5 Hustles a Kenyan Campus Student Can Do, Online and Offline
Are you a campus student looking for something to earn an extra coin from apart from the typical pocket money given to you by parents or HELB? Look no further as this article gives you various hustles that you can do and earn well.
There are many online hustles that you can do as a campus student in Kenya. Besides, there are also offline side hustles you can do if you are not an online person.
Inasmuch as you want to make money, it is important that you analyze the market gap and identify your target population.
Ensure you establish the source of your products so that you will be in a good position to earn a profit once you start your hustle. The following are side hustles you can venture into as a Kenyan campus student.
Blogging
This is one of the best ways to earn money online. Bloggers write content articles and post on websites. All you need to do is master SEO, and wait for Google to rank you and attract your audience.
Blogging can be a very daunting task if you are not well-informed. Millions of blogs are created yearly and diving into the pool may demoralize you in the long run. However, for those who persevere, fruits are harvested after a long time of hard work. Daily Hub, is an example of a blog.
The ultimate goal of blogging is earning a stable income from google AdSense, and other Ad-marketing companies such as AdSterra or Adthrive. These companies have a long list of policies that you should not violate in order to host their adverts on your website.
There is no point in knowing how to get approved into AdSense without knowing how to build your own blog.
In a nutshell, the easiest way of creating and managing your own site is via WordPress. Of Course, other platforms such as blogspot.com and Weebly are also good, but let’s focus on WordPress which hosts approximately 40% of all websites on the planet.
Setting it up requires web hosting, which can be offered by Bluehost, Truehost, or many other services found online, at a small fee that starts at $30 onwards, depending on what you want. These hosting services have WordPress Site builders. It is important to note that the hosting services use wordpress.org rather than wordpress.com.
In general, wordpress.org has more advantages over wordpress.com. For instance, wordpress.com will require you to pay $180 for your site, while wordpress.org is free.
More on how to start your own blog here.
In case you do not have your own blog, you can earn money by writing for other people’s websites. Apart from content article writing, try out academic writing. In this case, always have a backup as academic writing has high and low seasons depending on when students are in school and when they are not.
App/ Web Developer
Skills in developing the web and customizing or debugging errors taught to computer students come in handy in this hustle. There are chances that you can make money locally and even at the international level. Your work will also include creating websites, developing apps and creating them for sale.
Here, you have to be conversant with programming languages such as Java, Python, C, C#, C++ and so many more. This field is unlimited and solely depends on your skill. Professional programmers make up to 6 figure salaries and low-skill developers can survive without helb and loans.
Many people want websites and mobile applications to run their businesses and such contracts have very attractive pay. In this market opportunity, shoddy work is not acceptable. Your code should be clean with no bugs so that you can be referred to more clients in future.
Sell clothes and accessories
Many campus students, especially females are into fashion and accessories. You, therefore, have the opportunity to sell jewellery, perfumes, makeup and cosmetics. Ankara tops/ dresses and shoes for both men and women all have a good market on campus.
You can consider your sources of products to be Eastleigh Garissa Market, Gikomba which is famous for Mitumba Clothing and Kenyatta Market which has lots of accessories.
Female clothes are quite cheap and this is probably where you should start. For instance, you may choose to purchase a romper at Ksh.50.00 and sell it at Ksh.70.00. This is a 40% profit that is not easily realised in many businesses. Selling 10 pieces a day will make you Ksh.200.00 which should be reinvested. In a period of one year, you will have enough money to open your own stall. Don’t limit yourself to clothes only. Shoes also have a very big market on campus.
Sell Food
In case you are talented in cooking and making delicious delicacies, I would advise you to start selling food. Your business will be booming with customers making orders, most of whom can be your fellow students. All you will need to do is identify a wholesale market where you will buy food at a fair price so that you can make good profits.
Ensure that you use pre- order method in your business since it is a good way to save a lot of waste.
You can choose to cook food for yourself instead of ordering, then make deliveries to your fellow students who mainly live in hostels and may find it hard to cook for themselves. Chapati’s and beans is a campus staple food and offering variety in your deliveries can ensure high income. No one wants to eat the same kind of food the whole week.
- Kashbean Loan Application Process and Full Review
- Branch Loan App Full Review and Application Process
- How to Start a Bakery Business in Kenya
- 10 Best Passive Income Ideas in Kenya
- Electronics Shop Business Plan/Guide Kenya
I have seen campus students pay their own school fees after venturing into this business. Customers are constant as once a student makes an order; you are pretty sure they will make another order the following day.
You can start small by selling coffee at a low price of Ksh.10 or selling bananas. It may seem small but the sales profits are more significant than you imagine. Eggs could also do and if you feel you need to provide more, you can add smokies and sausages to your deliveries. Eventually, you can progress to delivering heavy meals such as rice and snacks like burgers
You however have to ensure that your food is clean and delicious otherwise, you risk losing your customers to other merchants. You also don’t want to be accused of selling contaminated food.
Photography
If you have photography skills and expertise, why not make it a source of income? Your market source will include fellow campus students, wedding planners and other event organizers. You can also take photos of nature and sell them as stock pictures to websites like Adobe stock and shutter stock.
If you lack photography skills, worry not as YouTube has a wide array of videos that will teach you how to be a professional photographer.
This venture may be quite expensive to start as you need a camera and good lenses. No one wants poor photography. People love making memories and they will look for the best but most affordable photographer around. Strive to achieve this.
Apart from the hustles mentioned in this article, there are others that you can try out. As long as you are comfortable with your hustle, be patient and let it grow. Remember to attend your lectures and do assignments since you are still a student and you need to pass your exams.
[…] Read Here: Hustles you can do in campus both online and offline […]