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[Updated: April 2019]
Do you wish you made more money?
Me too.
If you had to make an extra $500 by the end of this month, could you do it?
How would you make the extra money?
Sell stuff you don’t need? Find a part time job?
The truth is, there are loads of ways you can make more money. But not every one is a good fit for you.
In order for a side hustle to make sense and be worth the time, it helps if it already fits into your lifestyle a little bit.
I’m no expert at making money, but I learned a thing or two paying off $100K of total debt in 5 years.
Today I’m going to share some of the best side hustles I know, and how to use the skills you already have to find the perfect side hustle for you.
Are you ready to make more money?
I’ve Discovered that I’m a Jealous Person
I often find myself longing for the skills and talents of other people. A lot of people in my friend group are amazing singers!
They can turn any tune into something beautiful at the drop of a hat. My wife can do the same thing, and I feel pretty darn lucky I get to listen to her sing all the time. 🙂
I teach a bunch of incredibly talented middle school students too. My students whip up cartoons effortlessly. Heck fellow teachers do the same thing.
Drawing is a skill I’ve always wanted to be good at, but it’s hard for me and takes so much time.
To be honest, I’m terrible at a lot of things. Just for fun, here’s a list.
- Singing and Drawing
- Being Organized
- Cooking
- Party Planning
- Soccer
- Most Things Tech Related
- House Repairs – though I’m getting better
- Car Maintenance
- And a Lot More That I Don’t Want to Bore You With
With all of my shortcomings, I do have some endearing qualities and skills I’m actually pretty good at.
And so do you.
The true skill is figuring out how to leverage your current skills and qualities to make more money.
It’s a great way to start a new side hustle.
Everyone Has Something to Offer
I’m a firm believer in following a passion to do what you love. I also think it’s awesome to get paid for doing what you love.
So why not cash in on your own talents, skills and expertise?
I almost guarantee you have some skill or talent that people are willing to pay you for! Don’t believe me, keep reading.
My Resume in the Service Industry
I’ve spent most of my life working in the service industry. I’m a pretty outgoing, extroverted sort of guy.
I get along well with others, I can carry on a conversation with nearly anyone, and understand social cues and norms pretty well.
With that skill set, I’m a perfect fit for any job in the service industry.
In high school, I worked at McDonald’s. Yep, the good ole “Golden Arches”. I spent every Saturday covered in grease, but greeting customers with a smile.
I also worked as a cashier at a consignment store during a couple summers in high school with a clientele mostly consisting of little old ladies.
Then in college I worked in the campus food court, and as a front desk clerk at a touristy hotel.
Even now, I’m a middle school teacher where I need to interact with hundreds of students daily.
I get to use all of my social skills, and so, so, soooo much patience. Then, if that isn’t enough, I work a second job as a bartender, selling fancy dinners and expensive bottles of wine.
The point is, I’m good at talking to people and have developed a solid skill set for customer service. As a result, companies are willing to pay me for those skills.
If I had a different skill set, I would have a much different resume.
People Will Pay You For Your Talent, Skills, and Expertise
What are you good at?
What do other people come to you for help with?
Answering these two questions is a good way to find your side hustle. If you know what you’re good at, you can find ways to start getting paid for it.
In college, my roommate was a music major and fantastic musician!
He could play any instrument and sang in all kinds of choir groups. He used his talent and gave music lessons right out of our living room!
And music lessons aren’t cheap.
I think he only charged $20 for a half hour, which is on the low end for a private lesson.
Another friend of mine loves taking care of dogs.
Over the years, he’s become the go to guy for any friends that are traveling and need a dog sitter. I’m sure he would gladly do it for free, but it’s become a way for him to make a few extra bucks.
Starting a blog has expanded my skill set like crazy.
Now I can make money offering any of my blogging skills to businesses and companies who want to build a website, get more traffic, set up email marketing, and digital marketing.
These are skills that not everyone has that I can leverage for a side hustle.
How to Find the Best Side Hustle
Believe it or not, your expertise is worth money to other people. The trick is finding out what you’re good at, and then turn it into income.
Just look at Marie Kondo, decluttering extraordinaire. She has an incredible skill for helping people declutter and organize their homes.
If you haven’t read her book or watched her Netflix show, do it. Your clutter will disappear pretty quick.
If you’re not sure what your skills are, here are a few questions to help get the creative juices flowing:
- What am I good at?
