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Making an extra $100 today wouldn't be life changing. But what if you could make $100 a day - every day?
An extra $100 today wouldn’t move the needle much if you’re trying to improve your finances. But what if you could make $100 a day – every day, over and above your salary?
Now suddenly, you’re paying off debt. You’re paying cash for emergencies. You’re accumulating some savings, and the thought of updating your budget is actually motivating.
Making an extra $100 dollars a day can have a powerful effect in a relatively short time. So to help, we’ve put together 20 side hustle ideas that’ll help you to make $100 a day pretty quickly.
In ways you don’t need to invest hundreds of dollars, or research for weeks.
One powerful but simple key to making money is to find a service people need, and provide it.
Be that person who provides a reliable service at a fair price, and your side hustle will not only generate an income, it could replace your full-time job.
But lets be clear. By side hustle, I don’t mean working at the dollar store or the bagel shop 20 hours a week. I mean making extra income on your terms.
Either from home, or if not, where you want, when you want, and for how long you want.
So here, we’ll outline side hustle ideas that have 3 keys:
- Creative ways to make money that are quick to start and won’t anchor you in analysis paralysis for weeks.
- Money making ideas that are sustainable – so you can earn money consistently – long enough to pay off debt, build a cushion and make real progress.
- And lastly, things that are scalable. Ways to make money that can be expanded as you become more comfortable..
Side Hustle Ideas To Make Your Car Earn it's Keep
It’s great having your own car, but did you know most cars sit unused 95% of the time? That’s a big investment to sit and depreciate while only providing value to you 5% of the time.
But if you need to earn extra money, your car can be just the ticket.
Here are several ways to make your car start earning it’s keep without punching a time clock.
Earn a $300 Signup Bonus to Deliver With DoorDash
Just like a lot of other businesses, restaurants are finding it cheaper to outsource their food deliveries rather than pay someone to sit during slow periods.
And restaurants who didn’t offer delivery before, are able to easily add that option by working with DoorDash.
Here’s what’s nice about doing DoorDash deliveries – it’s flexible, like Uber or Lyft where you can choose whatever deliveries you want, but…
- There’s no passengers. It’s just you and your music.
- Your car doesn’t need to fit any guidelines. It just has to go.
- You don’t report to a boss.
- If you qualify for Fast Pay, you’ll be paid daily.
Getting Started:
Here’s what you’ll need to start dashing:
- You must be 18 years or older.
- Have access to a vehicle.
- A valid driver’s license.
- Current insurance.
- Own an iPhone or Android smartphone.
- Provide a social security number for a background check.
- Pass a background and driving record check.
Income Potential:
DoorDash advises you can make up to $25 per hour, but they guarantee you won’t make less than $10 an hour.
In fact if you do, they’ll make up the difference.
If you signup for Fast Pay, you’ll be paid the same day you work.
A great DoorDash gig might be near a university, or a large neighborhood with several fast food places nearby.
Check out DoorDash.
Let Your Car Make $100 a Day When You're Not Using it
If you’re familiar with Airbnb, there’s a similar service called Turo that connects car owners with people who’ll pay to rent their car.
So if you work from home, or your car sits unused a lot of the time, Turo can turn it into an income source – probably more than enough to pay for your gas and insurance.
You wouldn’t even need to leave your house. You could elect to have it picked up right from your driveway.
Now that’s what I call passive income!
I also like the fact that Turo is partnered with Liberty Mutual Insurance. They include up to $1 million in liability insurance, and they protect your car against theft and physical damage.
Getting Started:
Listing your car is easy. Here’s how:
- Just Create a Free Profile.
- Describe your car and upload a few photos.
- Update the app’s calendar so travelers will know when it’s available.
- You’ll be notified right away when someone books your car.
- Accept or reject the rental, and coordinate where and when you’ll meet your guest.
- Check their license, walk around the car, check the fuel and mileage, and send them off on their adventure.
- Meet the guest when they’re done, and head home.
Income Potential:
The amount you’re paid depends on the model and year of your car, and where you live.
