College Info Geek – This site is different from other college websites mainly because of the sheer size of the articles posted – 11,000 words! I say again, 11,000 words! Grab a drink and set some time aside to read through Thomas Frank’s posts because they are worth it. Whether it’s a laptop review, instructions on building a floating loft bed, or just a random rant on college life, you’ll enjoy checking out CollegeInfoGeek.

Surviving College – Dorm life, Academic Life, Party Life – if you need to survive it, Surviving College is a great place to start. This site will help you figure out college in real time so that you are not just getting the hang of hangovers and 8 AM classes when it’s time for Graduation. Another huge area for students is budgeting and finances – check out the Surviving College site for some great tips to get you AND your wallet through college.

Her Campus – HerCampus.com is probably the most popular college related blog written specifically for the ladies stumbling around school. On HerCampus you can find nationally relevant content related to style, life, love, and health. But then you can also find local content from around 200 campuses. The site was founded by three women at Harvard – two graduated and one, Annie Wang (who we got to meet in San Fran) is taking a break from school to run HerCampus full time. Read more about the Founders to see their features in major publications like Inc. and BusinessWeek magazines.

College Magazine – College Magazine is a site filled with articles for students by students, set up to be a daily guide to college. Started in 2008 by University of Maryland graduate, Amanda Nachman, College Magazine now features a group of editors mentoring over 40 writers, bloggers, and photographers from universities nationwide. Daily topics include college life, dating, pop culture, sports, and employment tips.  College Magazine is jammed packed with great articles and something for everyone! Originally started as a print magazine, CollegeMag is now all online. While in San Francisco we got to hang out with Amanda and Josh (Social Life Editor).

The Student Hustle – While this site is brand new, Bobby Adamson is a hardcore hustler. His enthusiasm, drive, and passion for helping others succeed are going to take him places and you’ll want to be a part of his site so that you can say you knew him before he became a “big deal”. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to The Student Hustle!

Bright Futura – With an awesome name like Maximillian, awesome is exactly what you can also expect from his website. Whether its college news, products reviews written by students, advice, or just fun articles, Bright Futura is a site worth subscribing to or following on Facebook. You’ll find good articles taking an in depth look at the business of Amway, cool apps to download, and much more.

HackCollege – Edited by Sarah Feng, HackCollege is another college content focused site that is loaded down with some really awesome content? With the tagline of “Work Smarter, Not Harder” You’ll find lots of articles about hacking your college life, living better, being more productive and even eating more healthy. Make HackCollege one of your daily reads for sure!

What are your favorite college content related websites to check out? Besides Dorm Room Biz of course!

Photo courtesy of NOVA Geoblog

As an entrepreneur, bootstrapping your marketing efforts when starting out is not only an opportunity to save money but commonly a necessity. Whether your looking to bootstrap your web marketing efforts, your word of mouth advertising or any other part of your business, it is an opportunity to put your creativity to work and figure out the best and most affordable option.

When I attend festivals and events for my other business, TheGearHouse, one of the most effective way that other businesses and manufacturers are getting their name out is by giving stickers out to people at the event. Whether it’s a small sticker or a longer/bigger bumper sticker, people search them out from everyone. I haven’t had any stickers made for TheGearHouse yet but last year at one event, it seemed like everyone wanted a sticker for their water bottle, kayak, or other gear.

A simple sticker that just has your website, your logo, or a slogan can go a long way to getting your name out in your target market and bringing traffic to your business. You can bet that this coming Fall when we go back for the same event that we’ll have stickers to give out. It’s easy to design the sticker or figure out what you want it to have on it, the real difficult thing for a bootstrapping entrepreneur is figuring out where to get the stickers printed.

There are a lot of different options out there for sticker printing. I’ve found that it really comes down to are a few different things to make a decision on where to get them printed.

