Ideas for Starting a Side Hustle at University

Whether you need extra money to maintain the lifestyle you want during university or you want to explore what the business world has to offer, a side hustle is an excellent endeavor to consider. You’ll also learn entrepreneurial skills that you can use after you graduate and gain valuable work experience you can add to your resume. Options for a side hustle are almost limitless, although some ideas stand out as being the best.

1. App Development

Identify a problem you and many other students face every day for which there is currently no solution. Then, provide the solution through an app. There’s no need to be a web developer to turn your idea into reality — all you need is an app builder and your app can be available on the Apple Store and Google Play in no time.

2. House Moving

With a large vehicle and a small team of physically fit students to help, you can start a moving service. After you’ve paid for gas, all the money you charge to clients goes to profits.

3. Tutoring

Put the hours you spent studying to do well in your classes toward more than just good grades: tutor students who are taking those same classes now. Tutoring services are always in demand at universities, and you can provide the service right from campus.

4. Photography

If you’ve taken any photography classes at college and you own some decent equipment, you can start a photography business. Options include taking portraits and headshots, selling photos you take at events to local news outlets, and creating stock photos to sell to online platforms.

5. Fitness Classes

The perfect side hustle for student athletes is to offer group exercise classes. You could start out with weekly sessions, but if you gain enough interest, you may be able to run classes every morning or evening. If you’re able to gather a large enough group, you’ll only need to charge each person a small amount to see big returns.

6. Used Goods

Head to thrift stores and flea markets on weekends to look for deals. Select a niche you know well — perhaps fashion or collectibles — and sell whatever you find through an online store.

7. Home Cleaning

A particularly scalable side hustle is house cleaning. If you end up with more clients than you can handle yourself, simply recruit other students to help you. Almost anyone can clean houses — you just need basic cleaning equipment, reliable transportation, and an eye for detail.

8. Organic Produce

If your university is in a big city (which most are), options for local, organic produce are likely limited. Reach out to farmers in the surrounding area and buy in bulk to sell to your own customers at a markup. You could even create organic produce boxes that you deliver to customers on a weekly basis.

Working a side hustle may mean you need plenty of space, or you may just prefer to have a private room to return to at the end of a long day. In either case, you’ll need to find something other than an on-campus student residence. Waterloo students can find spacious apartments at MyRez. We offer perks like fast WiFi, an onsite grocery market, and a roommate matching service to pair you with likeminded people. Book a video tour to check out our student housing for yourself.