College Offers Fertile Ground For Starting A Business

By: Katharine Hansen

Think you're busy with classes, sports, extracurricular activities, partying? How about adding a business startup to the mix?

The stories of three entrepreneurs who started their businesses while attending the same college illustrate not only that colleges campuses provide great launching pads for entrepreneurial pursuits, but also the variety of paths that young entrepreneurs can take.

In 1982, in his last semester at Stetson University, DeLand, FL, weightlifting enthusiast Daryle Scott started a body-building suit business out of his dorm room. A short stint at IBM and a few years later, Scott morphed the company into a women's swimwear company and by the new century, Venus Swimwear, with Scott at the helm as CEO, had become the world's largest marketer of junior swimwear.

Nearly 20 years after Scott launched his business, Albert Yonfa started his enterprise in the exact same Stetson dorm. A student in an entrepreneurial class, Yonfa was assigned to conceptualize and start a business. He and two other classmates came up with Postcard T's, replica postcards screen-printed onto t-shirts and packaged in specialty postcard-shaped boxes. Though the business was immediately successful, Yonfa knew the labor-intensive production process would make it difficult for supply to keep up with demand. After several more permutations of the business, Yonfa successfully ran a firm called Dreamline, Inc., until he decided to go to law school.

Scooter Cardoza also started a t-shirt company at Stetson, and his, too, resulted from an entrepreneurial class, but in Cardoza's case, success came indirectly from the class assignment. His professor was sure Cardoza's idea would never work, so Cardoza launched it just to prove his teacher wrong. After graduation, Cardoza moved the business, Trinity Graphics, to his parents' garage in St. Petersburg, FL. He has supplemented his earnings from Trinity by working for UPS and now for his dad's company. While the t-shirt business hasn't quite reached the point of supporting Cardoza full-time, it has grown annually.

Some well-known entrepreneurs who started their businesses while in college include Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Mark Zuckerberg, a 21-year-old Harvard student whose TheFacebook, according to the New York Times, has attracted 2.8 million registered users on more than 800 campuses since it began in Feb. 2004. See additional well-known businesses started by college students.

Entrepreneurship that begins in college seems to be booming, and Gerry Hills, co-founder of Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization, as quoted by Nichole Torres on Entrepreneur.com, says that even though the dot.com boom went bust, those heady times encouraged many college students to see entrepreneurship as viable. Hills notes that where students used to think they'd start a business some years after graduation, many are now raring to go well before they pick up their diplomas.

Entrepreneurs are, by and large, risk-takers, and college students are especially prone to take risks because they are generally unencumbered by family obligations and mortgages. They have grown up with technology, so their skills lend themselves to many tech-based businesses, such as Web design and e-commerce. Business ideas are often stimulated in the rich intellectual atmosphere of a college campus, where professorial advice is freely available, and even more importantly, a market of eager, young consumers is at the fingertips of the budding college entrepreneur with a "better mousetrap" concept that meets a market need.

Daryle Scott, for example, hit upon the idea with his body-building suits to offer the tops and bottoms as separates so customers who were a different size on the top than they were on the bottom could get suits that fit. He carried the idea through to his swimwear company.

The college campus is also a great incubator for student businesses because of the pool of students hungry to work for relatively low pay. Online databases for researching businesses are freely available to prospective entrepreneurs. And influential people and possible investors are often more open to being approached by college students than they would be to others.

Like Stetson University, where Scott, Yonfa, and Cardoza got started, many colleges have entrepreneurial programs that provide an excellent foundation for launching businesses. Some schools have even allocated parts of residence halls to entrepreneurial students. For those colleges that don't have programs -- and even some that do -- students often start entrepreneurial clubs.

For many student entrepreneurs, running a business has a positive effect on grades. Just like students who learn great time-management skills while juggling sports and extra-curricular activities, student CEOs often excel in the classroom. Others barely keep their heads above water. And, hey, professor, you know that student who looks so dedicated taking notes on a laptop while you lecture? He or she could just be taking advantage of the building's wireless network to run his or her business. More than one student has admitted to doing so while in the classroom.

