In other words: I will provide you with free education and the potential for profit if you provide me with free work.

It’s an internship. You’ll be responsible for building out the best, most useful, most respectable web hosting review site on the planet. If you are successful, and meet pre-set goals, this could turn into a full time job as I will give you the first $5,000 per month, each month, in revenue (please note, the site currently makes nothing… it hasn’t been developed). Let me know if this opportunity excites you, both the topic and revenue potential (the education too;) and prove to me that you have a good research ethic and work habits -> ryan@college-startup.com

I’m a big fan of education. I just don’t think it’s necessary to succeed. Especially with the advent of the Internet and all the free information that’s out there. Still, I think education is a very valuable thing. Being exposed to the greatest ideas the world has ever known is no small thing.

Interestingly, there are some people out there who feel the same way, and who choose to get educated even when they don’t need to for economic reasons. Take some of the rockers on this list who got their PhD degrees, some after already attaining success.

So what can we make of this fact? Well, being a billionaire is hardly conditional on the degree you get. But don’t fret. Getting a degree in business doesn’t destroy your chances;-)

Deciding to give in, however, could be hard. Well, it better be or else it means you don’t give much importance to your studies which is bad. Consider the following questions and reminders.

Is the state of your business worth dropping out of school? Is your business already that stable that you could say you can live off your earnings and do away with a degree? If your answer is no, then stay schooled and don’t even consider filing a leave of absence. Just continue trying to juggle both balls.

Will the business success you are expecting to get when you drop out, outweigh the time, effort and money you (or your parents if you’re a dependent) have invested in your studies? Keep in mind: haste is waste and patience is a good virtue. Think it out over a dozen times before you decide.

Dropping out of school is very easy to do. It’s going back that isn’t. So if you’re considering dropping out and just going back when you feel like it, don’t forget that things are not that simple to reverse in this complicated planet.

Also, between two entrepreneurs selling the same thing, the customer would tend choose the one who finished a degree. Mr. Carpet Dealer d’ Degree Holder would definitely have greater edge and credibility than Mr. Carpet Dealer d’ Drop-out. Yes, that’s not a very realistic example but you should get the point. You ought to know what difference having a degree makes.

Combining work and school together is never easy as one compromises the other most of the time. You need to do an assignment but have to check on a client and make arrangements for your next project almost at the same time. How do you cope with this?

Be optimistic and start planning ahead with the following tips.

1. Organize your activities. To avoid time conflicts, try to plan your class and work schedules as far ahead of time as possible. Make a checklist of all your daily activities and try hard to follow each.
2. School should come first. Don’t commit to working a lot of hours while studying. The most important thing at the moment is to be able to finish school so you can go full time on your work.
3. Be flexible and willing to make sacrifices. Sometimes you have to ease up on things you want to do because of school and work commitments. If you used to accept all party invitations, learn to say NO sometimes.
4. Use your time efficiently. You can use 10 minutes waiting in a line to go over a few pages of assigned reading. If your job has a lot of downtime, perhaps you can use slow periods to do schoolwork.
5. Find time to relax. Spend a day or night out once in a while, if your schedule permits. Everyone needs some downtime to stay happy and fulfilled.
6. In case of problems, know where to go. Schedule a meeting with your school counselor to discuss your moves or if something goes wrong. You may also talk to your family and friends.

Remember that whatever your goals are in life, it’s best to make a good solid plan to hit them.

The only gripe I have with Jon’s article is where he says that it’s just “stupid” to start out doing what you love.  In fact his advice is the opposite:  Forget about doing what you love for a while.

Kudos to Jon for hitting 6 figures, but in my honest opinion, the resources and infrastructure are now in place so that anyone, anywhere, with enough passion, can do exactly what they want and still hit 6 figures within a few years.   So I guess it’s a decision that you ultimately have to make:  do I want to kill myself now for the sake of the sacred green cow, or do I want to drink from the fountain of life while still enabling myself to prosper?

Everyone’s going to have a different answer to that.  My answer, several years ago, was to stop worshiping the sacred green cow and instead carve my own largely untraveled path to success.

In a post last month, I talked about how the school requested a webdesign proposal from me for their official website.  In this proposal, the compensation I was asking for was a 75% discount.  So I wrote a proposal that was just as professional as the ones I write for my clients.  The board of directors did not want to give me the 75% discount.

They wanted to give me 100%.

I was so happy I couldn’t stop smiling all day.

What made this possible?  Were they just nice?  Here are my theories:

• The proposal itself.  Everyone couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful it was. It was actually based on a search engine marketing proposal template I got when I bought the Search Engine Marketing Kit by Dan Thies.  Two years later and it’s still paying off.
• My good relationship with my teachers.  During one of the meetings where they discussed the proposal without me, my teachers backed me up and basically “sold” my services to the board.  They know I’m a good student (when I actually show up) and they know the quality of my work (which I always try to deliver).  Plus, since they already know that I’m a working student, they know that I’ve had some professional experience in webdesign.  What a coincidence – didn’t I just stress in a previous entry why good relations with your teachers is important?

The great thing is I’m not just getting a tuition discount – the dean just told me he wanted me to do his personal website after I work on the school’s.  Of course, compensation may come in the form of another tuition discount for another semester or cash (we haven’t discussed it yet).  Still, it’s great that one gig led to another.  Plus, they’re letting me indicate my web design business at the footer of both websites.  It’s a good way to advertise, especially since designing a college website will get the business more credibility.

