The College Entrepreneur: How to leverage your university to build a business, escape the rat race and live life on your terms. by Kyle Gray

Author:Kyle Gray [Gray, Kyle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kyle Gray
Published: 2016-06-14T04:30:00+00:00

How to create your own coursework with the help of a professor

If you are a self-directed student that is determined to grow a business, you may be able earn course credit for the work you are doing. This will help you graduate faster and possibly enable you to get access to other university resources. You’ll also be able to receive individualized mentorship and guidance from a professor.

An obvious place to find a professor who will support your work is the business school at your university. Having a major or a minor in business should give you access to helpful classes and help you to find a professor who would be interested in working with you.

You’ll need to be clever, finding a way to relate the work you are doing for your business to your coursework. Having a flexible or customized major or minor should also help you find professors who would be open to working with you on your business.

Find the right professor

Start by identifying a professor with a teaching style that you enjoy and who discusses topics closely related to your business. The best ones in this case are often “black sheep” professors: they’re often younger, more rebellious and more energetic than other professors. These professors love to work with motivated students who want to do more than just daydream through class.

Talk to your professor a bit after class every once in a while or go to their office hours. Learn about them and help them get to know you and your goals. It helps to be performing well in class, but it is more important to show you care about your education and are willing to work hard--this will help build trust. We discussed in previous chapters’ techniques and strategies to build relationships. Use those strategies to start conversations and get to know the professor you want to work with.

Keep in mind that many professors are overworked and strained for time. Building a relationship with them may take several months or even semesters. You should not be discouraged if they aren’t open to working one-on-one with a student. Most universities aren’t structured to incentivize this, so a professor will need to really like and trust you before. This will be a personal investment of time and energy on their part.

After you have taken time to build relationships with one or a few professors, ask if they would be willing to advise you on some “independent study” or “directed readings”. These are common terms for custom coursework at most universities.

Tell them about the business you are working on and about your plan for starting or growing it. Here’s an outline of what that plan should look like:

Describe your business idea to them.

Mention one to three problems related to the business that you would like to understand.

List a few skills you will be studying and developing. Try to relate these skills to courses the professor teaches.

Submit 1 paper a week on a topic related to the job or industry.

Meet once a week with the professor to talk about the issues you uncover and what you are learning.

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