By Amy Grace
University presents a great opportunity to earn money as well as a degree. Four entrepreneurial students explain how they cashed in on their studies.
Money is a major issue for most students, and part-time work can be a big help when it comes to making ends meet. But along with the financial benefits, a job can also help you develop invaluable experience, skills and contacts — all of which will stand you in good stead for future life.
Most students make a beeline for the usual list of tried-and-tested high street employers — shops, restaurants and pubs — that welcome them with open arms. But some choose to go it alone, kick-starting their entrepreneurial skills and often achieving considerable success very quickly. So if you have ideas, passion and drive, why not use your university years to earn more than just a degree?
Jules graduated from Northumbria University this summer with a BA (Hons) in Fashion Marketing. She founded tea-lovers’ one-stop-shop The Tea Shed in her final year.
“I knew that I could have a lot more fun at university if I had money and was my own boss. I also wanted to leave university in a position to pay off my debts relatively quickly, as well as having two months’ rent saved up. But I didn’t want to get bar work because that would have ruined my social life, and I don’t really like working for other people. I needed to come up with my own way of affording nice clothes and a decent social life. My business ventures enabled me to do that.
“When I started university I was already self-employed, and had been since I was 17. I had earned money catering for friends and at farmers’ markets and parties, and I then progressed to hosting under-18 club nights — putting down a deposit of around £300, booking DJs and bands, and then taking what was left of the sales revenue after the club’s commission. Lots of students do that kind of thing. It went a long way towards my accommodation costs until I moved back in with my mum last summer and started investing my money in The Tea Shed, which was the basis of my final year project at Northumbria.
“Choosing a very practical course was a conscious decision because I wanted to learn creative and applied business skills, so that on graduating I could design things and run a business. My course also taught me about focus groups, which are a vital research tool. University life gave me the space and opportunity to try different ways of earning money, and in the process I won awards for my business and business plan, secured financial grants and had free access to some great PR advice.
“If I could give new students one piece of advice, it would be to follow your instincts and ensure that whatever course you want to do is really going to help you achieve what you want on graduating. And if you come up with a business idea to earn money along the way, the key to getting things up and running is research, research, research.”
Ben Tattersley, 17
AS-level student Ben is taking Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Product Design. He writes apps in his spare time, and hopes to go to either Loughborough or Brunel University in September 2012 to study Natural Sciences or Industrial Design.
“I started writing apps for webOS after answering an advert on a blog for web developers. That was my first experience of being paid for work. If, one day, I end up making a killer app, I’ll be financially comfortable, but for now I can pay for my social life with my earnings.
“My phone helps me organise my life and when I come across something that it can’t do it gives me the idea for a new app. I think the experience of going to university and having to juggle different demands as well as manage my social life and budget will help me generate even more ideas.
“Writing apps isn’t difficult — if you can write a web page, you can do it. My success has led me to do some voluntary work giving presentations to webOS developers and enthusiasts, such as at the webOS Connect event in London. I also do volunteer teaching in app development at my school, and some students have picked up the necessary skills within a week of classes. But I do tell them you have to know when to let go of an idea if you’re not getting anywhere with it — otherwise you end up neglecting your studies.”
Richard Shepherd, 21
Richard has just finished his third year of a BA in Journalism at University College Falmouth, following two years studying for a foundation degree in Journalism and Practical Media at Exeter College.
“I needed a way of earning money that would fit in with the demands of my college course, and baking was the answer — I made and sold scones, cakes, flapjacks, cheese straws, mince pies and puddings. I was living at home at the time, so it worked well with my lifestyle, too.
“My flapjacks had always been popular with friends and that gave me the confidence to start selling them. Country Markets, a co-operative in Taunton, was my first outlet and at one point I was making £70 a week.
“I then approached a farm shop and they bought my sticky-toffee puddings. I started making 10 a week, at about £2 each. Then they took my mince pies, which sold in the thousands. At the same time, I was going to school craft fairs and setting up free tasting sessions, and I approached local cafés and started attending a weekly market.
“Baking and balancing the books was easier than a regular job because I could manage my own time; while I was waiting for Christmas puddings to steam or sponges to rise, I wrote essays. The other advantage of earning money through a skill like baking is that it requires minimal investment, so it’s easier getting something off the ground.”
Joanna Montgomery, 23
After graduating from the University of Dundee last year with a BA in Digital Interaction Design, Joanna launched Pillow Talk, a product connecting long-distance lovers, and a company called Little Riot.
“During my first year at uni all I wanted to do was go out, which proved quite expensive, so I then spent my last three years clawing it all back. I’m lucky to have left university with a company of my own, a website and minimal debt, and that’s mostly down to working as a freelance website designer from my second year onwards.
