You may have noticed that many of your peers have started their own businesses, even while being as young as a high schooler.
If you are a student dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur, starting early may help you get the knowledge and experience you need to become a seasoned business owner.
Whether you are a high school student or attending university, you can easily start your very own online business. You just need some fresh ideas and the drive to put in the effort needed.
If you have a penchant for multitasking and can handle the pressures of a simple business alongside your studies, there are a few ideas that would be perfect for you. Here are ten online business ideas that are actionable and can garner success, even for busy students.
UGC lets you have the benefit of content production without having to develop your influencer character. A brand would like regular people who can demonstrate products as they would be used, so it becomes an easy entry for you and your fellow students, because you will already have an understanding of what works on camera.
You could make product reviews, unboxings, easy routines, or app demos filmed at home with products you already own. You then build a micro-portfolio so they can see what you’re shooting, talking about, and putting out there.
You then hit up some smaller brands for skincare, stationery, and life tech that have ad campaigns based on authentic materials. A smartphone and natural light are enough.
You can charge per video or package a few videos together as a deal. Because scriptwriting, shooting, and editing can be compartmentalized into chunks, it becomes a side hustle you can build around your class schedule without stress.
You can also provide other branding services, like creating slogans or taglines. These you can easily do by using online automated tools like an AI slogan generator.
Help young people and recent alumni get jobs by optimizing their resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles.
First, research 3-4 resume resources and bookmark samples. Next, develop basic service packages: “Resume Refresh,” “Resume and LinkedIn,” and “Job search package with 2 cover letters and portfolio review.”
Use Google Docs or Canva designs and Loom videos to demonstrate your work. Learn tricks on formatting these documents for applicant tracking systems. Your first customers can be found on university campuses and via WhatsApp groups and online, on LinkedIn, with screenshots and tips.
And as you start getting data and feedback, charge more and focus on industries you know more about, like marketing, design, and tech internship roles.
Short-form videos have become the pulse of online presence, but editing videos makes most people apprehensive. This is exactly where you position yourself with the convenience of someone who already understands the beat and rhythm of Reels and TikTok.
Just begin with basic editing tools like CapCut or Adobe Premiere Rush and get proficient with helping raw footage have a crisp and scroll-stopping result.
Once you have a service that can provide clean and engaging edits, package your service with a clear offering, perhaps with a set number of Reels per month at a set rate.
Market your service with local cafes, clubs on campus, and small influencers who already shoot videos but have no time to work on edits. Editing videos on your laptop will allow you to get all your work done on slower evenings and deliver via Google Drive.
Once your service picks up and you get better at it, develop an easy-to-use onboarding and shared content calendar, and increase your rates.
Notion templates have become a digital need for all students who desire organization without dedicating multiple hours to getting systems up and running. A small digital business based on your interest in design and organization can generate some extra income.
You can develop organizational dashboards for learning calendars, budget planning, internship tracking, habit tracking, and so on, and combine these with respective Canva templates. Sites like Etsy and Gumroad would be perfect for hosting your digital business.
Promotional videos on Pinterest or TikTok will help people see exactly how your designs integrate with their organizational needs. You can produce sets of templates on weekends and holidays so that you have a lineup ready at all times.
You can try innovating different templates based on various subjects and lifestyles with varying features and colors. You can also develop a small complementary template and eventually offer a larger package containing multiple dashboards designed for student use.
Rather than selling your time for low rates per hour, set up your tutoring as a small online school. Identify areas that you excel at (math, languages, coding, and academic writing) and hold small group sessions via Zoom one or two times a week.
Start getting paid per month for your sessions instead, and allow missed sessions to be viewed online. You can assign homework and answer queries on Google Classroom or WhatsApp groups.
The idea should be marketed on university groups, parent groups on Facebook, and tutoring services. You can set limits on your sessions and charge higher rates based on your success.
Youth is an advantage here because these brands look for someone who speaks their digital language. Being a youth voice, you speak it naturally.
Begin with putting together a well-structured portfolio with various tones. A sample blog writing piece, a sample landing page, and a set of captions will be more than enough. Create a list on Fiverr/Upwork and gain some initial reviews, but don’t start there.
