Starting a side hustle is a common thought for a lot of us, but unfortunately not too often actually brought to fruition. We will tell ourselves we are too busy, don’t have any good ideas or just don’t want to dedicate the energy for all of these small jobs that “don’t really add up to much.”
It is time to forget all of those excuses, get the ball rolling and start earning a little extra cash through your first side hustle. The simple act of buying something (or getting it for free, I’ll explain more later) and reselling it for a profit will give a boost of confidence, empower you some quick savings and the drive to repeat it. Flipping is just one example that will be covered in more detail throughout this DIY side hustle guide.
To begin, approach your side hustle by asking yourself a couple of question. Why am I doing this? What do I truly want to get out of having this? Are there any alternatives that I should be focusing on instead that I would enjoy more? Asking these simple questions will help whittle down the choices you have and hopefully result in an overall better situation moving forward.
- The Second Job
Working for 15-20 hours a week at a part time job has to be the most basic and reliable form of secondary income and savings – A true side hustle. Marketing guru? Google your local car dealerships that are lagging behind on their marketing and SEO game and offer your skills (this is all too common still). Photographer with some time in your weekly schedule? The previous example also bodes well for you. As simple as this sounds, offering your skills out of the blue to local businesses can often times result in a great relationship. Taking the initiative to show that you truly care about bettering someone else’s situation means a lot, and will show especially in person. I speak from experience with this subject as my very first job (not a side hustle at the time, but my main hustle) happened exactly as the previous two examples. A string of luxury automotive franchises near my home had opened a couple of years prior and still had low quality photos and no social media presence. Taking advantage of this situation to grab an extra couple of hundred dollars a week made total sense and was very beneficial to them as well!
- Drive for Uber, Lyft, Via, etc.
Depending on where you live, your personal situation regarding a vehicle, and how comfortable you are with the idea of passengers being complete strangers, driving for a ridesharing app can be an enticing opportunity. The rise of companies such as Uber and Lyft have brought a whole new meaning to the side hustle, allowing for doctors, students, moms, and everyone else to get their piece of the action. Requirements to become a driver change depending on location and include a general checklist such as vehicle age, your experience driving, a personal background check, and even the number of doors your car has (coupes are kind of difficult to get in and out of…). One important consideration when starting is that these companies will oftentimes promote driver sign ups by offering bonuses, achieved through reaching ride quotas. This, again, depends on your location, but is most prominent with Lyft.
- Turn your hobby into secondary income
Like most adults used to tell you growing up (and before them, Mark Twain…): “Choose a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life.” Radical positivity? Probably. Few people can claim that they truly feel they have never worked a day in their lives. But this can hold up when it comes to your side hustle if you have something you are truly passionate about.
Interested in cooking your whole life but never went to culinary school? Create a weekly podcast interviewing one chef at all of your local restaurants and review their cheapest and most expensive plates.
Photographer? Find restaurants opening in your area (or those who don’t win at interior design) and offer your work to be shown on consignment (for sale with 80% of the selling price to you and 20% to them). Win/Win for the restaurant and yourself.
Enjoy fishing? Record yourself on the water and create weekly video courses on your winning techniques to snag the largest bass.
Long story short – almost anything has potential to be interesting and can have an audience, especially if you can captivate attention and capture its value. You just need to start!
- Turo / AirBnB
Have a car (Turo) and house (AirBnB) you don’t use all the time (almost all hands go up)? Rent them to individuals willing to pay you! It is really that simple.
Image via Turo.
- Just Flip It
Last, but definitely not least is flipping: Buying something, or somehow obtaining it for free, and reselling that item for a profit. Garage sales, church sales, estate sales, even “curbside alerts” on the free section of craigslist.com. The list goes on and on but the same holds true: flipping is a great side hustle to get into if you have very little time and money available.
My best Flip – Personal motivation from me to you. In an effort to quickly show how powerful this side hustle can be, here is a quick story. I was about 10 years old when I had my best flip, even to this day. I had picked up an 18k, antique women’s Italian watch for $2.50 at a garage sale and within the month had sold it to a local jeweler shop for $350. If ten-year-old-me can do it, you definitely can too.
While more than an estimated 44 million Americans have a side hustle (Bankrate), dedicating time to something you have never done before can be a difficult habit to start. With some creativity, hard work and perseverance, your new side hustle can be an extremely rewarding and fulfilling aspect to your life. Extra income and the opportunity to dedicate effort towards what you love will hopefully help this become something you actually want to do. Who knows, maybe this side hustle will ultimately turn into your full time income!
As a reminder – we receive no affiliate income from recommending our products. We will always speak the truth with you and we take pride in that. You are our peers and we won’t be swayed by anyone.
