College students are addicted to making money in their dorms: earning over 10,000 yuan a month, working all night to place orders

Before leaving school, some college students have already earned over 10,000 yuan a month. They sell delicious food and drinks, such as sandwiches, coffee, milk tea, tomatoes and black plums; they sell fun and beautiful things, such as small accessories, small toys, and flower bouquets; and they also provide services, such as dormitory nail art, and dormitory printing is also very popular. The author of the following article interviewed several college students for us, let's take a look at how they make money.

Some college students already earn over 10,000 yuan a month before they even leave school.

This is not an exaggeration. It was previously reported that a college student in Guangdong made over 10,000 yuan a month by doing manicures for his classmates in his dormitory. He bought a car and opened a nail salon.

In addition to nail art, there are many other types of businesses that college students run in dormitories. They sell delicious food and drinks, such as sandwiches, coffee, milk tea, tomatoes and black plums; they sell fun and beautiful things, such as small accessories, small toys, and flower bouquets; and they also provide services, such as dormitory nail art, and dormitory printing is also very popular.

Shenran talked to several college students who run dormitory businesses. They have achieved a monthly income of over 10,000 yuan, and can earn 5,000 or 6,000 yuan when business is average. Some people have saved tens of thousands of yuan in three months, and can also afford their tuition and living expenses, and no longer ask their families for money. However, the flip side of earning over 10,000 yuan a month at a young age is that they have to work all night to rush orders, deliver goods all over the campus, sacrifice rest time, and do repetitive work like a robot.

They said that making money is fun, but it is not the most important thing. What they value more is meeting valuable people in the process of doing business or laying a foundation for future entrepreneurship. A monthly income of over 10,000 yuan may be just the most insignificant part of their story.

1. Opening flower shops, selling coffee, doing manicures, college students are obsessed with making money in their dormitories

Speaking of making money in dormitories, Xiaozhu, who is studying in Guangdong, told Shenran that this phenomenon couldn't be more common. In March this year, universities started classes, but students were not allowed to leave campus. Some students, with the mentality of "I'm free anyway", began to think about starting a small business in their dormitories. Making money is one aspect, but most people just do it out of interest and unintentionally.

Xiaozhu runs a flower shop in her dormitory. At first, she just liked flower arrangement and worked as an apprentice in a flower shop. "At first, I only made bouquets for seniors who were about to graduate, and I didn't have a system. Later, I didn't have many classes, so I went to the playground at night to set up a stall and sell flowers."

Starting with small bouquets of flowers at 9.9 yuan and 15 yuan, Xiaozhu gradually accumulated a customer base. April to June is the boom period for Xiaozhu's business, she explained, because bouquets have festive attributes, May is the 520 festival, and June is the graduation season. "In April, I basically sold flowers in the playground to attract customers, and I got to know a lot of people. Before 520, the number of friends on my WeChat account for selling flowers increased from 80 to more than 1,000."

In April, Xiaozhu's turnover was nearly 9,000 yuan, and in May it reached 15,000 yuan. In June, due to the peak of flower orders during the graduation season, the turnover reached 23,000 yuan. She roughly estimated that her profit in June was about 18,000 yuan. "Small bouquets are used to set up stalls to attract customers, and the profit is relatively low, about 50%. The unit price of large bouquets ordered during festivals is higher, generally ranging from 88 yuan to 188 yuan, and the profit is about 60%-70%." After the number of orders for large bouquets increased, Xiaozhu stopped setting up stalls and focused on wrapping and delivering flowers in dormitories.

A-Nian is studying in Wuhan. She is also one of the "entrepreneurs" who started a dormitory business in April this year. Because the coffee she made for fun in the dormitory was recognized by her roommates, she began to think about turning her interest into cash. A-Nian's investment was relatively conservative. At the beginning, she only purchased less than 1,000 yuan worth of raw materials online, including milk, coconut milk, syrup, cups, stickers and small bags. In terms of pricing, A-Nian said that it must be cheaper than the school milk tea shop and Luckin Coffee. Her most expensive item is only 13 yuan, and basic items such as Americano and latte are only eight or nine yuan. In less than a month, A-Nian made a net profit of more than 5,000 yuan, producing about 40 to 50 cups a day. She calculated that the profit was at least 50%.

