What skills do you have that someone might pay for? Otto and Paulus share how students can earn extra income

A side hustle for students doesn’t have to mean taking on a traditional part-time job. Otto and Paulus have tried everything from window cleaning to sales, and they encourage others to consider whether light entrepreneurship could be a way to turn their skills into extra income.

When we last met Otto and Paulus, they were about to travel across Europe towards Africa, funding their journey by working along the way. After the summer, they have both returned to Finland and their studies, but they are still working and experimenting with new ideas.

Over the summer, they took on all kinds of work, including window cleaning, sales, pedicab driving, car washing, property maintenance and yard work. One thing connects all these different jobs: not everything has to be planned far in advance. When an interesting opportunity or idea comes along, you can simply give it a try. Light entrepreneurship makes this easy to do, as you can invoice clients for your work without setting up your own company.

Studying and working can fit around each other

One of the biggest advantages of light entrepreneurship for students is the freedom to decide when and how much they want to work. Class schedules can vary from one day or week to the next. That can make regular shifts difficult to fit into everyday life.

As a light entrepreneur, you can instead take on individual gigs whenever you have room for them in your schedule.

Alongside his studies, Paulus plans to continue doing property maintenance work for his existing customers. Summer yard work might turn into clearing work or snow removal as autumn and winter arrive. At the same time, he wants to stay open to new opportunities.

“You can easily try different things. As long as you have a way to handle invoicing, you can stay open to whatever comes your way and take on a gig when the opportunity arises”, Paulus says.

Otto does not currently have the same kind of regular customer base, but he certainly has no shortage of new ideas.

Having a side business does not have to mean building another full-time job on top of everything else in your life. It could mean taking on an occasional gig, working a few hours a week or doing seasonal work whenever it fits your schedule.

Less admin leaves more time for the work itself

When you are working alongside your studies or a day job, your time is often limited. Few people want to spend their free hours figuring out administrative tasks. For Paulus, this is one of the biggest advantages of light entrepreneurship.

“Less admin and lower costs. If you’re only sending a couple of invoices a year, or even a month, you don’t want to spend ages dealing with paperwork.”

Getting started with light entrepreneurship was also straightforward for Otto. After registering for Eezy’s light entrepreneurship service, he was able to start using the service quickly.

“I entered my basic information on the website and got access to the platform quickly. I think my first invoice was sent within ten minutes at most. It was really easy.”

But what could I do as a light entrepreneur?

The idea of earning some extra income may sound appealing, but for many people the next question is harder: what on earth could I sell?

Otto and Paulus believe you do not need to come up with the perfect business idea. The starting point can be much simpler: what are you good at, what interests you, or what could you help someone else with?

A skill that feels completely ordinary to a student could be valuable to someone else. Otto gives IT support as an example. Using computers and digital services may be second nature to many students, while someone else might happily pay for help with them.

You could also offer businesses services such as social media content creation, short-form video production or sales. For private customers, opportunities might include yard work, car washing, window cleaning or helping with everyday tasks.

The important thing is to realise that your skills do not have to be exceptional. If you can do something better or faster than the customer, or simply prefer doing something they would rather not do themselves, your skills may already have value.

Try first, perfect it later

Otto’s main advice for anyone wondering what they could offer is simple: find out whether there is demand by trying.

“Start by calling people you know and asking whether they need something like this. You’ll quickly find out whether there’s actually demand for what you can do.”

Your first service does not have to be perfect either. It is easy to spend a long time wondering whether your skills are good enough or whether your idea is ready. Otto believes you learn more by doing than by planning endlessly.

Your first customer gives you experience and feedback. You can then use both to improve your skills and the service you offer. After a few gigs, the work will already feel much more familiar than it did the first time.

So perhaps the most important question is not whether you are ready to become an entrepreneur. A much smaller question is enough to get started:

What skills do you have that someone might pay for?