What are the top 5 business ideas for a student in India?

With so much competition over part-time jobs and lack of suitable opportunities, students give up their plans of a side hustle to keep up with the ever-demanding academics. But betterment in technology and a focus on creating new jobs rather than searching for one, has allowed everybody to progress.

The global valuation of the freelance industry is more than 30 billion dollars, so there is a scope for every student to have a piece of the pie. The internet has ensured that your location does not matter, and all that does is the amount of hard work you put in. As a student, one can easily take out 2-3 hours a day for online jobs if their time is managed properly. All they need is to come up with a lucrative idea that suits their interests.

But when you Google ways to earn money, the options that come up generally require a huge initial investment or long working hours that may not fit a student’s schedule or monetary expectations. So, here are some primary business ideas for students. It is advised to explore every idea and choose the one that is in line with one’s capabilities and expertise.

Let’s explore top 5 business ideas for a student in India:

1. Content Writing:

If you are someone with decent writing skills and a good knowledge of grammar, then this could be their perfect option. All one needs is a computer connected to the internet. You can find writing assignments on various sites such as:

● Freelancer

● Upwork

● Pepper Content

● Fiverr

Firstly, it is important to choose one’s niche. Selecting what you want to write about is a crucial step. It could be anything like travel, fitness, health, cooking, parenting, careers, finance, crafting, etc.

Write great sample work which becomes your portfolio.

The next step is to register on any of the above-mentioned websites, which provide certain writing assignments as per the expertise of the writer. They can be selected or rejected according to one’s will.

Just ensure that the assignment taken needs to be completed within the stipulated deadline. One can earn around 5000-8000 bucks a month if done regularly. It is encouraged to try and collect testimonials from as many clients as possible so that new customers can judge the merit of the writer.

2. Online Teaching:

This is a very easy business idea for students in India. The student can teach the subjects that they are good at and the skills they possess. These skills could include anything such as yoga, music, dance, painting, etc. Here are some of the best websites to start a tutoring career in India:

● Vedantu

● Udemy

● Chegg

● Meritnation

● Skillshare

There are 2 ways to go around this, one could either do live training, or one could create learning resources. In live training, the person needs to focus on every student individually, which, being slightly tedious, generally rewards a higher compensation.

Creating online courses and materials is a much simpler job. The more popular the course gets, the more money one receives for it. Unlike other online business ideas for college students, through this, one can earn a consistent income every month and also expand their knowledge by teaching others.

A part-time tutor can earn between 10000-15000 rupees a month if they work for 3-4 hours a day. Websites like Chegg also pay you for just solving doubts and questions posted by the students.

3. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves recommending products, companies, and services to potential customers and getting paid for it. It is synonymous with getting a commission for bringing in more customers. It is a unique and small business idea for girl students, in particular, who are fashion and lifestyle influencers or bloggers. Some of the services that support affiliate marketing are:

● Amazon

● Flipkart

One needs to sign in to these services and create an affiliate link for their products. The next step is to promote these products through the person’s social media platforms, websites, Youtube etc. If anyone buys that product using your link, you get a commission fee for your recommendation. Earnings vary from product to product and service to service.

Although this idea sounds very easy, it requires patience, perseverance, and heaps of learning. Not promoting the right product is a common issue for newbie affiliates.

Once a person has nailed the skill of finding the right product and promoting it efficiently, there is nothing that can stop them from progressing in this industry.

4. Transcription Service:

Transcription is listening to an audio file and converting it into text. Even though it seems like a small idea to earn money, it is not. This field has become very popular in recent times. Many websites offer freelancers a way to provide transcription services:

● Rev

● TranscribeMe

● Go Transcribe

● Scribie

This is one of the unique business ideas for college students that allows them to earn in dollars despite sitting and working here in India. They have to get themselves registered on any of the above-mentioned websites and set up a PayPal account.

Transcription companies usually pay a rate per audio hour. All you need is a computer and a reliable internet connection.

However, while these jobs pay well, the work involved is very repetitive. The person needs to listen to the same audio over and over again for accurate transcription. The flexibility of the work may make up for the fact that it is challenging and repetitive. It is a great business idea for students with a legal or medical background because specialised transcriptions pay higher. Beginners can start by looking into general transcription.

” Transcribe Anywhere” is a digital portal that teaches students how to transcribe and start their own freelance business in this field.

5. Web Development:

This option could be best suitable for computer science students and those who are interested in programming languages such as Java & Kotlin. Programming skills will increase one’s expertise in academic life and help one make money as a student. Here are some of the portals that provide web development assignments:

● Guru

● Fiverr

● Toptal

● Upwork

Some of the important aspects one needs to look into beforehand are: deciding the niche that they are going to serve, determining what services to offer and pricing, getting clients in the short term, and building their brand in the long run.

It is recommended to create a personal website that will help portray one’s skill to potential clients. This will also help in bringing more and more clients.

Mastering Search Engine Optimisation and being able to create one’s designs will increase their earning potential. Applications can be built and uploaded on Google Play Store, where one can earn money by putting advertisements in the apps.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind that daily school work pressures also mounts, which are the least time-consuming and easiest online business ideas for students. All a student has to do is invest a few hours in it and start earning decently in no time. It is advised not to be picky in the initial days, get as much experience as one can get so that you one improvise, and develop new skills according to the market’s demand.

Last but not the least, a student needs to understand that they will have a full-time job after college, so it is recommended to try and divide one’s time accordingly between academics and part-time work so that the academics are not compromised.

Maintaining this balance is very important as a student. One should also keep in mind that if things don’t work out their way after completing their education, online business ideas like these have the potential of becoming a person’s primary source of income.

Students just need to find out what they are passionate about, and go for it!

Also Read:

1) Top 10 Small Business Ideas in the Garment Industry
2) 31 Successful Organic & Unique Business Ideas [A Complete Guide]
3) 5 Small Business Ideas for Housewives
4) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

Stay updated with new business ideas & business tips with OkCredit blogs in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi & more!
Download OkCredit now & get rid of your bookkeeping hassles.
OkCredit is 100% Made in India.

FAQs

Q. What is the investment required for starting a business as a student in India?

Ans. To start most of the part-time businesses mentioned above, the student needs to have a decent laptop, which begins around Rs. 40,000 in India. Since these businesses are done online, a decent internet connection is also required.

Q. What are the skills required for a web designer?

Ans. A web designer should be well-versed in programming languages such as Javascript, HTML and CSS. They should also have a basic knowledge of design elements used in websites.

Q. What are the skills required to become an affiliate marketing specialist?

Ans. An affiliate marketing specialist needs to have a basic knowledge of SEO so that the products marketed by them find their way in the searches of prospective customers. They should also be well-versed with photo and video-editing software.