3 Ideal Side Hustles for Students
Earning while you are a student is a good idea for most but holding down a job can be tough. While you might be okay with regular shifts through term time, as soon as exams come around, you may need to change your schedules and if you plan to enjoy the long holidays at home, you could have an issue with your boss.
One way to get around this issue, and improve your career prospects at the same time, is to set up your own side hustle. You can be your own boss, set your own hours and work as much or as little as you need. Plus, you can say goodbye to zero hours and minimum wage contracts.
There are all kinds of different hustles you could try but the most important thing is that you enjoy what you are doing, have the time to make it work properly and understand effective resume writing. As a student, you really need to be able to focus on your university work so don’t let your hustle take over; if it can’t work with you, you need a new idea.
Cleaning and Decluttering
A fantastic way to earn as a student is setting up a small cleaning business. Setting up any business is a great way to bolster your CV as it shows that you have excellent organizational skills, you are able to market your services or products and you are determined to succeed.
A cleaning business is ideal because you don’t need much to get started, should already have the skills and most people will want you to be flexible to suit their schedule. Just make sure that you are clear on your price per hour and you set out exactly what you are prepared to do!
When you are setting up your cleaning business, you may need to buy some equipment. Commercial products including Steamaster Equipment can be really useful to speed things up but unless you want to expand your business, you should probably start small. Using eco-friendly products is a good option as lots of people are becoming more interested in protecting the environment.
If cleaning isn’t for you but you are brilliant at organizing, another angle to take is offering decluttering services. More and more people are struggling to get rid of unwanted stuff, particularly the older generation who may not be able to manage by themselves. Again, you need to be absolutely clear about what you will do and what you charge per hour.
Blogging
If you are looking for a business you can run in spare moments here and there, a blog is an ideal option. As well as refining your writing skills, blogging also shows off your digital marketing capabilities and is a job you can continue even after you have left university.
Setting up a blog can take some time and will cost a little more than you might think. You will have to buy a domain name and it’s likely that you will need to pay for hosting too. However, once you have set up your domain and started writing, you can start building an organic audience on social media to build your readership. Following other bloggers on social media is a good place to start as they are often keen to follow back and help each other build wider audiences.
Allowing advertising on your blog is a good way to start generating some income. As your audience grows and you build out your blog with more content, you can also start to accept affiliate links and blog posts. This is fantastic for you because you are then essentially acting as a publisher as well as a writer. However, do make sure that any content you accept fits naturally into your blog to avoid being overly salesy.
Crafting
If you are a creative at heart, setting up a small craft business could be just for you. While you might see your crafts as a fun and creative outlet, a craft business puts your design and making skills to the test as well as your economical skills. When you start a craft business, you must remember to cost up all the resources you use as well as the time it takes to create your product!
Etsy is wonderful for small craft businesses but selling through your own website is another option if you are confident in setting up your own ecommerce site. For crafts, the most important thing is that the photos you use really show off your wares. Make sure that you use bright lighting and bring out the highlights of whatever you have made.
While selling arts and crafts online is a brilliant solution, you might also like to think about selling locally. Craft fairs can be a lot of fun and you can make a tidy sum in an afternoon. Since craft fairs are less regular, this could be really good for fitting in with your studies, giving you time to make in between. This will also save you charging for postage and packaging and time queuing up at the post office.
Side Hustle Takeaways
There are all kinds of businesses you might like to set up and these three ideas are just examples of how you could go about it. Each of these businesses operate slightly differently but at their core, the benefits remain the same: you can choose to do something you enjoy doing, set your own hours and decide your own earnings too.
Whatever your business is, do remember to make the most of it on your CV. Even an irregular job or temporary position can show off a range of skills that potential employers will want to see. But, of course, there’s always the risk that you will catch the entrepreneurial bug and find that once you graduate your side hustle could become your full-time job.
Enjoy your time at university and make the most of this exciting few years. You don’t get this time back so make sure that however you choose to fund yourself, you learn a lot and have a good time doing it.