Have you ever wondered what students at ADM do in their free time? Some decided to start their own businesses. I myself am one of these students, and I was inspired to seek out other entrepreneurs to see how they run their businesses and why they decided to start them.

My own business is a photography, graphic design and web development business. I had trouble finding a job that I liked, so I thought, why not just start my own? I’ve always been interested in photography, design and programming, so it made sense to start this business. I spent about two weeks building a website from scratch, doing photo shoots with friends to build up my portfolio and creating logos and graphics for my website. I compete with other businesses by charging much lower prices. My advice for students wanting to start their own businesses is to come up with your marketing plan before you actually start. Who are your customers, and how will you reach them? You can check out my website by going to www.kbradycreations.com.

Sean McGee rents-to-own DJ equipment from a company and that company tells him what prices he must charge for his services. He pays them half of what he earns until he has paid off the cost of the equipment. He DJs for weddings, dances and other events – and chooses really good music! (This reporter is speaking from personal experience, as McGee has been the DJ for plenty of school dances.) McGee has his own website at welcome2the.party.

Kristen Baier runs her own pumpkin patch here in Adel. Baier is a member of Future Farmers of America (FFA), and she needed to do an entrepreneur project for her chapter. Her sister had grown her own pumpkins, so Baier piggybacked off of her idea and decided to start her own pumpkin patch business in the summer of 2015. She prepares for her business June through November. She plants pumpkins in June, plans out her marketing strategy for the year in August and September, and opens up her business until November. Baier competes with other pumpkin patches by charging per size instead of per pound. She sells small/medium/large, table decorations, gourds, and specialty pumpkins, such as white pumpkins and baking pumpkins. She advertises via social media. Her advice for aspiring student entrepreneurs is to take ADM’s marketing class and work on your soft skills to become a better salesperson.

If you have a business idea, go ahead and start it. Take time to plan for it, but don’t let that time grow so long that you’ll never start it. It is a great learning opportunity and I encourage you to take it.