By Rruchi Shrimalli
College entrepreneurs face a double whammy when it comes to starting a business. First, they usually have hectic college schedules. Add in all of the time, effort, and hard work that goes into starting a new business. Moreover, being in college, often means that you don’t have a fat bank account to support your business AND personal expenses… at least until you start making a profit.
In this article, we will cover some of the best types of jobs you can do to earn some part-time income while you learn (in college) and experiment (in your business).
Start Freelancing
The life of a freelancer offers you a lot of opportunities to pursue what you want to do — whether it is studying or running your own business. You can pick a few small gigs at a time so that when your venture needs you, you can choose to be free.
Elance, oDesk, and PeoplePerHour are some of the most popular websites to find freelance projects in areas where you can utilize your skills, such as programming or coding, writing, or doing web design or graphic design. Besides what you earn, you can also use freelancing as an opportunity to build a network of potential clients and partners by working for them and become familiar with their style of doing business.
When you work for different companies around the world, you also learn different ways in which you can use your skills to attract new clients or improve your grades in college.
Join an Online Tutoring Service
One big problem with freelancing is that it does not have a fixed schedule, which might not work well for people who work day-and-night in different areas. You may keep postponing the gig you promised or the college assignment you had to finish or the business presentation you had to make until the eleventh hour, and get nothing done despite being busy all day.
When you have a number of tasks to do at the same time, the only way to remain sane and get things done is prioritizing your list of tasks and allotting a fixed time to each one of them.
As an online tutor, you’ll know at what time your classes will start and when they will end. So, you’ll have to sit at your study desk consistently, while also pulling in a regular dependable income.
Provide Assignment Help
Students from around the world often seek assignment assistance from subject matter experts. It might be an excellent opportunity for you to leverage the knowledge and skills you’ve learned in school.
Suppose you have an MBA in marketing. You can always register with a company that provides assignment help to marketing students. These companies pay you good money to do thorough research and provide assignment assistance for students. Working on these assignments will help you re-visit some of the courses you took earlier and brush up your knowledge in the field, which you can apply to your business down the line.
Look for Paid Internships or Part-Time Jobs
College students who start their businesses face one major problem: People don’t take them seriously enough. Internships or part-time jobs in related fields can help you learn how to handle the ropes and fine-tune your professionalism.
For example, if you want to open a party business, doing a part-time job in a restaurant or two can help you observe what customers want, how they behave, what they are ready to pay for various services they expect, and what makes them happy. Your earnings can, of course, be the much-needed funds you need to get your own business cards printed and get started.
Offer To Do Small Jobs
College entrepreneurs who deal with busy class schedules and impromptu business presentations can always earn some extra cash by cleaning up dorm rooms or residences, walking dogs, and providing babysitting services. You can charge hourly rates for these services, and take on as much work as your schedule will allow, giving you an opportunity to control your income.
No one ever said that starting a business is easy. When you are in college, you might find it easier to find mentors and clients, but managing your time and finances can be a massive challenge. The ideas mentioned above can help you tame your money challenges, and give you the confidence to go on without compromising on your dreams.
Photo credit: College student from Apollofoto/Shutterstock
