The formal job market available for Bangladeshi students often has requirement criteria; work hours, and pay that are not always feasible or accessible for everyone. In a refreshing change of scenery, many youngsters in Bangladesh are now choosing to start their own businesses from scratch in creative and versatile fields such as art, handmade crafts, bakeries and cloud kitchen services, thrift stores, and dropshipping.  

While e-commerce and social media make it relatively easier for anyone to start a business, access a marketplace and a buyer base; directly managing the everyday operations of a business while balancing academics and other responsibilities as a young person can be very tough. The hours and amount of consistent effort one has to put in to steadily maintain a business often gets overwhelming and can cause burnouts if not balanced properly with other responsibilities.

Turning a passion, hobby, or skill into a living seems a little utopian at first; and indeed for many there is a sense of fulfilment. However, it takes a lot of practice, hardwork, disappointments, and difficulties over a long period of time to establish something as a source of income from the ground up; especially when it’s just yourself or a very small team starting out together. 

The specific experiences, obstacles, struggles, and learnings of operating one’s own business varies depending on the nature of the business itself. So we spoke to young business owners who have been working for a long time in 3 different fields of business to get a holistic insight. 

Building a dynamic bakery business from the ground up:

Adiba Karim started her business, Her Bakery (@her.bakery) in 2020 when she was an 11th grader. It’s now a remarkable presence in the online bakery business scene with a following of over 63,000 customers and supporters combinedly on instagram and tiktok. 

‘’In the beginning, it was very overwhelming balancing work and academics. Orders would pile up during exams or I would have to keep orders off during my exams.I’d feel completely drained. Over time, I learned how to create a schedule that works for both, for example, not taking too many orders when I knew I had important deadlines or closing it temporarily.’’

Adiba further talked about the struggles she faced as a young person who had to do everything herself in the beginning, as well as the valuable skills she learnt over the years–

“One big obstacle was that people didn’t trust my vision due to my young age. Many people including my family thought I was doing this as just a “hobby” rather than a proper business. Dealing with suppliers was also tough in the beginning since I didn’t have much prior experience as a young adult,” she goes on, “Running this business taught me punctuality, financial responsibility and  the power of financial independence. I also learned how to talk with customers and handle the intense pressure when things don’t go as planned. These skills are extremely helpful in business and also useful in academics and even personal life which is the most important thing for me.’’

According to her, young people should not be afraid to start small because not everything has to be perfect from day one. As beginners, they should take customer reviews seriously, make changes accordingly, and stay consistent because that’s what makes the difference. 

Operating a handmade arts based venture as a busy university student:

Sumaita Tasnim, a sophomore university student, also started her business Sumstash (@sumstash) as an 11th grader back in 2021. She makes handmade trinkets and custom accessories like phone charms, jewelry, keychains, bookmarks, and deco pins. 

This initially started out as a keen curiosity and passion for making crafts and calligraphy during the Covid lockdown period, but slowly delved into an opportunity for financial independence. 

‘’Honestly, when I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I loved creating things. Working with colors, charms, and crafts is my forte. My goal was never profit maximisation. It was simply: If I can earn from something I love, why not?’’

Bringing the slow, delicate process of handmaking arts/crafts into the rhythm of a business where demands and deadlines must be followed diligently; can be difficult. Sumaita shared her initial struggles in this regard: ‘‘I didn’t have that many buyers at first. Profit wasn’t my main goal, but it was still tough because low engagement and revenue drains the motivation.The hardest part was definitely collecting raw materials. Even sourcing the simplest things felt like a huge challenge.’’

Considering the amount of effort and time that goes into making handmade things and handling the business operations alone; balancing academics can be really tough, and Sumaita agrees:

“Oh, 100% yes. In the beginning, it wasn’t that bad. I could just pause things when I needed to study. But now that my business has grown, if I step away for just 3/4 hours, my inbox gets flooded with texts. And because I’m very sincere about my academics, there’s always that constant pressure of balancing both. It’s not easy but I believe if you genuinely love what you do, you’ll make a way no matter how long it takes.”

While talking about skills she has learnt while operating her business, Sumaita prioritised communication skills and financial discipline–running Sumstash taught her realistic micro financing. “I know what I earn, and I spend within that. Plus, I picked up product photography, caption writing, and overall presentation skills.”

Managing the biggest online thrift store in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh Thrift (@bangladeshthrift) is currently the biggest online thrift store of Bangladesh with over 74,000 followers on Instagram. Started by Sunayra Subha Pushpita and Shenin Serjin Promi, this business has been thriving for over 5 years by sourcing and selling budget thrifted clothes. The owners’ journeys with this venture began at two very different stages of life, Sunayra was still pursuing her O Levels while Shenin had just completed her LLB. 

When asked about obstacles they have faced in line of business that were difficult to deal with, they said, ‘’Being young women entrepreneurs, we faced our fair share of challenges in the early days. Many of our male suppliers didn’t take us seriously at first, and finding a reliable delivery company proved to be harder than we expected. On top of that, the work pressure often felt overwhelming.’’

As Sunayra was an O Level student while starting out and has been a full time student ever since, she also shared her experience with overcoming difficulties balancing academics and workload.

‘’Balancing schoolwork with running a business wasn’t always easy, at times, it was overwhelming. But I learned that the key is to build a routine that works for you. Loving work surely made it easy to navigate both aspects of life.’’

We also asked what are the key learnings in their experience and the thrift business over the years. The owners of BT said that in their experience, the most important thing for young student entrepreneurs is to be patient with themselves and the journey. Balancing studies and business becomes manageable with proper time management and a suitable routine. Furthermore, one needs to be consistently creative in order to survive in the thrift business.

All our interviewees share a pretty similar overview about the skills they have learnt from their ventures as full time students. They emphasise how the day to day operations of a business–like talking to customers, handling the delivery logistics, and solving the little accidents here and there on top of making/sourcing their own products and pursuing academics–hones some essential skill sets. 

Primarily time management, discipline, communication skills, quick problem solving wit, and financial responsibility were mentioned. The importance of these skills extend beyond their businesses and impact academics, personal life, and overall values as a person.

While the idea of making a living out of something you’re passionate about is lucrative, starting and handling a business by yourself can be an immense pressure as a full time student. Therefore, one should be patient while slowly integrating the hectic nature of an entrepreneurial venture into their routine. 

Self employment or ‘having a thing of your own’ can be a more fulfilling and joyous prospect than a corporate/formal hustle for many young people. However, we should plan ahead and accept the gradual process and learning curve of ‘having a thing of your own’ so as not to burnout and lose interest in the very passions that give you a creative outlet and sometimes an income source.