Ok so I’ve boasted in my About Me page that I’ve been able to make a decent amount of money despite being a student. This blog is still young so I think it’s a perfect time to introduce how exactly I’m able to be quite wealthy as a undergraduate student at an American university.
Internet Entrepreneur - Over the years I’ve been able to learn a lot about being an Internet Entrepreneur. When I first started out I just liked making websites for fun. This soon became more than a hobby when I began selling templates. To keep my start-up costs low, I had learned how to do almost EVERYTHING that was necessary to start a profitable website. I learned programming, Photoshop, HTML, SEO, and Internet Marketing. So when I became good at making templates (this was before Google came out with their Adsense program) I started selling them for 50 bucks a pop. That soon became a business all on its own and to THIS DAY I am still selling templates. (Funny though, I actually DID NOT make the template that you are looking at right now, I bought this off a good friend of mine).
But selling templates is only one aspect of what I do. Do you see the ads on top? I make money through those ads served by Google Adsense whenever someone clicks on them and I also make money through other ad agencies.
I’ve written an e-book which I marketed heavily last year and is now just making me residual income.
UPDATE: I’ve created a dropshipping-based website business.
This is where the bulk of my time goes. I probably spend 4-5 hours per day working on my sites.
Random Jobs – I’ve worked in retail, I’ve been a host at Chili’s, I’ve done fast food, I also worked at a gym for one summer. Most of those in High School, but I still find work every now and then if I’m not interning.
UPDATE: Now I’m working at a restaurant part-time during the school year. Since I don’t have time to intern right now, I’m getting in some hours on the weekend, making around $600 every 2 weeks or so.
Internships – I’ve been blessed to have parents in the business sector who have given me some opportunities to get some decent internships. I’m not super-wealthy, but through these summer internships or year-long internships I’ve saved up a lot more than the average college student with almost zero in their bank account.
Hustling – I’m a poker player, but honestly I don’t know if I’ve made profit playing poker. I’d like to think I have but who really knows? I sure don’t keep track.
This sounds very vague. The fewer details you provide, the more you look like you’re trying to hide.
Also, you can get web templates for free at this site, so why should I bother to buy them from you: LINK REMOVED
Comment by Horatio Caine — April 24, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
Thanks for voicing your opinion Horatio. You’re right I am absolutely trying to hide some things about how I’m making the money that I do make. The reason for this is because I am trying to keep this blog separate from my other ventures due to personal reasons. I wanted this blog to be uncensored, a little edgier. It wouldn’t fare well to associate them with my other ventures, more professional ventures. As for why someone would want to buy a template from me instead of getting a free one, I think it goes without saying that people want their site to be unique. Therefore having a carbon copied design would not be in their best interest.
However I think you are right about me not sharing enough details. I will update my post in the future to share some more details. Also in future posts I will be going into more specifics about how exactly to make money. Thanks.
Comment by Beamer — April 25, 2009 @ 3:30 am
[...] I wrote in my post: How I’m making money as college student that I’ve done some entrepreneurialism to make money. The Internet is wildly profitable and I [...]
Pingback by Intro to Internet entrepreneurialism « University Dude | Helping Students Earn Money While Still in School — April 26, 2009 @ 2:32 am
good post. I think those are all good ways to make money as a college student.
Comment by wolozk — July 8, 2009 @ 10:29 pm