Will college costs impact your business plan?

Even if you and your business are the newest of startups, somewhere - maybe in the last few sentences of your business plan or perhaps simply a thought in the back of your mind - the idea exists that the ultimate sale of your business will provide a comfortable pile of retirement cash. Depending on which way the economic winds blow, that may be the case.

Lots of advisers will talk to you about retirement. Not so many include college costs in their discussions.

But don't forget college expenses for your kids, a cost easy to ignore if your business and family are just getting started. If you're a bit older and have grandchildren you'd like to help as they embark on the great American college hunt, costs definitely are something to think about.

College has gotten expensive.

The four-year total my parents paid for my degree at Bradley University wouldn't cover a single year at most schools today. Yes, I know that was a long time ago, but the point is that if it has been a while since you were responsible for tuition and other costs, you might want to take a look at what could be future obligations.

It's not just tuition and fees. The cost of attendance is a more realistic figure that adds books, supplies and housing.

Unless your high schooler is working on applications now, you'll have time to gather resources - if that's your intent. Librarians can help. So can high school guidance counselors.

Try these basic examples:

• According to web data, primarily from the somewhat funky Univstats website, Indiana University's annual cost of attendance is almost $49,000 for out-of-state students. Move to the Hoosier state and the cost drops to a little less than $25,000.

Why the difference? Like public colleges almost everywhere, Indiana charges out-of-staters a higher tuition: $10,388 in tuition and fees for Hoosiers, $34,246 for those who live elsewhere.

• University of Michigan's in-state tuition is $15,310 according to Univstats. Out-of-state tuition is $47,004. Books and supplies and living costs add to the total.

That's not to pick on Indiana or Michigan, both schools with strong selling points. The point is that college costs way more than it did when we were there.

There are ways to perhaps ease those costs:

• Tennis rackets and basketballs could be potentially useful baby gifts: Athletes can get scholarships.

• Books matter, too. I know more than one suburban collegian who are proud of their high-value academic scholarships.

• 529 plans, which offer tax-advantaged prepaid tuition or college savings options typically are available through most every state. A good financial counselor should have early-planning information.

There's likely little need to panic. But, depending on how important a college education is to the family, an early awareness of costs and potential solutions is a good idea.

You may want to adjust that business plan just a bit.

• © 2018 Kendall Communications Inc. Follow Jim Kendall on LinkedIn and Twitter. Write him at Jim@kendallcom.com. Read Jim's Business Owners' Blog at kendallcom.com.