Balancing school and a part-time job can prove difficult for any college student, but balancing the J.D. Edwards Honors Program and one's own business can be even more challenging.
Brian Zimmer, a senior business administration major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has accepted the challenge and is working hard to fulfill his ambitions.
While growing up in rural Bellwood, Zimmer said his school involvement was typical for someone living in a small town.
He participated in everything from sports to speech, but he also said he enjoyed problem-solving and watching his father play with computers. Those interests combined when he was 17 and he decided to start working part-time for local businesses with advancing technology.
"In rural communities, there are not a lot of individuals who do computer work," Zimmer said.
He is looking to change that by bringing his knowledge of computers and communication skills to rural small businesses.
Zimmer didn't expect his part-time consulting business to thrive for a long time, but in the summer of 2001, he formally dubbed the endeavor Zimmer Consulting LLC, and his business has progressed since.
Zimmer said his work pertains to anything related to technology and communication problems within businesses. He typically spends five hours a week with the business and charges anywhere from $45-$100 an hour.
And while five hours a week doesn't seem like much, Zimmer said it is difficult to balance all of his activities.
Zimmer is a J.D. Edwards Honors student, president of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization and has participated in a Nebraska Rural Initiative program UNL's College of Business Administration's ITS program, in which he worked on Web development projects.
Glenn Friendt, the director for the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship, said the entrepreneur programs at UNL hope to inspire students through personal encouragement, and he thinks it is impressive that Zimmer is running a business while attending school.
"He has a real, live 'learning laboratory' to test and practice many of the theories and methods he is learning in his classes at UNL," Friendt said.
But combining his activities with running a business can be tiring, Zimmer said.
"Nothing ever goes wrong at a convenient time," Zimmer said, something he said leads to many sleep-deprived nights.
With Zimmer's help, businesses in rural communities should have access to technology and be able to understand it, he said.
Zimmer Consulting's mission statement - "We work to make technology work for you" - sums up what Zimmer wants to do with his business now and in the future.
Zimmer considered moving to a large city and working for a larger firm, but he said he enjoys country life and wants to help people around Lincoln with advancing technology.
Zimmer said he is planning to centralize his business in Lincoln, as opposed to working from his residence hall room or where ever he resides. He doesn't advertise his services, but through word-of-mouth, he hopes Zimmer Consulting will expand.
