I personally found the career panel to be informative. I will note at this point that much of what they stated was advice I have been receiving my entire life, but its good advice none the less. Almost all of them made the point that connections, and some kind of part time work, where invaluable to starting a small business. The first is a obvious, in that having a large group of associates means you also have a large pool of references and potential customers. The second, and in my opinion most pertinent, was that now is the perfect time for us to be making money. Having a part time job while our loans aren’t acquiring interest means we have some kind of fund to get us started once we get out of college. Additonally, get prepared for denials as it seems that each of the panelist had to endure a lot of no’s before their business got a yes.
As someone who is interested in writing their own books, as wells as working in publishing, there were some points that I felt resonated. Especially the point that you are going to hear a lot of no’s (The gentlemen with the Pizza business seemed to be the most vocal on this point). I know, and this panel reinforced, that just because I think my idea is great, doesn’t mean that others necessarily believe the same. I need to prepare myself now, and accept that things rarely go well on the first attempt. But, I also need to be persistent in adapting until that no becomes a yes.
Hope you enjoy the same thing twice Professor