• The quantity of stickers you want printed (25-100,000)
• Size of the sticker, anything from 2″ x 3.5″ up to a full 8.5″ x 11″ sheet
• And sometimes if you are using a black and white or full color design

One of the better priced sites that I’ve come across for a quantity of 250 stickers in a smaller 2″ x 3.5″ size is UPrinting.com. At UPrinting, you can get the stickers with a 4 day turnaround time for just about $40. Now that’s a good deal! If you need a smaller quantity of stickers, there are a number of other options out there and I’ll try to touch on some smaller run options in another post. But if you’re looking for a higher quantity run, check these guys out.

Besides sticker printing, they offer a whole range of other print services just like other sites out there. But so far, I haven’t found a better price for this quantity for sticker printing.

In a few hours I’m jumping on a plane and heading to San Francisco for the Adobe Days event hosted by my good friends at Ivy Worldwide and Adobe. Adobe Day’s is a chance to get together with a number of other bloggers, social media influencer’s, and of course, Adobe users.

With the launch of the awesome CS6 and Creative Cloud, this will be a chance to show the group some advanced features, get feedback on the software, as well gather feedback and ideas for helping to market the software to students.

Another big focus of the Adobe Days event will be how Adobe products can be used to create a brand and more importantly a personal brand for students, young entrepreneurs, and young-go-getters. Part of what I’m most interested in seeing and sharing with all of our readers is how students can harness the power of Photoshop and the other Creative Suite products to really excel their careers and businesses through branding. We should have lots of content to share once we return!

A trip to California can’t be all fun and no play though. With dinners, drinks, and tours planned it’s going to be a great couple days. Looks for pictures to be posted on the blog, on our Dorm Room Biz Facebook page, and also on Twitter. So if you’re not following me on those sites, definitely do so today! Follow the hashtag #AdobeDays on Twitter to see updates from all the participants!

Now these services are allowing small businesses to embrace all kinds of high-tech workplace solutions, from protecting your online reputation to reducing bulky hardware needs. If your company has yet to adopt a new upgraded SaaS business model, here are a few ideas to think about:

Customization and branded applications

SaaS services allows businesses to customize software applications to meet the specific demands of their projects and workforce. This also allows companies to make the software seem as though it were specifically branded by them, which serves a number of strategic purposes. This customization ability is often a primary selling point of adopting a SaaS service.

Faster and better features

Ever wonder when the next update is coming on a suite of your company’s applications? With the SaaS model your applications are centrally hosted with a single configuration that has all the information relevant to your company. This makes the process of providing software updates much quicker and more efficient, as often times they are done automatically without individual machines having to reboot.

API open protocols

SaaS applications function over a wide network by utilizing application programming interfaces (APIs) which use HTTP, REST and other protocols in order to integrate applications into your firewall. Open protocols help your business to safely integrate its software applications into all its relevant facilities.

Collaborative functionality

The sharing of information is one of the hallways of social media and web 2.0 and the IT-as-a-Service model has adopted this mantra into its DNA, using cloud computing services to allow organizations to internally collaborate on projects. These are typically seen in project management applications that allow administrators to optimize their workforces.

The rise of cloud services has triggered a demand among many companies for customizable software, streamlined updates, open protocols, and collaborative software utilities. This has resulted in many of them turning to the IT-as-a-Service information model.

Guatemala

Located just south of Mexico, Guatemala is a great destination for adventurous spirits who relish in backpack style travel. It is home to the chicken bus, the public busses that are actually old U.S. school busses that owners decorate uniquely with brightly colored paint, lights and decals. The local Mayan populations still dress in their traditional clothing and speak the indigenous tongue, which makes for a truly unique cultural experience.