In sum, if you’ve got big expenses, think of creative ways to pay for them.  Also, when people can’t pay in cash, think of other ways in which you can be compensated – just make sure it’s worth your time.  Have you ever tried to get creative with the way you charge customers?

I’ve proved to myself that it’s entirely possible to have decent grades, a healthy social life, run your own business, and get ample rest – all during your college years.  It took a bit of trial and error to find a system that works for me, but here are the things that made the most difference:

 1. Don’t prioritize all your classes equally.  Face it – some classes will be important, while some will seem like a complete waste of time.  If you find that some of your classes are “too easy” or if you learn more from the textbook than from your teacher, you don’t have to spend as much time studying for them compared to your more challenging classes.  If you spend two hours on your advanced calculus homework, don’t spend the same amount of time on a reading assignment you’ve already encountered in high school.  Rank your classes according to importance and keep this list at hand.

2. Once you’ve figured out your school priorities, you can multi-task during the less important classes.  I was required to take a biology class that covered topics from my 2nd year of high school.  Since I was already familiar with the subjects, I just copied the notes from the board and spent the rest of the class time writing articles for my web content business.  If you can work on your business during these types of classes, they’d be a more productive use of your time.

3. Identify idle time and use it.  When we think of time management, we usually think of the time we spend at school, at home, or in our dorm rooms.  There’s a lot of time that’s usually unaccounted for.  Commuting, waiting in line, sitting on the toilet, standing at the laundromat – there are several precious minutes of your day that could be put to better use.  You can listen to an educational/entrepreneurial podcast, do your homework, or plan your business activities for the next week.  I always keep a business notebook and my mp3 player around for this purpose.

4. Automate as much as you can.  Some tasks are repetitive and menial, for these tasks, you need to get an easy system in place.  If you visit a lot of websites and blogs, get an RSS feed reader to get automatic updates.  If you have several personal and business email accounts, read them from one email client such as Outlook or Thunderbird so you only need to look at one interface.  If a program or gadget can do a task faster or simpler, don’t do it yourself.

5. Lastly, don’t forget to enjoy your college experience.  You need to put a little variety and fun into the mix, or else you’ll get so busy and stressed that you’ll have a heart attack before your graduation.  Keep yourself occupied and be productive, but always keep a positive vibe.  Make sure your schedule includes ample sleep, parties, and entertainment.  This breaks the monotony and gives you time for yourself.  After all, that’s who you’re doing all the work for, right?

Ryan, I’ve been thinking about this web thing quite a bit. If I understand you properly, there is money to be made simply by accruing good, written material. Here are my initial thoughts. Each semester I have close to 120 students. One could say that this is something of a gold mine for high quantities of good content. If only there were no ethical concerns. I fear that the ethical issues are too great, though. In fact, it seems clear to me that there is a conflict of interest and that I simply cannot make money off my students. What are your thoughts? Are there ways to nuance this issue? It just seems like an awful opportunity to waste. Are there ways to generate high quantities of content, but to make it voluntary? Could a system be setup whereby students received revenue share? I don’t know the answers to these questions. Alas, I’m afraid that I do know the answers to these questions and just don’t want to admit it. But we should keep the line of communication open.

So readers of college startup, here’s the question. Can you envision any legitimate ways for reforming higher education such that 1) public, online writing is integrated into higher education and 2) students receive revenue share (as an added motivator) for doing so.

In my view, there is something to this idea. Think about it. If both the professor and the student would be rewarded for good writing and good ideas, wouldn’t we have a built in incentive for doing good, creative work (on both ends) rather than just doing what’s necessary for good grades?

Or, would we end up with a big mess?

Tutoring is nothing new. Even during the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, people were always on the lookout for a good tutor to further their knowledge and hone their skills. In today’s modern age, this need has not changed one bit. From elementary school pupils to high school studentd, and even college students, the demand for effective tutors still remains. If you play your cards right then you just might end up earning more than you thought you would.

So how do you go about starting a tutorial business? First of all, decide on what specific services you would like to offer. Are you going to focus on academic tutorials or skill-based tutorials? Of course, vital to your decision would be what you are capable of teaching. If you are a math major for example, you can offer math tutorials. If you are good in Chemistry then you can offer to help struggling Chemistry students. If you have above average skills in areas such as music and sports, you can also advertise tutorials for them. Piano lessons, guitar lessons, and the like are a good way to earn money. You can also opt to offer other tutorial services such as computer troubleshooting and Internet know-how. You might be surprised at the number of people who are in need of such services!

Once you have decided exactly what you are going to offer, then it’s time to determine your target clients. Do you want to focus on elementary school students or do you want to teach college students? For skill-based tutorials, do you have a certain age group that you want to cater to? It might be tempting to have the widest scope possible but it is also a good idea to narrow down your target market to what you specialize in. This is a case where quality wins over quantity. Besides, limiting your clientele to a certain group doesn’t necessarily mean that you will get fewer clients. In fact, as word of your excellent service gets around, you will probably be swamped with new clients.

In the beginning, what you should really aim for is a marked improvement in your tutees’ performance – be it academic or extra curricular. This is especially crucial for elementary and high school students. Their parents – the ones who pay – will be looking out for results. So focus on getting results from your students. Your target is to actually impart something to them during your tutorial sessions. It would also help if you write yourself up a professional-looking resume, with all your relevant credentials. Once your satisfied clients start talking about you, it would be easier for you to promote your business if you have your resume to present to potential clients.