ruthless students will not have. Some people are naturally ruthless and will get what they want at any consequence. This is a fine quality to have, but may end with you upsetting people. However, on the whole, people who are ruthless will tend to do better than people who are overly passive.

Charming people often do quite well

This does not mean that the bookworm or the nerd doesn’t succeed in business. It just means that the charming people of this world often have it a little easier, as they find it easier to sell their products to customers and ideas to investors.

A student has to be a realist

So many people delude themselves and run themselves into the ground as they fail again and again. You have to be a realist and understand that in many circumstances, you will not even be able to give you products away, so selling them is going to be a massive struggle. You need to underestimate all of your income, and overestimate all of your expenses, because those figures will probably be how things turn out in the end.

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Hi! I’m Nellie and currently work as a lecturer in programming and accounting. I’m always eager to find out something new and become familiar with it. I love to deal with researches and want to develop in the field of writing. Moreover, I started moving in this direction! I work as a writer for Homework-Desk.com, which arranges everything in the way even algebra homework becomes clear. If you have any questions concerning education, I’m always ready to help. Here are my contacts: FB and G+

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About The Author

Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is Co-Founder of Under30Experiences, a travel company for young people ages 21-35. He is the original Co-founder of Under30CEO (Acquired 2016). Matt is the Host of the Live Different Podcast and has 50+ Five Star iTunes Ratings on Health, Fitness, Business and Travel. He brings a unique, uncensored approach to his interviews and writing. His work is published on Under30CEO.com, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Reuters, and many others. Matt hosts yoga and fitness retreats in his free time and buys all his food from an organic farm in the jungle of Costa Rica where he lives. He is a shareholder of the Green Bay Packers.

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