Former student runs booming study room business near universities (2)

Sun Xuguang, a man in his 20s from east China’s Shandong province, has opened seven shared study rooms near colleges and universities in Jinan, capital city of the province.

“In my high school days, I couldn’t find a quiet space conducive to studying during the summer and winter vacations when the school was closed,” Sun said, explaining why he wanted to run the business.

In 2014, he made an attempt at the enterprise with a classmate in his hometown of Heze. They rented a house during the summer and winter vacations with money they had saved for a half year during college to run a study room.

“We were afraid that we couldn’t make a profit,” he said, adding that they also offered tuition to students in a bid to get them to study there.

Surprisingly, they earned enough money to pay their own tuition fees. He realised the importance of shared study rooms in his college days, as it was difficult to find a place to study in study rooms and libraries on campus when final exams were approaching.

When Sun failed his postgraduate entrance exam, he decided to start his own business by opening shared study rooms based on his experience and market research in cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou against the background of China’s booming sharing economy.

As a result, he opened his first shared study room in Jinan. According to Ma Xudong, Sun’s business partner, who is also in his 20s, the first plain-vanilla study room only had a few desks and tables.

“Now our new study lounges provide tea, coffee, printers, microwave ovens, and other services including sending and receiving express parcels,” said Ma.

Currently, they have opened seven shared study lounges with about 1,000 seats near universities such as Shandong Jianzhu University and University of Jinan.

Sun is currently planning to open shared study rooms near office buildings to attract office workers. “The business of shared study rooms is gaining momentum, and there is still greater room for growth,” he said.