As for the flip-side question, do you have to be "smart" -- as demonstrated by good grades and test scores -- to start a business? Not according to the research of Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, author of The Millionaire Mind, who observed that millionaires are well-educated but not necessarily super-achievers in school.

Tips for College Entrepreneurs
The most common piece of advice among experts on collegiate entrepreneurism seems to be -- just do it. Don't wait too long to launch your business. Don't make excuses for why it won't work or why you can't do it. Don't let fear, lack of money, insufficient time, or other obstacles stand in your way. Even if you fail, you still will have gained a great learning experience.

But what about money? College students who apply to banks for small-business loans usually aren't taken seriously. Some max out credit cards or hit up parents, family, and friends. Daryle Scott sold his car to finance his body-building suit venture. Experts suggest that if being an entrepreneur is truly important to you, you'll find the money.

* Be a problem-solver. Find a need or a niche and demonstrate that your idea can fill it. Do your homework so you truly understand the market into which your product or service falls.

* Gain exposure to others who have started successful businesses, especially other college students and recent grads who can inspire and motivate you.

* Be innovative. Hone your idea by sharing knowledge and brainstorming with other college students.

* Network and get a mentor. Every networking connection will help your business idea grow, and a mentor will be an especially helpful contact. Your school may have a mentoring program, but if not, there are plenty of people on campus and off that you can approach for mentoring -- professors, local entrepreneurs, alumni, for example. Find someone who can feel invested in your success -- someone you can bounce ideas off of and who can provide you with reality checks. Be sure to have business cards for networking.

* Take on extracurricular leadership roles to gain management practice and consider working at an entrepreneurial company to attain practical experience.

* Be prepared to present your idea professionally. Speak with confidence and contagious enthusiasm when you tell others about your business idea -- especially when you tell investors -- but don't be too cocky. When pitching your idea to money people, partners, or important advisers, dress professionally and ensure that presentation materials -- slides and printed pieces -- look polished. Rehearse your pitch in front of confidants who will ask some tough questions.

* Start your business and get class credit, too. Many organizations were started as projects for entrepreneurial and other classes. The most famous example, of course, is Fred Smith, who got a C on his class project -- the idea that became FedEx. When American Idol heartthrob Clay Aiken came in second in the talent contest in 2003, he was a semester away from graduating from the University of North Carolina, where he was a special-education major. Since he was busy touring and making his first CD at that time, he arranged to complete a special project to fulfill his final college obligations. The result was the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, which serves to bridge the gap for young people with developmental disabilities between full inclusion and today's reality.

Katharine Hansen is a former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters. She is author of Dynamic Cover Letter for New Graduates; A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market; and, with Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters and Write Your Way to a Higher GPA, all published by Ten Speed Press. She can be reached by e-mail at kathy@quintcareers.com.

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Are You Ready for an Unexpected Job Interview?

By: Deborah Walker

Most job-seekers wait to polish up their interview skills until they are looking for a new position. Important interview opportunities, however, can present themselves at any time. For example,

* Unplanned internal job openings: You encounter a sudden opportunity to advance your career from within, and your boss recommends you as a candidate for the job. Are you ready to communicate your contributions to the company?

* A recruiter calls: The position sounds like just the career move you've been wanting. Will you say the right things to win the job, or will you blunder your best chance?

* A former colleague introduces you to his boss:The organization is building an exciting new division and looking for new staff. Can you entice the boss' interest in you as a must-have new team member?

Those who continually grow in their careers are always prepared for these situations. Their interview skills are sharp at all times. To know if your skills are sharp enough to handle a surprise interview, see if you can answer the following four questions:

1. Can you concisely state your value proposition in 30 seconds or less? A value proposition is meant to intrigue your listener with a quick overview of your skills, expertise, and industry know-how. If you can offer a precise summary of why you are the perfect candidate for that job, you are more likely to get to the second or third interview. A concise value proposition can make a critical difference in winning you a new position.

