After a cold and rainy Memorial Day Weekend, it finally feels like summer in the Upper Valley. Whether you’re on campus in Hanover or connected with the Dartmouth community from afar, you’re probably ready for some sunshine and down time.

While summer offers a break from the classroom, it shouldn’t be just about free time. If you play it right, summer can be the perfect time to get your entrepreneurial endeavor on track, bringing it to the next level before the fall semester begins. Even if you’re purely aspirational at this point, summer is a great time to develop a new idea.

Want to immerse yourself in entrepreneurship this summer? Here’s how:

Dive into the stories of other entrepreneurs

Since you’re not reading for coursework during the summer, you should have plenty of time to read for pleasure — or to advance your own study. Instead of (or in addition to) lighthearted beach reads, reach for books by or about entrepreneurs you aspire to be like.

If you’re looking for inspiration for the early stages of business, check out Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build The Future, by PayPal founder Peter Thiel. For a lighter read, Shonda Rhimes’ Years of Yes details how she went from shy to commanding in the world of business. Ashlee Vance’s biography of Elon Musk (Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future) seems even more relevant as Musk’s influence continues to grow.

Make time for quiet

A lot of great ideas come from silence, but with endless entertainment in our pockets, it’s easy to always have some sort of stimulation around you. Push pause on the podcasts and movies now and again, to just let yourself think. Although it might be uncomfortable at first, you’ll likely soon find that you enjoy just letting your mind wander.

Keep an idea journal

How often do we think of an idea, but it vanishes before we can capture it? Idea journals are meant to get you in the habit of paying attention to those fleeting moments of inspiration. Each day at the same time — maybe after your meditation or a walk — you jot down an idea. This could be for your company, but also for smaller details like marketing concepts or ways of engaging customers.

Talk, talk, talk

This summer the world is finally reopening, and we're all able to get out and about more than we were last year. This provides the perfect opportunity to meet like-minded people, and expose yourself to different ways of thinking. You never know who you might bump into — and learn from — while you’re picking vegetables at the farmer’s market or listening to a summer concert.

Familiarize yourself with the Magnuson Center offerings

Oftentimes, the ability to bring an idea to fruition comes down to the resources and support that a founder has. If you’re associated with Dartmouth, you have access to a plethora of resources through the Magnuson Center. During the summer, things are quieter, but the Magnuson Center is still open. That makes it the perfect time to find the Magnuson Center programing thats right for you. Whether it’s experiential learning, startup support, alumni engagement or community development, reaching out to the Magnuson Center can open doors to exactly what you need.