Dhaka University English major Arif Hossain started an internet business this year to help pay for school and his studies and has already expanded into online sales. (e-commerce). He claims that Facebook, rather than classroom instruction, drives this enterprise. A career in this field can be established after two to five years of labour. The value of a brand benefits from good fortune. A millionaire can teach another person how to become wealthy. The social order can be altered. But between full-time study and part-time work, that’s next to impossible.
Not only Arif, since the outbreak of Corona in the country in 2020, but many university students are also turning to small and community businesses. He started his journey as an entrepreneur while still a university student. However, even after the outbreak of Corona, their entrepreneurial journey did not stop.
Some of these students sell handmade food and some clothes jerseys. Some sell jewellery and famous regional products like honey, mango, litchi, khadi cloth, and nakshi kantha. Many are involved in selling Indian, Pakistani and Thai clothes. Some of them have limited their sales to online. However, many are selling their products directly as well as online.
Generally, many university students earn from tuition and part-time jobs. However, there are also trends in freelancing and small investments in the stock market. As a result, these small and community businesses have grown in popularity in recent years.
No specific information exists on how many are currently involved in this business. However, there are two Facebook groups named Dhabian Business Community (DBC) and Dhabian Students Business Platform, developed by Dhaka University students. One has about 70,000 members, the other has about 40,000 members. Students who are involved in the business are members of these groups. However, former and current students not involved in the business are also in these two groups. Many of the groups are doing business on and off campus.
According to data, thousands of students are currently involved in small and community businesses as entrepreneurs.
“DU Mart” sells the products of entrepreneurial students of Dhaka University. Through this initiative, safe food sent by entrepreneurs from remote areas is reaching the whole country. The initiator of this activity is Khandkar Faisal Azam Bappi and Ashikur Rahman Sajal, two friends of the University’s Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Department for the academic year 2014-15.
Regarding the start of this initiative, Bappi said that most university students pay tuition. So many people have started various initiatives as a source of alternative income due to the closure of tuition during the Corona period. To coordinate them, we started planning DU Mart around November 2020. Initially, we started online activities, but in March 2021, we started outlet activities in Palashi Market near Dhaka University.
Many people have turned to e-commerce as their main profession. Some of them are young people studying in Dhaka University, embarking as new entrepreneurs. Also, many established entrepreneurs are turning to e-commerce to expand their businesses. Many students show their talents by selling their handmade food and clothes. Generally, online banking, bkash and cash apps are used to pay for the products in this business. Many people also do transactions from hand to hand.
Have you faced any obstacles in online business? In response to such a question, one said that working and delivering food items is relatively risky. There are always risks with perishables. Then the price of food items increases rapidly, so many products are excluded. Still, Alhamdulillah, some products are so in demand that we no longer have to deal with them.
In response to the question of whether online business is better than part-time jobs or tuition, he said, I am a professional teacher and have been doing tuition for many years. But I think the business is definitely more beneficial than the tuition. Because 2-5 years of hard work in business becomes a career, if luck is good, brand value increases. You can become a millionaire from a millionaire. Society can be changed.
“Although tuition is an important income stream, it has many limitations. However, there is no other place where you have the freedom and joy of self-identity, especially in your business.”
Shahadat Hossain Hriday, a Pali and Buddhist Studies Department student of the 2015-2016 session. He is also involved in online business. He said I started with a capital of 16 thousand takas last September. Both his investment and profit are increasing with time.
He said product sales increase on promotion. But in this case, it is necessary to know the details. Moreover, if the quality of the product is maintained, sales will gradually increase. But in this case, it is necessary to be patient. If you can do marketing well here, you can do something better than a part-time job or tuition.
When asked about the problems faced in the business, he said since his business is completely online based, some customers do not contact the product after ordering and delivery time. This is the 1st and main problem.
When asked whether it is better than other jobs, he said many people start looking at it in many ways. In that case, my fashion was to do that business from a long time ago. And my way of thinking about business is far-reaching, and that’s why I like this profession better than other professions.
He also said that in the field of online business, it is not possible to go to a good position suddenly. Many of us know that. In that case, my becoming an entrepreneur is not very long. However, I will say that I am satisfied with the business experience of these few days. Alhamdulillah is going well.