How To Run a Business While Still in Uni (Using Smart Data Tech Tools)

Balancing Books and Business: A Student’s Modern Dilemma

College is wild. You’re juggling classes, deadlines, endless group chats about “who’s actually doing the presentation,” and, for many, a side hustle. But what if that side hustle grows wings and starts to resemble an actual business? Suddenly, you’re running a small empire from your dorm room, and it’s both thrilling and stressful. The question is: how do students manage to run businesses effectively while still staying sane in university?

The answer? They use smart, simple, and data-powered tools. We’re not talking about vague “stay organized” advice here. We mean actual tech that gives you numbers, insights, and action plans. Think of these tools like your behind-the-scenes team, helping you make decisions while you focus on classes and maybe even a social life.

And let’s be honest—there will be times when the balance gets tricky. That’s when delegating is a lifesaver. Whether it’s asking a friend to cover your table at a pop-up event or choosing a website that will write a paper for me when the business gets hectic, smart outsourcing can be a game-changer. So, let’s dive into the actual tools and tactics that help student-entrepreneurs thrive!

Use Google Looker Studio to Visualize What Matters

Google Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) is a free tool that turns your spreadsheets into beautiful, easy-to-read dashboards. If you’re selling something—whether it’s earrings, digital art, or tutoring services—you need to know how your business is doing at a glance.

Here’s what to do:

• Connect your sales data (like from Stripe, WooCommerce, or even Google Sheets).
• Create a dashboard that shows daily revenue, top-selling products, and where your traffic is coming from.
• Set alerts if your numbers dip below a certain point—so you know when something needs your attention before it's too late.

Why students love it: You can check performance between classes on your phone. Plus, it’s visual. No digging through unappealing Excel files.

Automate the Boring Stuff with Zapier

Running a business often means repeating the same tasks: replying to order confirmations, updating inventory, or sending invoices. Zapier connects your apps and automates all that.

Let’s say you:

• Get a new order on Etsy.
• Zapier instantly adds the info to your Google Sheets, sends a Slack message to your team, and even generates a shipping label with your postal app.

Boom. No extra effort.

How to start:

1. List out the things you repeat every week.
2. Head to Zapier and search for “Zaps” using those tools.
3. Create simple automation—no coding required.

Bonus tip: If you use Discord with your team, Zapier can even notify your server when something big happens (like a huge sale or stock running low).

Don’t Guess—Use Hotjar for Customer Feedback

Selling online? Hotjar is your best friend. It’s a tool that literally lets you watch how visitors move around your website. Creepy? A little. Useful? Absolutely.

You’ll get heatmaps showing where people click most, recordings of their browsing sessions, and pop-up surveys you can add to pages.

What this means for you:

• Find out where people are dropping off (maybe your checkout is confusing).
• See which product photos get the most clicks.
• Ask your visitors what stopped them from buying.

It’s real-time feedback that helps you fix problems before they cost you money.

Run Surveys with Typeform to Keep Improving

If you're not asking your customers what they think, you're missing out. Typeform is the easiest way to ask smart questions in a way that doesn’t feel like a boring survey from the 2000s.

Use it to ask:

• “How did you find us?”
• “What would make this product better?”
• “Would you recommend us to a friend?”

You can even integrate it with Notion or Trello (yep, both popular with student entrepreneurs) so that all responses are stored where you manage tasks.

Tip: Keep your forms short and friendly. You're a student talking to other humans, not a bank.

Track Your Budget Like a Pro with Wave Accounting

Wave is a free, student-friendly accounting software perfect for people who hate accounting. You can link your bank accounts, track income, categorize expenses, and generate invoices.

Why this matters: When tax season rolls around (yes, even students have to do this if they make money), you won’t be staring into a spreadsheet abyss.

Wave also lets you:

• Track recurring expenses (like website hosting or packaging supplies).
• Know instantly if your business is profitable this month.
• Send branded invoices that make you look way more legit.

Keep Projects on Track with Notion

Notion is like the Swiss Army knife of productivity tools. Students are obsessed with it, and for good reason—it helps manage classes and businesses in one place.

Here’s how student entrepreneurs are using it:

• To-do lists that actually sync with calendars.
• A “content calendar” for blog posts or Instagram.
• Inventory or order tracking.
• Collaboration space with co-founders or suppliers.

The magic of Notion is that it grows with your business. Start with a single checklist. Before you know it, you’ve got a whole command center.

Quick Recap: Tools to Build Your Dormroom Empire

If you're wondering how to keep it all together, here’s a quick hit list of what to check out:

1. Google Looker Studio – For dashboards and sales insights.
2. Zapier – To automate all the boring stuff.
3. Hotjar – To see how people interact with your website.
4. Typeform – For easy and stylish surveys.
5. Wave Accounting – To track cash and send invoices.
6. Metricool – To boost your social media game.
7. Notion – For project management and everything else.

All of these are either free or have generous student/startup plans. 

Final Thoughts

Running a business while still hitting the books isn’t just possible—it’s totally doable when you use the right tools. What’s key is not burning out. Let technology do the heavy lifting so you can focus on creativity, learning, and, you know, being a student.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking you have to do everything manually. Whether it's automating your orders, tracking what works on social media, or even choosing to outsource your work when your brain needs a break—working smarter (not harder) is the student-entrepreneur way.

And who knows? That late-night idea from your dorm might just be the next big thing.