The main destinations here include the colonial city of Antigua, the rainforests of the Petén (in which the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal are located) and the towns located around the beautiful Lake Atitlan. In Atitlan and the Peten, you can stay in dorm rooms at hostels for as little at $3 a day.  In Antigua, costs are a bit more as this a popular tourist destination that is easily accessible by plane. In Atitlan and the Peten, which are harder to reach for many travelers, prices drop considerably. If you are looking for a laid back vacation in a gorgeous, culturally rich location, Guatemala is for you.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is located in Central America south of Honduras and north of Costa Rica. It offers a rich cultural experience as well as diverse landscape encompassing beaches, volcanoes and rainforest. Its lure for the budget minded is its incredible economy. Travel here is cheap. You can get away with spending just $5 a night for a dorm room at a hostel almost anywhere. Food at restaurants is local, delicious and incredibly inexpensive it’s even more affordable if you shop at the local mercado (market) and cook it up yourself at your hostel.

There are several destinations to choose from in Nicaragua. Cities include Leon, Granada and the capital city of Managua. Lake Nicaragua is home to Ometepe, a large volcanic island in the middle of the lake with two active volcanic peaks. This place is known for its outdoor activities such as hiking and wildlife watching. If the beach is what you crave, don’t miss San Juan del Sur on the southern Pacific tip of the country. Its famous swells attract surfers from all over the world year round. The Atlantic coast is home to the Corn Islands. These islands are known for their pristine white sand beaches and excellent surfing opportunities.

Ecuador

The continent of South America is home to the small but amazingly diverse country of Ecuador. Like the name implies, this tropical country is located on the equator. Known for its immense virgin rainforests, few people also realize Ecuador is home to glaciated Andean mountains as well! It is also home to a large population of indigenous people, offering a rich cultural experience for travelers. It is also home to a wide stretch of Pacific coastline, replete with surf quality swells and excellent seafood. And all of this for a price pretty much anyone can afford.

Prices in Ecuador are incredibly cheap. Super budget minded travelers can survive here for $15 a day. At a budget of $30 a day, you will be living large. Tips on keeping it cheap include staying in dorm room at hostels and cooking your meals at the hostel with food you buy from the locals at the mercado. Be sure and pack light, portable layers if you plan on traveling form the rainforests to the mountains so you won’t have to buy extra clothes.

About the Author

Andrea is an experienced and committed freelance writer for a professional custom writing service. She got her Bachelor’s degree from Texas State University and enjoys writing in the fields of history, psychology, biology and English literature. She feels that an opportunity to provide freelance writing services gives her a great chance to not only help others in need, but to broaden her own horizons as well.

Fancy a slice of the action? Then back away from the parties and set about starting your own student business, and no, we’re not talking lemonade stands. Zuckerburg is not the only person to focus his skills on creating a business instead of studying. Take a look at some more hot shots who set success in motion while they were still students.

Larry Page – In 1996, with the help of fellow Stanford student, Sergey Brin, Page set out on a mission to change the working of Internet search algorithms by creating a technology they termed ‘pagerank.’ Did they succeed? Ahem, yes. The new breed of search engine they created has netted the pair a combined wealth of $30 billion. It’s called Google if you hadn’t guessed.

Henry Luce and Briton Hadden – Proving that entrepreneurship is not the sole domain of students from the age of Web 2.0, this pair of Yale University students founded the iconic publication, Time Magazine, at the tender age of just 23. From the publication of the first American weekly news magazine in 1923, Time magazine now enjoys a committed reader base of over 25 million people

Matt Mullenweg – The founder of the almost effortlessly successful self-publishing platform that is WordPress, this University of Houston student has built a platform that since 2003 has come to power almost 150,000 of the million most popular websites on the entire Internet.

If these examples are not enough to inspire you, how about the tales of mere children who have done largely the same? There must be something about the age of 15.

Cameron Johnson – After selling his sister’s collection of Beanie Babies for the somewhat cool sum of $50,000, the 12-year-old went on to become a member of the board at a Tokyo corporation. He subsequently released a best-selling book, ‘The 15-Year Old CEO.’

