<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm applying to college this autumn, and am also trying to start up my own online business in my spare time. </p>
<p>My question is: how much will this increase my chances of getting in? Do you have to have made any money for admissions officers to recognize this sort of thing?</p>
<p>Also, how can I tell the admissions officers about my business in my application? </p>
<p>Any help would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas?</p>
<p>For them to take it seriously your business would have to be up, running and showing some genuine measure of success.</p>
<p>I interview several Wharton applicants each year. I can’t begin to tell you about the different ‘successful businesses’ claimed over the years. Sometimes I’m interested enough to check up on the claims. About 5% have been accurately represented.</p>
<p>OK… how would colleges usually assess “success?” By the number of products sold, or the amount of profit made - or something different? I thought it would be a good idea to mention it specifically, as it’s one of the extracurriculars which I spend most of my time on.</p>
<p>It could be any measure. Companies with millions in revenues could still be not profitable. The issue will be whether you have developed a sustainable business with a good product or service that a market has responded to. You can choose the way to quantify that.</p>
<p>Frankly, if you’re planning to start a business now to put on apps next Fall, unless you have one heck of an idea and it takes off like a runaway train, don’t do it thinking you’ll get a boost from colleges.</p>
<p>I don’t actually want to start a business just to stand out on apps; it’s something I’ve been considering way before I started thinking about applying for college. Besides getting a degree, starting my own company (even if it’s just a small one) has always been something I’ve really wanted to do. I’m not doing it to stand out. But if it can help me stand out if it’s successful enough, I’m willing to put some extra time and effort into it to make it that successful.</p>
<p>Approximately how many sales would I have to make for the admissions officers to sit up and take notice, so to speak?</p>
<p>I would disagree that the sales figure is crux…just look at GM!!</p>
<p>I think entrepreneurship is an outstanding asset to your resume, especially if you know how to “sell it”. There’s math involved, budgeting, public relations, time management, advertising (yes, even if it’s just flyers), not to mention the interest the actual product may draw.</p>
<p>You need to sell your entrepreneurship to the college like you need to sell anything else.</p>
<p>Even if you’ve only sold one doohickey, the stuff that goes behind the manufacture of that doohickey tells a very big story about you.</p>
<p>Good luck. I admire your resolve. And keep in mind that entrepreneurship is what keeps this country going, in good times and bad.</p>
<p>i have a question about my very very very “small business” its a personal chef service where i bbq for people so that they can enjpoy their parties</p>
<p>i made $4000 or so doing it last two summers
is that impressive entreprenuership…all i did was put flyers around my relatively large town and word of mouth</p>
<p>@ heyalb: You mean that it’s not just the product itself, it’s what goes into that product? That makes sense, I suppose… And thank you for the good luck. </p>
<p>@ brown14: That’s pretty good. I haven’t made anything yet (still developing my product :)).</p>
<p>Also, does entrepeneurship count as work experience?</p>
<p>I wrote about mine in an essay. I feel that is the best way to highlight it, but only if it is successful. It should give you a big boost when applying to various business schools; obviously you need more than that though.</p>
<p>I’ve reached over 10k in sales and 20+% ROI in mine, so I believe that it was successful enough to talk about. Hopefully it provides a big enough boost to make some great business schools! </p>
<p>And, yes, entrepreneurship does count as work experience.</p>
<p>I’m actually applying to do my undergraduate degree this autumn, not business school, but I suppose it would be even more useful for applying to the latter; I’m going to do an MBA someday.</p>
<p>And, come to think of it, writing an essay about it is a great idea -thanks for the tip :). It’s something that I’ve already invested a lot of time and patience into, and it’s something that I care about, so I can see how it would make a good topic.</p>
<p>Oh, okay. I’m sorry that I assumed that you were applying to business school. Regardless, it can only help you!</p>
<p>No problem. Best of luck to you with your business!</p>
<p>Thanks ^^.</p>