College students constantly face the dilemma of how much time to devote to making money, to studying and to enjoyment — when one occurs, the others tend to suffer.
Baton Rouge students seem to have particular trouble with this.
Our city ranks second among U.S. cities for highest student loan debt, with each borrower owing about $18,165.35, according to account-management service Manilla.com. This is despite 29 percent of LSU students receiving TOPS money for the 2012-13 school year, totaling almost $68 million, and any other grants students accept. Only Memphis, Tenn., beats us with $19,500 per student, and we are closely followed by Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas.
For many, a full-time job isn’t enough to cover all expenses, which makes a loan look like a gift sent from heaven. The hope upon graduation is that one will quickly nab a job fitting their new qualifications so they can pay the everyday expenses in addition to the money they have borrowed, plus interest.
While this task is daunting, there is a way for students to lessen the sting of loans while still in school — by creating ludicrous businesses for themselves.
Take the business Unagi Travel. Someone sends their stuffed animal to tour a Japanese hot spring, Tohoku, Tokyo or to other mystery places, and the company photographs the animal in scenic and adorable settings. Depending on the tour, the company makes $35, $45, $55 or $95 per toy. At 10 toys per tour, this is a pretty hefty sum.
Considering Baton Rouge has the tallest capitol building in the nation, a single person could easily provide the same service here. All they would need is a camera, a vehicle and a few grandmas willing to steal their grandchild’s toy to get some neat photos.
For those without a camera but willing to drive around at 2 a.m., one could be a freelance fast-food fetcher. Hungry people of the LSU area would be more than willing to call someone else to deliver a double bacon cheeseburger with medium fries and a Frosty to them.
Those living in a residence hall have more than an ample supply of consumers right in the building. A person could easily set up a made-to-order pie system, with a list of various flavors outside the door where students can sign up to claim their pie between certain hours. The baker would merely have to tape up a few paper ads throughout the hallways to draw in a crowd of pajama-clad, sugar-craving student husks.
The beauty of these jobs lies in the ability for the creator to be in control. One can work on their own schedule and can charge what they want. There is no reliance on others, and no rivalry when the idea is original.
Originality is the crucial part to getting the business. Whatever one sells, whether it be services or objects, one needs to have the monopoly to be guaranteed a paycheck.
Certainly there are those who earn profit from giving music lessons or selling crafts over Etsy, but competitors are numerous in these fields.
The worst option is sitting down to write numerous essays for a few $500 scholarships, or making a website specifically to host advertisements that everyone hates. Such routes are usually tedious, boring and unpredictable in their return benefits.
The work openings are there; one must simply figure out what the work is. That extra bit of green coming in each week could go toward paying back one’s loans, or could be put away in a savings account to gather its own interest.
While it may seem difficult to juggle five classes, a formal job and an extra source of income, finding enjoyment from the ludicrousness of the latter is bound to help one find time for the three.
Alix Landriault is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Natchitoches, La.