Dormitory conditions are limited, and students' spending power is not high, so the profit of small businesses in dormitories is basically around 50%. Several interviewees told Shenran that it is difficult to say exactly how much money they made, what the profit level is, and how sales are trending. The reason is that there are many difficult-to-estimate human costs in dormitories, such as inviting classmates who help to have a meal, whoever bargains gets a lower price, and selling the remaining goods at a low price, etc. Money is often earned quickly and spent quickly.

There are many categories of businesses such as bouquets, coffee, and nail art, and the prices vary. This makes it easy to attract customers with low-priced items, and high-priced items ensure repeat purchases, while increasing profits. Some students also choose the single category model, and the biggest advantage is that it is more convenient to start in the dormitory.

Dudu, who is studying in Guangdong, chose to make homemade tomatoes and black plums as his own small business in his dormitory. He only made three or four yuan on average for 9.9 yuan per box of 15 pieces. It is precisely because of the single category and the relatively fast production that tomatoes and black plums are suitable for large-scale sales that Dudu made more than 2,000 yuan last semester.

Tomato and black plum made by Dudu/Photo provided by the interviewee

In summary, the business conducted in the dormitory can be divided into three categories. Food and drink products include coffee, milk tea, sandwiches, handmade snacks, etc., which are time-consuming to make. A certain amount of funds are needed to purchase raw materials in the early stage, and storage in the later stage also requires trouble. Fortunately, food and drink products are easy to acquire customers, and the rich SKU can also guarantee the profit level. Retail products include small accessories, bouquets, etc., which generally require finding low-priced and stable purchase channels, but the bargaining power of the student group is always not as good as that of professional operators, so it is difficult to make high profits.

Many students also choose to work in the service sector, such as manicure and printing. However, the interviewee told Shenran that those who can really make tens of thousands of yuan a month doing dorm manicure basically have to work from morning to night and coordinate dormitory relationships, which is generally difficult to do.

2. Time-consuming and laborious dormitory business: placing orders overnight and delivering goods all over the campus, the time cost is very high

When doing business in dormitories, everyone basically chooses a certain category, and the raw materials and production methods are relatively fixed, so that they can maximize profits under limited conditions. Several interviewees believe that the initial investment and preparation are not difficult, but the difficulty lies in running a small business alone, which requires a lot of time and energy, and countless sleepless days to make money.

Take Xiaozhu's flower shop for example. She arranges fresh flowers. Small bouquets contain only one or two flowers, while large bouquets contain about 10 bouquets. Xiaozhu needs to trim these flowers herself, wrap them in the wrapping paper specified by the customer, and wrap them with ribbons. Xiaozhu's flowers come from Yunnan. During periods when the order volume is relatively large, she will contact the owner of the flower shop where she used to work and ask him to help order flowers from florists in Yunnan and have them airlifted by SF Express. "When the flowers first arrived, they were all packed in paper boxes. They needed to be trimmed, woken up, and the water changed regularly." Usually there are not many orders, so Xiaozhu orders flowers on the flower e-commerce mini program.

"The price of flowers fluctuates frequently. Holidays, weather and other reasons may cause the price of flowers to increase." Xiaozhu explained that a bouquet of 8 flowers is usually priced at 88 yuan, and 9 bouquets are priced at 98 yuan, but if the purchase price of flowers increases, she will also add 10-20 yuan to the selling price. "For example, there is a flower with 20 flowers in a bunch. When it is cheap, the purchase price is 50 yuan per bunch, and when it is expensive, it is 80 yuan."

