Tuition hikes, ASUU strikes and a tight budget- that is the reality of most Nigerian students in 2024. But what do all these problems have in common? Money can fix them.
As a student, especially a full time student, your time is divided between lectures, personal study and extracurricular activities. Adding a business can impact your studies negatively. I understand this. That is why many students prefer to make money online.
But what if I tell you that there are businesses you can successfully combine with your school life? What if you can make good money even as a student.
In this article, I would delve deeply into various ways you can earn a decent income as a Nigerian student. These methods take the unique challenges of students into consideration but they are in no way get-rich-quick schemes. These ideas would benefit you if you are willing to patiently build a solid business as a student.
1. Local Dropshipping
Did you know that you can make money by bringing excellent products to the internet in Nigeria? And the best part is that you don’t have to bother about the logistics or anything like that.
For example you might know someone who makes excellent tiger nut drinks or beads or powerbank (all local products that are valuable but little known). All you have to do is approach the person and confirm the price.
The thing is, every business owner in Nigeria is happy with whatever brings in the sales for them. So, all you have to do is explain that you would be sending a buyer their way and that they should take the actual price of their goods from whatever the buyer pays and send the rest to you.
How do you get the buyer? Run ads on facebook, instagram, jiji, nairaland or wherever you think the ideal customer for the product spends time online. You also need to work with a competent dispatch riding service. And there are many. Of course their fee would be added to the price of the product.
If you are skilled at running good paid campaigns then this business idea might just be the thing for you. The key here is finding the right product and digital channel
2. YouTube
If you have the Charisma and something great to share with the world then you should consider starting a YouTube Channel. Nothing beats a great video for educational, entertainment purposes or self-expression.
To succeed in this business, you need a good grasp of YouTube SEO and video editing. You should also have a strong theme for your vlog. This is probably the most important element because it allows you to connect with an audience which can grow into a loyal community.
You can monetize your vlog with google adsense or other ad networks like media.net, propeller ads, adsterra etc.
3. Tutoring
As an undergraduate, you probably have an edge in terms of knowledge. You might understand O’level subjects or foreign languages. Whatever your forte is you can teach it and there are several ways to do this.
The first way is to create a course and sell it on platforms like Udemy, Expertnaire, or selar.co. Another way is to offer to teach this as a tutor on platforms like superprof.ng, tuteria, Chegg tutors, etc.
4. Affiliate marketing
Another way to leverage the internet to make money as a student is through affiliate marketing. I must warn though that affiliate marketing is not a get rich quick scheme.
Affiliate marketing is all about selling other people’s products and earning a cut of the revenue as commission. The most important element needed to succeed in affiliate marketing is the ability to reach the right people who are willing to buy the products and convince them to buy.
There are many places on the internet where you can get good products to promote but some reliable ones that work smoothly for Nigerians include Jvzoo, Expertnaire, Impact radius etc.
It is important to take time to learn about each platform and ensure you have a good budget for promoting the products before starting an affiliate marketing campaign.
5. Web development
Web development is another way to make good money online. From creating your own websites and making money from them to building websites for clients, there are many things you can do with web design skills.
You can also land a good part time job if you are really good with this skill. The beauty of this job for you as a student is that you can easily combine this with schoolwork. If you excel at this you can even create digital products like website templates, plugins etc
6. Graphics design
This is one digital skill that can pay you fast. Especially with the new trend of using Artificial intelligence to generate stock images that can be sold on marketplaces like freepik, wirestock and adobe. You get to earn in dollars just by doing this.
If you want to start small, you can look at local clients around you. Churches need to design beautiful flyers for their many programmes, schools, small businesses and almost every organization needs good designers these days.
While there may be fierce competition for these gigs, there is also overwhelming demand for the service. Besides, there are different niches in graphics design for example as a UI/UX designer you would work with developers on their projects. So, you shouldn’t worry too much about the competition.
Another beautiful thing about this skill is that you can do this from your smartphone. You don’t have to own a laptop to start.
7. Copywriting
Copywriting is an aspect of content writing but it is quite different from writing blog posts, emails or other types of content. It is all about creating captivating write ups for the sole purpose of making people take a desired action such as buying a product or signing up to a newsletter.
Copywriting is an aspect of content writing that has earned a unique place in the world of marketing and in this article because of how popular it is. This is a no brainer because the path to making money as a copywriter is quite straightforward. It can be broken into two steps; Learn how to write and then get copywriting clients.
But ‘straightforward’ doesn’t mean easy. Expect to work hard to meet high standards in content. You have to display an ability to empathize with the potential customer and still produce compelling writing that drives customers to take the desired action. Luckily, there are a ton of free courses and books out there that can help you get started.