2. Can you list your top five accomplishments, and can you communicate their impact to your employer's bottom-line initiatives? A list of your top accomplishments will enable a prospective employer to imagine what you can do for he organization. Accomplishments give employers a way to associate your skills with their needs and a reason to remember you. Be prepared to list your top skills and show how they can help meet corporate needs.

3. Are you prepared to answer your own toughest interview questions, or do you hope they just won't come up?? Don?t leave yourself vulnerable to such questions as: "If you're doing so well in your job, why do you want to leave?" A good recruiter or hiring manager will see you sweat and stutter and squirm; you'll lose their confidence and destroy a chance to get your dream job. Think about the questions that will be your biggest pitfalls and be prepared to answer them.

4. Do you know how to find out your interviewer's motivations to understand how best to answer his or her questions? This is a very important question. Without knowing your interviewer's motivations, how will you know if your answers hit the mark of what he or she is looking for in a perfect candidate? Conduct research and determine exactly what that employer needs. Once you have those answers in hand, you can target your interview answers accordingly.

A good career coach can help you answer all these questions and more, preparing you for the interviews you plan -- and the interview you didn't expect. With those answers in hand, you can take your career from mediocre to marvelous with "always-ready" interview skills.

Career Expert Deborah Walker Deborah Walker is a Certified Career Management Coach. Her expertise includes resume writing and career coaching. She holds membership in the National Resume Writer's Association. As a former headhunter, her advice comes from an insider's prospective based on years working with HR professionals and corporate hiring managers. Visit Deb on the Web. Or email her for a free resume critique/price quote at deb@alphaadvantage.com.

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Cop Jobs You Never Thought About - Other Options To Consider

By: Jeff Church

When I started my law enforcement career, I basically thought about the local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and maybe the FBI or Border Patrol. I pondered highway patrol at the state level. Today there is a dizzying mix of law enforcement jobs. Now many state and local departments, authorities and districts have some form of sworn officers or investigators. Here are some options with pros and cons. Many times we just want to be a cop without thinking of some big factors that influence how it affects you.

Police
Generally police are city cops and expect to work weekends and nights with various assignments, but usually no jail. They have various internal assignments such as detectives, patrol, and perhaps, depending on the size of the agency, things like a gang team, K-9, motors (cycles), bike teams, horse mounted unit, etc. Today there are other “police:” transit police (trains, metros), school police (K-12), college police (both junior colleges & universities), tribal police (reservations and often casinos), airport police, etc. Some of these offer an advantage of more day and swing shifts and less graveyard. Their unique functions may make them less dangerous and allow more social interaction and community oriented policing with students, guests, visitors, etc., and less enforcement.

Sheriff
The county sheriff is almost always elected and provides rural patrol outside cities, often contracts with smaller cities for patrol, provides the usual detective and other functions, and usually runs the county jail. In some places the jail officers are hired specifically as correctional deputies, but in other places sworn deputies start in the jail. For example, in Los Angeles County, you may expect to spend your first few years in the jail. The sheriff often, but not always, provides court services like security, bailiff, warrant and subpoena service, etc.

Courts
In some jurisdictions, rather than the sheriff, some court duties may be handled by others, and they may be called bailiffs, marshals, constables or other titles. It’s a great job for those wanting the 8-5, Monday to Friday, spend time with the family job.

Probation and Parole
Probation officers supervise people who were not required to go to prison. Parole usually applies to supervising those released from prison with conditions. There are adult and juvenile probation officers. Duties, arrest powers, and whether they are armed varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. They may be state or county employees depending on your area.

