We talked to the best student entrepreneurs in the state to find out what tips had for other aspiring business owners during the final awards and showcase event for the 2017 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge and High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. We asked them what they learned during the year participating in these statewide, business model and idea competitions. After talking to many of them, we discovered three common tips for starting a company from scratch.
Tip 1: Never Give Up
A common tip that several students suggested was to never give up. Lauren Barlow attends Herriman High School, and she said, “Think of as many ideas as you can, pick the best one, and give it all you got.” Madison Hooper, a student at Hillcrest High School, said, “No idea is stupid because you can build off that idea and make it stronger and stronger until you have a more formidable one.”
Tip 2: It Gets Less Scary
Several students said the scariest part of being an entrepreneur is starting the project. Johnny, who chose not to provide his last name, is a sophomore from West High School and works with the company Deflame. He said, “You just got to go in … as soon you start it, it just gets the ball rolling from there and you just keep on going.” As a recent collegiate graduate, Dallan Anderson said, “Just do it! Don’t think about it, just start doing something little by little, and eventually, you’ll have something great.”
Tip 3: Keep Your Options Open
Many of students recommended trying several ideas before becoming set on one specific idea. “Spend a lot of time brainstorming and developing your idea … until you find something that you think is a really good one,” said Liam Connor, a junior at West High School. “Know that everything is going to take much longer and cost way more money than you ever thought it would,” said Mica Sloan, University of Utah student and Portal Power cofounder,
Entrepreneurship takes determination, persistence and motivation. But these students do not give up, and they will keep trying to improve and strengthen their product, company and service. Add your thoughts, and tell us what type of company you want to create in the comments section below.