“I also did photography for weddings, gigs and album covers. I mostly generated business through word of mouth and by putting up posters, and I earned a few hundred pounds per month, which paid for my social life, travel and clothes.
“At university I had access to an organisation called the Enterprise Gym, which covers all you need to know to set up a business. There’s no better time than your uni years to develop an idea, because you have a huge network of free resources at your disposal — it’s a springboard for success.
Jules graduated from Northumbria University this summer with a BA (Hons) in Fashion Marketing. She founded tea-lovers’ one-stop-shop The Tea Shed in her final year.
“I knew that I could have a lot more fun at university if I had money and was my own boss. I also wanted to leave university in a position to pay off my debts relatively quickly, as well as having two months’ rent saved up. But I didn’t want to get bar work because that would have ruined my social life, and I don’t really like working for other people. I needed to come up with my own way of affording nice clothes and a decent social life. My business ventures enabled me to do that.
“When I started university I was already self-employed, and had been since I was 17. I had earned money catering for friends and at farmers’ markets and parties, and I then progressed to hosting under-18 club nights — putting down a deposit of around £300, booking DJs and bands, and then taking what was left of the sales revenue after the club’s commission. Lots of students do that kind of thing. It went a long way towards my accommodation costs until I moved back in with my mum last summer and started investing my money in The Tea Shed, which was the basis of my final year project at Northumbria.
“Choosing a very practical course was a conscious decision because I wanted to learn creative and applied business skills, so that on graduating I could design things and run a business. My course also taught me about focus groups, which are a vital research tool. University life gave me the space and opportunity to try different ways of earning money, and in the process I won awards for my business and business plan, secured financial grants and had free access to some great PR advice.
“If I could give new students one piece of advice, it would be to follow your instincts and ensure that whatever course you want to do is really going to help you achieve what you want on graduating. And if you come up with a business idea to earn money along the way, the key to getting things up and running is research, research, research.”
Ben Tattersley, 17
AS-level student Ben is taking Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Product Design. He writes apps in his spare time, and hopes to go to either Loughborough or Brunel University in September 2012 to study Natural Sciences or Industrial Design.
“I started writing apps for webOS after answering an advert on a blog for web developers. That was my first experience of being paid for work. If, one day, I end up making a killer app, I’ll be financially comfortable, but for now I can pay for my social life with my earnings.
“My phone helps me organise my life and when I come across something that it can’t do it gives me the idea for a new app. I think the experience of going to university and having to juggle different demands as well as manage my social life and budget will help me generate even more ideas.
“Writing apps isn’t difficult — if you can write a web page, you can do it. My success has led me to do some voluntary work giving presentations to webOS developers and enthusiasts, such as at the webOS Connect event in London. I also do volunteer teaching in app development at my school, and some students have picked up the necessary skills within a week of classes. But I do tell them you have to know when to let go of an idea if you’re not getting anywhere with it — otherwise you end up neglecting your studies.”
Richard Shepherd, 21
Richard has just finished his third year of a BA in Journalism at University College Falmouth, following two years studying for a foundation degree in Journalism and Practical Media at Exeter College.
“I needed a way of earning money that would fit in with the demands of my college course, and baking was the answer — I made and sold scones, cakes, flapjacks, cheese straws, mince pies and puddings. I was living at home at the time, so it worked well with my lifestyle, too.
“My flapjacks had always been popular with friends and that gave me the confidence to start selling them. Country Markets, a co-operative in Taunton, was my first outlet and at one point I was making £70 a week.
“I then approached a farm shop and they bought my sticky-toffee puddings. I started making 10 a week, at about £2 each. Then they took my mince pies, which sold in the thousands. At the same time, I was going to school craft fairs and setting up free tasting sessions, and I approached local cafés and started attending a weekly market.
“Baking and balancing the books was easier than a regular job because I could manage my own time; while I was waiting for Christmas puddings to steam or sponges to rise, I wrote essays. The other advantage of earning money through a skill like baking is that it requires minimal investment, so it’s easier getting something off the ground.”
Joanna Montgomery, 23
After graduating from the University of Dundee last year with a BA in Digital Interaction Design, Joanna launched Pillow Talk, a product connecting long-distance lovers, and a company called Little Riot.
“During my first year at uni all I wanted to do was go out, which proved quite expensive, so I then spent my last three years clawing it all back. I’m lucky to have left university with a company of my own, a website and minimal debt, and that’s mostly down to working as a freelance website designer from my second year onwards.
“I also did photography for weddings, gigs and album covers. I mostly generated business through word of mouth and by putting up posters, and I earned a few hundred pounds per month, which paid for my social life, travel and clothes.
“At university I had access to an organisation called the Enterprise Gym, which covers all you need to know to set up a business. There’s no better time than your uni years to develop an idea, because you have a huge network of free resources at your disposal — it’s a springboard for success.
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