Here are 7 ideas for future business majors to consider this summer:

1. Start your own business. Not sure what you could do? Think about your interests and your aptitudes. What are you good at? What do you love? Then think about ways you could combine those into something someone would pay for. Here are some examples of businesses students might want to try:

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  Love dogs and being outdoors? Why not start a dog walking business?
• Are you a math whiz? Summer tutoring could be a great fit.
• Do you love children? How about starting a kids day camp at your house for neighborhood children? Are you a natural party planner who loves kids? Why not start a business planning kids’ birthday parties?
• Are you super responsible and love pets? You might want to start a house and pet sitting business.
• Do you love photography and animals? People might pay you to take portraits of their pets.
• Are you really good at a specific sport or musical instrument? How about teaching private lessons to kids in those areas? 
• Do you have excellent handwriting? You might offer your services to address wedding invitations.
• Are you an artist or crafter? Consider selling your wares online through sites such as Etsy.

There are really endless possibilities for starting your own business. The key is to hone in on what you love and what you’re good at! Pro-tip: Offer your services for free to your first few clients to start attracting customers. After you do a great job, ask for referrals!

2. Create your own stock portfolio - real or imagined - and learn how to research stocks and track results. Here’s an article to get you started. 

3. Create your own internship - if you already have a part-time job, ask to intern in a part of the business you want to learn about; if you don't, start doing informational interviews with family/friend/teacher contacts and, if appropriate, ask if a short internship is possible.

4. Get a job. Hospitality, retail, sales…it doesn’t really matter what type of company you work for. Having a job is a great way to learn about different aspects of business such as customer service, gain valuable experience, and show responsibility.

5. Plan a summer reading list of popular business books. Here’s a list to start with. To take it up a notch further you might even reach out to the author of each book to see if you could ask them some questions about their book over Zoom. You could even record each interview and post it on YouTube as a series to help others interested in business!

6. Start a blog or a podcast either alone or with friends and interview guests in different business careers to learn more about them.

7. Volunteer at a nonprofit organization in a business capacity, such as marketing, customer service, research, or operations. Think about what issues you most care about and target organizations that address them. Pick something in an area that truly interests you. If you’re not sure how to start this process you might try asking your school counselor or looking on line at a site such as Volunteermatch.com that can connect you with local opportunities.