College students often need to make some extra cash.

Some of them find part-time jobs, but others become entrepreneurs who start their own business. Often they are running these businesses from a cramped dormitory and some times long for the day where they can move into a spacious office. Some of these businesses have become very successful just because the student had an idea and worked hard at it.

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and the partnership of Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little who created WordPress are just two such examples.

Where To Start

You may have what you think is a brilliant idea but not have the knowledge of how to put it into practice. For instance, if you have noticed a niche in the market of the students at your college, you may need to learn more about supply chain management to see if it is a viable proposition. This involves the processes that bring together the raw materials from its origin to the finished product at its final destination.

Once you know that it stands a chance of working, the next thing is to create a brand that will be easily recognizable.

Creating Your Brand

You need to create a brand by designing a logo and coming up with a name. These should both be original but kept as simple as possible because consumers like simple. Regardless of the product or service, you intend to offer you need to make your brand visible and credible. This is even more important if there is competition, as you have to ask yourself why would people buy from you instead of them? You may be thinking that getting your brand seen by as many people as possible is not easy when you have to study for your college course as well. However, there is a way.

Make The Most Of Social Media

Social media is one of the most powerful tools there is for promoting your brand. It is very effective and very cheap but can be time-consuming. You need to open business pages on as many platforms as you can and then make regular posts that will be informative to the audience you are targeting.

When users make a comment you should always reply and even if they are disagreeing with you, always be positive. This helps to create trust in your brand, and that is the object of the exercise.

Do not make every post promotional, as this will result in people just scrolling past it. Build your authority with information, collect as many friends and connections as you can and you will soon find that using social media starts to pay dividends.

Never expect your business to be an overnight success or all you will be is very disappointed. They take time to build to success, but in the meantime set yourself some goals. Aim for a certain number of new followers each month or a percentage increase in sales. Each time you reach a goal it will motivate you to carry on and by the time your college days are over with you could have a very nice business already up and running.