10 Low Cost Business Ideas For College Students

February 2, 2024

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10 Low Cost Business Ideas For College Students

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There is no age limit in starting your own side business. Whether you’re a 10 year old with your own grass cutting business, a 60 year old photographer or a fresh out of high school college student.

Entrepreneurship is within your grasp. In this post, we’ve gathered together 10 low cost business ideas for college students to start on the side.

College can be very demanding and require a lot of you throughout your time on campus, but with a little will power and determination can prove to be very beneficial.

Also, with the ideas stated on this list, you have the flexibility to work on them between your studies and on the weekends.

Most are internet based, so they can be done within your dorm or apartment, and while others are out partying and doing stuff that they might regret later on in their lives, you’ll be working hard building your income and entrepreneurial empire.

Our list of business ideas for college students will also help you if you can not find a decent job on campus or if you are not willing to be tied down to a set schedule.

Also, if you enjoy the thrill of creating something of your own, on your own time and on your own terms, then this may be for you.

With tuition costs rising nearly every year, having a side gig or building your own business can help you pay down or help you pay off your tuition early.

Or it can even set yourself up with your own business after you graduate as your principal method of employment.

1. AFFILIATE MARKETING

99 Popular Affiliate Programs for Bloggers Just Starting Out

Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to start a business. All you have to do is help promote the products and/or services of other companies and you can get paid through commissions offered by the company that you promote.

You must sign up for an account with the affiliate company that you want to promote and get approved to the program.

Once you get approved, they usually give you links, banner ads, promotion codes and more to place on your website, social media accounts or other marketing channels in the hopes that you can generate traffic to their product and a customer makes a purchase.

Once a customer buys a product or service, you can get paid a commission. There are many different types of affiliate programs. Some companies will pay you just to generate traffic to their website or service.

They are called Pay per Click, Pay per Call or Pay per Action for example. You could get paid just for a customer “clicking” on a banner ad or link without them even purchasing the actual product. I see this a lot in the insurance industry.

So depending on the niche that you want to go into, you can easily publish a website, create good content and find a good affiliate program to integrate into your website.

If you can get a good, steady source of traffic, you can make some good money while you sleep. It can be a difficult road, but you can make some money if you’re consistent and work hard.

Here are some examples of websites that are doing it well with affiliate marketing.

2. TUTORING

If you have an area of expertise that you excel in, tutoring could be a very great way to help individuals learn a specific top and make you some money while you help others.

You can offer tutoring sessions on campus at any hour of the day and any day of the week. This makes it very convenient for you and your schedule.

You can also utilize many of the numerous tutoring websites that help you connect with your potential students to get your first clients.

There is next to no overhead and if you use one of the many tutoring websites to find clientele, then you can pretty much work remotely anywhere in the world with an internet connection and get paid on your schedule.

Here are some online tutoring websites that you can check out and join if it is a good fit:

3. BLOGGING

Although it may not be one of the easiest businesses to initially make money from, it is one of the easiest businesses to start.

Blogs are low cost to start and you can write about any topic in the world. All you need is a hosting platform (BlueHost, HostGator, Siteground, Wix), I prefer a hosted WordPress platform, a domain name and some content to get started.

If you are passionate about writing then it is definitely a bonus, but if you don’t have a special skill for writing, then you can use a service like Grammarly or outsource your content through services like Fiverr, TextBroker or Upwork to generate content for you.

Here are some examples of some top notch blogging websites to give you some inspiration:

4. FREELANCE WORK

There are several freelance websites that will allow you to offer your services to the world. Two of the most well known websites are Fiverr and Upwork.

Fiverr started out allowing freelancers to charge $5 for services but now, you can charge anywhere upwards of $1000 for your skills and expertise.

If you have a special skill, like graphic design or video editing, you can sign up for a free Fiverr account, post a gig (or a job) and other people can find you, purchase one of your gigs and you can get paid for providing a service.

Upwork operates about the same but is a little bit more upscale. They make it easy to setup an account and once approved, they will help you get connected with potential customers and ensure that you get paid on time.

So if you have any type of programming, designing, administration and a number of different skills to offer, give Upwork some thought.

Here are some sample gigs:

Here are some freelance websites:

5. PODCASTING

Podcasting as a business can be run from your dorm room and can take a minimal amount of time to get set up. What’s great about podcasting is that is growing at a phenomenal rate.

Some have compared it to the new radio. So if you have a subject that you are very knowledgeable in and you would like to share your knowledge with others, you can set up your very own podcast to education your listeners.

