The status of student entrepreneur, an opportunity to seize!

Mindset has changed and so has the perception of entrepreneurship. The time when the discourse was: "Do great studies to get a good job" seems to be behind us. If studies and a degree can still give access to positions in companies, today it is no longer the preferred path for everyone. Those who are tempted by entrepreneurship can already launch themselves as student entrepreneurs during their studies, find out why.

What does entrepreneurship entail?

The image used by Reid Hoffman the founder of LinkedIn (source):

An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds an airplane in his fall.

represents well what state of mind an entrepreneur should be in.

The entrepreneur is someone whose expenses are certain and income uncertain. Before taking the plunge, he or she will therefore have to try to reduce his or her risk by trying to validate the assumptions he or she has made with regard to needs, the market, his or her target, etc.

Entreprising requires being able to devote time to one's project and being able to cope with little or no cash flow before hoping to prosper.

Why are studies an ideal time of life for entrepreneurship?

You can start a business at any age, but it's easier to do so at certain times of life, those when you have fewer family burdens, no credit, and fewer responsibilities.

Students have fewer responsibilities

If you have credit with drafts, small children, it's obvious that quitting your salaried job to start a business can be very risky. Increasingly, it is necessary for students to combine a job with their studies in order to finance their studies, nevertheless this is less pressure than having a family load or a home loan to pay back.

The time commitment of entrepreneurship

Education takes time but usually less than having a full-time salaried job. If you have to work 35 or 38 hours a week (in theory, in reality it's often more) in addition to commuting to work, there is little time left to develop projects on the side.

It's an opportunity to discover the world of entrepreneurship

Between the representations you have of yourself and the world and reality, there is sometimes a gap. Becoming an entrepreneur during your studies allows you to confront the real world and put into practice what you know or think you know. Everyone knows that nothing beats experience gained in the field.

Why is this a good time?

The world of work is changing. Companies want to outsource what is not a key part of their business model. This creates opportunities for freelancers.

For a company, it is more interesting to use freelancers for certain tasks rather than in-house staff:

• Find specialized skills for punctual tasks.
• No need to organize the work of employees.
• No cost of premises or workstations.
• Less risk in the face of uncertainties (Cf health crisis).
  

For a worker, this mode of operation also has interesting aspects:

• More freedom in the organization of one's work.
  
• No longer dependent on a single source of income.
  
• Be able to do more varied tasks.
  
• For the jobs present on these platforms, the possibility to try the experience of becoming "Digital Nomad".

Creating your own business or student job?

There are different types of businesses, some projects being more ambitious than others. At present, everyone can create their own income as a student entrepreneur thanks to the above-mentioned opportunities for self-employment.

Every student can offer services such as copywriting in his or her major as discussed in this article:  Being 20! The right time to start. While every job is respectable, it seems more fulfilling to write about your field of study than to do low-skilled tasks for some employer. This source of income also made it easier to manage one's time and, for example, avoid having to skip a class for one's job.

Platforms for connecting people offering their services with various businesses of all sizes have grown. They make it relatively easy to find clients. In fact, this is the subject of an article in a Belgian economic journal.

Source

Learn things that school or college don't

When you become an entrepreneur, you face problem situations that are impossible to replicate in a school setting.

The entrepreneur is confronted with managing customers

Some ask for discounts, others are never satisfied. Conversely others will become your business providers and your best advocates. It is only with experience that one understands which profiles are to be avoided and which ones are to be cherished.

The entrepreneur is confronted with his profitability calculation and accounting obligations

Often the accounting concepts are memorized and applied to pass an exam but when putting them into practice, one realizes that finally, one lacks understanding of these concepts.

The fact that one also has to fulfill accounting and tax obligations can make the student entrepreneur aware that not everything can be negotiated. More and more, a certain laxity sets in when handing in work or even certificates justifying  absence. With the Tax Office or VAT, not fulfilling one's obligations leads to penalties, this makes the student entrepreneur responsible.

The political power creates a legal framework

• exemption from social security contributions up to a certain income threshold;
• the retention of family allowances.

France has created a somewhat different status of student entrepreneur (source) that provides access to benefits delivered under the PEPITE (Student Poles for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship)  :

• coaching by a teacher and an external referent from the PEPITE network (entrepreneur, support and funding networks);
• access to the PEPITE or a partner's coworking space to promote networking between student-entrepreneurs in their diversity and PEPITE's practitioner partners;
• possibility to sign a Business Support Contract (CAPE) with a structure such as incubator or cooperative of activity and employment (CAE) or another partner of PEPITE.

In addition, a good number of students in France also launch themselves with the status of auto-entrepreneur.

Let's go!

Becoming a student entrepreneur has many advantages such as creating a source of income, learning things that are not learned in school and gaining experience. Encouraging learners to start as a student entrepreneur and advising them to complete their projects is essential.