Rangers
There are park or forest rangers with various law enforcement powers that may work for a city, county, state, or federal government. Duties and authority vary and they may be separate from police or sheriffs. Once again, you are more likely to work days than graveyard (overnight), but likely to work weekends too. Before I go too far, let me say that working weekends and holidays can be great, except for the family situation. On your days off you have the town to yourself for running errands, taking trips, hotels are less costly and less crowded on weekdays, etc so it’s not always a bad thing.

Marine Officers
No not like the USMC. These are boat officers. Some departments located by the ocean or lakes have these positions internally. In other cases they may work for a port authority or other jurisdiction. Some are actually hired seasonally for the summer crowds.

District Attorney
In large cities the district or prosecuting attorney usually has their own investigators.

State Jobs
There are many state sworn jobs as well. Most well known are state police, state troopers or state highway patrol. In places like California, their duties are centered on traffic enforcement on freeways and state highways with other duties, including protection of state officials, dignitaries, state buildings, etc. They also have become more active in organized crime related to transportation and homeland security as it relates to transportation. In other states, state police fulfill various duties including investigations for small jurisdictions, and investigations for various state offices, department and bureaus. Some states have a highway patrol and separate investigative agency, such as the famous Texas Rangers for statewide investigative work to assist local jurisdictions. In many states you’ll find a separate capitol police, perhaps a supreme court police, etc. Then, state investigations may be handled by investigators assigned to the state attorney general or various commissions or departments may have their own positions. For example, most states have DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) investigators. Other state investigators may serve directly, such as alcohol, gaming (casinos), business licensing, tax, contractors’ board, agriculture (yes even cattle rustling or brand inspectors), trucking, consumer affairs, etc. One caution: in many states cops like city police officers fall under an early retirement system. Some of the investigative jobs may not qualify for that early retirement, and this may make a big difference in the long run. Plan ahead! I bet you never thought there were so many thousands of cop jobs out there for you! So far I have not heard of investigators for the county library to collect that unpaid late fee but it has probably been suggested.

Federal Jobs
Once again, there are more federal police jobs than can be tracked. Many of these uniformed police jobs are in the Washington, D.C. area, where there are various police jobs that act as security and protection for everything from the U.S. Supreme Court to the Treasury Building. The Secret Service has a uniformed division. Of course these are armed officers, but their duties may be limited and not offer the variety of assignments as would be found in a city police force.

Military
There are DoD (Department of Defense) police that provide some police functions on military bases and that may differ with services and bases. Duties are primarily concerned with security. There may be other uniformed positions in other federal agencies including the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, etc. The U.S. Border Patrol is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but a unique and the largest uniformed law enforcement agency. Of course, their mission is largely centered on immigration at the borders other than ports of entry, along with border homeland security issues. The starting (GS-7) salary level is rather low, but it may be a good foot in the door, and if you don’t like it, you can seek out other federal jobs. Don’t expect to be assigned to Kansas. You had better like the U.S.- Mexico border areas and lots of night work. Still they are a highly respected and professional agency.

Customs & Immigration Inspectors
Before DHS (Department of Homeland Security) there were different inspectors. These CBP (Customs and Border Protection) persons generally work at ports of entry (borders such as San Ysidro-San Diego, El Paso, Nogales, etc) or international airports or seaports. These are the folks you speak with when driving across a border into the U.S., or entering the U.S. from a cruise or at an airport. They are armed positions. Many retired cops and military seek out these jobs. They are also a good way to start your career.

Special Agents
Most think about the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), but don’t forget DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), DHS, Secret Service, etc. In fact, almost every federal agency has special agents to handle investigations. Each military branch also has investigators that may be federal employees, not just active duty service members. The Army has the Criminal Investigation Division, the Navy and Marines have the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Air Force has the Officer of Special Investigations. Generally special agents are non-uniformed (except on raids and such), serve as investigators, are well paid, and you will need at least a four-year college degree. Generally you will need to stand out, and in addition to the degree, you may want more college, a degree in accounting and computers, some military experience (especially in intelligence), or a foreign language. Generally, plan on working in big cities at least until you get some seniority. You may have to spend some time online to search out all these jobs. Web sites like Officer.com offer employment information. Also, for California, I like PORAC News, which is labor oriented but has many listings. A copy will give you a good idea of pay and benefits. For a lot of those smaller jobs you may need to really work the computer or phones and seek out those jobs. If you have a particular interest area, you may need to call those agencies and even visit for information. If you do stop by, I suggest that you always dress business casual, as you never know who you may end up talking to, and you want to make a good impression. Bring a résumé and certificates, just in case. In past articles at Officer.com, I wrote about finding a job in law enforcement and finding the right job. I hope that this article has helped you in considering the specifics of where to work in your career.