- Is there something other people come to me for help with?
- What skills come easily to me?
- What do I like to do that other people don’t?
- Do I have expertise that is unique?
Personally, I find it hard to identify my own strengths and skills. If something is easy for me, it’s gotta be easy for everyone else.
But the truth is, not everyone has the same strengths and talents. If you’re really struggling to find your strengths, ask your friends to give you some honest feedback.
What Can You Actually Do for Your Side Hustle?
There are so many ways to make extra money, I can’t possibly hit them all. And I’m not going to try. I have, however, found three great blog posts with giant lists of side hustles that you could start this weekend.
Check them out.
The Savvy Couple is a husband and wife duo that are doing awesome things in the personal finance world and have great resources for making extra money.
My friend Mike over at NinjaBudgeter has a nice list of things he’s actually done to make money.
I always enjoy reading from people with the actual experience. Head on over and check it out.
For a bajillion more ideas (actually only 99), check outSideHustleNation. There are loads of great ideas and action steps to move you a bit closer to making extra cash.
Hopefully a few of their suggestions get your creative juices flowing.
The Best Side Hustle I Know
The best side hustle I’ve found though is the Facebook Side Hustle Course by Bobby Hoyt and Mike Yanda.
In full disclosure, this is an affiliate link for me, which means if you click the link and buy the course, I’ll get a small commission.
But I wouldn’t recommend something if I didn’t truly believe it is a good product. And this is a damn good product.
I bought this course and use what I learned to make money creating Facebook Ads for local businesses.
I make more in a month managing FB Ads than I do bartending and serving.
When I bought the course I had ZERO experience making an kind of ad.
It’s a great way to make $1-2k/month on the side of what you’re already doing, a true side hustle.
Mike and Bobby do a wonderful job of teaching you everything you need to know about creating ads, finding clients, and becoming a FB ads expert. It’s all in the course, and anyone can do it.
The problem is, the course only opens a few times a year.
If you want to be updated when the course is open, hop on my email list at the bottom of the page.
I’ll be sure to send out a few emails when it opens back up.
Making Extra Money Requires Hard Work and a Little Sacrifice
As the classic economics saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
If you start spending time and effort working on a new side hustle, you’ll need to take time and effort away from doing something else.
For me and my blog, it’s less time watching TV, sadly less reading for fun, and a lot less sleep.
Back in October I started getting up an hour early just to work on it. I thought I’d be exhausted all day from the lost sleep, but surprisingly I can make it through the day without feeling much extra fatigue.
The truth is, I don’t really miss most of the things I gave up. It’s all worth it to write valuable articles that help people live better, financially successful lives.
My bartending gig is also time consuming. I’ve given up nearly every Friday night for the past three years to bring in extra money to help us reach our financial goals. In the summer, it’s a lot more than just Friday too.
But again, it was totally worth the sacrifice to reach our goals and get out of debt faster.
Create Goals that You Care About More Than Your Free Time
For me, it all comes down to goals. If you have goals that you truly care about, you’ll probably be willing to do more to make them happen.
We wanted to start a family and the only way we could do that was pay off our student loan debt. That was a pretty motivating factor and we worked A LOT of extra jobs to make it happen.
What are your goals? What dreams do you have for your future?
Let them be the driving force to starting your side hustle. Who knows, it might turn into something you really love and you want to do full time.
Let Me Know in the Comments
What do you think? What skills and talents can you turn into extra money?
Our budget and goals changed our lives and it can change yours too.
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Great article Jamie, thanks for the shout out. I think you make a good point that it’s important to look at what YOU realistically have to offer above what’s popular or lucrative. Everybody can do something well, it’s about finding that thing and learning how to turn it into an income.
Thanks Mike! I would honestly love to flip furniture, but I have next to zero handyman skills and no tools. It just wouldn’t be a great use of my time and skill set.
“I often assume that if I can do it, other people can too. If something is easy for me, it’s gotta be easy for everyone else.”
Saaaaaaaame. Or that everything I have to say has already been said. I literally have to tell myself it doesn’t matter, you might have a new insight or say it in a way that is more meaningful or relatable to certain people or be able to reach a new audience. Just do it. What’s the worst that could happen. ?
That’s exactly the way I try to approach this blog. I’ve read or seen about 1,000 articles on side hustles, but like you said each one has a unique perspective and can relate to new people. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Nicole!