Small business for student

First a bit of background information (skippable):

I've been investing my money for a little while now. I'm planning on quitting my jobs soon as i'm gettin killed from getting only 3 hours of sleep every night and still performing well in school.

For a long time i've been really interested in starting somewhat of a small business. My dad owned one and offered to let me be registered under his business license (i dont know the specifics) , use his credit card payment accepter things, etc. However i'm not too sure what my options are.

I really want the feeling of owning my own business and i think i'd really enjoy this kind of work. Even if i decide later that its not for me (unlikely) it's a great experience and learning opportunity early in my life.

Many people around me own businesses, and i could ask for guidance, but as of yet, i dont have any concrete, doable ideas. The only option that seems accesable is ebay, but i dont know if it's a good idea as I havent quite looked into the specifics of it yet. I would rather like to do something completely my own.


My Questions:

1. Is just a few thousand $$'s enough to start something worthwhile
2. Is ebay an ok starting out idea? (Do you know any good, concise references)
3. Is it better to just leave my money in investments
4. What are some ideas that a person could do? Doesnt have to have anything to do with me personally; I just want some ideas and i can alter them to fit me later. (Preferrably mainly from home, but perhaps the occasional meeting, etc.)
5. If i eventually change my mind due to unforeseen circumstances, or become just very unsuccessful, will I, in most cases, basically lose a lot of money (relative to my age)?

Any help or comments are apprciated, or even a link with information to point me in a direction. I'm still in the very early stages of planning, and have only just recently started actually believing that its possible.

Originally Posted by AL3X

1. Is just a few thousand $$'s enough to start something worthwhile

Short answer no. But I guess it really depends on what you want to do.

Well I'm no expert as my small business is still in it's infancy. However I think an Ebay store is a really good way to start! What are your interests? Do you have any special skills (jewellery making, ect)? I don't think that you should just start something without thinking long and hard about it first. I would imagine that if you do close your busines you will lose money (inventory as well unless you are able to move it). How about making something cool and opening an ebay store? That way you won't have to invest alot of money and you can make a bit of $$ while getting a feel for selling. As well as finding out how people are liking your products. Best of luck to you!

Hi,
Guess what, I am in almost same boat as you I have a couple of grand saved up from work and I am still in School. My mom sells stuff on Ebay and makes money by selling liquidated jewlary for triple digi markups. But in general, for ebay, you really need a competitive advantage, rather that be a shattering price or a unique product that no one else is selling.

Financing:
Have you heard of the Summery Business Company? It's run by the government and they give any student grants of up to $3000 and you get to keep it rather your business fails or succeeds. Of course you have to write a proposal and go through an interview process. I am currently in the program now awaiting my interview. Unfortunatley deadline is passed for this summer But just letting you know.

What I have learnt so far:
Here's what I learnt through the process. A few thousand dollars can build some pretty crazy websites these days. And my friends have many ideas that they were more then happy to share. Once you find that key idea, it's hard to stop thinking about it and let go. What brought me back to reality was doing market reserach to understand my competitors and understand if there is a market for my product/service (done via door to door surveys).

Anyways. Best of luck! And don't worry about not having enough $$. Thousands of dollars is far less then the tuition I am paying at university, and I have already learnt so much!

Without self promotion, my blog has some great tips. I started my own business last year online and make a lot more than I ever did working for anything else.

I create as many ifferent streams of income as I can in a postive way.

It's a rather bizarre question to me...what does any of it matter unless you have an idea you want to pursue?

As for money required, it all depends. I started my own accounting services business, didn't cost me anything at all, all the 'capital' is the knowledge in my head, which I already own. So some businesses are zero start up, some cost millions, again, it all depends what you want to do.

Originally Posted by AL3X

...3. Is it better to just leave my money in investments
...

the safest BUT slowest method of growth

To answer your q, few thousand dollar is definally enough for an ebay business, but you have to decide what inventories are you going to carry, ebay policy, suppliers, and how much risk you can afford, coz fruad is out there for sure.

I would recommand you to keep working first, and the start busines son the side