When we think of startups, we often think of surprising entrepreneurial feats. However, startups can also be small business that offer services to help those around them. As history has taught us, one of the best places to look for the leaders of startups is on a college campus. Like we said, though, you don’t have to be the next Mark Zuckerberg to make an extra buck while you are working your way through school. Here are just 7 ideas of startups that you can pick up beside your studies.
Tutoring Service
There are plenty of services out there for college students – professional online research paper writing services like this one. However, sometimes students need something a little more hands on and personalized. This is where you, as a tutor, come in.
As a tutor, it would be your job to sit with a student and go over the material that they are struggling with and answer any questions that they might have. This is a particularly good job, naturally, for high-achieving students who excel with the material in their given field. For example, if you breezed through all your marketing classes and find the textbooks an easy read, you might be well paired with other marketing students who are struggling with their studies.
You can tutor through the on-campus services at your college but you can also start an independent startup of your own. There are plenty of sites like Tutor Matching Service and OnLessons that can help you market your services for little to nothing.
Online Shop
If you are more artistic and can make things like clothes and jewelry, you might want to consider starting an online shop or boutique where you sell your creations. The set up is rather easy and a site like Etsy will even let you set up shop for free.
Your biggest costs when you start up will be the materials you need to make your products. However, once you gain some traction, you will be able to make that cost back by charging it in the cost of your products.
It doesn’t have to be anything complicated either. One successful such startup was by LeiLei Secor who’s startup was named Designed by Lei. In her case, she started with simple friendship bracelets. One lessons to take from her is that she waited until she had a bit of a following to upgrade her materials so she knew the increased cost would be covered by customer purchases.
Computer Repair
We live in the age of technology and that offers plenty of opportunities. In addition to that, though, it also means that there are more instances of broken and damaged computers. If you have enough knowledge about computers, you can use these skills to help others who are struggling with their computers.
You can increase how profitable your company is if you can help your customers with different softwares as well as just problems with the computer itself. If you advertise your services properly, you will attract customers because the cost of of fixing a computer is generally less than replacing one.
House Care
Another easy startup is to start a business in which you take care of homes for customers. In these types of businesses, your main job is usually to take care of common household chores such as cleaning or lawn care. These services are popular among busy professionals that don’t have a lot of time for upkeep and among the elderly who might not be able to take care of household chores like they once could.
Child Care
If you are good with children, you might want to consider starting to babysit or nanny. Much like some of the other types of small businesses that we have looked at in this article, there are sites that can help you advertise your services like Care. You can earn more in these positions depending on the services you offer. You can even pair this service with a house care service to optimize your profits.
Resume Writing Service
If you are skilled at writing resumes and cover letters, you have a profitable skill. Especially if you are in college, you probably know a lot of people who are looking for jobs and need a little help. However, that need reaches beyond the college campus and so can your business in resume writing.
The most important thing to know about this job, though, is to know that your own resume is more than just a bid for a job when you are trying to get into resume writing. It is also your portfolio so be extra careful when you are crafting it.
If you can give your customers interviewing tips or, even better, interview practice, you can expand your business further. However, even without this feature, you can still charge $15 an hour as a low price for these services.
Freelance Writing
Company websites and blogs are constantly in need for content. For a fee, you can be a contributor to these sites. Other aspects of freelance writing can also include helping to write research papers, ebooks, and more. The key, though, is to find the niche that you are best at and to focus on that type of writing.
There are plenty of sites on which you can advertise your services as a freelance writer such as Upwork. The best part about this type of startup is that you don’t have to sink any costs into getting started and as you increase your skills, you can increase your rates, earning you more over time.
