Every entrepreneur will tell you that there is a hand-full of things in life as rewarding as starting your own business. But the journey to entrepreneurship is not easy, especially if you are planning to do so right after college. Fortunately, with a bit of ambition and motivation, you can turn your idea into a prosperous business and make it in the industry.

Perhaps the hardest step in opening your own business is coming up with the best idea to invest in and ensure your success. It does not necessarily have to be something out of the ordinary, but in order to make sure your business will survive, you have to make sure you are familiar with the market you’re about to enter.

Below is a list of five tech startups that you can start right after college:

1- App Development

The mobile app market is filled with all sorts of apps that promise to do anything from helping you go to sleep, to monitoring your diet or plan out your budget. But this also means there is room for anyone with a good idea to enter the market.

Every successful investor, such as Dorian Barak, private equity investor and asset manager focused on emerging markets, has followed the three rules you need to take into consideration when starting a new business: the right timing, the right market and the right place. This applies to the app developing industry as well. You will have to research the market and find that one area where you have room to grow.

After finding your niche, make sure you have also decided which platform you want to launch your app on. Will it be iOS, Android or both? Considering the way things evolved in the past few years, you should take into consideration if you plan on selling the app to customers, in which case iOS is a better option, or rely on ads to earn money, which can work better for Android apps. 

2- Web Design

Companies are in constant need of good websites, in order to meet customers’ demands. As more and more people turn to the internet to make purchases or reservations, companies are becoming more aware of how important having a good business website is.

If you plan on opening a web design agency, there are a few things you need to take into consideration, such as deciding whether you want to target a certain niche or you want to offer your services to anybody in need of a website. Next, think if you want to open the business by yourself, or you want to put together a team to help you out.

A team might be a better idea, if you plan on targeting multiple areas of the industry, as you may not be able to do it by yourself. If budget is an issue, consider building a remote team, as the costs are much more affordable. Many successful entrepreneurs, such as Dorian Barak, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba.com and Niklas Zennström and Dane Janus Friis, developers of Skype, started their businesses by outsourcing part of their work to remote teams.

3- Graphic Design

If you have any experience in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, you may want to consider starting a graphic design business, as the demand for quality graphic designers is on the rise nowadays. You can either choose to sign up to platforms that connect freelancers with clients or make your own website and start advertising.

Businesses will always need graphic designers to create logos, advertising banners, product packages and all sorts of other projects we may not be aware of. Recent studies have shown that the graphic design industry in the US is worth over $15 billion, with clients requiring projects such as logo design, branding, animation, typography and poster design.

So, find your niche, put together a portfolio with your best work and start advertising. Don’t stick to the basics and make sure you are constantly up to date with the trends and enhance your skills, to make sure your clients are going to keep coming back.

4- UX/UI Design

User experience or User Interface designers have the job of making sure the customers’ interaction with a certain website or app is as smooth as possible. Consumer psychology is often based on how pleasant a user’s experience is during their stay on a certain website, which is why many companies invest large sums of money in UX design.

In order to succeed in the UX design industry, you have to constantly educate yourself, in order to be up to date with what users want and deliver that to your future clients. Take advantage of the various online tools that you can use to design and test apps, in order to deliver quality work. While some of those tools are quite on the pricy side, others are extremely affordable and perfect for someone who just started on this career path. As always, make sure you keep a portfolio of your most relevant work to convince your clients they should hire you.

5- 3D Printing Services

While still a relatively new business, 3D printing will soon become a mainstream industry. Just think about how much the printing industry has evolved from the point where people thought about 3D printed objects as some sort of futuristic made-up story. The technology is now here and ready to be used, as it is constantly becoming more and more approachable to customers. The best thing about this business is that almost anything can be printed.

If you are good at designing various types of objects, from action figures to small manufacturing parts, then this is the perfect job for you. The downside of starting a 3D Printing job is the fact that high-quality materials and printers are still quite pricey. On the other hand, if you manage to acquire some loyal clients, you will be able to start making profit quite fast. You can create 3D prototypes for companies, museums, architects and even open your own online shop with 3D printed objects. 

The Bottom Line:

A good business idea doesn’t necessarily have to be a new invention. What matters most is the value that you deliver and I am sure, with the above list you can find way.