Turo has a simple ‘Carculator’ where you just enter your car, and it’ll show you the amount you’d be paid per day.
I entered one of our cars, a 2013 Kia Optima, and the amount was $48 per day.
Here’s where you can check out Turo.
Earn Money Delivering Packages for Postmates
Another option to make money on your terms, without a boss, is to deliver for Postmates.
They operate like DoorDash and Lyft where you’ll see deliveries become available in the smartphone app. Then you can choose to accept or reject them.
Postmates delivers food, drinks, retail – almost anything – from anywhere in your local area.
And since you’ll only be delivering packages, and not people, nobody cares if you’re driving your 2003 Honda Civic.
Postmates and DoorDash are similar side hustle ideas, in that they both push deliveries to your smartphone.
So working both simultaneously, could be a way to make money even quicker.
Getting Started:
Just create a free account, and upload your photo and proof of identity.
Once they verify your identity, they’ll send you a Postmates delivery bag, and a prepaid card.
The prepaid card is used to pay for deliveries when you pick them up.
Now install the Postmates app, and start accepting deliveries.
Income Potential:
You would keep 80 percent of the delivery fee, (which starts at $5 for the shortest distance) along with tips. Postmates says you can average up to $25 an hour.
Postmates guarantees you’ll make at least $600 in your first month if you make at least 75 deliveries. So that works out to about $8 per delivery.
Check out Postmates.
Drive People Around for Pay & Tips
If you need to earn extra money, but the idea of spending hours behind a counter somewhere isn’t your thing, have you considered driving for Lyft?
Think about it:
- It’s flexible, so you can accept or reject whatever jobs you want.
- You’re not punching a clock.
- You’re paid for your time, plus you keep all your tips.
Many Lyft drivers already have a job, but drive with Lyft on the side because of the flexibility and good pay.
It’s easy to get the hang of. You’d run their app on your phone, and they’d send you an available pickup. It’ll show exactly where the pickup and drop-off locations are.
You can work in whatever area you want, and whatever hours work with your schedule.
Getting Started:
They’ll want to check that you have a valid driver’s license. And they’ll want to make sure your car is up to snuff.
It’ll need to have doors – 4 of ‘em. And it’ll need to be registered in the state you’re driving in.
The whole process of applying, having Lyft do their checks, and you making money takes no more than a few days.
Income Potential:
Lyft wants you to be successful. In fact in my state, New Jersey, they guarantee that I’d make at least $900 in my first month of part-time driving.
They also offer a bonus of $1000 if you complete 125 rides within the first month.
Check out Lyft.
What if you’d like to make money using your car, but the poor thing is so worn out, you’re considering a bumper sticker, “honk if anything falls off.”
You can still make money using your car!
Here are 10 ways to deliver food with a car you’d be embarrassed to bring on a date.
Local Side Hustle Ideas You Can Start Cheaply
Ok, so we’ve covered side hustle ideas to make your car earn it’s keep, but what about other services you can do to earn money?
They say if you can provide a service that people need, you’ll never be without an income.
Here are some services you can provide that are easy to crank up, and will help you make that $100 a day!
Earn Money Every Week Renting Your Spare Room
Have a spare room in your home – or even a second home? Airbnb has become such a competitor to hotels and motels, that over 200 million people have rented one over the last decade.
Travelers want a comfortable place for a reasonable price, without occupancy fees, parking charges and taxes.
If you have a clean, comfortable space, it can be an immediate source of steady income.
Getting Started:
It’s free to sign up for Airbnb, and you can specify whatever details you feel would make your place desirable:
- A schedule of when your space is available.
- Minimum or maximum nights a guest can stay.
- How far in the future a guest can book.
- Advance notice they’ll need to give.
- Special pricing for certain dates.
- Whether your space is pet friendly.
You’ll want to upload the best photos you can. And in your listing, highlight anything unique about your space, any special amenities you offer, and maybe a few local attractions.
Providing things that guests would need, like toiletries, towels or TV will help to keep positive reviews coming in.
Airbnb covers every booking with $1 million in property damage protection, and another $1 million for protection against accidents.