There are several different ways to monetize your podcast: Affiliate marketing, selling courses, consulting/coaching, sponsorships and more.

Check out Amazon to find some general equipment to start podcasting, and you can use a free program called Audacity to edit your audio.

But you can even with a service called Anchor that lets you use your smartphone to record your audio without any additional equipment. Now, there are no excuses.

Here is a List of influential podcasters and helpful information:

6. SOCIAL MEDIA (Consultant, Manager)

Social media consultant agencies are starting to blow up in recent years. More people are embracing the power of the gig economy and digital freelancing and need help with marketing their business or services via social media. Here’s where you can come in.

If you have knowledge of how different social media platforms work, you can consult with businesses to help setup and manage their social media accounts.

A ton of people use accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter and LinkedIn and that’s just “some” of the platforms. There are several others out there that you can offer services for.

You can target different businesses and organizations in your area to market your services to. One of the best things about having a social media consulting agency is that you can charge a “recurring” fee to manage profiles.

That means you will have a constant source of income coming in as long as you’re able to provide value to keep the customer.

Here are some websites and channels that I follow on YouTube to get More Insight:

7. T-SHIRTS (Designer, Online Store)

If you are good at graphic design, or at least you have an artistic eye, you can start your own T-shirt company without owning expensive printing equipment.

Having no inventory would probably be best for someone in college since “space” is typically limited, so you can do everything online through websites that “Print on Demand” whenever a customer submits an order.

So you only have to upload a design once and the print on demand company will be able to process the order, print the order, ship the order and take care of the customer service while you rake in the profits.

Now, as you know, it’s not always that simple. You have to have a business plan, create good designs (or outsource your designs) and be able to market your products to potential customers.

Here are some print on demand websites for reference:

8. VOICE OVERS

If you have a knack for speaking and your vocabulary is on par, you could become a voice over artist. This too is in high demand and you can offer voice over services to local businesses or become a freelancer and sign up for a number of websites that are looking for your services.

You will need some equipment to get starting like a decent microphone and stand and some software software like Audacity (Free) or Adobe Audition (paid) to edit your audio. You can post gigs on websites like Fiverr, Upwork or your personal social media accounts to get started.

Check out amazon for some equipment to get started. I purchased a decent microphone from Amazon that wasn’t too expensive that I use for my YouTube videos and it works out just fine. You can always upgrade down the line when you get more money and experience.

Here some sample Fiverr Gigs for reference:

9. WRITING (Freelance/Resumes/Grants/Content Creation/Ebooks)

If you are someone who enjoys writing every waking moment of every day, then it may be obvious that your business should center around writing.

As a freelancer you can get your feet wet with offering different types of writing like resume, grant, blog content and e-book content. And that’s just scratching the surface.

The beautiful thing about writing is that you can do it on your own time and it doesn’t cost much if anything at all to get started. You have to have something to write on (paper, computer, smartphone) and you can use free writing services like Google docs to write and archive your articles.

From there it’s just a matter of finding the correct outlet to sell your services.

Some places your can sell your services is on your own blog, medium, Fiverr.com, Upwork, Freelancer.com and ebook websites like Kindle Direct Publishing.

Here are some of the most popular resources where you can start your own blog:

And here are some websites to market your services:

10. YOUTUBE PERSONALITY

Becoming a YouTube personality is something that I have recently started doing and it is easy to set up an account.

There is a huge uptick in the amount of interest in becoming a micro influencer and beginning on YouTube is a perfect place to start.

YouTube has over 2 Billion logged in users and per a website called Brandwatch “By 2025, half of viewers under 32 will not subscribe to a pay-TV service” and “On mobile alone, YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any broadcast or CABLE TV network”.

That a big positive for you and your potential YouTube business exposure. Video is now showing any signs of slowing down and if you have a passion and you can present value to the billions of potential viewers, then you can make a real impact.

But just because it is easy to get into or start, doesn’t make it easy. It takes quite a bit of work to see results and grow on the platform.

To get started, all you need is a modern smartphone to shoot and edit your videos. There is no need to buy expensive equipment upfront to get subscribers and views.

Your smartphone and some adequate light (natural sunlight will do) is all you need for your first videos. You can always update your equipment as you go.

You can create any type of channel on nearly any subject imaginable. It’s best to look at your channel as a business and to begin making money through affiliate marketing, ad revenue, sponsorships and your own merch.

Here are some of my favorite youtubers that give great tips and advice on starting and maintaining a viable YouTube channel:

Here are some tools to help you maintain your channel and grow on Youtube:

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