The Internet has been arguably the single most transformative force for business in human history. One of the biggest gains is the reduction of barriers to business entry. Since the early years of the Internet, stories of spectacular rises from bootstrapping founder to multi-millionaire Internet entrepreneur abound. Some of the world’s largest tech companies trace their roots to a home garage, basement or college campus.
While not everyone who starts a business in college will end up fabulous wealthy, there are plenty of other benefits. You could make a decent income, build a long term company and/or earn valuable hands-on business experience. So what type of online businesses should you consider starting as a college student?
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Dropshipping
In dropshipping, you sell products without holding any inventory. It’s ideal if you want to dip your feet into the retail industry and have some basic knowledge of how online marketing works. As a dropshipper, you are effectively a third party seller.
When starting a dropshipping business, you first create a website after determining what product you are going to sell and from which supplier. Upload product photos, fill in product descriptions and indicate prices.
Your primary role as a dropshipper is online marketing and website management. Ideally, your website should automatically relay orders to the dropshipping supplier and track their levels of inventory in real time. The best dropshipping suppliers will do all the heavy lifting such as order picking, packaging, shipper selection as well as managing the logistics meant to get the item in the hands of the buyer.
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Print on Demand
One of the things that makes college exciting is casual wear all day every day. And that often means tons and tons of t-shirts. Further, young people are bold about displaying their passion for various causes and prominent personalities. Nothing like a custom printed t-shirt to let the world know the things you hold dear.
Why is all this important for a student entrepreneur? Print on demand. You work with a printing service provider to print custom merchandise on order. And it’s not just t-shirts. You can print images, drawings, graphics and/or text on jackets, hoodies, caps, wallets, phone cases, posters, mugs and more.
The good thing is you do not have to be an artist or graphic designer even though you could always collaborate with one on an order-by-order basis. Often, the elements to be printed are provided by the client. And when they are not, there are a raft of royalty-free images online available for your use on websites like Pixabay and Unsplash.
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Blogging
Blogging may seem to be in decline. This is in large part due to the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn that have become the de facto text-image-video blogging platforms for the average person. But this relative decline from lists of trendy online business ideas is why blogging may be the way to go if you love writing.
Starting a blog is easy and free on platforms like WordPress.com. Just identify a subject you are knowledgeable on and then post quality, well-researched content consistently. Seek to inform, educate and/or entertain your audience to keep them coming back for more.
There are multiple ways to monetize a blog. One is ad networks like Google AdSense. Another is to sell products on your blog such as books, courses, webinars and personalized coaching sessions.
It’s important to note that blogging may take a while to make a meaningful income. When it does however, it has a longer lasting momentum. As long as you are posting quality content, your blog will enjoy prominence on search engine results pages and the traffic such visibility comes with.
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YouTube Videos
YouTube is the second most visited website in the world and one of the top five most downloaded mobile apps. With about 2.5 billion users, it is the world’s most popular video sharing platform by a long shot. This vast audience provides opportunities for earning money.
Gone are the days you needed expensive cameras to create quality videos worthy of an Internet audience. Smartphone camera technology advanced so rapidly that it effectively crushed the digital camera industry. Now, anyone with an Internet connection and a half-decent smartphone can create videos and upload to YouTube.
To monetize, create engaging videos that can draw subscriptions and viewership. This directly affects how much you earn from the YouTube Partner Program. As you grow your audience, you can seek out paid sponsorships directly from persons and organizations that would want to promote their products on your channel. You have the option to promote and sell your own products too.
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Hosting Reseller
Establishing a web hosting company can set you back millions of dollars for the complex infrastructure and technology environment needed to provide a reliable world-class service. But did you know there is a way you can offer web hosting services without any infrastructure of your own? That’s hosting reselling.
You pay a small fee to lease a web host’s infrastructure. The fee is typically dozens of dollars per month for entry level hosting reseller plans. Next, define your packages, set pricing and market the product to the public. Ideally, you want to be a hosting reseller under your own business’ name and not the web host you are leasing infrastructure from (that is, a white label reseller).
The key to reseller success is working with a reliable web host and providing a high quality of customer service.
Wrapping Up
How do you determine which student business idea is best for you? One way would be to look at which one you are most skilled at. If you are good at writing, then blogging would be a good fit. If graphic design is your thing, then print on demand could be the most ideal choice.
Irrespective of the business idea you opt for, commit to continuous improvement. Learn from mistakes and failings to offer an ever better product or service.