Income Potential:
According to Travel & Leisure, the average Airbnb host makes $924 per month. Of course, that depends on how many rooms you have available, how often you rent, or what attractions are nearby.
I know one person who’s done so well with her Airbnb, that she bought a second property specifically to rent as an Airbnb.
The aim should be to price your rental competitively for your area, so over the long run it’s occupied as many nights as possible.
Check out Airbnb.
Make $50 an Hour to Clean Homes
Yup. $100 for about a two-hour cleaning is pretty standard, and you probably have most of the supplies already to get started.
Get together your broom, dust pan some cleaning solutions, and some rags and you can be earning money next week.
My wife and her friend started a home cleaning business with almost no investment. They cleaned a combination of private homes, and week to week rentals where one renter would leave at 11AM and another would arrive at 2 or 3.
Within just a few months they had more than enough business to work while the kids were in school, and be home when they wanted.
Getting Started:
As far as equipment needed, you can probably start with the cleaning supplies you have now.
To get your first few customers, you might tell a few friends in your neighborhood that you offer cleaning services. You don’t need to say you’re looking for your first ever customer.
Once you have that first customer, it’s funny how word of mouth travels. They’ll have a neighbor, a sister or a friend and before you know it, you’re bringing in several hundred dollars each week.
If there are a lot of short-term rentals in your area, try leaving some business cards at a few local realtor offices.
Or try to post one in the community center of a local senior citizen complex.
And of course, it’s not hard to create a simple website advertising your services.
Pro tip: Document the services you’ll perform for the agreed upon price, and share a copy with your customer.
Once you have several customers, you’ll want to have a clear understanding about what needs to be done for each customer.
It’ll also help to have these client profiles when you’re ready to expand and need to train a helper or two.
Income Potential:
Making $100 a day cleaning homes is a sure thing. It’s typical to earn $100 for a two-hour cleaning session in an average 1500-2000 square foot home.
So earning $100 in a day is not only possible, but making $200 in one day can be done before lunch.
If there are a lot of short-term rentals in your area, where you have a three hour window on Saturday, you can easily scale your business.
You can reasonably expect at least $50/hour, and you can pay a few reliable helpers $25/hour to clean more homes than you’d be able to take on alone.
Make an Easy $100 a Day Painting Rooms
So many people hate painting things like bedrooms, bathrooms or kitchens. And that’s exactly why painting is a side hustle idea that’ll keep you earning money steadily.
I painted houses, interior and exterior, for about a year and had no trouble attracting clients. I’d place one ad in a local publication that ran for about 10 days.
Offering something your competition doesn’t, is a good way to distinguish yourself. And as strange as it seems, just showing up every day until the job is done seems rare these days.
If you charge a fair price, and show up steadily until the job is done, customers will recommend you to neighbors and friends. I’d usually work for a few months off that one ad.
I’d usually propose that customers buy whatever paint they wanted on their own. And I’d just give them a quote for my labor.
It was simple for me. I wouldn’t need to show them color charts, and risk possible confusion over their selection. They’d get exactly what they wanted, and I’d just show up and work.
If you were to scale this into a full-fledged painting business, you’d probably want to supply paint, but to earn money in a side-hustle, quoting for labor only can keep it simple.
Getting Started:
When I went to give my first estimate, little did the customer know, I had never painted for anyone before. Ha ha!
But that’s the beauty of side-hustles. You can start them from the seat of your pants, and learn with each job.
If you feel like you don’t have enough experience, just paint one of your own rooms and track the time it takes you.
If you’re going to just charge for labor, then the only expense you’ll have, is:
- A few decent brushes.
- A couple rollers and sleeves.
- A couple drop cloths.
- A can of wall patching compound.
- Some sandpaper.
- A step ladder.
You’ll pick up other odds and ends as you need them.
One area I stumbled on at first, was under-estimating the time it would take me. You need to figure in the time it’ll take to move things out of the way, and also your prep time.
If walls are really pock-marked with holes, you’ll need to patch them. It’s easy, and there are loads of YouTube videos on it, but you need to account for the time.