In general, the flower supply channel is relatively stable, and Xiaozhu is very skilled in making bouquets. She can complete a large bouquet in 10-20 minutes. She feels that the highest cost is labor. The graduation season in June is Xiaozhu's busiest time. During that time, classes took graduation photos almost every day, and Xiaozhu had to make dozens to hundreds of bouquets a day. "When I was busiest, I didn't sleep for more than 30 hours in a row." Worried about disturbing her roommates, at night, Xiaozhu moved her things to the balcony where she hung clothes to dry and worked all night. It was too hot after sunrise, so she moved to the window in the corridor to work, and she could not go back to the dormitory to enjoy the air conditioning until her roommates woke up.

A-Nian's raw material channels are more stable. As long as she buys enough instant coffee, milk, coconut milk, cups, etc. on the e-commerce platform, there is basically no price fluctuation, and there is no need to worry about out-of-stock. The production method is also very simple. 4 grams of coffee powder plus 30 ml of water is espresso, mixed with water is Americano, with milk is latte, and with coconut milk is raw coconut latte. However, because students have limited spending power, no matter what kind of coffee A-Nian launches, it cannot exceed 15 yuan. She has a hot-selling product called mung bean latte, which contains a green mood ice cream, plus milk and coffee, but it can only be sold for 12 yuan. A-Nian said that the more raw materials a coffee has, the less money it makes. "Like Americano and latte, the price is not high but it is a net profit."

In addition, everyone is used to drinking coffee in the morning, so Ah Nian's business hours start at 8 a.m. Waking up early to make coffee was once very painful for Ah Nian. After making coffee, he had to run around the campus to deliver goods to customers. "My back and waist ached from walking so much, so I comforted myself by thinking of it as losing weight."

The goods are purchased through general retail channels, and the production methods are simple and unified. The highest cost of doing business in the dormitory is the time cost. Several interviewees said that when they are particularly busy, they will also hire people. "I hired two schoolmates to spend an hour every day to help me deal with flower thorns and change water, and I paid them 100 yuan." Xiaozhu said.

Flowers that Xiaozhu temporarily placed outside the dormitory/Photo provided by the interviewee

How to properly store raw materials often worries them. Xiaozhu asks people in each dormitory to help store a bucket of flowers, and she changes the water regularly. "Every dormitory on our floor has fresh flowers that I just brought in." Anian's coffee needs ice, so she first bought a small-power refrigerator, but the ice quality was unstable. She found another way and ordered ice cubes from Mixue Ice City outside the school. "A large bag costs only ten yuan, and it can be stored in the refrigerator temporarily, and it can be used for many cups."
Dudu's tomatoes and black plums are easier to store, but she is more concerned about the quality and taste of the raw materials. She told Shenran that she bought several well-received tomato and black plum strips from Pinduoduo and tried them all. "By trying more, I can find the fruit that is more suitable for making tomatoes and black plums. If I find that the taste is average, I would rather not sell it and eat it myself."

Making money in the dormitory may seem like a small business to outsiders, but in fact they have put in a lot of effort. They are classmates and customers. It is easy to build up a good reputation on campus, but it can also collapse if you are not careful. It is precisely because they are doing business with acquaintances that they will be more attentive to ensure quality.

Xiaozhu always talks about a bridge on campus, which is the only way for her to set up a stall. "At the beginning, I didn't have much business, and I was not confident. I was afraid of being looked at by others when I walked across the bridge. Later, my business was good and I got more recognition. No matter how heavy the flowers I held, I walked across the bridge with my head held high, and I felt a sense of pride in delivering romance."

3. “I will never work for others in the future. I will start my own business.”

Students who have experienced the taste of business in advance have also felt the cruelty of society. Anian told Shenran that now, she has stopped making dormitory coffee. On the one hand, she needs to prepare for the exam, and on the other hand, she has been complained by the milk tea shop in the school. Maybe it is because the business has been taken away, or maybe it is because it is sold too cheaply. Everyone has their own guesses. Anian also has a good attitude. She said that the school does not exclude students from doing business because it is also an innovative and entrepreneurial practice activity. "When my counselor told me about this, he also told me that he supports me very much."