Good luck and be safe.

Jeffrey D, Church is a retired police sergeant and recruiter. He is also-author of the book: “How To Become A Peace Officer”. He may be reached at www.tobeacop.com or beacop@earthlink.net

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Converting Your Seasonal Job to a Permanent Position: Tips for Success

By: Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

Benefits to working seasonal and holiday jobs include the extra income and store discounts you may receive. Even more beneficial is that if you have an interest, you can also set yourself up as a prime candidate for converting that part-time job into a full-time position.

Seasonal and holiday work is a lot like temp work in that it’s a great opportunity for job-seekers to get a foot in the door. Yes, most holiday workers are hired with the promise of working only for a certain amount of time. By making a name for yourself during those short months you are on the job, you may be able to turn that holiday position into something permanent.

What are some tips for making a name for yourself?

1. Be dependable. Know your schedule and always show up on time. Tell your supervisor that you are available in a pinch if there’s a need. Retail managers are constantly struggling to find reliable workers, so as long as you are dependable, this tip should be an easy one to master.
2. Do the work. Show that you are not just working the job to make some holiday cash, but instead there to help the company. Workers who are just putting in their "time," are easy to spot – and managers know who those folks are. Instead, show your value by always trying to go above and beyond what is asked of you.
3. Network within the company. Get to know all the managers -- and make sure they know your strengths. The more managers who know who you are and what you’re capable of will give you multiple opportunities to shine and land one or more permanent openings.
4. Look the part. Companies like Abercrombie even admit to hiring people who look like their customers (like they belong at the store). Even if you wear a vest or coat, or some other type of uniform, if you are dealing with customers, you should always try to look and dress your best. Good grooming and hygiene are essential.
5. Be the problem-solver. Whenever there is a problem that needs to be resolved, volunteer to help solve the problem. Managers love workers who are not only self-sufficient, but who think proactively, taking care of little problems before they become major catastrophes.
6. Avoid the grapevine. Spending too much time gossiping about fellow co-workers is one of the sure ways to make a name for yourself -- in the totally WRONG way. Now, this tip doesn’t mean you should not be friendly; quite the opposite. You should be friendly with all co-workers (as well as customers) -- just stay away from talking about other people.
7. Don’t overdo the employee discount. Sure, the discount is there for you to use -- and it’s a great win-win to have the extra income AND get a discount, just don’t go crazy with it. Share the discount with your family members, but don’t have the whole neighborhood coming to the store to get your discount.
8. Express your interest. There is certainly no harm to talking with all the managers -- once you’ve established some rapport with them -- that you are interested in a full-time position should one become available.

Final Thoughts
If a career in retail is something that interests you, a great way to get a foot in the door is through seasonal employment. If you avoid the pitfalls and focus on showcasing your enthusiasm, accomplishing as much as you can while on the seasonal payroll, you can slowly position yourself for a permanent slot with the company.

Dr. Randall Hansen is currently Webmaster of Quintessential Careers, as well as publisher of its electronic newsletter, QuintZine. He writes a biweekly career advice column under the name, The Career Doctor. He is also a tenured, associate professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He is a published career expert -- and has been for the last ten years. He is co-author, with Katharine Hansen, of Dynamic Cover Letters. And he has been an employer and consultant dealing with hiring and firing decisions for the past fifteen years.

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