Adam Horowitz – From a somewhat murky start centered on a gossip blog, the 15-year-old Horowitz launched Urban Stomp, an innovative site hosting hot music tracks and providing listings for even hotter neighborhood parties. This teenager has gone on to build a successful career in Internet marketing.

Fraser Doherty – This 15-year-old made his millions selling Super Jam. His tasty concoctions, in flavors including rhubarb & ginger and blueberry & blackcurrant, are based on his Grandmother’s recipes and are sold in almost every major UK supermarket. Sweet.

So the message is crystal clear, or at least it should be. Back away from the beer (or the soda), study hard, but turn your attention to what you’ll be doing post-university. A great idea and a bit of luck could land you a spot in student entrepreneur history. It’s a nice place to be.

Linda Forshaw is a Business Information Systems graduate from Liverpool in the United Kingdom. She is a writer for Degree Jungle and published author who specializes in social media, technology and entrepreneurship. You can find her on Twitter @seelindaplay

Easy Application

Students can apply online or simply call to apply for a loan. Filling out loan documents can also be done online or mailed directly.  After you accept your loan terms, you’re good to go! If you have a cosigner (i.e. the person who accepts the responsibility for your loan repayment), you have greater chances of being approved.

Wide Coverage

Student Loans covers up to 100% of your cost of attendance. This includes your tuition fees, books and supplies, transportation, room and board, and even personal expenses! The cost of attendance will be determined by your school.

Competitive Rates

Varying interest rates can be an area of concern for students.  There are variable rates for as low as 3.25% APR (Annual Percentage Rate). APR is basically the annual interest rate charged for a loan that may include other charges such as origination fees, late-payment charges, and other interest terms inclusive to the loan. Aside from low interest rates.

Flexible Terms

Student loans for college students need to be as flexible as possible because most of them are beginners in this arena. Repayment period and payment deferment while in school are two crucial aspects of student loans. Ensure your loan has a grace period of six months after enrollment before paying and that they also give 15 years repayment period.

Graduation Reward

Aside from receiving your college diploma, you deserve an additional reward for the efforts you exerted to finish your degree. Some institutions will give you a 2% graduation reward which is calculated by multiplying the outstanding principal balance of your loan (on the last day of your graduation month) by 2%. You can choose to redeem your reward via electronic transfer to your bank account or as a form of credit to your student loan balance.

Auto Debit Reward

Paying for your loans can be easier when you opt for auto debit from your bank account. You don’t need to worry about payment deadlines because they are automatically deducted from your account. Sometimes you may even be rewarded for that! Your repayment interest rate will be reduced by 0.25% when you auto debit your loan. The reduced interest rate will not be directly reflected in your monthly payments but it may reduce the number of payments for your loan and decrease the amount of your last payment.

There are many things you need to consider before getting a student loan. It’s best to seek guidance from loan advisors so you can decide wisely on the loan that suits your needs. Don’t allow finances to hinder you from going to college, avail of student loans and turn your dream into a reality.

For more information on student loans visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp.

One of the biggest providers or serviced offices and virtual offices in the world is Servcorp who have over 120 locations worldwide! They also maintain a large presence in Australia. So if you are an Aussie down under, then you need to check these guys out.

Serviced Offices

The Servcorp serviced offices feature some of the best views in the city, no matter what city your are in. You’ll also have a friendly support staff, a dedicated in-house IT team offering 24/7 network monitoring, access to a Cisco IP phone that supports global communication, a dedicated receptionist to manage your phone calls, and a support team for on hand needs and to manage day to day admin requirements.

If that’s not enough, the serviced offices also feature access to a fully decked out and equipped boardroom, meeting room facilities, and AV equipment. You can also book a meeting room or space online right before needing it

The best part? There is no lease commitment or long term contracts!

Virtual Offices

Like working from home but need somewhere to occasionally meet clients and have someone handle your phone calls? A virtual office may be a great option for you.