Believe me, each job becomes easier to estimate.
Income Potential:
Painting may be slightly physical, but it’s one of the quickest ways to make money – easily $100 dollars a day.
I’ve had several jobs that paid around $1500 to paint empty, four room apartments because the owner or the person settling an estate wanted to turn it over quickly.
I’d bring a helper, pay him $20-$25 per hour, and we’d roll out the entire place in off-white and finish in two days.
Most jobs would be for a bedroom or a kitchen that someone just doesn’t want to paint themselves.
According to Home Advisor, “The cost to paint an average size room (10X12) ranges from $380-$790, not including ceilings, trim or cost of the paint.”
The range there, accounts for a few things:
- The condition of the walls, and whether you’ll spend time patching and sanding.
- How many coats are needed. Typically two, but painting a light over a dark takes longer than vice versa.
- Whether you need to spend time moving things out of the way.
So for that price range, here’s what you’d make:
- If you finished in 4 hours: $95 – $197 per hour.
- If you finished in 8 hours: $47 – $98 per hour.
As with most jobs, painting becomes more profitable as you get more comfortable and move faster.
But if you need money now, it’s a side hustle idea that requires a very low investment up front.
Find your first customers by placing an ad in your local paper, or checking out TaskRabbit or Craigslist.
Make Extra Money by Walking Dogs
My dog considers our daily walk the highlight of his day. I know because of the way he lights up when I reach for the leash. Truthfully, sometimes it’s the highlight of my day too.
It’s hard to believe you can earn extra money for something that’s actually pretty relaxing!
But whether you live in the city or the suburbs, dozens of dog owners would pay you give their friend a short walk.
So if you’ve got a couple hours mid-day, dog walking is one of the easiest ways to make money.
Getting Started:
Dog walking isn’t something you’ll need to research a lot.
You can find your first few customers by posting some business cards at your local vet’s office, pet store or create a simple web site.
But there are two places you might want to look.
Rover.com can hook you up with some dog walking gigs if you need money now, and don’t want to wait for your own customers.
Once you know the ropes, you can make more money on your own, but starting with Rover may give you some best practice tips.
Another place you might check, is Angies List. With a free account, you can look up other local dog walkers and see the comments customers left about them.
Again, it’s a good way to get some tips for your own service.
Income Potential:
- According to HomeGuide, most homeowners spend from $15-$25 per walk, depending on the length of the walk.
- Many families have more than one dog so there’s an opportunity to offer a group price.
You should have no problem making $100 a day walking dogs. This would be a good side hustle to scale up once you’re making money.
Bring a helper, show him/her the ropes, then spend more of your time bringing on more business.
Here’s where you can check out Rover.
Earn Extra Money by Hosting a Dog
I recently had to drop our dog at a local kennel for two days, and the bill came to almost $90!
There was no nail clipping, shampoo or any extras. Just room and board.
So if you have the room, and like the company, this is a pretty easy way to make money from home. Just check to see what local kennels charge, and set your rate competitively lower.
Personally, I’d rather see my dog spend a few days in the home of someone I can trust, rather than sit in a cage.
Getting Started:
If you have no experience hosting dogs, you can make money while learning the ropes by working with a company like Rover.
They’ll have you fill out a profile, and if approved, you’ll begin right away.
The advantage is, that they’ll show you exactly what customers expect from a dog host, and what you’d need to provide in your own service.
To sign up via mobile, just install the Rover app, then:
- Tap More at the bottom of your screen.
- Tap ‘Become a Rover Sitter or Walker‘.
- Tap ‘Get Started‘ to create your profile, or to learn more about becoming a sitter, tap ‘Learn More’.
Income Potential:
Local kennels near me charge an average of $40-$50 per day for boarding. And that’s for no extra’s, just room and board.
If you work with Rover.com, they’ll pay $25 per dog, per night.
It’s not as much as a kennel, but they can guarantee business – they book a service every 4 seconds.
Rover can also hook you up with doggie day care customers.
Check out Rover.
