But that doesn’t mean you should just put it off until after commencement. You should start working towards your post-graduation goals, at least in your last year of studies.
First, of course, you need to understand what exactly you want to do with your life after college. And since you’re reading this, you’re probably repulsed by the thought of working a 9-to-5 white-collar job. You have an entrepreneurial mindset, and you want to capitalize on it.
Are you looking for inspiration? You’ve come to the right place! Let’s review six business opportunities sitting right there, yours for the taking.
But be mindful: all of them require some upfront investment, financial and otherwise. Besides money, growing a business takes time and effort, so you might want to turn to services like WritePaper to offload some of your homework. This way, you’ll be able to focus on developing your venture fully.
Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/joqWSI9u_XM
1. List Your Handmade Goods on Etsy
Do you enjoy making things with your own hands? Then, no matter what you create, there’s a marketplace for you – Etsy. And it’s easier to get started there than you think. All you need is a unique idea and high-quality execution.
Here’s just a short overview of what you can sell on Etsy:
- Jewelry and accessories (bags, purses, hats, hair accessories, etc.);
- Men’s, women’s, kids’ and baby clothing and shoes;
- Home décor, rugs, furniture, bedding;
- Wedding and party décor;
- Toys, dolls, miniatures;
- Prints, photos, paintings, drawings, sculptures;
- Collectibles and vintage items.
Be mindful, though: there’s an upfront listing fee. It amounts to $0.2 per item. With each sale, you’ll be charged $0.2 more.
A word of advice: environmentally friendly goods are the new black! So, consider upcycling old items or creating things for a zero-waste lifestyle – they’ll probably sell well.
2. Sell Your Photos, Videos, or Designs Online
Are you an avid photographer with thousands of photos from various trips on multiple hard drives? Do you have a massive library of videos, perhaps? Or, maybe, you spend most of your free time drawing, painting, or creating vector illustrations?
Whatever description fits you, stock websites are the opportunity for you. Here’s how they work, in a nutshell:
- Create a contributor account and fill out all the forms;
- Check the contribution requirements (file format, dimensions, etc.);
- Upload your content;
- Add titles and keywords, choose the relevant category, upload model or property releases if needed;
- Submit your works for review and wait for their approval;
- Once your pieces are accepted, people will buy them – and you’ll earn a commission with every purchase.
Here are five stock marketplaces you should look into:
- Shutterstock;
- Adobe Stock;
- EyeEm;
- iStock (Getty Images);
- Pond5.
3. Purchase a Franchise
This business opportunity is probably the costliest one on this list, but it’s here for a good reason. When you buy a franchise, you essentially purchase the right to use an existing brand to run your own business. This means you can capitalize on its reputation and gain customers a lot faster.
Here are just some of the companies that offer relatively affordable franchises, along with initial investment estimates:
- Cruise Planners (cruise planning) – $6,995 franchise fee plus $2,095 to $22,867 in setup costs;
- JAN-PRO (commercial cleaning) – $2,520 to $44,000 franchise fee plus $3,985 to $51,605 in setup costs;
- Jazzercise (group fitness) – $1,250 franchise fee plus $2,500 to $38,000 in setup costs;
- Dream Vacations (travel agency) – $495 to $9,800 franchise fee plus $3,245 to $21,850 in setup costs.
As you can see, upfront costs are pretty high, although they can be covered by internal or third-party financing or lending programs. Some work experience in a relevant field is also typically a must.
4. Teach Others What You Know
If you already possess specific skills, why not share them with others? For example, you can teach others to code if you know a programming language. Or, if you play the guitar, why not give one-on-one lessons to beginners for a modest reward?
Besides having a sellable skill itself, you’ll need to know how to find a personal approach to anyone and guide them on their learning path. In other words, if you’re an extremely introverted person, this opportunity is unlikely to be a good fit for you.
By the way, thanks to the power of the internet, you can scale up your operations and sell pre-recorded online courses. Udemy and Skillshare are two great places to get started: they already have a big audience.
“But what if I don’t have any particular skills?” You may be thinking so, but that’s not exactly true. First, you’re likely a native English speaker – so you can teach English to others online or in person. Second, if you’re a stellar student, you can become a tutor and prepare others for exams!
5. Make Money Flipping (No, Not Burgers)
Flipping means buying an item or an asset at a lower cost and reselling it at a higher one. The difference is your profit. The term was popularized with those home renovation reality shows, but it applies not just to houses and apartments.
Here are just some ideas on what you can flip:
- Tickets for concerts, festivals, and other events;
- Furniture;
- Musical instruments;
- Domain names;
- Books;
- Collectibles, limited edition items, and memorabilia;
- NFTs.
Of course, you’ll need to make an initial investment to buy what you’re going to flip later on. But if you’re good at managing your personal finances, it shouldn’t be a problem to at least test the idea.
Want to know what the best way to start flipping is? Go ahead and pay a visit to the nearest thrift store. Often enough, people give away some things without realizing their actual worth (e.g., sports memorabilia). Plus, you can flip old clothing and furniture as “vintage”!
6. Start a Blog
Yes, it’s not a radically new idea. So many articles advise you to start a blog to make a buck that the idea starts to feel like one of those hardly legit get-rich-quick schemes. But it still deserves to be on this list.
For one, it’s not impossible to earn money from a blog or vlog. That’s what sponsorship and affiliate programs are for; Patreon is also there for you. The main misconception is that you can start earning in the first month or two.
In reality, you need to build an audience to make enough people and businesses want to pay you. So, you’ll need to spend years creating excellent content, which requires an inherent passion for the subject.
By the way, starting a blog doesn’t necessarily mean you have to create a website and write posts for it. Are you a fan of Instagram? Grow your account there instead. Know how to create engaging videos? TikTok or YouTube will probably be a better choice for you.
Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/un1s8VOLRC0
In Conclusion: Why Wait Until After College?
On average, it takes most ventures at least a year to start making a profit. And many entrepreneurs can only dream of breaking even after a year of operations. You simply can’t expect your business to take off this fast.
So, don’t put off your idea for a business until after graduation. Test it and see if it works while you’re still in college. Besides, when you’re a student, you have more room for mistakes, and you don’t have that many financial obligations yet. Go for it!