Create Your Own Summer Job
One of the most popular posts at College Startup is Ben Bleikamp’s Looking for a summer job? Don’t. Ben describes how he literally created his own summer job by starting his own company, creating blogs, and selling them.
The fact is that the web creates virtually unlimited possibilities and rewards those who have good ideas and work hard to implement them. So if you’re struggling to find a summer job, or just don’t like the idea of an 8-5 job all summer, why not work for yourself? Why not put the infrastructure in place for a job that allows you to go down to the beach any day of the week?
Here’s what you need to do. First take a gut check. Are you self-motivated? Or do you need people watching over your shoulder to get things done? If you’re self-motivated, then you’re off to a good start.
The next step is to ask what you want out of your summer job. What’s your time horizon for seeing profit? If you’d like some quick cash, then follow Ben’s strategies for buying, building and flipping websites. If you think you’d like to see your summer job turn into a full time job after college, in other words, if you’re really determined to be self-employed, then map out a three year plan. Determine what you’re going to do to get to a certain place three years later.
The next step is to ask yourself what you do well. Not everyone is a blog designer like Ben. You might have fabulous ideas, but not have the skill set to implement them. This is where you have to start networking with people. Some skills you can easily learn (like how to setup a new blog, how to backup a blog database, etc.). But some skills are hard to come buy (a great eye for blog design). If you meet the right people you might be able to barter for services. Or, you may need to be ready to shell out some cash. Running auctions at SitePoint for logo and design services can be some of the best money spent.
But site design isn’t the only profitable skill on the web. Let’s say you’re an expert at classical guitar and have this brilliant idea for teaching people how to learn classical guitar. Start a blog on classical guitar, but only give teaser information. Don’t give your best stuff away. Instead, work behind the scenes developing an e-book or even an e-video series. As you build a readership with your blog, start charging for the e-book or videos, and maybe even offer webcam lessons!
Or, let’s say you’ve grown up with dogs your whole life and plan to become a veterinarian. If you have access to lots of dogs, it would be an awesome idea to develop a site with video of dog training and various breeds of dogs. Everyone and their grandmother has a dog in the US. If you execute properly you could have a hugely popular site.
The bottom line is this: when choosing a summer job you’re making a critical career decision. There are virtues and benefits to both types of summer job. But if you have a true passion and a true entrepreneurial spirit, then why slave through your summer working for someone else on poorly defined tasks, when you can have total creative control and set a precise path to become your own boss down the road.
Related Articles:
- My summer plans
- Looking for a summer job? Don’t.
- Summer Intern Wanted: Link Building
- About College-Startup.com
- What To Avoid In A Job Interview
Man, has time flied. Almost a year since that post
My answer is virtually the same as it was last year, which is :
I am going to continue my online venture and even smart some new ones. But I still need to work in order to make $$ that would be used to re-invest in online ventures.