Make $100 a Day Tutoring Students
Is there an area you have some expertise in? It can be academic, sports related, playing an instrument, yoga… anything.
Students always need extra help with math, reading or computer skills, SAT prep or even general study habits.
Parents will also pay someone to teach fundamental sports skills, like soccer dribbling or shooting, or hitting a baseball.
A friend of mine participates in a weekend group yoga session on the beach, where the participants pay $15 each.
Pocketing $100 or so for an hour on the beach sounds like a nice way to make money to me!
Think about your background. Whatever you’ve got experience in, someone else will probably pay you to teach them.
Getting Started:
If you’ll be tutoring school subjects to high schoolers or below, you may find customers in local home/school Facebook groups or through friends.
I know two people who tutor from home via Skype and drum up business through a a basic website.
If you’re tutoring college students, a card posted wherever students spend time can get you started. Places like the student center, the cafeteria, the gym, or the library can help you to start earning money.
Or if you’ve got the knowledge to tutor, but are a little apprehensive about putting yourself out there, working with tutor.com is a way to make money while you build experience.
They won’t pay as much as you can earn independently, but it’s a way to get comfortable while you build some contacts.
Income Potential:
Tutor.com pays about $11-$12 an hour depending on the subject.
Independent tutoring is a great way to make money on the side. In my area (New Jersey) tutors easily earn $35-$50 per hour, and many charge more.
Check out Tutor.com.
Make $100 a Day Painting Street Numbers
A few months back, someone came around our neighborhood offering to paint our street number on our curb for $10.
They carried some large numeric stencils that probably cost a few bucks, and a can of black spray paint.
Once they collected their $10, it took them no more than a minute to finish and head to the next house.
Fresh air. Exercise. There may be easier ways to make money, but this is a simple, cash in hand gig.
Getting Started:
$10 should get you started with a can or two of black spray paint, and some stencils a little smaller than the curbs in your area.
Then just park on a street and go up one side and down the other.
Income Potential:
Not only can you make $100 a day doing this, you can make $100 today. At $10 a pop, this is only limited by the soles on your shoes.
Depending on how much walking you want to do, $100 dollars a day is a given. Or if you’re aiming to make $200 a day, just target large neighborhoods and this should be a quick way to make extra money.
You could even offer a $5 up sell to paint a smaller number on their mailbox.
Sell Water at Local Events
Selling water at local events is a simple side hustle idea, and if you need money now, it’s a way to earn cash quickly.
It’s one of the simpler ways to make money because you just look for events in your area where you can bring a few cases of cold, bottled water.
A case of water near me sells for about $5. Sell bottles of cold water for $1 and you’ve more than quadrupled the money you’ve spent on the water.
This is an idea some people may scoff at, but remember, making extra money is all about providing a service that people need, at a fair price.
How many times have you been somewhere on a hot day, feeling dehydrated when you’d gladly spend a buck on a cold drink?
Getting started:
Think of where people congregate on a hot day in your area:
- Parks.
- Concerts.
- Fairs.
- Soccer matches or tournaments.
- The beach.
- High school football games.
If you Google “soccer tournaments“, there’s likely a few within an hour of you any weekend between March and November.
Income Potential:
This may not be something you’ll be able to do every week, but keep your eye open for opportunities in your area.
For a every $5 investment in water, you should be able to earn $24.
Side hustle ideas are all about recognizing opportunities to serve, where you can earn extra money in the process.
Adjust Your W4 to Give Yourself a Raise
According to Credit Sesame, the average tax refund this year was $3068. So the average person is lending the government $255 every month, interest free.
Sure, it’s nice to see a windfall of cash once a year, but not if it’s your own money that you really could have used each month to build some emergency savings.
Getting Started:
You can use this simple withholding calculator to verify whether you’re claiming the right number of exemptions.
If you’re not, just request to adjust your W4 form through your employer’s HR office.
Income Potential:
The average person would boost their income by $255 each month.
That may not seem like a huge amount, unless you consider some of the ways you could put it to use.
- You could boost your 401k contribution, and maybe your employer’s match also.
