By George J. Newton
Special to Campus News
Making extra cash during college can help you tremendously. Rent, student loans, groceries, and other expenses add up fast. The average college student can’t afford to cover all their expenses, even if they have a job. Side hustles have been more popular in recent years. This is because extra income has been able to help millions of people reach their financial goals. Tons of college students are intrigued to start a side hustle or business to earn extra money. Here are five ideas to consider if you want to start a business in college.
Tutoring
If you excel in courses and are strong academically, you are certainly qualified to tutor your peers. College can create challenges for all levels of students. There is definitely a long list of candidates who would need help from a fellow student to perform better in their classes. You can tutor close friends, those in the same field as you, and individuals you take the same classes with. You can create a flier, advertise your services online, or ask people if they need help with their studies. Reaching out to professors is also another way to promote your tutoring service because they can recommend struggling students to you. Rates completely depend on you, but remember, college students don’t have too much money to spare. “Tutoring is not only an easy business to start in college, but it’s a valuable experience. You can make new friends, expand your knowledge, and earn money,” shares Janice Gibbs, tech blogger at Write my X and 1 Day 2 write.
Editing & Proofreading
College essays are a huge step up from high school level papers. They are usually multiple pages long, and typically range from 3000-10,000 words. This expands the frequency of errors students will make while writing papers. No matter how long a student takes to edit a paper, they will likely still hand it in with a good chunk of mistakes. If you excel in writing, and enjoy helping others polish their work, you can turn this skill into a business. You can make good cash helping students in need of completely error free essays, papers and assignments.
Sell Your Own Product
This college business idea is perfect for those who are more ambitious and want to create something of their own. The added bonus to making your own product is that if you reach success at a campus level scale, you can market your brand elsewhere. Decor, clothing, food, and everyday items are product categories that will catch the interest of college students. You can create practically anything you want, but make sure you market it to your fellow college students so you can convince them to support your business. “Knowing your consumer market will help you reach success. Having insight on how to incentivise customers is a key business strategy,” declares Bert Reed, business writer at Origin Writings and Brit Student.
DJ at Parties
The college experience is the peak time for party life. Sorority and frat houses and other groups commonly host parties. This gives you several opportunities to land a job as a DJ for college parties. If you are a music lover, and have the needed equipment to fulfill this role, you can become the DJ at your college. When people throw parties in college, a quality music setup is a priority so they can impress attendees. This job is underestimated, but you can probably make a few hundred dollars a party as a DJ.
Website Development
If you major in engineering or computer science, you can build websites for clients in your spare time. Not only is this a wonderful business idea, but it can also help you get practice for class related projects. Now that businesses have converted to a primarily online based market, the need for website developers is in a higher demand than ever. Depending on your capabilities, you can earn from hundreds to even thousands through website development. This business idea is a great choice for students who have website building and coding experience.
If you are looking to start a business during college, consider these five ideas. While you may not want to pick any of these ideas, it will help you to start brainstorming business options you would be comfortable doing.
Writer George J. Newton works for Academic Brits.
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