Going to Baruch and holding a job down is no easy task. While some students will get a part-time job, there are some like Mikhail “Mike” Mikhaylov, who take the initiative and take entrepreneurial spirit to heart. He is a junior and marketing major who runs an eBay business on the side.

“I sell for other people; my slogan is ‘I turn your trash into cash,’” said Mikhaylov.

Although his business is not one that is novel, he says that he rarely deals with competition because of the highly-competitive rates he offers and the contact list of buyers and sellers he has developed over his career.

Once he has determined a price to sell an item at, he will calculate how much money eBay and PayPal will make, then devise a percentage for himself and the client.

Mikhaylov stated that although he offers a modest price, there are instances where a customer will choose someone who is cheaper over him. He said that he often would encourage the clients to do this if they can find a lower commission rate.“If you need to, go to somebody to get the most amount of money, but it may or may not sell,” Mikhaylov said. “But if you want something definitely sold, still with a low commission rate, you definitely go to me.”

Outstanding service, fancy clothes, a stack of business cards and a promise to sell the item in question is how he markets himself and he says that business has been booming of late. His business has grown so steadily over the past ten or so years that he now finds himself ready to purchase an eBay store franchise.

While he has been building this business for a while, Mikhaylov says that he did not always find himself so rooted in business practices.

He originally transferred to Baruch from Queens College where he studied nutrition.

“I transferred here because I realized that nutrition was not a profitable business,” Mikhaylov said.

 Instead he uses his skills to offer personal training sessions alongside keeping up-to-date with multiple client sales on Ebay.  Mikhaylov started this venture in middle school, but he said that his true business skills began to develop once he came to Baruch.

“A lot of the classes that I’ve taken have helped me in a different way from a different perspective and allowed me to really as stereotypical as it sounds, ‘think outside the box,’ as well as networking and meeting different people on getting different perspectives.” He alluded that he has spoken to many of his teachers, who have each provided an outside perspective on his business and how to capitalize upon it and himself.

While he spends a lot of time working on his classes and the two businesses, he still finds time to devote to the Wall Street club.

“I entered into the club to learn about finance on a larger level and to develop contacts,” said Mikhaylov. The club has instilled lessons on hedge funds, real estate and basic economics, all of which have helped him to further understand his business.

“This has all helped me to shape where I want to go with this,” Mikhaylov said. “I’m making income to the point where I want to expand my business and also invest some of my money as well.”