- It could go into an emergency fund, a vacation fund, or a maybe Christmas fund.
- It could go towards an HSA, or an FSA to lesson the impact of out of pocket medical costs.
Earn Cash to Do Clothing Alterations
This option came to me when I brought my daughter to a local dress shop recently. She needed a few minor alterations, and they needed to schedule her a week in advance.
People are constantly looking for simple alterations to hems, straps and seams for weddings, proms or everyday clothing. Or maybe they want to repair a rip in a suit, or shorten a pair of curtains.
With the popularity of vintage clothing stores, people who’ve purchased pants or a jacket at a bargain may be willing to spend some money to make them fit better.
One of my daughter’s friends knows how to sew, and recently made her date a bow tie with the exact material of her dress.
If you’re handy with a sewing machine you can make extra money working whatever hours you want.
Getting Started:
This is a side hustle idea you might want to start by offering services for free. Check with a few friends or coworkers and see if they have a piece of clothing that needs an alteration.
Just be honest and say you’re offering your services for free temporarily, while you build a client base and references.
You’ll get the experience of working with clients, they’ll get free alterations, and you’ll be on your way to making money from home.
Once you’ve worked with some customers, you can always earn money with a local dress shop.
The girl I worked with had a nice deal – any customers who came in the shop requesting alterations were referred to her. She accepted cash only, paid directly to her.
Income Potential:
Like most services, your income will depend a lot on how often you work, but here’s a list of the national average prices for various sewing services.
One thing that’ll help you to establish your rates here, or in other businesses is to track your time. Keep a notebook and log the time it takes you to do various tasks.
Then take a look at the price list I’ve include above, or check a local shop and see what they charge for various services.
Let’s say they charge $20 to take in a dress shirt. If you know that can be done in 30 minutes, then their rate is $40 an hour.
As long as you know your rate, and track your time, you’ll have no trouble pricing various jobs.
How to Make Money Online with Your Own Side Hustle Ideas
Earning money to provide services around town is a pretty dependable way to earn extra money.
But one advantage of working online from home, is that you can provide services to a larger customer base, without traveling anywhere.
Here are some side hustle ideas to not only make $100 in a day, but very possibly make a full-time income.
Make Money Writing Articles and Blog Posts
You don’t need to have a journalism degree to make money online writing for blogs or even traditional businesses.
Established bloggers don’t usually hire employees to help them produce content. Instead, they’ll pay a freelancer.
And more and more businesses avoid paying the huge cost of employee benefits by paying freelancers.
Freelance writing is a perfect way to start making extra money on your own schedule, without leaving home.
And it’s got huge potential to scale into an income you’d never match by working in a cubicle.
Getting Started:
You could break into freelance writing by cold-pitching websites and businesses with ideas for articles.
But there’s a much easier way to learn the ropes and scale your income a lot quicker.
I understand the idea of not wanting to spend much money before you’re able to make money.
But this is one time when I found that a course can save you a year of mistakes, and help you to earn money much quicker.
The best training I’ve seen to break into freelance writing is Holly Johnson’s course, Earn More Writing.
Holly takes you step by step from a complete novice, showing you how to do everything from generating samples, to pitching jobs, dealing with editors, and how to tactfully raise your rates.
Her course is a combination of audio and video, and she relates to you in a matter-of-fact way, telling you exactly what to do to break into the business.
As courses go, it’s very affordable when you compare it to the money you’ll earn in your first few months.
A huge bonus is membership to Holly’s Facebook group where she’s not only active every day, but is actually responsive to your questions.
I’ve seen dozens of questions in the group, where she’s responded quickly with real-world, no-nonsense advice.
Income Potential:
It’s pretty typical for a less experienced freelancer to earn about $50 for an 800-1000 word blog post.
But once you’ve established some references, that can quickly escalate to $150-$300.
Holly gives some great suggestions in her course on what to charge, and how to start scaling your pricing.
For instance, one price for up to 1000 words, then a per-word price for anything over that.
Talk about $100 a day from home? Holly regularly brings in over $200,000 per year, while working from home.
