Looking for some extra cash to help you get through college? Here are some side hustles you can start right from the corner of your dorm room.
College is awesome.
But it doesn’t necessarily pay the bills while you’re in the middle of it.
In fact, while you're in the thick of attending classes and trying to keep your grades up, you’re likely struggling to make ends meet.
There’s a reason why the “broke college student” is a trope.
It’s true!
But never fear.
If you’re struggling to make ends meet, you’ll be pleased to know that there are actually quite a few awesome, lucrative side hustle ideas that you can start right from the corner of your dorm room. And these jobs can net you some serious cash with minimal time investment.
Let’s take a look at five ideas that you can basically launch today to get a bit of extra money coming in.
College is awesome.
But it doesn’t necessarily pay the bills while you’re in the middle of it.
In fact, while you're in the thick of attending classes and trying to keep your grades up, you’re likely struggling to make ends meet.
There’s a reason why the “broke college student” is a trope.
It’s true!
But never fear.
If you’re struggling to make ends meet, you’ll be pleased to know that there are actually quite a few awesome, lucrative side hustle ideas that you can start right from the corner of your dorm room. And these jobs can net you some serious cash with minimal time investment.
Let’s take a look at five ideas that you can basically launch today to get a bit of extra money coming in.
1. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing can be a very lucrative side hustle.With the advent of digital marketing, more and more businesses are launching blogs, creating courses, building email lists, and publishing ebooks to connect with their customers.
This means that they need to pay someone (or several someone) to produce this content for them.
As a college student, you could definitely make some extra money by hiring out your writing services to companies looking for bloggers, content creators, and copywriters.
You need access to a computer and an internet connection.
That’s about it.
The best way to start a side hustle like this is to get on a freelancing platform, like Upwork, the ProBlogger job board, or Fiverr.
You may want to try Upwork at first, but ProBlogger is a great option if you specifically want to blog for money.
Nowadays, people love to wear custom clothing.
They also love to decorate their dorm room walls with custom artwork.
You can even use a service like Teespring to create T-shirts and sell them online.
To get started, create some gear. Then, get a few of your friends to model for you and wear your stuff around campus.
Do you know anyone with a big social media following? Gift them some stuff to wear in their content and get your brand some recognition.
You can even hand a few pieces out in class to get people excited about what you have to offer.
This can be a great way to earn extra money while in college.
You can make extra money leveraging your photography skills by shooting things like:
If you have a phone with a nice camera, you may be able to get started just using that without spending anything, then build your business from the ground up.
If you want to get a little fancy with it, you could buy yourself a tripod. Then, with your first few hundred bucks, buy a better camera and continue to upgrade your gear as you go.
There are even free photo editing apps that you can use to touch up the photos and make them beautiful before sending them off.
Start by taking a few pictures for friends for free, and ask them to help you spread the word.
You can make some pretty serious money leveraging this as a side hustle, especially if you stick with it and build up a name for yourself.
Well, social media marketing is a very similar tool, and more and more businesses are spending money to grow their online presence.
If you're a social media pro and know how to build an audience, you could leverage your skills to help businesses grow their customer base.
You can start this hustle by growing your own following to use as an example of what you can do.
If a company sees that you have hundreds of thousands of engaged followers, they'll see that you've got the skills to pay the bills — and they'll be that much more likely to hire you.
The only downside to this is that you sometimes need a little bit of money to get started.
This means that they need to pay someone (or several someone) to produce this content for them.
As a college student, you could definitely make some extra money by hiring out your writing services to companies looking for bloggers, content creators, and copywriters.
The requirements are pretty simple:
You need access to a computer and an internet connection.
That’s about it.
The best way to start a side hustle like this is to get on a freelancing platform, like Upwork, the ProBlogger job board, or Fiverr.
You may want to try Upwork at first, but ProBlogger is a great option if you specifically want to blog for money.
2. Selling Art, Crafts, and Design Products
If you're artistically minded and have a knack for creating cool stuff, you could make things to sell, like:- Clothing
- Posters
- Wall art
- Shoes
- Bags
Nowadays, people love to wear custom clothing.
They also love to decorate their dorm room walls with custom artwork.
You can even use a service like Teespring to create T-shirts and sell them online.
To get started, create some gear. Then, get a few of your friends to model for you and wear your stuff around campus.
Do you know anyone with a big social media following? Gift them some stuff to wear in their content and get your brand some recognition.
You can even hand a few pieces out in class to get people excited about what you have to offer.
This can be a great way to earn extra money while in college.
3. Photography
In our digital age, the demand for personal photography is increasing.You can make extra money leveraging your photography skills by shooting things like:
- Dating profile photography
- Glamour shots
- Stock photography
- Instagram model photography
- Professional headshots
If you have a phone with a nice camera, you may be able to get started just using that without spending anything, then build your business from the ground up.
If you want to get a little fancy with it, you could buy yourself a tripod. Then, with your first few hundred bucks, buy a better camera and continue to upgrade your gear as you go.
There are even free photo editing apps that you can use to touch up the photos and make them beautiful before sending them off.
Start by taking a few pictures for friends for free, and ask them to help you spread the word.
You can make some pretty serious money leveraging this as a side hustle, especially if you stick with it and build up a name for yourself.
4. Social Media Marketing
Remember how we mentioned that local businesses are jumping onto the content marketing train?Well, social media marketing is a very similar tool, and more and more businesses are spending money to grow their online presence.
If you're a social media pro and know how to build an audience, you could leverage your skills to help businesses grow their customer base.
You can start this hustle by growing your own following to use as an example of what you can do.
If a company sees that you have hundreds of thousands of engaged followers, they'll see that you've got the skills to pay the bills — and they'll be that much more likely to hire you.
5. Reselling Stuff
Gary Vaynerchuk often talks about how the flip game is the best way to make a lot of money in a short amount of time.The only downside to this is that you sometimes need a little bit of money to get started.
Basically, this side hustle works like this.
You run around to garage sales, thrift stores, second-hand stores, etc. You can also check sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for free or super-cheap stuff.
Pick it up, clean it up, and list it for sale online.
Some people make a lot of money reselling things, and you can do the same.
You run around to garage sales, thrift stores, second-hand stores, etc. You can also check sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for free or super-cheap stuff.
Pick it up, clean it up, and list it for sale online.
Some people make a lot of money reselling things, and you can do the same.
Conclusion
There you have it.Five ideas that you can launch today to help you start making extra money while in college.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are many ways to increase your income while still making time for classes.
Have an awesome idea of your own? Don't hesitate to give it a try and see how far you can take it.
Most of all, remember to believe in yourself.
You're talented, and you’ve got this.
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with The Reserve at Orono to help them with their online marketing.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are many ways to increase your income while still making time for classes.
Have an awesome idea of your own? Don't hesitate to give it a try and see how far you can take it.
Most of all, remember to believe in yourself.
You're talented, and you’ve got this.
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with The Reserve at Orono to help them with their online marketing.
