It can be great to make a little extra money when you’re in college. College is an exciting time and for many, it’s a time many choose to set up their first small business. You don’t have to set up something wild it could be something as straightforward as a dog walking business. We will give you a few small business ideas to start at college.
How to come up with a profitable business idea?
- Research what people want or need. It could be an everyday challenge for people. Do some research online.
- Is there anything you can create to make life easier for someone?
- Maybe there’s something you love or enjoy doing such as social media. You could start with that. Try to help out a few small businesses by running their social media channels.
1. Make Money from Social Media
If you have a decent following on social media such as TikTok, Facebook or Instagram you can make money by advertising your business or products.
If you’re a food blogger for example you could approach kitchenware companies to promote their latest products. But influencers tend to promote a wide range of products.
If you don’t have a big following but want to make money from social media then you could help businesses run their social media. Social media can be a lucrative area for businesses to find new customers. If they’re not running social media or an effective social campaign then you could reach out and offer your services.
2. Start a Website
A great way to make some extra money is to start your own website. The website can be about anything you want. Pick a topic that you’re passionate about and get blogging. There are a few ways to monetise your website.
Once you get a nice bit of traffic you can set up Google Adsense to run ads on your website. You will then get paid every time someone clicks an ad on your website.
You can also utilise any affiliate programs. You can share a link and every time someone buys something from that link or signs up using that link you will get a commission.
3. Pet Sitting
Lots of families and workers are busy during the day and cannot mind their pets. In the summertime, lots of families will travel abroad for a few weeks. They will be willing to pay someone to look after their pet. It may as simple as just taking them for a walk for an hour a day. You get to look after some playful pets so it’s a win-win!
4. Sell Clothes on Depop
As a college student, you probably have an endless amount of outfits for those college nights out. Many of them you probably won’t wear again. You can sell them on Depop if the clothes are in good condition.
It can also help you clear out your wardrobe and make space for new outfits that you want to store. Another idea is to purchase clothes from a charity shop and sell them online for a profit.
5. Sell Goods on Etsy
If you have a creative side to you then use that to your advantage and create goods such as t-shirts, jewellery, candles, posters or anything else you can think of. Etsy is a great marketplace to sell original goods and people love to buy goods on Etsy as they know it’s personalised rather than made in bulk.
6. Become a Freelancer
It may be something related to your course but you can offer skills to people who need them such as web design, admin support, copywriting and much more.
There are lots of freelancing sites such as Fiverr and Upwork which are brilliant for advertising your services and getting some freelance jobs. It’s also great to have this freelance work on your CV.
7. Offer a Transcription Service for College
Okay so we don’t recommend not turning up to lectures but of course, not everyone will make lectures all the time. The slides you receive may be lacking in context so maybe you could offer to transcribe the lecturer’s talk and sell them to those who are absent.
Those who are in the class too may even want them as more study notes. They’ll be excellent notes. If you have any graphic design skills you could also offer to produce some worksheets or handouts for your lecturers.
8. Produce a College Newsletter
An email or digital newsletter may be a better alternative than a paper copy. It will have a lower environmental impact and it will be cheaper.
To make money with your newsletter you can sell advertising space to businesses or offer deals and discounts to readers. Often college newsletters run competitions too.
9. Publish a Yearbook
Yearbooks are always a great way to end a period in school or college. It’s very unlikely that your college will publish one. Why not take the responsibility yourself and publish a yearbook yourself and get your classmates in on it.
There are many print-on-demand publishers online that can help you with the yearbook. If you want to make more profit on your yearbook you can try selling advertising space to local businesses.
10. Create a Guide to Your Local Area
You could create an app, website or magazine to share knowledge about your town. It can help tourists and new people to your town find their feet.
Include the best cafes, bars, restaurants, things to do and much more. You can sell the guide or give it away for free. You could ask businesses to pay a fee to be included in your guide.
If you’re a college student who wanks to make money online then check out our blog post which has lots of great tips.