Five side businesses that could earn you extra cash this year
Earning extra cash with a side job can be a huge boost to your finances and improve your quality of life. Whether it’s to pay down debt, save for a vacation, reduce the stress from living paycheck to paycheck, or simply to retire earlier, it’s an option worth considering.
The key to success, though, is doing something that you enjoy, that doesn’t take a ton of extra energy, or that isn’t a huge inconvenience. No one wants to spend their weeknight or weekend doing something they dread. Let’s face it, money earned that way probably isn’t even worth the toll it takes.
Here are a few suggestions that might just fit the bill:
Turn miles into money
If you’re a driver with Uber or Lyft, you can make some extra cash when it’s convenient for you. Early morning hours, evenings, weekends…even on your lunch hour. According to Lyft, some drivers make more than $800 just driving Friday nights and weekends, and Uber guarantees you’ll earn at least $1,400 for your first 200 trips in Atlanta (terms apply). Don’t have a car? Both companies can offer a flexible rental plan. Check out this Uber and Lyft earnings calculator to see how much money you could make.
If you have a car but don’t want to drive others around, why not make it available to others? If your vehicle is listed through Turo and rented just nine days a month by drivers who need to borrow a ride, you could cover your entire car payment, or at least make a pretty good-size dent. You choose your own rates, and you’re covered with $1M in liability insurance. See how much extra cash you could bring in with Turo’s CARculator.
Market your social media
Have a ton of Instagram followers? Major brands that market clothing, makeup, shoes, travel gear, furniture, or food could be interested in leveraging your influence. When you focus your content on a specific topic and successfully establish a loyal following, you could become a brand ambassador and charge anywhere from $100 to $1,000 to $5000 per post. You might also score some free products! Brand sponsorship is big business, especially in this age of digital marketing and social media.
Buy low and sell high
Love to scour Craigslist, haggle at an estate sale, or find a great deal at a garage sale? If you’ve got an eye for value, why not turn that into cash? Resell new, gently used, vintage, or hard to find items on Amazon or eBay. If you want to step up your game, you might even venture into police auctions, liquidations, and abandoned storage sales. Check out how 32-year old Mike Meyer makes six figures a year selling other people’s stuff. Now that won’t be the case for everyone, but if it makes you a few extra bucks each month, it might be worth your time.
Freelance your expertise
Are you skilled in a particular field? Whether you’re a mobile developer, web developer, writer, designer, consultant, accountant, or offer any other specialty, you can find some great freelance gigs on Freelancer, Fiverr , Indeed, or Upwork, or Remote.co. Companies submit their project online, the site suggests qualified candidates, and the client asks freelancers to submit bids. Voila! You’re hired. Take on more jobs when you have time and scale back when your schedule is busy and work from anywhere in the world.
Say “cheese”
Stock photography is in high demand. From websites to brochures, from social media to editorials, pictures of happy babies, coffee house scenes, and oak-tree shaded drives are available for instant download. They’re less expensive than scheduling a professional photo shoot and ideal for companies and projects with a limited budget. If you’re a photography buff, even if it’s just a hobby, you could sell your images to stock photo companies like ShutterStock, iStockPhoto, or Unsplash and you’ll get paid every time someone downloads your image. Over time, it could potentially lead to more lucrative work from higher paying private companies.
There are tons of ways to make extra cash on the side and big benefits to doing so. Find what you love, or even like a lot, and figure out a way to market those skills. Look around and sell what you don’t need, want, or use, and unclutter your life. In the end, you’ll have more cash in your pocket, more control over your circumstances, and a stronger financial strategy for your future plans.