Waitressing, bartending and working in retail shops are taking the back seat as students step outside of their box in order to make a living while in college. According to a study conducted by the HuffPost, four out of five college students are working part-time jobs while attending universities. These part-time jobs average about 19 hours a week.
The concept of part-time entrepreneurship is relatively new and is one that college students are taking advantage of. Through part-time entrepreneurship, students are able to plan their own schedules while producing designs, concepts and products to customers. This is made possible through sites that allow creators to upload their items or their designs through their website.
According to Entrepreneur.com, “entrepreneurship is taking college campuses by storm.” It is estimated that at least two-thirds of U.S. universities now offer courses in entrepreneurship. Some of the most famous CEOs created their ideas while in college themselves. To name a few, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Insomnia Cookies’ Steve Berkowitz. For these men, their office was their dorm room.
Design and Sell
Society6 is a website that allows individuals to upload their designs, where prospective buyers can have access to them and purchase them in various forms of merchandise from clothing to totes. Many students are utilizing sites such as this, as although Society6 keeps a portion, it requires very minimal effort from the actual creator in terms of selling the products.
Nelson Marin is a junior graphic design major at Cabrini University. Marin currently is a freelance artist who also tutors others in graphic design and works part-time at Panera. After Marin gets a client, he gives them a questionnaire to obtain a clearer understanding of their needs.
“I sell logo designs, code websites and create designs based on client needs,” Marin said. “I use Instagram and Twitter for most of the connections with my clients.”
Tutor and Teach
Andrew Mclean is a sports management major at the University of Georgia. Personal trainer, ballroom instructor, vlogger and owner of an eBay resale store.
“I teach ballroom dance and etiquette to everyone from middle school to adults,” Mclean said. “It paid well and it was rewarding to teach wedding couples their first dance, through ballroom dance classes.”
Driving Jobs
Applications such as Postmates, Uber and Lyft, allow students to create their own hours by utilizing their car as a means of travel to serve customers. Students all over the United States are choosing to drive for businesses such as Postmates due to the flexible work, the opportunity for tips and option to drive without hosting strangers in your car. This contrasts to applications such as Uber and Lyft.
Miguel Ugarte is a sophomore transfer student at the University of Central Florida. Ugarte studies theater tech and design.
“I work for Postmates,” Ugarte said. “Postmates is good because you can make your own schedule and have the chance to catch up on podcasts.”
According to an article produced by Entrepreneur.com, college is arguably the best time for students to start up business. When you live on a college campus, you have access to experts and built-in-network and support. Even though you may not be a business major, there are professors who are ready to help and advise you. Better yet, they do so for free. Once students are out of college these same experts are known as consultants that actually charge. Another benefit of starting a business in college is that students want people at their university to succeed and to do great things, as it only helps the reputation of the university. Additionally, students are usually social media savvy and are able to spread awareness to your business.
