Successful Low-Cost Business Ideas For College Students

Since India has a large youth population, the economic condition hugely depends on these young minds. All college and school students are the future and make up the pillars of our country. So even if you want to make a career in entrepreneurship and start your own business or choose to become an employee, it’s important to get some real-life work experience while you’re still in college.

In the booming economy and global market, most of the job market requires and prefers students who’ve done some internships or worked on something. And starting your own business might be the best option for you. Since you’ve got nothing to lose and don’t have other responsibilities, this might be the best phrase to start working. Our youth years are times when we have a fresh mind, ambitious plans, and a lot of energy to make a change and do something productive.

But for college students, it’s not very easy to start a business that requires large investments and that comes with high-risk. So, we recommend you to start with something small which requires minimal cost and low-risk.

But why start a business at all during your college days? Here are some benefits.

• During your college days, you definitely have some spare time which you wouldn’t get after you graduate.
• Most universities and colleges have access to fast internet and provide several other facilities for students which can be useful for you.
• You’ll be able to apply the knowledge you learn in the classroom in real-life and get first-hand experience.
• You can easily ask your friends and professors for their feedback, as they will always give you an honest which can be very helpful.
• In addition, most colleges organize seminars and workshops with professionals and business owners in every industry who can provide guidance to you through these sessions.
• A business is always better than a private 9-5 employee job and the experience you get is priceless. And of course, you can make some extra bucks for yourself.

Here are some low-cost business ideas for college students:

Tutoring

If you’re really good at a subject, you can start offering tuitions after your college hours. Find your expertise, which subjects you can teach, and then lend a helping hand to anyone struggling. You can also offer tuitions to small school going children or 10-12^th class students, there are numerous students that are looking for tutors charging reasonable fees so you can initiate this business with lower fee charges.

You can also provide extra classes and additional packages like overtime tutoring during exam season. You can start by making some cool posters and fliers and hand them to your friends as well as around your campus. Once you’ve made some progress, you can expand it further and start online promotions or ask the students you’ve successfully tutored for referrals to others. And after some time, you’ll be able to make more profit with your services.

Podcaster Or Influencer

Podcasting and social media influencers are in trend now and it’s the easiest and a fun way to reach a large audience. Starting your own podcast will require some planning and initial struggles. You need to make sure the topic you choose is valuable and something useful for your audience and close to you. You can also ask your friend to become your co-host and get extra creative in this field.

Social media influencers are gaining a lot of popularity among the youth, if you have enough followers and backup, you can go ahead with this idea. You can approach some websites and products that might be interested in tying-up with you. Once you’ve established some fan base, more companies and sponsors will be interested in working with you.

Selling Homemade/ Handmade Items

If you’re a creative person and enjoy making crafty and unique stuff, you can take advantage of this skill to establish a business. This also gives you an upper hand because you’ll be able to create your own individual identity and establish your brand. There are numerous sites that allow you to sell your art online like PixPa, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Zazzle, Redbubble, Art.com, etc. You can take suggestions from friends and teachers and see what works best for you.

And if you love cooking, you can also start small home-delivery services. You can start small by making posters for your services and distributing them around your neighborhood and campus. The most selling food items include Bakery items, Chinese food, and other fast-food items. This requires minimal investment from your end for preparing the food and delivering. You can do that yourself for smaller areas and if you plan to expand further, hire someone for delivery services. Once you’ve established this business, you can ask friends and neighbors for referrals and if this works you’ll be able to make a handsome profit.

Other business ideas include:

• Marketing and providing services to local shops
• Event Organiser or promoter for any local company/organization
• Selling Ebooks or Audiobooks to students
• Freelance Writing or graphic designing 
• Starting your niche blog

You can also take suggestions and help from parents, teachers, and friends and we hope this helps you start your business early and set a base for your career ahead.