Best Business Ideas for Students in Dubai
A good way to start a business as a student in Dubai is to look into your talents and course and find a way to sell it. After all, this will allow you to make use of your existing knowledge and resources without needing a lot of capital or complex equipment.
Some good business ideas in Dubai include website design, social media management, tutoring, and even vlogging. These can be a good first step towards establishing your skills and talents in Dubai.
Web Design and Development
As more and more businesses shift into the digital space such as websites and mobile apps, having a strong online presence has become a must for most companies.
However, not all businesses may have the time and manpower to develop this in-house. They might not even have the necessary expertise, putting them at a disadvantage.
As a student, you can leverage any web design knowledge you have to fill in the gap. You can offer to work freelance and design their website for them, making it a small business or side hustle for yourself.
The best part about this is that you don’t need a lot of capital to start it. You just need your computer or laptop, and the knowledge required to do the job.
Most likely, hosting and maybe even image licences will be paid for by the company who hired you.
If you’re also studying web design, you can also get in touch with fellow students and even your professors to find more work. It’s a good way to network as well as build up your skills for bigger projects.
Animation and Video Editing
Do you have a Youtube channel? Perhaps you like creating animation on the side?
You can easily turn these skills into a small business of sorts. Animation can be used for advertising such as creating mascots and small snippets to promote a product from established brands.
Video is also a very popular format for advertising either as long-form educational content or in small snippets like stories. Student videographers can make good money using their skills in the advertising space.
Of course, the startup costs are a little bit higher this time around. In addition to a good computer for editing, you will also need a good camera to shoot videos with.
Fortunately, phone cameras have gotten pretty good in recent times. For smaller work, the quality of the video taken should be sufficient enough to use, especially for social media posting.
Smartphones can be a bit cheaper while being a lot more versatile too, as you can also use it for some editing and contacting prospective clients. You can get good deals and discounts on them from some electronic stores in Dubai.
Graphic Design
If you have a good camera and an eye for detail, you can also get into graphic design. You can leverage these skills to provide advertising services for businesses in Dubai.
You can start by designing logos, posters, banners, and simple touch-ups to photographs. You will also need some social media knowledge since you may have to promote your work across different channels.
Startup costs should be about the same as web design since you will be doing most of this on your computer. You may also need a camera or a studio in order to take custom pictures you can use in your own work.
Social Media Management
Perhaps you are very social media savvy and know how to navigate channels like Youtube, Instagram or Facebook? You can offer your expertise to individuals and businesses looking to get their name out online.
With social media management, you will be responsible for coming up with a calendar for posts as well as finding ways to engage with the business’ audience. You might even be asked to do a bit of design every now and then.
Startup should not be too expensive since you just need a computer or smartphone as well as an internet connection.
However, it will require a lot of research. You will have to figure out the best times to post as well as how to engage with the brand’s customers.
Blogging and vlogging also falls under social media somewhat. You can write informative articles, making use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to leverage a brand on the internet.
On the other hand, you can make use of these skills yourself and build your own brand.
Of course, building an audience is quite difficult and getting your name out there can be quite intimidating. However, if you do manage to succeed in this, you have the potential to earn more via ads and brand sponsorships.
Tutoring
Do you have a skill you’re proficient in? Or perhaps you are great at a subject to the point that you are comfortable in sharing your knowledge to others?
You might be able to start a small tutoring business on the side. You can even start by offering your services to schoolmates who are struggling with a specific subject.
Sometimes, tutoring doesn’t even need to be academic-based. For example, if you are good at playing an instrument like the guitar, maybe you can make money being a guitar tutor.
You can browse through many tutoring job listings across different websites in Dubai. If you can even tutor people online, allowing you to expand your services to other countries outside Dubai.
Dubai offers a lot of opportunities for work and business. It incentivizes innovation and entrepreneurship and even students can find ways to leverage their own talent to make a living on the side.
You just need to be creative and work with your own expertise as well as the resources available to you. If you work hard at your idea, you may even be able to turn your small business into a permanent, full-time career in the future.