We all know the feeling, the annual event when all across the country, and the world, thousands of people take a weekend and move their kids and their belongings to various places. Fun. A few weekends ago, I helped my sister move into her college of choice. The university is great, the city is pleasant and I knew there must be someway of making money! So, here are a few quick ideas for making money on moving in day, make sure you ask your college’s permission if you need to:
Sell Water
It was a boiling day, and cafes were absolutely packed out, the thing I wanted most was a bottle of water. Seriously, I would have paid good money to have a drink I could carry round with me…it is a long walk from the car to the dorms! Buy big multi-packs, walk round with some kind of “cooler bag” and charge 2.5x the price you got it for!
Carry My Stuff
You could easily make good money by transporting various stuff for parents. I know they would prefer to be taking it easy carrying cushions up five flights of stairs, rather than radios, stationary and other annoying items. Which is where you come in. Added bonus: you get a nice start to your college workout plan. Chris had a great post about this topic in July.
Sell those “little extras”
Students are always going to forget things. The little things you never remember, like light bulbs, computer accessories (Many will forget the wire for the internet), toothpaste and other odd bits. If you are there with the right products at the right time, then there may be a nice little profit to be made.
Guided tours of the area
I don’t know about you, but moving into a new place is a bit daunting. So why not offer some kind of tour around the local area? This idea will need some working on, to get the logistics sorted, but essentially you could have some kind of tour taking in the main areas that students need, shops etc.
Food on order
For those people moving into self catered accommodation, getting your food sorted for the first week is a hassle. You could order it before, and take it up with you, but that is a lot of food to keep cool and a lot of space that is wasted. You could buy it when you get there, but it is still a lot of hassle getting everything sorted while you’re trying to move in, the shops are bound to be packed anyway, so why not make life easier for you and everyone else with you? You could set up a service where you take orders and buy the food before they get there, Charge a for storage and logistics, and a bit on top, and you could come out with a tidy sum.
So, there you go! A few ideas to help you take advantage of moving in day…some of these ideas are small scale, and some may require a lot more planning, some of the ideas need refining, some are ready made and some are ready to go. I hope at the very least they have acted as a spring board, but there is always an opportunity somewhere so keep looking out for it! I hope these ideas have got you thinking about the next academic year!
Hope you enjoyed the post, have you made any money on moving in day? Leave your ideas and experiences in the comment box below!
Sophie
Great post Sophie! Lots of good ideas in there.