So what do you do when the economic times hit a little too close to your dorm room?  You just hung up the phone and your dad was explaining that college is expensive and they just don’t have the extra cash to send you spending money anymore.  Your dorm room is covered and you don’t have to worry about buying your own books, but if you want to grab that coffee every morning and a 10-piece nugget meal after class, you’re on your own.  

This is where your creativity should kick into overdrive.  What can you do to make some extra flow? I knew many of my friends who went out and got minimum-wage jobs for a few hours a week. While it seemed like a great idea, they were often surprised at how small a minimum-wage check was after working eight hours per week.  Not exactly the revenue stream necessary to support a late-night munchie habit.  Then there were the other half, those students that started on-campus businesses or provided a service to their fellow students.  Not only did they get their hands on some extra cash, but they also learned a thing or two along the way.  

Dormbuys was an indirect result of an idea my partner had one summer while in college.  He tried to make some money on campus by selling the Mini-Mantle, a bedpost shelf he made in his basement (it was wood then, much better now!)  There are tons of ideas that can move money from your classmates pockets to yours, you just have to be creative enough to come up with something that they are willing to pay for.  How is this for an idea: