Being a college dropout isn’t a death sentence. It doesn’t mean that your life has ended and all you have to do now is give up.

Look around you, there are hundreds of success stories about college dropouts who have turned out very well in life. They are living their best even without that certificate or degree.

For example:

Zuckerburg, the owner of Facebook and billionaire dropped out of college. Bill Gates dropped out of school and founded Microsoft, he is now worth over $87.2 billion.

Should I continue?

The list goes on and on.

Why am is telling you this? Does it mean you will become a billionaire if you drop out of college?

Absolutely not. Or maybe you can, but there is no certainty.

What I mean is that not having finished school isn’t a death sentence. There are thousands of opportunities out there you can take advantage of.

All you have to do is open your eyes, understand your likes and dislikes, and you will be on your way to success.

To help you with some ideas, I compiled a list of easy business ideas a college dropout can start.

These are businesses that require no papers whatsoever, unless of course the legal papers.

Otherwise, you should be able to start these businesses using either the skills you already have or learning news one, thanks to the internet.

• Social media services

Social media is pretty huge as far as marketing a brand is concerned.

And correct me if I’m wrong, on average, you spend between 2-3 hours daily just swiping through the newsfeed, liking, and sharing content on these social media platforms.

With the level of attention these platforms are receiving from users, businesses are moving in to position their products and services, hoping to drive awareness and sales.

But there is a problem.

Marketing on social media is more than just posting pictures and videos. There are best practices that if executed well, increase the chances of achieving meaningful results.

The problem is these brands either do not have the manpower or resources to implement these best practices. This is where you come in.

You don’t need a degree or any college papers to help these businesses market on social media.

All you have to do is understand how the platforms work, have a plan and strategy. This is something you can learn within a day through the internet.

Then show how you can help them achieve results using social media.

• Mobile car wash

You don’t need college papers to wash a car or start a car wash business.

While it may seem intimidating to start a car washing business, you know, because of expenses, legal requirements, and a ton of water, there is a better way.

Mobile car wash is the easiest of all carwash business to get into. All you need is a little soap, old towels, and sponges.

Better part?

You don’t need to pay for water because you can use the client’s water!

No need for upfront investment, no expenses, and potentially high demand for your services.

See, most people would appreciate it if their cars were washed right on their parking lot or at a short call notice.

The secret here is to employ every marketing tactic you can think of. Making sure the whole neighborhood knows about your mobile car wash business.

And most of all, strive for long term clients. These are the ones you can wash their cars every week.

• Party planner

There are so many opportunities that could use your organizational and crazy fun ideas. The demand keeps growing every day. Kid’s parties, weddings, offices celebration, name them.

Imagine having fun and making money at the same time! This is the easiest business for college dropouts.

To be a party planner, your job is to make sure that everything goes on as planned and the guests leave happy. That’s it.

To achieve that, you can employ a few tricks to induce and stir fun within the party.

For example:

If you are tasked with planning kids’ parties, think of fun activities they could engage in that put smiles on their faces. Clowns are a good idea and perfect business as well.

While there are schools for clowns, you don’t need to attend one.

Pick a costume, paint your face, and you are done. Learn a few tricks here and there and make at least $200 per hour. At least not in Africa though… Haha.

• Collecting and selling antiques (art gallery)

Opening an art gallery is a lucrative business that doesn’t require college skills apart from an eye for undervalue antiques, interpersonal skills, and negotiation skills.

As you can see, you don’t have to attend college to acquire those.

While this is a business with the potential to bring a lot of money, most people who engage in it often struggle to stay in business.

Why?

The art business is cyclical, which means today the demand may be high, but the future is uncertain. As that’s happening, here are expenses to be taken care of. You need to pay gallery rent and other overheads.

Solution?

Floating art gallery.

It is the best business to start for college dropouts and art lovers.

Here, you strike a deal with local restaurants, coffee shops, and bars to use their premises for free to host art exhibitions.

In return, they make money through all the publicity and traffic you are bringing to their businesses.

How about art?

You don’t need to buy or own the art upfront. Take it on consignment and only pay for it when you make a sale.

Now, to promote such a business, you don’t need to pay anything also. Leverage free marketing channels such as social media, email marketing, and word of mouth.

The secret here is dealing only with fast-moving artwork that has higher profit margins. Also, focus on building relationships with your clients to encourage repeat buyers.

• Crafting business

When college fails, you can turn into your hand skills to make money.

Crafting is a profitable business you can start now and make money doing.

The secret to deal with items that fetch higher prices and has a high demand in the market. To achieve that, consider showcasing your items online through sites like Etsy. All you have to do is open an account, upload photos, prices, and you are set.

Whenever you receive an order, go ahead and deliver and grow from there.

One more thing:

To make more money, consider taking custom orders.

These are customers who tell you exactly what they want. And since this is something guaranteed to sell, you can charge slightly higher prices.

For example:

If you are creating hand-made necklaces, you can create a website tool where people can virtually ‘design’ custom necklaces. Then make and ship them.

• Phone case business

In every ten people, at least 2 of them own a smartphone. While that is a good thing in terms of accessing the internet and quality of communication, there is some bad news.

Smartphones are fragile.

I mean, just pay attention to a person’s facial expression when they drop their phone. Some of them almost get heart attacks.

