Last semester I was broke. Like really broke.
I had $47 in my bank account. Rent was $650 and due in 8 days. I had two exams that week. My part-time job had just cut my hours because "business was slow."
I was screwed.
So I did what any desperate person does at 2am - I Googled "how to make money fast as a student."
The Problem with Most Advice
Every article I found was either:
- A scam ("Make $5000 your first week!")
- Required money I didn't have ("Start dropshipping with just $500!")
- Took way too long ("Build a blog and monetize in 18 months!")
None of them understood my situation. I needed money THIS month. I had zero dollars to invest. My schedule was chaos.
I kept searching anyway. And testing. And failing. A lot.
What I Actually Tried
The first thing I tried was surveys. You know, those "get paid for your opinion" sites.
I spent 6 hours over 3 days filling out surveys. Made $12.
Twelve dollars. For six hours of work. That's $2/hour. I could literally pick up cans on the street and make more money.
Next I tried "content mills" - those websites where you write articles for $5 each. Wrote 3 articles. Made $15. Each article took me 2 hours because I was trying to make them good.
That's when I realized something. I was approaching this all wrong.
The Shift That Changed Everything
I stopped looking for "jobs" and started looking for problems I could solve.
My roommate was always complaining about how disorganized he was. He'd tried Notion but said it was "too complicated to set up."
So I spent a Saturday building a simple Notion template for students. Class schedule, assignment tracker, study planner. Nothing fancy.
I listed it on Gumroad for $12. Posted about it in 3 college Facebook groups.
Made my first sale on Wednesday. $12. Best $12 I ever made because it proved something: people will pay for solutions, not for your time.
I made 5 more templates that month. Different styles, different majors. By the end of the month I'd made $180.
Not life-changing money. But it was something. And more importantly, it was passive. I built it once, it kept selling.
The Website Thing
The second thing that worked was way simpler than I expected.
I walked into a local cafe to study. Their wifi password was on a little card. I noticed their website was listed too, so I checked it out.
The menu didn't work on mobile. Like, at all. Just broken links.
I walked up to the counter and said "Hey, I noticed your menu is broken on phones. I can fix it for $100 if you want."
The owner looked at me like I was crazy. Then he pulled out his phone, checked the site, and said "Yeah okay, when can you do it?"
I fixed it that afternoon. Took me 2 hours. He paid me in cash.
I did that 4 more times that month with different businesses. $500 total.
Here's what I learned: small businesses know their websites are broken. They just don't know how to fix them. And they're not gonna hire a $5000 agency for a small fix. But $100? Easy decision.
What Else Worked
I tried TikTok editing for a podcaster I found on Twitter. He needed his long episodes cut into 60-second clips for social media. Paid $30 per video.
It was fine. Made about $240 a month doing 8 videos. But honestly it got boring fast. Same thing over and over. I stopped after 3 months.
I also tried Discord modding for a crypto project. They paid $800/month just to be online and enforce community rules.
The money was great but the community was toxic. People arguing about coins 24/7. Not worth the mental energy. Quit after 2 months.
Tutoring on Chegg worked but was exhausting. I helped students with stats homework. Made $25/hour which is solid, but after a full day of classes I didn't want to teach more.
What Completely Failed
Dropshipping. I spent $300 on Facebook ads. Made 2 sales. Lost money. Don't do this unless you have real capital to test with.
YouTube. Made 3 videos about "student productivity." Got 47 total views. Gave up. Maybe it works for some people but not for me.
Crypto trading. Lost $200 trying to "time the market." Just don't.
Affiliate marketing. Made a blog, wrote 10 articles, made $0. Takes way longer than people admit.
The Real Numbers
Month 1: $180 (mostly website fixes)
Month 2: $420 (templates started selling consistently)
Month 3: $680 (repeat customers, more templates)
Month 4: $950 (added TikTok editing)
Month 5: $1,100 (templates became mostly passive)
Month 6: $1,200 (current, about 70% passive)
I'm not rich. But I'm not stressed about rent anymore. That's huge.
What I Wish I Knew Earlier
You don't need to be an expert. You just need to be slightly better than the person who needs help.
I'm not a design expert. But I know more about Notion than most students. That's enough.
I'm not a web developer. But I can fix a broken menu link. That's enough.
Also, college is actually the perfect time to try this. Low expenses, free wifi, thousands of potential customers around you. If you fail, who cares? You're already broke.
How to Actually Start
Don't overthink it. I spent 2 weeks "researching" before doing anything. That was stupid. You learn by doing.
Pick one thing. Just one. Something you're already decent at or interested in.
For me it was Notion because I was already using it. For you it might be something else.
Build something small this weekend. List it somewhere. Tell 10 people about it. See what happens.
Look, I spent weeks trying to figure out which business idea would actually work for my chaotic schedule. Eventually I just built a simple tool to help students find side hustle ideas for students based on their major and free time. It's not perfect and honestly the UI could be better, but it beats scrolling through generic listicles for hours.
Common Questions
Do you need an LLC? No. I still don't have one.
What about taxes? Yeah you gotta pay them. Set aside 25% of what you make. I use FreeTaxUSA.
How much time does this take? I work maybe 10-15 hours a week now. In the beginning it was 20-25.
What if I'm not creative? Neither am I. You don't need creativity. You need to solve problems.
Things I'd Do Differently
I would've focused on ONE thing instead of trying 5 things at once. I wasted so much energy jumping around.
I would've charged more from the beginning. My first website fix was $100. Now I charge $200 for the same work.
I would've asked for testimonials earlier. Social proof matters way more than I thought.
Should You Try This?
I don't know. Maybe?
If you're broke and stressed about money, yeah probably. Worst case you waste a weekend. Best case you cover rent.
If you're doing fine financially, maybe just focus on your classes. This takes real time and energy.
For me it was worth it. Not just for the money, but because I learned actual skills. I can now build digital products, fix websites, and sell services. That's gonna matter more than my GPA when I graduate.
Final Thoughts
The first month sucked. I made barely any money and questioned if I was wasting my time.
But month 2 was better. Month 3 was better than that. Now it's actually working.
If you're reading this at 2am because you're stressed about money, I get it. I was there.
Just pick one thing. Spend this weekend trying it. See what happens.
You might surprise yourself.
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