Side Hustles That Beat Being an Uber or Lyft Driver
If you are looking to generate more income for yourself but are not interested in driving strangers around until the late hours of the night, there are other options available nowadays. Some you can pick up straight away, some might require some significant upfront investment in time and money. Here are some options that will provide you with a nice additional revenue stream.
Rent out the stuff you are not using. You could Airbnb your place, and you could even rent out your car. Turo and Getaround offer you the option to rent out your car and make some money without even lifting a finger. It’s a great way to generate passive income. You can also rent out your shed, RV, boat, heavy machinery, and parking space! Or for the high rollers, your plane.
Another great way to generate passive income is affiliate marketing. Granted you will have to create a platform for it first, such as a website, but once you get going and find a good audience, you could make a tidy sum over time. If creating websites and providing content is not your thing, perhaps you feel easier just to talk about things, into a microphone. As with websites, once you find a good angle and an audience, podcasting could be a great way to create a platform for advertisers to sell their products on, with you reaping the benefits.
If creating a platform for advertisers is not your thing and you’d rather do the selling yourself, consider opening an Amazon or eBay store. Find a product you can buy cheaply and sell it on for a profit. And that doesn’t necessarily mean flying to China, getting a factory to produce container shipments of some sort of gadget and ending up with a house full of unsold stock. People have bought stuff from eBay to flip straight back on eBay and turn a profit. The trick for some people is to find poorly presented products (bad descriptions and photos), improve on the listing and sell it on for a profit. Once you get the hang of the ‘art’ of selling online, you might want to try larger volumes and purchase in bulk for discounts. And if you are more of a creative spirit, there is always Etsy.
If sales are not your thing, but you like the idea of running some form is business from the comfort of your home, consider becoming a virtual assistant. Time is money, and you could make use of that. It’s usually administrative work but can also entail more challenging research. There are plenty of online platforms out there to sign up for that can help you find your first clients. The best thing is that once you have delivered tremendous and reliable work, you will be asked for more and you could eventually raise your price per hour.
If becoming a VA is not for you, but you possess mad skills in a topic that people want to know about? Become an online teacher! As life-long careers seems a thing of the past, people are increasingly looking to learn new things, brush up on topics and considering career changes. There are numerous online learning platforms available that are always looking to expand their portfolio with exciting courses. You could offer to build and host a course yourself and earn nicely if you are in demand.
And if you don’t think creating a full course for an uncertain outcome is for you, consider just side gigging the skills and expertise you have. As long as you are not contractually prohibited from offering your services, you can go and find projects to work on and get paid by the hour or project completion. Upwork, Outsourcely, and Hubstaff are just a few of many platforms that can help you connect your skills and knowledge to someone who is willing to pay for it.
If you like stability in earnings, you might want to consider some upfront investment from yourself in time and money and get certified. You could consider becoming a Notary Public. Requirements will vary from state to state, but usually, it involves a filing fee, approved training and an exam, background checks, and paperwork. Another sure-fire way to earn is becoming a tax preparer. A tax preparer is a professional that is qualified to calculate, file and sign income tax returns on behalf of individuals and businesses. And you know that people must do tax returns each year. If you provide an excellent service to individuals and companies, you can create a nice seasonal income stream and a steady group of clients. A great selling point could be providing early tax refunds using TPG enrollment for example. By using specific services and generating enough filings you could even earn free professional tax software.
And if becoming a Notary Public or tax preparer sounds like too much work, there are always the passive methods. Become a blood donor. You could get paid anywhere between $20 and $50 if you choose not to donate via the Red Cross. The problem is you can only give so much at a time, so it might just be the odd chance you have to earn. More frequent, but perhaps also riskier, is taking part in clinical trials, which usually involve testing new drugs. The payouts vary based on invasiveness and length of the trial, but it could be anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand for research spanning several months. Of course, you could end up in the placebo group, but always research any company you consider and take a pause when asked to sign waivers. Remember you can always walk away.
If you are considering clinical trials, you most likely are a person who is OK with some degree of risk. There is always cryptocurrency as a bit of a gamble if you have the funds. And if you do, maybe consider a trip to Vegas, find the high rollers roulette table and bet everything on your favorite number.