Striking a Balance Between Business and Studies: Lived Experiences of Senior High School Student-Entrepreneurs at General de Jesus College

Abstract

Being an entrepreneur requires a significant amount of time and effort; the same goes for being a student. Through balanced effort exerted on both business and studies, this can benefit student entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurial world, and our economy. With that, this research, "Striking a Balance between Business and Studies: Lived Experiences of Senior High School Student-Entrepreneurs at General de Jesus College," shows the experiences and balancing practices of senior high school student-entrepreneurs at General de Jesus College. This study is a phenomenological study under a qualitative approach conducted among sixteen (16) senior high school student-entrepreneurs selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and audio recordings. The majority of the respondents stated that the major challenges experienced by them are balancing their business and studies simultaneously and academic struggles. However, the respondents overcame the challenges by setting priorities, time management, and money allocation.

Moreover, the respondents suggest that having a business while studying increases financial capability, and the respondents recommend that through proper time management and prioritizing studies aspiring student-entrepreneurs can balance their time. Lastly, most respondents proposed that time management and separation of personal and business finances are effective ways to balance business and studies simultaneously. Furthermore, knowing priorities, taking advantage of technology, business reinvestment, and having a business partner are the techniques proposed to effectively manage time as a student-entrepreneur, which will be presented through infographics. This study revealed that balancing school with business is the biggest challenge the student-entrepreneurs face. However, by setting priorities, the respondents have overcome the challenges. Moreover, most respondents suggest that aspiring student-entrepreneurs should know proper time management as time management will help aspiring ones to effectively manage business and studies simultaneously, which will be presented through infographics.