Site Description

I wasted a lot of time in college. In fact, I probably wasted the equivalent of a full-time job just hanging out. That’s 40 plus hours of watching TV and playing drinking games every week. Not something I’m proud of. But definitely something that happens to many students. Thankfully, there’s a site out there that aims to help you become more productive in your down time.

College-Startup.com is a blog about how anyone can run a successful business from their dorm room. Regular posts discuss topics that are motivational, helpful, and original. The site is laid out like a typical blog, with content along the left side and a navigational sidebar along the right. There is very little flash, which highlights the content. This is good, since the content is usually very, very good.

College-Startup is not your typical entrepreneurial blog. Instead much of the information is directed at how a college student can or should handle situations that come up when starting and running a business. For many reasons this is different than someone running their business full-time. Availability of resources, time management, start-up capital and more is extremely different under the circumstances faced by someone in college. This blog stays focused to that niche, while also addressing situations all entrepreneurs are familiar with.

About College-Startup.com

College-Startup was started by a student from Ohio State named Ben Bleikamp. It doesn’t say what year he began the site, but the archives go all the way back to November 2005, so we’ll go with that. Originally Ben began College-Startup as a way to help and encourage college students to confidently start businesses while still in school. That goal has been more than met. In fact, the reigns have since been handed over to a couple individuals who’ve made it their goal to continue reaching college students and also to help all who would like to be entrepreneurs but need a small nudge to get started.

What I Liked

Over the past couple years I’ve been stopping in periodically to read College-Startup.com and have always left more knowledgeable than when I arrived. If you’ve never visited this site before you’ll find hours worth of archived content, most of which is still very relevant.

If you come back to the site after lengthy absences like I do, you’ll quickly realize how reader-friendly their diverse categories are. You can find the topics that interest you quickly and easily. Most blogs are like this by design, but College-Startup has drilled down the categories into very specific niches.

From a design standpoint, the color scheme is easy on the eyes, making the articles easy to read. There is a distinct separation between the content section and the sidebars, which have red backgrounds and white font.

I really like that College-Startup doesn’t try to be anything that it’s not. It’s a blog that puts out excellent content related to entrepreneurial ventures and that’s where 100% of the focus goes.

What I Didn’t Like

I’ve praised College-Startup for its simplicity and my thoughts on that haven’t changed. Accessibility to archived content is good, but I’d like to see a page that lists post titles for each month. Currently, the archives list about five posts per page, with an excerpt from each.

This isn’t bad, only a bit clunky. If there was a month with 30 posts you’d have to click through five or six pages to see them all. Again, not the most devastating issue, but a site that has such solid archived content should make it as easy as possible for readers to wade through it.

The Final Word

I rarely leave College-Startup.com without some sort of inspiration. If you’re an entrepreneur of any age or a college student looking for some flexible ways to earn some cash, this site is an awesome reference point. The advice extends to both online and offline business and is generic enough to fit into any industry, making College-Startup.com a priceless resource for budding business people.

www.College-Startup.com

DoMyStuff is very similar to ads you’ll find on other web services, but it does tend to focus more on odd-jobs and services instead of computer-based projects. Things like laundry, cleaning, and lawn care are examples. Whenever I think of this sort of business model I immediately think the worst of people and wonder how payment is policed. In this case, the site has a secure escrow system that will make sure payments are made in full but only after the work has been completed and approved.

There are three ways you can enter Josh’s contest, and doing them all will give you up to five chances to win. They are very simple and are 100% free. The first is to sign up for Josh’s ebook about niche marketing, called “The $5 Mini-Site Formula”. All this requires is entering your name and email into a form. I’ve read this ebook a few times and found it to be among the best in walking you through how to develop and monetize mini websites. It’s much easier than you might think and can be very profitable. The ebook alone is worth entering your email address, not to mention the free shot at an iPod.

The second way is to tweet a message announcing the contest. You can find the message Josh is asking you to tweet on the contest registration page. Again, another free and easy way to enter the contest. If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s something everyone should consider creating an account on. It’s free and it’s extremely useful. While you’re at it, you might want to follow SiteRoast on Twitter, also.

Finally, the last way to enter (for three entries) is to create a post on your blog about the contest. If you have a blog yourself this is another easy way to get yourself some extra entries. Granted, the more people you tell the more who enter, but at least it’ll get your name in the hat a few extra times.

If winning a free iPod Touch sounds like a good idea to you, be sure to visit the contest registration page. Also, don’t forget to take a look at Josh’s blog – ezOnlineMoney.com. Even if making money online doesn’t interest you (why wouldn’t it!), you’ll still find many useful and interesting ideas. Definitely worth paying a visit.