The virtual office offers a prestigious address at over 120 worldwide locations, a local business telephone number, a dedicated receptionist, quick access to boardrooms and meeting facilities for as 10 minutes or a full day, instant online booking systems, and access to day office suites in other locations.

The virtual offices also give you the opportunity for flexible membership with easy month to month contracts. For Australian locations, a virtual office can run you as little as $95/month depending on where you are. Now that’s an awesome value!

Based out of Melbourne but travel to Brisbane and Sydney regularly? No problem, with over 10 locations in those three cities, you can always find a place to call ‘home’ for the day or week.

Be sure to check out Servcorp when you set up your Sydney Virtual Office or any other location for that matter

Figures from Statistics Canada showed an overall rise of those in work by 17,500 last December.  In fact, the number of people in employment fell by 13,600; the rise was only due to those choosing self-employment – 31,000 of them.  Choosing may not be entirely the right word here, as a “choice” usually means two or more options.  The rapid rise in the number of people in the self-employment category has been a feature of the recession across the world, and Canada is no exception.  There are, however, some common misconceptions about becoming your own boss. So what are the pitfalls and what sort of person do you need to be?

Great Expectations

Figures suggest that on the whole most of the self-employed earn less than their employed colleagues.  It’s true that many millionaires started out as self-employed individuals, but they are the exception.  Becoming self-employed certainly puts you in control, and offers a much more flexible lifestyle than other ways of working, but it doesn’t necessarily mean mega-bucks or as much spare time as your employed friends.  This is perhaps the most important thing to understand as you take the leap into this lifestyle – that it is often much harder work, it involves longer hours and may not pay as well as the alternatives.  Many of the newly self-employed fail early on in their careers as the expectations are not met by the realities.  There’s nothing wrong with having great expectations – they are what helps you to build a successful business – but at the same time being grounded in reality won’t do you any harm!

High and Low Tech Marketing

Unless you plan to run a marketing agency you probably aren’t a marketing expert.  This is one area of running your own business that is crucial and often overlooked by those new to being their own boss.  Whatever business you are in you’ll need a marketing strategy, a budget and you’ll need to implement both.  This is not as daunting as it might sound, and there are a number of tools that you can use to get started.  Make a marketing plan before you get started if possible – if you don’t you may be left with plenty of time on your hands to do so.  Marketing is about telling people about what you do – and the old fashioned word of mouth approach is both free and available to anyone.  Include this in your plan from the start.  Often this can be enough for the smallest of businesses to get plenty of work in.  Reputations are built on recommendation, so ask your customers to pass on your details.  Cards in the local store are the next, and usually free, way to get some business and should be made the most of too.  Internet advertising, using services such as Google Adwords, also allows you to budget for a small or large internet campaign.  Google gives you complete control over how much you spend, and it helps you to target customers who are searching for your services.

Money, Tax and Accounting

As a self-employee you’ll be managing all aspects of your business.  Another area that many fail to get control of from the start is the money management side of things.  Simple accounting software is available online these days and it often comes with a free trial period.  Make the most of this free trial to get to grips with the systems available and you’ll get the most out of them once you start paying.  Accounting software and accountants are essential to keep things running smoothly – you’ll need to be sure that your business is able to produce professional invoices, reports and that the information your accountant needs is easily accessible and clear.  This latter point cuts costs on the accountant’s bill, which is one area that many small businesses find essential.

Making it Through the Early Days

So the first few months of self-employment will be a learning curve for most people, but with the right tools, and the right attitude, you’ll find they go smoothly.  There are up and downsides to self-employment, but the up outweigh the down in nearly all cases.  While you may find yourself working longer and harder than many of your friends, you won’t find yourself complaining about the boss or watching the clock – the hours will certainly fly.

Author:
Carlo Pandian is a freelance writer and blogs about start-ups, technology and business covering everything from QuickBooks Online to web marketing tools. He loves reading great entrepreneurs biographies and speaking at conferences about how the internet can help small businesses.