After graduating this year, Xiaozhu joined a company that matched her major. "I don't like my major very much. I still want to work for a few years and save money to open a flower art studio." Xiaozhu sighed to Shenran that the purity of her student days is hard to find in society. She often thinks of those days of hard work, the days of sending flowers to classmates who wanted to create romance, and the days of hearing teachers and classmates praise "your bouquet is so beautiful". Xiaozhu's current base salary is only 2,000 yuan, and she also misses the days when she earned more than 10,000 yuan a month.

During the chat with Shenran, several interviewees said that making money is fun, but making money is not the most important thing. They know very well that they cannot make a lot of money by earning money from students, and the experience gained from small businesses is what will belong to them forever.

Now some people still ask Ah Nian if they can order coffee. "I don't have the raw materials anymore, so I'm sorry." Ah Nian said that the days when she made coffee sincerely did indeed make her gain a lot, especially patience. Ah Nian's business philosophy is: no matter what, apologize first. "Sometimes classmates will ask, why is this coffee so bitter? I will patiently explain that coffee is bitter to begin with. If you are afraid of bitterness, I can add milk to it next time, or you can order flavored coffee."

A Nian's dormitory coffee/Photo provided by the interviewee

Xiaozhu, who ran around asking everyone to help store flowers, recalled that period and felt it was her social highlight. "After the flowers I ordered arrived at school, I still had to wait for the post office to notify me. I was worried that the flowers would rot, so I went to ask the SF Express guy. He was very kind and asked me to pick them up at the school gate as soon as possible, so I didn't have to wait for the post office to send a text message." It was also because of her persistence that Xiaozhu met many noble people along the way. "After graduation, I sent flowers to the dormitory auntie, and every time I made money, I treated my roommates to dinner. I am really grateful."

In addition to patience and social skills, Dudu also gained traffic from the tomato and black plum business. She is now a WeChat businessman and a blogger on Xiaohongshu. She usually has a lot of advertising income. When things are good, it is not a problem for her to make over 10,000 yuan a month. Through tomatoes and black plums, Dudu's WeChat has accumulated a lot of potential customers. She also posted a post on Xiaohongshu teaching people how to make money by selling tomatoes and black plums. The post has hundreds of thousands of views and more than 6,000 likes. "Before that, I only had a hundred fans. After posting a few articles about tomatoes and black plums, my number of fans has exceeded a thousand."

Dudu explained that most of those who are interested in this matter are students. They want to make money and save money, so the content of her Little Red Book is all about strategies for saving and making money. There are also many classmates from the same school who followed her because of Tomato and Plum. She concluded that the dormitory business cannot make money from acquaintances, but from strangers. "In addition to the support of very good friends, the classmates who are almost unfamiliar will pay the bill. The classmates who are half-acquainted basically won't buy my things." Dudu thinks that this mentality is very subtle, but also easy to understand. "They will feel embarrassed, or they will feel that they have a vested interest in their purchases from me, so I will expand my customer base online and step out of my comfort zone."

"Now I am preparing for the examination to upgrade from junior college to university, and I still want to study more. In the future, I will not work part-time, but I will definitely start my own business, but I haven't decided on the specific form yet." She said with a smile that she is the legendary "Chaoshan person who is best at making money". She has been exploring ways to make money since junior high school. Now she has some experience and is more rational.

"The pattern has been opened up." This is the sentence Dudu said most to Shenran. Several interviewees have similar mindsets. Recalling their own small-scale entrepreneurial experiences, they believe that passion drives, utilitarianism is not strong, and they take every customer seriously. This is the sincerity that is unique to college students. Xiaozhu said that she often encounters people bargaining with her, and she always agrees readily. She originally hopes that more people will recognize the bouquets she made by hand, and she doesn't care so much whether she earns more or less.

On the night of the call with Shenran, Xiaozhu packed a few bouquets of flowers at home after get off work. At around 9pm, she called a courier to send the bouquets to the city where she was attending college. She was very happy that someone still cared about buying her flowers. Xiaozhu was still looking forward to the days of being accompanied by flowers again.

Author: Zou Shuai

Source: WeChat public account "Shenran (ID: shenrancaijing)"