This is a guest contribution from Melanie. She’s currently writing about her struggles with debt and overcoming the burden of $81,000 in student loans. She’s been able to pay off $35,000 and begun a new, frugal life. Thanks for the new article!
Side hustling is a great way to supplement your income. During hard times, this extra money can be the backbone to your budget. For me, side hustling is a way of life.
By working on the side, I gain the freedom to pursue other interests, extra income to throw at my student loans, and the confidence to know things will be okay should anything happen with my job. Best of all? It only takes a few hours per month.
Having a diverse array of income streams can add excitement and security to your life! Here’s how to begin:
Start Simple
Look around you. Yes, right now. What do you no longer use? What can you sell? Do you have a craft, hobby, or special talent? You would be amazed at what simple things can be done for extra money. Save someone a spot in line for an iPhone, make a grocery run, or water someone’s yard! I’ve been paid to “look busy” at an office during a site visit from the out-of-town CEO.
I’ve had great success with sites such as Gigwalk, Taskrabbit, Fiverr, and Craigslist. Each gig could earn you $5-$50!
Have people skills? You could be a Brand Ambassador, which is my main side hustle. It pays between $15-20/hr! You can also try focus groups or basic medical research at your local university.
Use Your Network
Let your friends, family, and acquaintances know that you are looking for extra work. It can make a huge difference in your side hustle success.
Here’s how you can keep it casual, yet professional:
I wanted to let you know I’m looking for extra work in _____. Let me know if you hear of anything.
Just by asking, I’ve worked as a pet sitter, office assistant, and event. Moreover, people are more likely to think of you next time they need help with something.
Develop New Skills
Side hustles are a great place to learn new skills, and a fairly safe space to fail. Trying new things and failing with a traditional job could be detrimental to your career. But for a side hustle, if you think you can do it, and learn from it, go for it!
I got a gig off of Taskrabbit for transcription with no previous experience, but I learned a lot in the process. Because side hustles can be one-off gigs, you can see it as a learning opportunity, rather than an obstacle. After trying different things, you may find you like your side hustle more than your traditional job!
Expand Your Comfort Zone
Along with learning new things, side hustles get you out of your comfort zone. I recently acted as “mother’s helper,” though I am not a mother myself. Some things aren’t comfortable at first, but with time, it gets easier and easier. Your ‘new’ becomes your ‘old’, and your comfort zone grows.
Don’t Forget Gratitude
After landing your first gig, be sure to follow-up and say thanks. Whether you are providing a product or service, send a note of appreciation to your employer. Side hustling can be competitive, and having manners can go a long way.
Ready To Try It?
Patience, hard work, and determination are key. In 2013, I made $5k from occasional side hustles – even while working full-time. That extra money helps me aggressively pay off my debt!
Do you have any other tips to get started with side hustling? What are your side hustles?
You can visit Melanie’s blog at Dear Debt.
Great work on your side hustles this year! I’ve not tried many of those websites other than Craigslist, but I will have to check them out. Thanks for the post!
$5k from side hustles is pretty great. I recently learned about taskrabit and I’m going to do a little more research. I think I’d be interested in both doing tasks and having others complete tasks for me.
I am sure that Taskrabbit is great in NYC! It’s been wonderful for me and super convenient for the Taskposters as well.
I wonder how Taskrabbit would preform outside of big cities… Any ideas?
I think the main thing is that people need to just try it. There are too many people that are afraid to try to make extra money and think they don’t have any other marketable skills. You just need to jump in and see what you can do. Great work Melanie!
I would love to hear more about this looking busy for an out of town CEO (sounds like a crazy adventure). My side hustles mostly involve writing for my blog but I am looking to expand into some more profitable side incomes.
I answered an ad on Craigslist and was told to “look busy” and do whatever I wanted on the internet, while the CEO was in town. Making $13/hr to do something I’d do at home, was pretty amazing. Craigslist can be a lot to sift through, but definitely some gems there.
Why, yes! Come to think of it, there’s a lot one can do to earn an extra income via side hustling. I’d sure like to give “look busy” a try. The line put a big grin on my face.
Haha! Me too! 🙂
Great job Melanie. Keep at it and I’m sure you’ll find better side gigs too. Wow, the look busy gig is pretty awesome. Corporate America eh.
I’ve come from selling cellphone accessories online that got started part-time into full blown business in a warehouse with four employees.
With sites like Alibaba and Aliexpress, entire Chinese manufacturer is right open for all of us who do not have the Chinese connection. You can literally think about a product and private label it to make it your own.
Everyone should try it.
I think the idea of side hustles are great and you did a good job with the article. But in the middle of hustle, it’s important to remember the value of time. Sometimes, it’s worth doing on the side, sometimes it’s worth a career change, sometimes it might not be worth your time. Running around like crazy for $7 an hour is crazy talk to me.
I once made $2500 in two weeks by responding to a friends’ facebook post! I wish that were full time!
Holy cow! I need more friends like this. Haha.
I can recommend fiverr as a means of side cash. It seems like small potatoes–$5 a pop–but it can add up because you can add “gig extras” (plus $10, $20, or more) after you accrue some feedback. The site does take 20% of your earnings, which is a drag, but if you like the projects you’re doing, it’s not a bad place to find a regular (though maybe relatively small) stream of income. I was able to replace my laptop with my fiverr funds, which was very helpful to me.
I’ve tried a few “side hustle” jobs as you say, but nothing on a continual basis. I think I like Fiverr the best, although I have not tried a couple of the sites you mentioned, but may get around to trying it very soon. Thanks.
Love this blog post! Melanie from Dear Debt is a great resource for everything side hustle related.
What I’ve found to be an AMAZING side hustle is Brand Ambassador/Promo work.
It’s a very flexible, fun, and lucrative side hustle if you have a friendly and outgoing personality. Basically you represent your favorite brands at awesome events (e.g. handing out Red Bull or demoing new products at high foot traffic areas) and it pays $18-$45/hr depending on the event.
I created an entire resource website on how to succeed in this industry called “Brand Ambassador World”. It has everything from resume designs, to super helpful tips and tricks, to where to find promo gigs, to a comprehensive list of agencies, etc.
You can check it out at:
http://www.brandambassadorworld.com
I hope you all find it helpful and feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all!