Published July 12, 2023 • 4 Min Read
The #SideHustle has become a legitimate economic assist for millennials, funding off-the-grid vacations and no-roommate-required apartments with enough bank leftover for Taco Tuesday night. Considering a side gig? Here are a few to consider — and what to look out for if you decide to dive in.
Selling (or Re-Selling) Items Online
Fashion sites like Poshmark, Tradesy, PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com offer the opportunity to flip your ongoing and gently worn fashion hits (and misses!) into a financial windfall — or at least fund future wardrobe updates — if you are willing to spend the time curating, photographing and listing items online. Creative entrepreneurs wanting to promote their own line of products will find Etsy popular, while Amazon, Craigslist and Ebay can open global markets to a host of pre-owned products if you invest the time learning how to be a savvy and successful online seller.
Pro Tip: Review carefully the rules, business practices, and revenue-sharing agreements on any site you decide to partner with in order to make sure your efforts are best rewarded.
Photography
If photography is a passion and an art form you have a talent for, selling stock photos to companies like iStock, Adobe Stock, Foap and Shutterstock can bring in regular, small additional income. So can good networking and door-to-door sales efforts. Reach out to local businesses — pop-up shops, new restaurants, yoga studios — all small businesses that may need professional imagery to promote their businesses. Try the local music scene too: up and coming bands and indie-singers often need images captured for concert promotion. Even insurance companies require professional photos for many claims which can become a regular and reasonably well-paid gig.
Pro Tip: While it may also lack the creative vibe you usually go for, working the never-ending wedding photos circuit , even as a secondary photographer to a well-established operator, can help pad your bank balance.
Fiverr/Upworth/askfortask/Instacart
Do you have a talent, great initiative, or just basic biceps you can put to good use? Try grabbing groceries for Instacart customers, providing graphic design for a wanting Fiverr poster, moving a fridge, or standing in line for same-day theatre tickets on askfortask. Sites like these can connect you (after providing sample work and/or passing required background checks) with an entire population of people looking for assistance with everything and anything. The opportunities are plentiful if you’re ready, willing and able, resulting in a quick source of supplemental funds when needed.
ProTip: To be consistently successful gaining work on sites like Fiverr you’ll require a profile that helps you stand out from the crowd. Like your day job, the more time and effort you invest in your sidehustle(s), the more you’ll be noticed and get ahead.
Online or In-Person Tutoring
Killed it in your university statistics course? Have an aptitude for Francais? Aced your LSAT? Using your natural talents to educate the next generation — and get paid for it — is an easy way to earn extra money on the side, and often can be timed around your regular day job. Reach out to local parent messaging boards/community pages or consider online-tutoring sites like skooli.com which regularly seek talented tutoring candidates especially in the fall and around common standardized test dates.
ProTip: Rule of thumb, generally, is that you shouldn’t need to spend money to start making money on a side hustle; however, if tutoring is your thing, proper certification can elevate your appeal to potential and better playing educational employers.
Uber/Uber Eats/Lyft Driver
From a consumer standpoint rideshares are becoming an essential service, so it follows that opportunities for an influx of cash for providers are plentiful. Services like Lyft and Uber can be viable side gigs, especially if you already own a vehicle. Be sure however to read up on all the good/bad/ugly realities on becoming a driver (Reddit has pages and pages dedicated to this alone) and after careful consideration if you have an appropiate car, spare time and are comfortable driving strangers around, this might be the gig for you.
ProTip: Don’t forget to factor in hidden costs : wear and tear on your vehicle, oil changes, tire changes and unanticipated repairs that come along with a rideshare side-gig.
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
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