Check out Holly’s Earn More Writing course.
Earn Money Giving Your Opinion of Websites
Most people decide within seconds whether they like a particular website. So bloggers or website owners rely heavily on user feedback to make their site more user friendly.
User Testing helps site owners by providing people to browse their site and offer an opinion.
You can earn cash by being one of those people. You’d just go to certain sites and record your realtime impressions into a headset.
It’s nothing complicated. You’d have a checklist with simple things like:
- Do I know right away, what this site is about?
- How is the site speed? Slow, fast?
- Is it easy to navigate menus, and find the things you might look for?
- If you’re selecting something to buy, is the process easy, and the product clearly described?
Getting Started:
Getting started is easy. Just fill out their online app, and they’ll contact you to setup a sample test.
They’ll show you the ropes of browsing sites, recording your opinion and getting paid.
Income Potential:
You’ll be paid $10 via PayPal for every 20 minute review you do. So if you average 2-3 reviews per hour, you’ll make $20-$30.
Check out User Testing.
Related: One idea to free up personal time for your side hustle, is to eliminate your commute and work from home. Here is a list of legitimate work from home jobs hiring now.
Make Money With Your Own Blog
When I launched Common Cents Hub, I knew nothing about owning my own website, or putting content on it, or even how websites made money.
But from reading other blogs, I found that most people started the same way – clueless. And though it may have started as a way to make money on the side, many were now generating a full-time income.
After months of thinking about it, I realized the only way to start a blog is to do just that. Start.
The idea that you can be completely clueless about blogging and still jump in and start makes it a unique side hustle idea.
You don’t need to be a world-class expert in your niche. You can blog about your experience, or your learning process.
- Maybe you’ve got valuable experience to share as a new mom.
- Or your journey out of debt.
- Or how to grow succulents, or how to eat a cleaner diet.
- Maybe you’re a backpacker, a woodworker or enjoy some other hobby that you’d like to pursue more and document your experience.
- Whatever you’re into, you can be certain that other people are too.
Blogging doesn’t present the risk of losing thousands of dollars on inventory and equipment, or dealing with angry customers. It’s an investment of time, more than money.
But I’ve found that shifting my time from aimless Facebook and web surfing to writing blog posts is not only more satisfying, but profitable too.
Creating content that you know will help people, and earn money, never feels like a waste of time.
There’s a reason why people refer to blogs as a ‘platform’. It’s because once you generate consistent traffic to your blog, you can monetize that traffic in a lot of different ways:
- You can earn money from ad agencies.
- You can recommend products you’ve used, and earn commissions when someone purchases it.
- Sell your own digital products like eBooks, printables or courses.
- Get paid by companies to write sponsored posts.
- Get paid to write for other bloggers or businesses.
The key to generating consistent traffic is to pick a topic where people are looking for information. Then provide consistent, relevant content around that subject.
Solve typical problems, answer questions, or provide inspiration and you’ll build an audience.
Your blog won’t put money in your pocket next week. But if readers see you’re posting consistent, helpful content, your blog could not only make $100 a day, but several hundred dollars a day. Or more.
Getting Started:
Getting your own blog off the ground – one that can make you money, requires a low investment.
You’d need three things:
- You’d buy your own domain (website) name.
- You’d pay a hosting company to host your blog.
- You’ll install WordPress to manage your blog (free and easy)
It’ll cost about $75, which would cover the cost of buying your domain name and hosting for the entire year.
I’ve written a free tutorial that’ll walk you through getting setup in about 15 minutes.
Income Potential:
A blog is one of the more creative ways to make money, but it’s not going to earn income this month. Probably not for several months, to be honest.
But I include it here because it’s a way to make money that you can build from nothing, where almost all of your investment is in time, not money.
I’ve seen everything from hobby blogs, to blogs that regularly bring in five and six figures per month.
After your initial setup, you can literally go another year without spending a dime.
When you start to earn money, then you may want to spend it on a course, or a fancier theme for your site.
