When international relations and journalism junior Ann Zhuang came to study in the United States from China, she was inspired by the independence of her American friends.
That is why she started thinking of opening her own business as a way to help cover her school expenses.
Soon after she teamed up with her friend to open Mr. Pot, a hot pot restaurant on Chandler Road , in August 2014. But the decision wasn’t easy to make. She said she was struggling before making the decision of opening the restaurant.
“There’s a lot of things that go behind (having) a restaurant,” Zhuang said, adding that she had to take an exam to obtain a food management license.
However, Zhuang and her partner got a lot of support from their friends and their families for the initial funding.
F acing significantly higher tuition costs than in-state students, MSU’s international students are sometimes driven to try both conventional and unconventional methods to help fund their education.
Managing Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ken Szymusiak said the best time to have a startup or be entrepreneurial is in college because of all the resources available.
“You’ll never have more free time and you’ll never have more resources than now,” Szymusiak said.
He said it can be trickier for international students to start their own business because they need to pay close attention to the legal framework.
In Zhuang’s case, she and her partner sought the help of an attorney to avoid any legal issues. The attorney suggested that they open a company that they would invest and be self-employed in.
Matt Morse , partner with Fakhoury Law Group , stressed the importance of seeking expert legal help in the case of international students starting their own business because cases are usually different in some ways.
Morse said the route that students might want to consider is applying for the E-2 Visa. The visa type allows students to invest in the United States. if their country of origin has a commerce treaty with the United States.
However, the visa isn’t accessible to all nationalities. For an Indian citizen, the limit on the amount of money they are permitted to invest can be as low as $100,000.
“The business plan is really important (for the E-2 Visa) to show job creation over a course of five years,” Morse said.
He said the visa is given in two-year increments that can be extended.
Morse also said he expects President Barack Obama to suggest new regulations allowing for the amount of E-2 Visas awarded to be more than where it’s at now.
“The key with starting any business is just to move forward,” Szymusiak said. “When you’re starting a business you won’t have a path that is laid out for you.”
Zhuang agreed with Szymusiak, explaining that it’s important to be patient and courageous, but at the same time prudent when making the ultimate decision.
Szymusiak added that it would be helpful to take entrepreneurship classes, some of which are open to all students, such as BUS 491. Students who want to further their entrepreneurship skills can also apply for the entrepreneurship specialization under the Eli Broad College of Business.
