I Tried Selling Pens, Vision Boards, and Buttermilk. One Worked Better Than I Expected.

When I started the EYFI Challenge, I wanted to figure out how to earn money on my own. I had a few ideas, but I wasn't sure which ones would work or whether I'd be confident enough to sell them.

Over 30 days, I tried selling pens on campus, creating customized vision boards, selling homemade buttermilk, and even starting a Kannada poetry page on Instagram. I also explored a collaboration with a pani puri vendor, but that didn't work out.

Some ideas earned money. Others taught me what not to do. And one of my simplest ideas turned out to be surprisingly effective.

My First Attempts: Selling Pens

I started by selling pens to students at my college.

I used money I'd earned by selling old NCERT books to buy the pens, investing ₹75 in the process. I approached students around campus, hoping to sell them one by one.

But it wasn't as easy as I'd imagined. I felt uncomfortable approaching people, and many students told me they could get cheaper pens elsewhere.

I eventually sold pens to 14 customers, earning ₹185 in revenue and ₹110 after accounting for my investment.

The experience taught me that having a product people need doesn't automatically make it easy to sell. Pricing matters, but so does the confidence to approach someone and explain why they should buy from you.

Turning a Vision Into a Product

My next idea was to create customized vision boards.

I found my first customer through a personal connection. After discussing vision boards, I designed one for them. The customer paid ₹490, and after spending ₹430 on materials, packaging, and delivery, I made ₹60.

The customer later shared feedback that stayed with me. They had been putting off creating a vision board for a long time, but my product made it easier to get started. Having their goals laid out clearly made those goals feel more real and motivating.

That feedback helped me understand the value of what I'd created.

But there was another challenge: many people weren't familiar with vision boards. Selling something new meant I had to help people understand what it was and why they might want one before they would consider buying it.

I learned that sometimes, the first step in selling isn't convincing someone to purchase a product. It's helping them understand why the product matters.

Buttermilk: Finding a Problem People Already Had

My most successful idea during the challenge was selling homemade buttermilk on my college campus.

The weather was hot, and students were feeling tired and thirsty. I saw an opportunity to offer something refreshing that people would actually want at that moment.

Unlike the pens or vision boards, I didn't have to spend as much time explaining why someone might need it. The need was already there.

I sold buttermilk to multiple students and earned ₹240 in revenue. My investment was ₹60 for cups, leaving me with ₹180 in net income.

It was a simple idea, but it worked because I paid attention to the people around me and what they needed.

This became one of my biggest takeaways from EYFI: when you identify a real problem and offer a relevant solution, selling becomes easier.

Not Every Idea Worked

I also started a Kannada poetry page on Instagram, Kannada Diaries, to explore content creation. It was a longer-term effort, and I hadn't earned any money from it during the challenge.

I tried to collaborate with a pani puri vendor and a creator to boost sales, but the vendor declined. That experience helped me understand that a business collaboration needs a clear benefit for everyone involved. Simply suggesting a partnership isn't enough; you need to show the other person why it makes sense for them, too.

Looking back, I experimented with several ideas in a short period. While this helped me explore different possibilities, it also showed me that I could have focused more deeply on one idea instead of spreading my efforts across many.

What I Earned, and What I Learned

Across my three earning activities, I made ₹915 in revenue and spent ₹484, leaving me with ₹431 in net income.

But the biggest outcome wasn't the money alone.

I learned that selling requires confidence, communication, and an understanding of the customer. I learned that a product can be useful but still difficult to sell if people don't understand it. And I learned that sometimes the best opportunities are hiding in everyday situations, like students looking for something refreshing on a hot day.

I also discovered that I didn't need to have everything figured out before starting. I could begin with a small experiment, learn from the response, and improve from there.

If I were to do EYFI again, I'd focus more on one idea, spend more time building awareness, and work on how I communicate the value of what I'm offering.

I'm Thanmayee D V, a Cohort 2 fellow at BGS Institute of Technology, BG Nagar, Mandya. The EYFI Challenge gave me a chance to try different ideas, interact with real customers, and understand what earning money independently actually takes.

---

This story was adapted from Thanmayee D V's original EYFI Challenge report and edited by the YouStart team.