4 fool-proof student business ventures

Like most time rich cash poor students, starting a business and raking in some cash and spending the proceeds on  partying and designer clothes probably seems like a pretty idyllic plan (if not slightly unrealistic).

Without getting too far ahead of yourself starting the right sort of venture at university (one with low start up costs that is quickly cash positive) can be a great way to earn good money and spend your time productively.

We’ve outlined a few tried and tested student business plans below. These are all about execution and hard work, but if you utilise your skills correctly they are some great ways to earn good cash, improve your CV and have fun.

4 student money making ventures

Start a club night

student clubnightFor student businesses, this is the oldest trick in the book. However, starting a successful, profitable club night does take a lot of planning.

The first key point to consider is whether you have the right networks at university to get a club night going, you really need to socialise with a large range of people in different groups, courses, societies and halls (or partner with someone who does).Informal networks are absolutely key for getting a club night off the ground.

Secondly, it’s important to think about what sort of club night is missing within these networks in terms of the music and venue you choose – these will be a key part in getting people out on a night out or switching from an already established night they go to. But if you’re friendly with a large number of people who will do a favour for you and promote your night to their friends it’s a quick way to start generating some cash without too much risk being invested in the night.

Remember though, getting people to a launch party is far easier than the second and third time you run your night, so you’ll have to work especially hard no matter how well the launch goes!

Start a student discount card/app for your area

Probably the second most popular and easy to start student business venture is starting a discount card business. The principles here are pretty simple.

student discount cardTalk to local companies to get discounts for your members, make some cards with the discounts featured and get selling the cards with these discounts to students!

It would probably be wise however to approach it in a more unique way with a particular selling point; for example, instead of charging students for a card – why not set up an app or website listing discounts for free (similar to our discount section) and offer being featured to local businesses on a free trial and then start charging businesses on a monthly basis as your user base expands.

You could then also set up a premium membership with extra discounts for students who are willing to pay for a card once they’ve used the free service.

Again, execution and spreading the word about your discount club is key, but when done correctly the business could become a nice money earner.

Start an agency

agencyThis particular businesses plan does require you to have skills in a particular area that are of a high enough quality to charge someone else to hire (or the time and commitment to learn these skills). However, if you do have skills in an area like design, development, marketing or consultation of some sort then this can be a particularly easy to start business that you should excel at.

Probably the easiest place to start is approaching local businesses. Offer a heavily discounted rate at first and in time you’ll have a portfolio and will be able to increase your rates.

Start blogging

bloggingWhatever your interest is, there is a market in the blogosphere that will be interested in your opinions. Check out the article on how to build a website here.

Once you have a blog up and running the really key thing is putting out relevant, high quality content on a regular basis. By doing this you’ll gain followers and recommendations and once you have a big enough audience can start advertising relevant companies on your site – this can be enough to earn a serious income if your market is big enough and you become a leader.

Learn basic SEO and social media advertising skills to help get yourself off the ground.