Why?

Because these phones are expensive and we are attached to them so much, to an extent we can’t go hours without taking a peek inside.

But phone cases can help.

They cushion the phones from the effects of the impact, thus preserving the fragile glass screens.

Also, phone cases add beauty to mobile phones. For these two reasons, people are constantly looking for the best phone case.

Now, to start a phone case business, you don’t need special skills or some fancy college qualification.

It is a print-on-demand business, which means you can only make the item when someone is waiting to buy it.

To succeed in this business, you let the customer decide what they want.

For example:

Let him design the phone case he wants, you print exactly that and sell it back to him.

• Travel consultant

Being out of college leaves plenty of free time you can use to explore some of your hobbies.

If you love traveling and discovering new places, you can make money out of it.

How?

By starting a travel consultancy business.

Leverage word of mouth to reach friends who can benefit from your skills, say, get cheaper flight rates, affordable places to visit, and rooms around town.

To make money, you can take commissions for every lead you refer to the business. Alternatively, you can book the tickets in bulk and then resell to your clients at slightly higher prices.

Another idea is to start a travel blog where you will be sharing your traveling experiences. Collaborate with brands to advertise on your blog, paid content, or affiliate marketing.

• Property manager

There are a lot of real estate owners who despite having a lot of money, are struggling to manage their properties.

Having more than one property can easily turn into a full-time job when you are supposed to be enjoying yourself.

Instead, they can hire you as the property manager.

To get the job, you don’t need college qualifications but good management and interpersonal skills also come in handy.

As a property manager, your work is to make sure that the tenants are happy and get what they want.

Also, you need to ensure that the property is at its optimal at all times, which isn’t much work considering you are dealing with adults and fully completed property.

• Portrait photographer

If you own a camera, you can make money as a photographer.

With the smartphones flooding the market, you may be led to think that people will never need a camera again.

Well, it turns out, digital camera photos are in demand, even more, thanks to photo-sharing platforms like Instagram and Facebook where everyone wants to upload a better photo than the last one.

To get started, you can target college students. Offer attractive packages to woe more clients.

Also, consider taking big projects like wedding photographs. They pay a lot for a day’s work.

• Catering business

Talking of weddings, as much as everyone wants to snap a photo, at the end of the day, they have to eat.

I mean, events are an integral part of our lives, and in most cases, people end up enjoying a plate of something to sign off the day.

If you love cooking and have a couple of yummy recipes and tricks up your sleeves, this is your chance to make money as a college dropout.

All you have to do is have a supplier for the foodstuffs, hire cooks, and items you will need. You don’t have to own them.

To get your first customers, talk to friends and family to refer you whenever possible.

After all, there is a high chance they have tasted your cooking, and you know how powerful the word of mouth is.

• Buy used electronics, refurbish, and sell

Buying and selling don’t require any college education.

It is a skill you get better at the more you practice and learn from mistakes.

If you understand this, you can start a business of buying used electronics such as TVs, Fridges, blenders, etc. Refurbish them and resell at a slightly higher price.

Here is the thing:

Most people want to own a TV but cannot afford a brand new one.

So, if they can get an in condition used TV for half the price, they are sorted.

The secret to making money with such a business is buying at a low price. To do that, you need to employ aggressive negotiation skills.

• Personal fitness coach

Staying fit and eating healthy is a new year’s resolution for most people. Too bad they end up not getting started, thanks to life happenings.

You can start a personal fitness coaching business where you help people achieve healthy lifestyle goals.

And since this is a one-on-one thing, you can charge a lot of money, which can get even higher if you are fit yourself.

The last thing you want is promoting healthy eating when you are struggling yourself. As such, it is better if you have a perfect body shape.

• Construction business

If you love hands-on experience and handling things by yourself, considering starting a construction business.

At first, you need to show your understanding of the project at hand. But as you start gaining experience, it will get easier selling your services.

• Cleaning business

This goes to those college dropouts who love a clean environment, clean clothes, and clean house.

You can start a house cleaning business and turn it into a fully booked venture with hundreds of employees.

To get started, approach local offices, schools, and churches to consider your services.

As you grow, hire extra help and maybe procure tools to help ease the cleaning process and produce quality service.

• Landscaping business

Landscaping is all about playing with nature to achieve an eye-catchy view.

It has nothing to do with college qualifications, thus perfect business for college dropouts.

Also Read: – HOW TO START A LANDSCAPING AND LAWN CARE BUSINESS.

• Delivery business

With the wake of online shopping, who do you think delivers these items?

You can sign up as the delivery guy around town with your bike or truck if you own one.

• Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a business where you sell products without ever touching or seeing them. You see a product you like, promote the images on your website or social media.

When a customer buys it, take the money, and get a supplier. Instruct them to deliver the item to the customer’s address and you pocket the difference.

• Online trading

Saved the best for last.

As a college dropout, you can make a lot of money trading online. It is a business that requires zero college knowledge because the skills required are learned on the job.

Wrapping on Easy To Start Businesses For College Dropouts

These easy-to-start businesses for college dropouts have the potential to change your lifestyle forever. It is up to you to have a plan and strategy to make them work.

Tagged With : business ideas for dropouts • famous celebrity college dropouts