This morning I listened to the founder of Crate and Barrel describe how he and his wife came up with the idea for what has become a $1.2 billion business: they were on vacation in the Caribbean, saw stores selling European-style stuff, and so they ASKED THE STORES HOW THEY DID IT.
Subsequently, they became self-styled “students of retail” by traveling to shops all over, and observing what those shops did.
These 2 concepts can be applied in college too, for free. Any time something interests you, ask the person how they do it. And then dive deeper by asking more and more people.