When it comes to making money, finding a job around town or on campus is the norm. But there are those who depart from this mode and set off on their own, transforming their skills and hobbies into a lucrative business.

Avery Lawrence, a freshman management information systems and international business major from Alpharetta, started her hobby in order to stay focused in class when she was in high school.

“I saw my cousin knitting over Christmas break and I was like, ‘I should learn how to do this so I won’t fall asleep in class,’” Lawrence said.

Lawrence said she found a pattern for a hat which looked like a fish eating the person’s head who was wearing it and she decided to make it.

“I put the picture on Facebook and my friends were like, ‘Oh my gosh I want one,’ so it became a business,” she said. “In high school, I was making one a day.”

When she came to the University, Lawrence said she continued to knit in class, which generated more customers.

“Usually, I’m sitting in class and someone says, ‘Are you knitting?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ and they say, ‘Cool, what are you knitting?’ and they ask me for something,” Lawrence said. “It’s a good way of making money — beats my other jobs. It keeps me awake in class.”

Philip Ashford, a sophomore biological science major from Watkinsville, started his entrepreneurship his freshman year when he bought back books from his classmates at the end of the Freshman College Summer Experience and sold them on Amazon.com.

“At the end of the summer, I was looking at buyback options, and I noticed there was a discrepancy in the buyback price on Amazon and at the bookstore,” Ashford said. “My market was in my hall and class, and I made the announcement that I would buy back books at the end of class. I made a 40 percent return for the books.”

After Ashford’s profitable first semester, he said he decided to continue his rogue textbook buyback in the fall and placed advertisements throughout his dorm, which increased his business.

“For exam week, I had people knocking on my door every day,” he said. “I was able to meet a need by allowing students to sell back books and make a little more without having to leave their dorm.”

Ashford said his business did not last long though.

In the spring semester, he was forced to stop by University Housing.

“I got shut down spring semester because a cleaning lady found one of my fliers and told Housing,” he said. “I had a knock on my door and it wasn’t a customer. Housing told me I was in violation of my housing contract for running a business out of my dorm room and kicked me out.”

This setback did not stop Ashford from finding other ways to generate income.

“My family farm in Watkinsville has a bunch of cedar trees my grandfather planted in World War II,” Ashford said. “During the snowstorm, one blew down and on a whim I put an ad on Craigslist that I had a cedar and could make posts, and I saw interest for it.”

Ashford said his enterprise grew and he eventually began to install the posts as well. Now, he said he has gained some woodworking projects for weddings.

Ashford said his entrepreneur experience has affected more than just padding his wallet.

“Doing business can lead to other positive outcomes,” he said. “I’ve met people, especially with the book thing. I wasn’t involved with a fraternity or any campus organizations freshman year, and I have people I’ve met through selling books.”

Besides meeting people, Ashford said his business ventures have inspired him in school and allowed him to get involved with the community.

“I was able to make enough money so I didn’t have to work a 25-hour job, and I was able to do volunteer activities. I coached soccer for Athens Leisure Services,” he said. “It gave me self-confidence and motivation to excel in school because I knew I could excel in something. If I was just focusing on school, I wouldn’t have had the same kind of
dopamine rush.”