Career & Finance: Self-Employment

Why do you want to do this?

I want people to be able to connect from all over the world and find learning resources - an online tutor, a study partner, or the right book. On a personal level, I want to build something that is useful, and I enjoy the excitement of pushing an idea ahead and seeing it turn into reality.

What three things will you need to make this happen?

Traction - the catch 22 of every social networking site. You need a base of users in order to create traffic/buzz; you need traffic/buzz to create your base of users.

Cash flow - I do have some funds, but it's hard to estimate how fast a site will start to grow and generate revenue. I'm competing in the Brattleboro Business Plan Competition and the MassChallenge, with the hope of winning additional money.

People - I work primarily from my home, at this point. I'm hoping to reach the finalist stage of the MassChallenge and be in the accelerator program, which includes Boston office space and the chance to talk with other start ups and with experts. I find that talking with people helps me refine my ideas and energizes me to carry them out.

What is the biggest barrier to your achieving this?

Myself. I need to keep going and not slow down or get distracted along the way. Also, I can be shy in business networking situations; I need to be more willing to get out there and meet people.