8. Blogging
Creating a good blog can be a good way to make some cool cash as a student. People think blogging is all about being a great writer. It is much more than that. You also need to know a thing or two about search engines, managing your website and growing your blog through different traffic sources etc.
There are also many ways to monetize this. I would list a few of them;
- Sell ad space
- Offer your services/skill
- Sell your own course
- Sell other people’s products as an affiliate.
One advantage of this business model is that it allows you to work at your own pace so
that what you do doesn’t affect your studies.
9. Video Content creation
There was a time when content creation wasn’t well-known as a business in Nigeria. That time is now in the past. Whether you are creating informative, entertaining or lifestyle content there always seems to be an audience for good videos.
Two well-known platforms where you can monetize your videos are YouTube and Tik Tok. I am going to list the various ways to make money on this platform.
How to make money on YouTube
- You can make money on YouTube by joining the YouTube partner program. There are certain criteria for joining this programme. This program would help you earn money from ad revenue.
- You can sell memberships to people you watch your YouTube by offering special benefits to paid members.
- You can partner with brands to create sponsored content for their business.
- You can sell other people’s products as an affiliate. As a reward you get a commission.
- You can also sell your own products whether they are physical products or digital products.
How to make money Tik Tok
- You can join the Tik Tok creativity program and earn money from your content. But your account has to meet certain criteria to qualify for this programme.
- You can sell your own products to your audience on Tik Tok.
- You can also partner with businesses to promote their products to your audience.
10. Ecommerce
Ecommerce is all about leveraging the internet to sell goods and services. If you have a product to sell, you can make money online by selling it. There are so many ways you can approach this.
- You can create your own online store and sell these products.
- You can create a store on existing ecommerce platforms like Jumia, Konga to sell products.
- You can also list your products on classified ads websites like Jiji.ng and run ads to promote your products.
One important thing you should know about ecommerce is that you have to understand the product you are selling thoroughly. People often take this for granted but it is very important.
This understanding would enable you to find buyers and communicate the value of your product successfully.
For example, if you sell gadgets and understand the different brands very well, you should know what the perception of your customers about certain gadgets are. You should also understand their pain points. This kind of understanding would help you craft a nice product description and ad copy for your product.
Pitfalls to avoid while trying to make money as a student
There are certain pitfalls you should avoid when trying to make money online as a student.
1. Don’t get greedy
Be willing to start small. If you take on too many things at the same time just because you want to make a lot of money, you might end up failing at a lot of these things. And it can also impact your studies negatively.
Another aspect of greed you should avoid is trying to make a lot of money by listening to online gurus who make outlandish claims in terms of earnings. Don’t believe everything you see online.
Some of the screenshots they present as proof of earnings are actually fake and anyone with decent design skills can put these things together. If you get greedy and decide to believe them, you may end up getting scammed or wasting a lot of valuable time. Before buying into any programmes you found online try to chat with the owner first and ask good questions. That is probably the best way to avoid regrets.
2. Play to your strengths
We are all unique in our own ways but there are a lot of things that can be said to be common about us. We all have our areas of strengths and weaknesses.
You should be able to know your unique talents by now. Can you write really well? Maybe you should start a blog. Do you have great charisma? Are you a great speaker? Are you great with computer programs?
Playing to your strengths would help you find success faster as a student entrepreneur. This is because you would be able to learn faster and do a better job since you already have some natural talent in the business you have chosen.
3. Learn time management
Time is one of the greatest gifts you have as a student. You have to allocate time to run your business and another to study. One thing you cannot afford to do is waste time on anything that has absolutely no real benefit to you in the long run.
You should neither let your weeks go unplanned nor your days unscheduled. Another important time management skill is using time logs to audit your usage of time on a weekly basis. The key here is to review the way you spend time until you are spending most of your time on the most consequential and important things to you.
4. Focus on Quality
Quality is the best business plan and a great way to succeed as a student running a small business is to focus on improving the quality of your products or services over time. This would help you grow as a businessperson much more than focusing on money would.
5. Don’t give up
Don’t expect business to be a bed of roses from the start. It is going to be tough in most cases. But what you can control is how hard you continue to work in spite of challenges.
Once you start your business, don’t quit until you have succeeded. You have to be patient and be ready to work hard. But you also need to build the mental stamina to keep going when you are not seeing the desired results.
Bottom line
It is absolutely possible to combine studies and make money online as a student. But in most cases, you have to prepare to work hard to achieve this.
So, don’t expect it to be easy. Instead, try to improve your chances of success by choosing a lucrative online business, playing to your strengths, delivering quality work and refusing to give up. I wish you good luck