The side hustle has been defined as an asset that works for you. It is part of the increasing gig economy in the U.S., a way to make extra money when the day job isn’t enough. Nearly 4 in 10 Americans have a side gig. The average monthly take — $686. Millennials are more likely to have a side hustle than other generations, with 68% reporting the extra cash as “disposable income.” Popular side hustle gigs are freelance writing, ridesharing, tutoring, and video editing. Here are additional ideas for a side hustle.
What are People Side Hustling?
- Create and manage social media ads for local businesses (Typical earnings: $1,000 – $2,000/month per client)
- Tutor kids online. VIPKid, is a popular service to teach children English. And you don’t need teaching experience, they provide you with the lesson plans. (Typical earnings $1000+/month)
- Sell products online. Etsy is one of the largest resources for selling handmade goods on the internet. We interviewed Arianna O’Dell, who started a business on Etsy and earned an extra $30,000 in a year.
- Sell services online. Fiverr helped give birth to the Gig Economy. Side hustlers are offering services like graphic design, digital marketing, and video editing. Although services start out at $5, some Fiverr sellers are earning six-figure-plus revenues annually.
- Work as a virtual assistant. There’s a growing demand from small business owners who need help on various projects from scheduling appointments and managing events to overseeing social media posts and website updates.
- Blogging, making YouTube tutorials, creating online courses.
- Sell used technology and goods on sites like Gazelle and eBay
If these sound like good ideas but you’re just not sure how to manage a side hustle, here are five tips to keep you grounded and focused.
5 Tips for Side Hustlers
- Stick to a schedule: Decide how many hours you think you can spend a day on your side hustle. Then add 25 to 50%. If you’re thinking 2 hours, make it 3 or 4. Then commit to that schedule.
- Don’t take on debt: Start a side hustle you can fund through savings — or better yet, that you don’t need to fund. Provide a service that only requires the tools you already have. Prove there is a market and you can serve it before you take on debt.
- Only spend money and time on things that make money: Don’t overspend on supplies before you have demand. You only make money when you’re creating your product. Spend less time planning and more time doing.
- Don’t spend money on things customers won’t see, like an office or fancy amenities. If your customer doesn’t see it, don’t buy it.
- Do something you enjoy: Think of your side hustle as ‘me time.’ It will make your life better and happier.
Stacey Tisdale and Angela Yee will share more about getting your side hustle on their monthly FaceBook live event Wealth Wednesday. They will be joined by side hustler Arianna O’Dell and Lamine Zarrad, the CEO of Joust, a new digital bank for the gig economy. All Wealth Wednesday events take place and are recorded at Juices for Life in Brooklyn, New York. Tune in to the Wealth Wednesday livestream Facebook live event on Angela Yee’s Facebook page, with over 2.2M followers.