Skip the Super Bowl and start your successful career tonight!
The Towson Global Business Incubator is having a business plan competition! The deadline is soon–Monday, Feb. 6 for the executive summary (you don’t have to submit a full business plan until later on in the competition)–so be sure to work on this tonight! The winner of the competition will win a CASH prize (last year it was around $2,000), a three month resident membership in the TowsonGlobal Business Incubator (which includes office space), along with mentoring and assistance from working professionals.Â
Alright, Alright, I know what you guys are thinking. “Start a business? How do I do that? And Super Bowl Sunday? I don’t think so.”
The task of starting your own business may seem daunting, but it may be not as hard as you think. In December, I talked to two young people, Steven Weinstein of BeforeWeGraduate.com, a social networking site, and Kelsey Kleinhen of Kelsey’s Kloset, an upscale consignment store, both of which started a business while still attending college.
While both of them agree that starting a business is a huge undertaking, they also agree that the experience they gained is invaluable.
Steven said, “The experience you’ll gain is unbelievable. Not to mention, it really, really looks impressive that you started your own business on your resume.”
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This could be you!
Starting a business will take a lot of time so you have to do something that you are passionate about.
“Dedicate your life to it; you have to love what you do,” Kelsey said. “You have to put everything into it. I think it is great to have your own business and to really love what you do.”
The portion of the application that is due tomorrow for the business plan competition is the executive summary. The executive summary is a short summary of the business plan. The website for the competition includes detailed instructions on how to create the executive summary. They even have a template! It must be between three to five pages.
Even if you are not sure that you are serious about starting your own business, I still suggest you apply, especially if you think you will one day. The five finalists that are chosen from the first round (that is due tomorrow) will get to attend a presentation boot camp and get help with creating the full business plan. You will learn a lot just by participating!
Don’t worry about having a completely original idea either. I spoke with Clay Hickson, Director of the TowsonGlobal Business Incubator, and he said that you can create a business that has been done before, but put your unique spin on it.
“You don’t have to be the next Mark Zuckerberg,” he said.
In addition, Hickson said that students should remember to start small, it doesn’t have to be daunting. Most importantly, you need to have passion.
“Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do it. You need to have confidence, but be willing to listen to other people’s advice.”
The complete details of the business plan competition can be found on the TowsonGlobal Business Incubator’s website. Remember the deadline is TOMORROW! If you don’t plan on entering the competition, but are still interested in starting your own business, you can still contact the Incubator and meet with someone for advice. Also, Steven Weinstein, the founder of BeforeWeGraduate.com said that he is more than willing to answer your questions. He can be reached at sweins2@students.towson.edu
The Super Bowl is one night, but your career will span almost of all your lifetime. Good luck and I look forward to hearing about the finalists!