Poised on the cusp of opportunity, young professionals may be considered “the lucky ones” by the older crowd, but grappling with unemployment and severe debt is no walk in the park. Ease the transition from carefree college life to responsible adulthood with these 11 practical gifts for college grads.

1. Cash
Life after graduation is exciting but it’s also laden with ugly financial responsibilities like credit card and student loan debt. In fact, total borrowing for student loans in a single year eclipsed $100 billion for the first time ever in 2010. Despite the perceived lack of effort associated with gifting cash, new grads are likely your most enthusiastic recipients.

2. Gift Cards
Though cash is very useful, who’s to say the new grad will spend it wisely when temptations abound? Reduce distractions by creating a gift registry at CardAvenue.com and have family and friends purchase cards to restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations and department stores to help your graduate with everyday expenses.

3. Resume Service
Most colleges have career centers with advisors available to assist students with their career search and resume development, but that “free” service is gone upon graduation. If your new grad is still struggling with effectively conveying his accomplishments on paper, consider gifting him with a professional resume service.

4. Financial Planning Session
One of the best gifts you can offer a recent grad is the opportunity to begin her new life on the right financial foot. By purchasing one or more professional financial planning sessions, you’re offering the opportunity to learn the most effective approach for establishing a budget, paying off debt and saving for retirement.

5. Personal Finance Books
If a professional financial planner is out of the question budget-wise, opt for the DIY approach to personal finance: buy a book. You may think that’s a bad gift for someone who’s just retired their textbooks forever, but personal finance advice is invaluable to a generation laden with debt. Plus, these recommended titles are offered by a dude who sports a mohawk and refers to budgets as “sexy.” Ultimately, you can’t find a cooler money mentor.

6. Foreign Language Lessons
The job market may be looking up for 2012 grads, but ultimately it never hurts to add to your skill set. Knowing a second language is not only impressive, it wards off dementia and opens up job opportunities throughout the globe. Rosetta Stone is an affordable alternative to formal instruction and offers the added advantage of mobility.

7. Magazine or Newspaper Subscriptions
In addition to enhancing skills sets, being in the know about the latest happenings helps job seekers stay informed and relevant. A subscription — either digital or hard copy — to The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal ensures a well-rounded education on current events. Alternatively, offering a trade magazine within the graduate’s area of study or interest is another good option.

8. Roth IRA
Most twenty-somethings are caught up with immediate concerns — where to work, where to live, and how to afford it all — so opening a Roth IRA helps jump-start saving for the future. Account holders can make tax-free withdrawals once they hit retirement age, and better yet, they can withdraw contributions tax and penalty-free. It’s important to know the basics of Roth IRAs, however, in order to effectively manage the account.

9. Job Interview Clothing
After living on graphic tees and torn jeans, it’s likely the new grad in your life could use some “grown-up clothes” for job interviews. If the preferred style of the recipient and the required wardrobe of the industry are unknown to you, offer a gift card. Otherwise, schedule a suit fitting or organize a shopping spree and help the budding professional select the proper attire.

10. Smartphone
As the nomenclature suggests, a smartphone is a savvy way for new grads to stay on top of communications from potential employers, navigate their way through unfamiliar streets and keep in touch with Mom and Dad. Additionally, the abundance of apps for everything from cheap dinner recipes to budget-management tools makes young lives a little easier.

11. Moving Truck
Anyone who’s moved down the street or across the country knows the costs involved are anything but cheap. If the area in which the happy graduate went to school is not where she intends to stay, consider helping her with moving costs by contributing to a truck rental (if needed). Otherwise, offer your labor in exchange for lunch and help her lug boxes for an afternoon.

Andrea Woroch is a nationally-recognized consumer and money-saving expert who helps consumers live on less without radically changing their lifestyles. From smart spending tips to personal finance advice, Andrea transforms everyday consumers into savvy shoppers. She has been featured among top news outlets such as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. You can follow her on Twitter for daily savings advice and tips.