But until then, there hasn’t been anything I’ve needed to learn where I couldn’t pull up YouTube and type in, How to ____
The key to getting your blog to earn some money, is to pick a niche where people are looking for information.
Then just be authentic, and show up consistently with helpful, relevant, content. Engage with your readers, and focus on how you can help them.
Open Your Own Virtual Store on Fiverr
Another way to earn money marketing your skill to a large audience, is to open a virtual store on Fiverr.
Maybe you’ve got a talent for graphic design, writing articles, resume writing, data entry, arts and crafts, or advice on dozens of subjects.
Fiverr is a website that connects buyers and sellers of digital products. Having a Fiverr store is like having your own virtual storefront to generate regular income.
The name Fiverr originated because the site use to price all gigs at $5. But things have changed, and now merchants can charge anywhere from $5 to $995.
Getting Started:
If you have a product to sell, you can start by creating a free account and a profile.
Take a look at some of the profiles in your niche. Then, come up with your own unique profile that shows buyers you’re authentic and sincere.
Think also about the delivery time for your product, and state that clearly.
Income Potential:
Gigs start at $5 but you can price yours anywhere from $5 to $995. Or if it’s appropriate, you can set an hourly rate.
For instance, you might charge an hourly rate for web development, or data entry.
A few tips to maximize your earnings:
- Don’t assume a cheaper price always means more business. Many people associate better quality with a higher price.
- Think of a simple base gig that can be offered with an up-sell or an extra that will boost your earnings.
- When you’re ready to create your ad, search Fiverr for a key word related to your gig.
- Then look at the top 10 or 12 gigs that appear. What do they have in common?
- Do they mention quality work, or a fast turn-around?
- Do they all feature a type of video or photo?
- Do they highlight a certain skill, or certification?
These are the gigs buyers are attracted to, so if you can decipher their appeal, yours will resonate too.
Make Money From Home as a Virtual Assistant
There’s a high demand for virtual assistants, or VA’s, and chances are, you already have the skills.
A VA works from home, and provides help remotely for bloggers or businesses.
You’d do functions like managing email, bookkeeping, social media updates… basically, everyday tasks that a blogger or other business person needs to get done, but wants to outsource so they can focus on growing their business.
You can specialize in a few areas, but you’ll have an opportunity to learn more and increase your employability.
Maybe you’ll start to manage someone’s mailbox, then learn to make blog updates, or manage someone’s Pinterest boards, or their Facebook group.
Getting started:
I’ve seen opportunities for VA’s in various Facebook groups geared toward people who would need the services of a VA, like blogger groups.
You can also find opportunities on sites like Upwork. But once you’ve got some experience, you’ll make more by working directly with clients.
You can also take a course on becoming a VA which would help you to position yourself to get those first few jobs. Some courses will even provide leads.
One course you can check out is Kayla Sloan’s 10k VA.
Income Potential:
$20-$30 per hour is pretty typical as an entry level VA, but if you can offer higher level skills, $40–$75 per hour is typical.
There are Plenty of Ways to Make $100 a Day - it's Just a Matter of Getting Started
There are two roadblocks that stop most of us from striking out and finding ways to make money.
One is mindset.
It’s easy to think, “oh I’ve never tested websites, or painted, or tutored anyone. I’m not qualified.” The funny thing is, thousands of people jump into new ventures everyday, who are no more experienced than you are.
Of course you wouldn’t try to rewire someone’s house, or operate on their dog without proper qualifications. But there are dozens of other ways to make money by just starting.
The money is there. So why shouldn’t you be the one performing the service and getting paid.
Another roadblock we encounter, is time management.
As a single parent, I’d go to bed exhausted every night. But when I really took a look at how I spent my time, I found that I wasted it in a lot of ways.
I realized that ‘busy’ doesn’t always mean productive, and sometimes we can do ourselves a favor by making sure our habits align with our goals.
The point is, to just pick something, and get going. Start small and use your experience and customer feedback to make adjustments.
Then gradually find ways to add value to, and serve more customers.
How about you?
Do any of these sound like opportunities you’ll be trying?
OTHER GREAT WAYS TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY
