As a college student who has tried starting a business and still does consulting work on the side: yes, but don't rely on them. Allow me to relate my situation

As a college student who has tried starting a business and still does consulting work on the side: yes, but don't rely on them. Allow me to relate my situation regarding working while in college: I have one particular client who relies on me greatly. They accept the fact that school comes first and we work around that, but things have slowed down significantly while I'm in school. I find it more draining to sit in boring classes all day than to sit at a desk working on an interesting project. Between that, homework, and the distractions of college life, I get little consulting work done. That's just me though...I flourish when at a desk with a large monitor, not sitting in my messy dorm room with a 13" laptop. He may be the type who can handle both an education and work, or he may be at a school that requires very little of him. Everyone functions differently in different situations. Bottom line? Keep him with you with small projects, even if he is busy. You never know when he, like myself, will have the sudden urge to take a semester off and work on a startup (and be sure to be there to take advantage this opportunity if it should come along). P.S.-There's also a lot to be said for working in the same location as someone, telecommuting kills my productivity, but again, I'm not the standard for anything :)