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Azure

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Do you realize exchange students have almost no disposable income?

That's not always true. The exchange student I had in Grade 11 was the daughter of an incredibly wealthy cattle farmer in Argentina. The girl had more LV purses than I had t shirts.
 
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BellaPippin

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That's not always true. The exchange student I had in Grade 11 was the daughter of an incredibly wealthy cattle farmer in Argentina. The girl had more LV purses than I had t shirts.

That's funny cause I'm Argentinian but I'm poor. (?)
 

windchaser

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Just out of curiosity, why did you decided to focus in that niche in the first place?

I know your niche well from experience, having been an international exchange student myself several years ago and I know plenty.

I think you have a good assessment of their needs but are missing a key aspect: it is true that international exchange students want to socialize and are open to new experiences, but they are also broke and have plenty of time. I think that might be one reason why your dinner project did not go as expected. You put them in contact but once they are in contact they can organize the dinners themselves and manage the same discount you managed.

What I meant to consider switching niche is exploring others that have more disposable income and similar needs such as recently moved expats, I am one myself as well and know many. As an expat, you need similar things as exchange students like buying stuff and meeting new people and you will miss stuff from your country and be willing to pay the premium to get it. Just a thought, I would recommend to explore the possibility.

However, if you are set on exchange students niche, I believe the groupon idea is the best shot, as international exchange students love a good deal!!! And I tell you, I have started a groupon-like business in the past and getting vendors on board is easier than you might think! It requires discipline and perseverance and a lot of work at the beginning but could be very fruitful. However, it is true that it is not as passive as you might like. An alternative would be the affiliates system.

The importing of products they might miss I would not recommend mainly for several reasons: 1) if the geography of your students is not concentrated you might not have enough margin 2) there are many niche companies that do that focusing on nationalities, it would be difficult to beat that and my main reason 3) importing difficult to find products is expensive and you would need to sell expensive to make a profit and these students generally don't have much money to spend and also are only on exchange for a year, difficult to get by.

I hope you find this helpful :)
 
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BellaPippin

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Just out of curiosity, why did you decided to focus in that niche in the first place?

I know your niche well from experience, having been an international exchange student myself several years ago and I know plenty.

I think you have a good assessment of their needs but are missing a key aspect: it is true that international exchange students want to socialize and are open to new experiences, but they are also broke and have plenty of time. I think that might be one reason why your dinner project did not go as expected. You put them in contact but once they are in contact they can organize the dinners themselves and manage the same discount you managed.

What I meant to consider switching niche is exploring others that have more disposable income and similar needs such as recently moved expats, I am one myself as well and know many. As an expat, you need similar things as exchange students like buying stuff and meeting new people and you will miss stuff from your country and be willing to pay the premium to get it. Just a thought, I would recommend to explore the possibility.

However, if you are set on exchange students niche, I believe the groupon idea is the best shot, as international exchange students love a good deal!!! And I tell you, I have started a groupon-like business in the past and getting vendors on board is easier than you might think! It requires discipline and perseverance and a lot of work at the beginning but could be very fruitful. However, it is true that it is not as passive as you might like. An alternative would be the affiliates system.

The importing of products they might miss I would not recommend mainly for several reasons: 1) if the geography of your students is not concentrated you might not have enough margin 2) there are many niche companies that do that focusing on nationalities, it would be difficult to beat that and my main reason 3) importing difficult to find products is expensive and you would need to sell expensive to make a profit and these students generally don't have much money to spend and also are only on exchange for a year, difficult to get by.

I hope you find this helpful :)


Thanks a ton for your input. My niche has plenty disposable income as it's a work-and-travel, and I'll leave it at that for now. I focus on that niche because I was a part of it for two years and I -thought- I know it pretty well. On my Facebook page I've shared resources, experiences, funny/relatable experiences that people share and re-share, and I regularly answer questions people ask me. On top of that there is a Facebook group with a free marketplace where participants can buy and sell things they can't take home (actually, that was the original idea of ALL of them, but it made no sense monetizing someone selling a $10 item, so I decided that to be free value added that I offered and find something else to make money of). I've amassed a following and I know they have $$ to blow on stuff (I used to do it myself), spare time and a need to have experiences/make international friends/accomplish something/have stuff to brag on FB to their people at home etc. etc.

I hope that explains some more. It just seems like a puzzle I feel I HAVE to crack, since I've started doing it on and off since 2012. I don't see one single thing that tells me this isn't a market, even for at least a few extra hundred a month. And I wanna solve the puzzle.

P.S. I'm stubborn
 

kytro360

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Look for problems people have. Survey people in your niche. Ask around. Listen to what people complain.

Go on Amazon and look at the best sellers. A lot of those books are about "problems" or "needs" people have. Use them for inspiration to create your own.
 

windchaser

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Thanks a ton for your input. My niche has plenty disposable income as it's a work-and-travel, and I'll leave it at that for now. I focus on that niche because I was a part of it for two years and I -thought- I know it pretty well. On my Facebook page I've shared resources, experiences, funny/relatable experiences that people share and re-share, and I regularly answer questions people ask me. On top of that there is a Facebook group with a free marketplace where participants can buy and sell things they can't take home (actually, that was the original idea of ALL of them, but it made no sense monetizing someone selling a $10 item, so I decided that to be free value added that I offered and find something else to make money of). I've amassed a following and I know they have $$ to blow on stuff (I used to do it myself), spare time and a need to have experiences/make international friends/accomplish something/have stuff to brag on FB to their people at home etc. etc.

I hope that explains some more. It just seems like a puzzle I feel I HAVE to crack, since I've started doing it on and off since 2012. I don't see one single thing that tells me this isn't a market, even for at least a few extra hundred a month. And I wanna solve the puzzle.

P.S. I'm stubborn

I see, that is definitely a different thing that what I understood from the initial post.

I that case, I agree with the main needs and that you are hitting at them as you have followers and people share your content.

I think you are onto something, as the need exists but your are still missing a piece to solve the puzzle.
Have you tried to interview some of your followers or ask them directly what they value and what other things they might be interested in?
One thing you could explore is organizing original get togethers mixing grounds of friends. I actually wenot to some of them while I was working in other cities or shine studying abroad on my own andomain I know many people who have too.

At the end the only way to Crack the puzzle is trial and error.
Best of luck and keep us posted on your progress!!
 
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BellaPippin

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Look for problems people have. Survey people in your niche. Ask around. Listen to what people complain.

Go on Amazon and look at the best sellers. A lot of those books are about "problems" or "needs" people have. Use them for inspiration to create your own.

I've been doing that, maybe not enough to find the golden nugget yet.
 

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