Find e-learning brands and online coaching services for students. Offer pre-defined packs related to blogs/emails on a yearly/weekly basis so your value increases. You can distribute your projects on your own and maintain multiple streams.
You can start working on nights or on weekends and recycle your research on multiple projects and reduce your workload. Once you have some skills, start specializing in health and fitness, fashion, technology, or anything that seems fun.
As a generation that grew up with technology, you’re likely already comfortable using AI writing tools like ChatGPT or Jasper to speed up your workflow. There’s nothing wrong with using them for brainstorming ideas, creating outlines, or getting past writer’s block.
However, most clients now run submissions through the accurate AI checker before approval, which will pretty much identify if your work is AI-generated or not. The key is to use AI as your assistant, not your replacement, add your personal experiences, inject your unique voice, and edit heavily so the final piece reads as genuinely yours.
Print-on-demand is a great option because you will never have to invest money in ordering inventory or packaging orders. Just upload your designs and let a service like Printful, Printify, or Gelato handle all the rest.
Concepts that will truly sell are ones that are based on a community you have knowledge about. Lean on inside jokes from your own college experiences, common classes, unique clubs, and your own fandoms.
Hoodies, totes, mugs, and stickers are excellent products because everyone wants something useful with character. Validate your concepts before fully developing them and listing them on online marketplaces like Etsy and Shopify. Do so with posting mockups on Reddit threads, Discord servers, and Instagram polls.
As soon as your online store is set up, it will be quite easy because your daily workload will be minimal. You will be working on designs, answering fan emails, and promoting drops, making it easy to do while taking a full course load.
Producers spend hours editing audio, which they can easily outsource. This makes podcast editing an excellent opportunity for music tech students who have sound editing skills.
You can master it with Audacity and then graduate to Adobe Audition. All you have to do is remove filler words, equalize volume, eliminate uncomfortable pauses, and insert intro/exit music.
However, the money is in breaking down an episode into something useful. Use conversations for show notes, two or three clip quotes, and some graphics for quotes.
While approaching podcast producers, promise a sample edit so they can appreciate your work. Podcast producers will be grateful for someone who will do all the post-production work.
Once you get your market cornered, you can transition your customers into subscription services and start editing on weeks when there are no classes.
Membership groups, coaching circles, and student groups maintained by creators might be looking for an assistant who can drive conversations without being too automated.
As a community manager, your duties will include saying welcome to new members, manning comments, posting at times determined by the creator, summarizing live Q&A sessions, and pointing out things that need attention from the creator.
All these activities are short and fit into daily pockets of available time. You could start small as an assistant to micro-creators at a low retainer, so that you build testimonials and learn your rhythm.
Once you get a hang of it, you can propose your services as a community manager to micro-creators within your niches and charge based on your availability or specific services. All these can be streamlined with Google Sheets or Notion.
Solopreneurs and coaches have overflowing To-Do lists with tiny items that slowly devour their time. As a virtual assistant, you can offer services such as email sorting, scheduling meetings, research, proofreading, slide preparation, customer service, and updating blog/website content.
You can start by assisting with services you like so that your schedule will be manageable. Create a pricing structure based on a set number of hours per month that will be easy for your clients to budget and will also provide you with a consistent stream of income. You can organize your scheduling with very basic blocking methods that will fit your classes seamlessly.
Whether you are an early bird or a weekend warrior, finding your earliest customers will be within your reach with your presence on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook groups that have freelance marketplaces with entrepreneurs who constantly seek trustworthy assistance.
Once your services gain credibility, you can offer your services on more expensive assistance, like assisting with launch readiness and content calendar organization.
As a student, your schedule won’t constrain your income. If you have the idea and the determination, and with a bit of consistency, you can build a business that will thrive side-by-side with your academic career instead of competing against it.
All these are online opportunities that allow you the freedom to work on short cycles, explore your skills, and develop skills without waiting for graduation. This makes your business an empowering activity that may not mean immediate perfection, but about learning and letting your progress dictate your next move.
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