When you need to earn extra cash, you can find all kinds of side hustle ideas by browsing YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms. However, not all of these are going to be a good match if you’re looking to get the most out of your time.
Many people are willing to pursue additional sources of income even if they don’t pay that well. If you’re more interested in opportunities with decent income, here are some of your options.
1. Buy rental property
Owning real estate is a lucrative pursuit, so this should be at the top of your list. The way it works is fairly simple. You’ll buy a residential property and then rent it out to tenants, using their monthly rent to pay the mortgage.
In the beginning, you won’t see huge profits, but as you pay off more of your mortgage, you’ll start to earn equity in the property and your profits will increase. When the mortgage is finally paid off in full, the rent money you collect will be pure profit, minus your typical expenses.
If you’re interested in owning real estate, but don’t want to be a landlord and don’t have the time to manage a physical property, you can always hire a professional to do the job. For instance, Dallas property management company Green Residential manages properties all around the area for investors who want to be hands-off. If you’re interested in a side hustle that will produce substantial profits, real estate is the top pick.
2. Start the business you want to do full-time
If you’ve had plans to start a business, it makes sense to start it now as your side hustle and allow it to grow organically into something much bigger. Eventually, you can transition away from your 9-5 job and into running your business full-time.
The only word of caution here is to pick something that you really enjoy doing because you don’t want to get stuck running a full-time business doing something you find cumbersome or stressful. If you do start a business, make your choice based on both income potential and how satisfied you’ll be running that company. Income matters, but you don’t want to feel like you’re still working a regular job because owning a business will require far more work than a typical 9-5 gig.
3. Make custom stickers
This is one option you may not have considered, but it can be very profitable when done correctly. Custom stickers can make you thousands of dollars every month and you don’t need to be a skilled graphic designer to make it work.
Some people buy the equipment and then print and ship from their home, but you can skip all that and have your stickers printed and drop shipped from platforms like Printify and Printful. There are so many free and simple design tools out there today that make editing images easy, like Kittle, Canva, and Gimp. If you don’t know how to use even the simple tools, it’s easy to learn on YouTube.
Making stickers is something you can do part-time, although it won’t earn you a full-time income unless you’re able to dedicate more time. If all you need is a few hundred dollars extra each month, that’s not hard to achieve. With some great designs and good marketing, you could easily create a lucrative sticker side hustle.
4. Sell your expertise
Everyone has expertise in some area. You can sell your knowledge and expertise in the form of courses on various websites designed as teaching platforms. One of the more recent additions is a platform called Skool. This one is a little different since it’s also a community platform that people can join as members and it facilitates conversation.
Your community members don’t need to pay to join your community, but they will need to pay to take your courses. This creates an excellent marketing opportunity for you, especially if you can gather a bunch of people interested in your courses who may still be on the fence about joining. You can nurture them through community posts and turn them into paid subscribers.
Another way to earn money from your knowledge is by creating a YouTube channel and monetizing it with ads. This takes a little more time, but if you can generate a large following, then you could end up earning quite a bit of cash.
Choose side hustles that pay better
Avoid choosing side hustles that only pay peanuts. When you have a choice, go for the opportunities that pay better; they’ll be more enjoyable long term.
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