This is a guest post from Don Garcia at Yellow Fire Marketing. Even though summer is here, there’s always next semester to start thinking about!

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.

Well, since the site is called Dorm Room Biz, I thought it was time that we got back to posting some more student business ideas. So, without further ado, here is a great list of opportunities and businesses that students can start from their dorm room, apartment, or home. Starting a business in school is a great chance to A) learn business skills, B) make some extra money, and C) to just have a great time.

• Garage Sale Marketing and Promotion Service – One of the worst parts of holding a yard sale is getting everything together, pricing items, and advertising the sale. So, why not offer this service to your local community? Now is the time to start up a service like this as the spring season is starting to get rolling, people will start ’spring cleaning’ their houses, and yard sales will pop up all over the place. Check Craigslist in your area for people advertising yard sales and offer them your services.
• Personal Conceiger Service – How hard could it be to get some reservations set up at a restuarant or to get some tickets to a game? Actually, probably pretty difficult starting out. You’d really need to be able to work your personal network and tap into other networks to make it happen. However, starting small is what it’s all about. Since you’ve got the extra time in between classes and studying, it leaves the perfect opportunity to work on getting your name out there, making connections at hotels, restuarants, stadiums, clubs, etc. Offer the service to students and faculty at your school looking to plan an event (say a Valentines Day date or a birthday party) and set everything up for them. Along the lines of a personal assistant, but without all the bitch work.
• Green/Eco Consulting – Into the idea of going green? Read up on it because it is the latest and greatest thing happening. Once you have a solid foundation from books, magazines, industry blogs, and other resources, break out on your own and create your own website promoting green and eco-friendly practicies. As your site grows in popularity, so will your exposure and ability to grow your business into a consulting service. Start working with companies and families providing tips and tricks to help them be more green. Provide home inspections and office inspections to see how green your clients are and what else they can do. The kicker here is to also offer the service of whatever you are promoting they do. So as an example, if you inspect someones house and can tell that their lightbulbs should be replaced with CFL bulbs or their windows could be replaced with more energy efficient ones, offer this service to them. This is where real money can come in because you could then outsource the work to a

What do you think? Have a dorm room business idea that you’d like to share? Leave a comment below!

“Green” or “Eco-Friendly” or “Sustainable” business concepts and ideas are becoming more and more popular in the recent months. The idea of launching and running a green business is nice if you’re looking for a way to make money AND help the environment. Within the US and I would imagine many other countries, the trend of “going green” is HUGE and continuing to grow rapidly.

So, as a student entrepreneur, how can you capitalize on this?

Take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way to to learn about green business ideas, the concepts behind going green, the reasons for doing so, and the affects your contribution, no matter how small or big, can make. If you can do these things, and turn your interest into a business, why not? So, here are some different green business ideas for students.

>Eco-friendly is hot right now, are you ready to jump aboard?<

Eco-friendly business ideas:

• Green Home/Energy Consultant – meet with homeowners to help show them the ways that they can make their home more eco-friendly, reduce their carbon footprint, and save money.
• Electric Scooter sales/rentals – scooter sales and rentals are nothing new, but offering electric scooters rather than gas powered is a slightly newer trend. Scooter rentals around campuses would cut down on the need for students to have cars to get places that a university/city transportation service may not go.
• Eco-friendly cleaning service – just like a traditional cleaning service only your focus would be on using only organic and environmentally friendly cleaning products.
• Recycle trash into treasurer – most people just toss things into the trash without thinking about any other potential use. Now, entrepreneurs and designers are taking trash and turning it into cash. Products such as purses made of old license plates and more are starting to show up all over the place.

Here are some other similar articles with ideas for green business ideas:

• Green Business Ideas for Dormers
• 10 Green Business Ideas for Phoenix Entrepreneurs
• Best Green Business Ideas
• Cool Green Business Ideas

Here at Dorm Room Biz, I post alot about different business ideas that students could start to make money while in college. Many of the ideas are offline business focused on service or product types of niches. However, as a student entrepreneur, there are also a HUGE amount of businesses that you could start online and based on the ever evolving technologies of today. Today, I bring you a list with some of these businesses. I know there are plent more that I am not thinking of, so please leave some comments if you have any other ideas.

Technology Based Student Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs

1. Blogging
2. Website Development and Design
3. Graphic Design
4. Desktop Publishing
5. Niche Content websites
6. Freelancer Article Writer for websites
7. Website copy writer
8. Affiliate Marketing
9. Search Engine Optimization
10. Pay Per Click Marketing
11. eCommerce websites
12. Product review website
13. Forums/message boards
14. Online tutoring

I know I am missing out on a bunch of ideas, so if you have some, leave some comments and I will expand the list to include them!