It’s hard to underestimate the number of advantages college life brings. It seems that students seize every opportunity to get new experiences and fulfill their ambitions. Some choose the path of a hired employee while others are thinking about starting their own businesses.
Of course, creating something from scratch can be challenging since you have to take care of lots of things. To succeed, you need a business plan which includes your strategy, expenses and time frames. Seed capital and a team of like-minded people will surely play an important role in achieving the desired results.
So, if you are not afraid of taking risks and want to try your hand at being a private entrepreneur – here are 7 ideas for you.
Courier Delivery of Goods
This idea is relatively inexpensive – to get started, you need a phone and a computer. You can carry out deliveries on your own and by involving third parties. The target audience can be diverse: online and offline stores, small organizations, or companies. This can be profitable since small businesses often need people who could deliver letters, documents, or heavy parcels for them.
Find a partner or assistant to split working time with. You can hire other students from your college: just post advertisements on a bulletin board. Start offering your services to small online stores – they will definitely be interested.
With the growth of online commerce, delivery services are more relevant than ever. For a good start, you need to find 2-3 large clients and work with them on an ongoing basis. This way, you can count on regular income and invest it in further development.
Of course, at some point, it might be difficult to combine your work with studies, extracurriculars and personal life. If you’ve got lots of papers to hand in and the deadlines are approaching – don’t worry.
You can always rely on experienced writers who can help you with any task. Read EssayService reviews to choose which platform suits you best. Turning to professional assistance will help you to free up some time for other important things, whether it’s making a business plan or a family meeting.
Property Management
In case your friends or acquaintances want to rent out their property, they may need someone to handle their business. This is an excellent source of income that doesn’t require much effort on your part. Your responsibilities will include collecting rent, organizing repair works and cleaning, as well as solving other problems that may appear.
You can also rent out your property on Airbnb. This service offers a great way to make money by renting out a spare bed or sofa. So, if there is a vacant room in your house – don’t let it be empty. But don’t think that this is a passive source of income – you need to make an effort, too. Keep the apartment clean, be ready to welcome guests and make sure they have everything they need for a comfortable stay.
Website Development and Promotion
To master the craft of website development in just a few months, try one online educational platforms (Treehouse, Web Developer Bootcamp on Udemy, or Codecademy). Once you’ve learned the ins and outs of HTML, Ruby, Python, Javascript, or CSS, start making money on developing sites and blogs.
Thousands of business cards or promo-sites, corporate portals and online stores appear every day. Thus, the demand for their developers continues to grow. Post ads, cut prices, offer favorable terms and additional services. They may include creating logos, banners, trademarks, or business cards for your clients.
Start with something small, build a client base, fill your portfolio with vivid and memorable projects – and the business will grow over time.
Dog-Walking Business
This idea is perfect for those students who live in big cities. It’s no secret that the lifestyle of people living in metropolitan areas is stressful and busy – sometimes they don’t have enough time to walk their dogs.
Most likely, you will have to walk the animals in the mornings and evenings. That is why this business can be easily combined with your lectures. Search for customers on social media and create a profile on services like Rover, Barkly Pets, or Holidog.
Grocery Shopping
Have you ever bought some food for your neighbors or acquaintances because they asked you to? Well, you can easily turn this idea into a business and find more clients. First, you should be familiar with the area where you intend to work – make sure there is a large supermarket nearby. Next, you need to place an advertisement for your services on various platforms.
Elderly people can surely be your clients – their children sometimes don’t have enough time to visit parents due to a busy schedule. The delivery price should be set based on the distance of the store and the number of products.
Tutoring Services
Many young people work as tutors nowadays – they can plan their schedule freely and conduct classes at a convenient time. You are also free to choose whether you want to work in-person or remotely. Some tutors teach several students in small groups – such classes can be very effective in learning foreign languages.
Think about who you would like to teach: you can help schoolchildren with their homework or prepare college students for tests in subjects you are good at.
Selling Content
We interact with content constantly – it’s everything that we see, watch and listen to on the Internet. Journalism or philology students might appreciate the idea of writing articles and texts and selling them on content exchange markets or stocks. Besides, you can try your hand at editing and proofreading too. It’s perfect for those who love working with large amounts of information.
Final Thoughts
Being a student has lots of benefits for starting one’s own business. A wide network of contacts is quite useful since like-minded group mates and fellow students can be your future clients, investors, or even partners.
Everyone wants to start a business on profitable terms – with no loans or rented premises. However, a crisis can happen to you even if you don’t have any financial obligations. Some students lack a clear understanding of what they will be doing – they don’t have a specific strategy or plan. Others neglect analyzing the market – they don’t take the pros and cons of the chosen field into account.
Look at your enterprise in the long term – maybe it will become a huge business empire one day.
