But a growing number of Nevada students are doing just that as part of the third-annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition. The competition, sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, was created to inspire more college students to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career path.

"Eighty percent of companies in Nevada have 20 or fewer employees, and it's clear going forward that the future of the state depends on entrepreneurs," said David Archer, managing director of Nevada's Center of Entrepreneurship and Technology, who helps run the competition. "We want them to consider entrepreneurship as a legitimate career option."

Teams of students collaborate on business plans, spending anywhere from six months to a year designing and perfecting real business plans for the competition. The students come from a variety of colleges, majors and disciplines, and many of them hope to turn their business plans into real startups.

That is the case for Joceri Wood Products , a UNLV graduate student team that advanced to the finals. The team came up with a business concept in which they would gather waste products from residential construction sites, break them down and give them new life as recycled landscaping and building products. Due to team member John Buchholz's connections in the Las Vegas building industry, the group has been able to create a realistic, comprehensive plan and even drum up some financial support.

"We do plan to turn this in to a business," team leader Ceri Nishihara said. "In our investigations for the plan we came across people who have expressed interest in buying our products and helping us create new products customized to their business. ... We are waiting to see where the business plan competition takes us as far as exposure but we have some private investors already interested in helping us. And we'll also look to angel investors and to government grants."

First prize in the Governor's Cup is $20,000 , which can go a long way toward completing the final business plan, completing market research and looking for suitable business locations.

"Essentially what we were envisioning is that by this time next year we would have begun our first year of operations. We'd use the next year developing investment and beginning to see about property and equipment," Nishihara said. "Effectively we are ready to go because our team is positioned in a way that's pretty serendipitous. We'll be up and running as soon as we have the funding we need to finish the market research."

Joceri Wood Products is one of three Southern Nevada teams to make it to the finals. The next stage of the competition is an oral presentation and question and answer period April 26 in Carson City in which teams must defend their plans and explain them more fully.

"The judges really want to see that the students have thought this through," Archer said. "When you work in teams it's possible that each student had his or her own task and they don't really connect, so this part of the competition is to make sure that everything cohesive."

New this year is the lieutenant governor's business plan competition, which runs parallel to the governor's competition. The lieutenant governor's competition is specifically geared toward environmentally sensitive businesses. Students can submit their business plans for consideration in both competitions. (No Southern Nevada students made the finals this year).

Business plan competitions have become popular nationwide, according to Janet Runge , director of UNLV's Center for Entrepreneurship. The research, marketing and planning skills students learn while putting together a business plan translate well into career skills, she said.

"The fact of the matter is business plan competitions across the country have really caught on," Runge said. "The nice thing about this one is the cash rewards are significant and I think that attracts interest."

The Southern Nevada finalists in the Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition are: