Mar 19, 2024
Low Cost Business Ideas

Gogagah.com | Getting admission to college is one thing, but staying in college without an extra source of income is a harder challenge. The college tuition keeps on climbing every year. In fact, it has risen by 80% in the last 10 years.

To help ease the burden on their families, a number of college students turn to starting up their own small businesses. It is easy to squeeze between scattered class schedules and can cost little-to-no money.

What many people do not realize is that college is a great time to experience and explore entrepreneurship such that one can make it part of a descriptive essay. Here are five budget-friendly business ideas for students looking to survive their college years.

Residential Cleaning Services

When Kristen Heeded was a junior in college, she wanted to buy a new pair of jeans. When her parents declined her request and told her to get a job, she decided to clean houses since she had no real work experience.

She started by putting up an ad at Craigslist to clean houses. House cleaning fit well in her demanding schedule. Soon, her clients started referring her to their friends and the demand increased. She founded “Student Maid” and slowly hired other students to help her after school and on weekends. In less than a month, her team of four grew to 60.

Startup Tips on Residential Cleaning Services

  • Start your charging at $20 an hour.
  • Ask your clients to provide the majority of the cleaning supplies.
  • Use diluted white vinegar solution and recyclable rags.
  • Always give yourself more time allowance by overestimating the amount of time you will need to clean the area.
  • If it is a large space, charge for an extra hour.

Tutoring

Chances are, you have a knack in one or two subjects may it be math, chemistry, history, or essay writing. Why not use these to start a business?

Eric Clark of the National Tutoring Association revealed that the tutoring industry can start from $6 to $8 billion.And the industry continues to grow. Should you decide to expand your business, you can easily geta quicker cash loan option from a legal moneylender like cashmart.sg.

Now that you have established that you have exemplary abilities that you can teach other students, you have to ask yourself if you have the guts to run a company. This will include bookkeeping, managing other tutors, marketing and advertising.

Startup Tips on Tutoring

  • Define your target clients. Would you focus on subject-specific tutoring, younger kids, special needs students or test prep?
  • Use low-cost advertisement such as the word of mouth. Reach out to local schools, organizations, and libraries. They can tell the parents about your services.
  • Start charging $10 to $100 per hour depending on the subject you are teaching and the city you are in.

Résumé Writing Service

Most college students who are about to graduate or go into college internship will need a well-written resume. Unfortunately, not all of them can make one since writing an effective resume involves a certain level of art and technical writing expertise.

And fortunately for you, if you’re an excellent writer with an eye for details and data organization you can help them and make money too.

Even a resume can make or break the chance of landing the first job. If you can create a flawless resume, you are sure to get more clients. If you need more idea about resume writing, you can visit your campus career counseling center. Of course, the internet can help you with templates, but your skill will make a difference.

Startup Tips on Résumé Writing

  • Start off by charging $15 to $20 per hour.
  • Write the resume with a specific job in mind.
  • Gather as much information as you can including your client’s job experience.

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is an intimidating job since most people thought that it will need good math skills. It a good thing that various online tools can help you out when you want to start your bookkeeping service.

If you have basic computer skills all you will need is a smart bookkeeping technology such as QuickBooks or Xero. These platforms cost$5 to $70 per month.

Startup Tips on Bookkeeping

  • Charge around $60 per hour. Increase depending on the complexity of the job.
  • Build your skills and clientele before you increase your basic charge.
  • Decide which industry you will specialize. This way you can focus your marketing on a specific audience.

Jewelry Making

Turn your hobby into a business.

LeiLeiSecor, a fourth year at the University of Virginia, started her small business “Designed by Lei” by selling her handmade friendship-bracelets on Etsy. The account was completely free while listing an item$0.20 per listing.

Startup Tips on Jewelry Making

  • Determine the costs of materials. Try to find bundled kits to save up.
  • Avoid expensive materials that you can’t afford.
  • Promote on various social media platforms.

There are a lot of low costs business ideas you can start without a lot of upfront expense. The truth is, funding is not the sole factor to consider. It is your diligence, focus, and time management that can highly impact your startup.