More Businesses to Start Out of Your Dorm Room

When you are in college, the urge to stretch out and see what you can do is both an incredible rush, and a kind of humility lesson. When you really consider that Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg pretty much started their billion dollar businesses “from their dorm rooms,” (not technically in Jobs’ case, but pretty close) you start to realize that you might be embarking on a lightly trod path to great riches. And indeed, once you really ‘make it,’ it can be an incredible rush. But whether you are glancing over the reading materials for a couple of franchise opportunities, and seeing if they are right for you, or if you are just practicing a skill you have developed, and keep having this crazy dream that you might change the world, there are a LOT of possibilities you can choose from. So let’s look at a couple of these options.

A toiletries stockpile

A long time ago, a college freshman noticed that a lot of his fellow dorm rats had neglected to bring a few necessary but often forgettable items with them. These items included tooth brushes, tooth paste, toilet paper, and other miscellany. So he took a cabinet, filled it with these things (which he bought inexpensively), and arbitrated these goods for a reasonable profit, while keeping them substantially less expensive than the on campus options would be. Needless to say, that young man went on to do great things. And this might also be the start of your entrepreneurial career.

A social networking web site

While it is true that social networking is no longer new in the slightest, there will always be the ability to niche it down. Consider that while fashion is not always new, it is constantly being tweaked and resold in an innumerable variety of different styles. Now think about the kind of social atmosphere your school has – is it being extremely well represented through sites like MySpace and Facebook? If not, you might just have the start of something big.

A dorm room cleaning business

While this may only come into play during the periods when every college student is suddenly obsessed with cleanliness (think parental visits, trying to avoid studying for finals, and trying not to get charged a fee before they move out), it could also get some play as a “membership” service. Say, for a small monthly charge, you come in one day a month while they are in class, and turn the place from “disaster area” into “halfway decent.” Get a hundred people to pay you $40 a month (which even most college students could probably scrape up), and that is a decent income.

But, I thought it to be about time to put up another list of some good business ideas.

• College dating service
• Apt cleaning service
• Computer software development
• Computer repair business
• Sober Late-Night Driving service
• College calendars
• Marketing consultant
• Bartending classes
• Personal trainers
• Golf/sports Lessons
• Shopping service
• Laundry service
• Online textbook swap
• Selling products on eBay

With the end of the semester and graduation quickly approaching, it is time to figure out what kind of business you want to start as a college student – whether it is from your dorm room or your apartment or your parents basement. The summer time is a student’s best chance to start working on building a business and then being ready to launch it when you return to school in the fall.

What business ideas do you have?

1. Teach the computer illiterate. Do you know your way around a computer better than you do your school’s library? Branch out your services to those who think a click of the mouse means their vermin troubles are gone.
2. Help others set up their computers. Many people have computers but often incorrectly install their new machines or aren’t aware of the upgrades their systems offer. It can also be as easy as making sure they’ve got everything plugged into the right outlets.
3. Join the blogosphere. Does everyone tell you have great ideas? Or maybe just you think you have great ideas. Either way start your own blog and if you’ve got something to say that people want to hear then the advertisers will be eager to be seen on your site.
4. Create and update webpage designs. Every company now wants to and needs to be on the web hocking its wares. If you’ve got experience creating webpages then your services will be in high demand.
5. Join an online auction. eBay is the place on the web to sell anything from your prized possessions if you’re really in a bind or maybe old baseball cards for some extra cash.
6. Help others join the digital music age. The old record collection doesn’t have to lie in dusty heap anymore and, if you have the little equipment needed, you can help transfer these old classics to a digital library.
7. Clean up computer messes. Computers are constantly being ground to screeching halts by viruses and spyware these days. Computer users are eager for help cleaning up their systems.
8. Scour the internet for lost records. Scan the internet for background checks for employers or track down old classmates for clients.
9. Sell the next hot .com name. Selling domain names may sound passé as it seems all the good ones are taken, but with new .tv or .info domains emerging the possibilities are endless.
10. Be a photographer. With digital photos taking the place of the old family scrapbook, computer savvy individuals are in high demand to help computer illiterates in this new direction.

Heather Johnson is a freelance business, finance and economics writer, as well as a regular contributor at Business Credit Cards, a site for business credit card and best business credit card offers. Heather welcomes comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address
heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.