3 Side Hustles You Can Start Today

Do you want to start your side hustle today?

I know the feeling,  if you’re like me your finances are in a state of chaos and you want to earn some extra money to kick them into shape or maybe you want to earn that extra income so you can one day quit your day job.

Either way, you just want to get started now.

I know when I started my first online side hustle it took forever to earn my first $100 in a month.  However, it doesn’t need to take this long?  You can start your first side hustle today if you truly want to.

Yup!

And in this article, I’m going to share 3 ways you can do this plus give you some practical steps to get started.

Side Note: I should make a quick disclaimer here though and that is everyone will see different results as you go about this.  This also does not mean you’ll be making big money today either.

If you truly want to make big money in your side hustle you’re going to have to hustle and think long term.  However, the side hustles I’m going to mention in this article are ones you can start in a day without having to do all kinds of extra work.

So let’s get into it.

#1 Freelance Writing

When it comes to the internet content is everywhere and people are always looking to produce more of it.

The thing is though with all the content that is being written bloggers and small business owners don’t always have the time to keep up with it.

This is where your services can come in very handy.  You can approach these bloggers and small business owners to let them know about your services.

I’ve actually done a little freelance writing over the years and I’ve gotten to the point where people are seeking my services out and the same can happen for you.

How To Get Started

 #1 What type of writer are you?

First, there are a bunch of different types of freelance writings from transcription writing,  to being an SEO content writer.  You need to choose which is right for you.

BTW- Here’s a great article I found that talks more about becoming an SEO content writer, click here to check it out.

#2 Decide your niche.

Do you like to talk about personal finance, fashion, tech?  You want to narrow down the topic you want to write about as this will help you gain traction faster.

If your goal is to write for everyone you’ll end up finding no one to write for.

#3 Put a list together and contact them

Finally, the last step is to put a list of 50 to 100 bloggers or small businesses you would like to write for.  When you contact them to tell them you are a freelance writer and that you would like to help them out by offering to write a 2 to 3 free articles for them just to get your foot in the door.

Once you get your foot in the door you can offer to get paid to write more content.

#2 Consulting

The next side hustle you can start in a day or less is consulting.  Consulting is a side hustle that comes in many different shapes and sizes from social media consulting to pretty much anything you can think off.

Consulting is a great way to help people solve a problem and get paid for it.

So maybe you know how to solve a very specific problem that someone has and you can walk them through it.

It could be anything from setting up a software package to designing a graphic logo.

How To Get Started

#1 Find a problem you can solve.

The first thing you want to do is figure out the problem you want to help people specifically solve.

For example, don’t tell people you’ll help them with email, tell them you help people achieve inbox zero.  If you’re having trouble coming up with a specific problem to solve look at some how-to articles you’ve recently read.

How to articles solve specific problems and you could take that article someone wrote and help others solve that problem.

#2 Find your audience

The next step is to find your audience and see if people will buy what you are offering.  I like to do this by going to Fiverr.com.

Since you only earn $5 per job you complete on Fiverr the way you do this is by offering one small part of your service, not the whole thing.

For example, if your business is helping people find their dream job you might offer to review people’s resumes and give them tips and advice to make it better.

#3 Do A Test Run

The third step is to do a test run.  Go to people you know either online or offline and tell them what you are doing and that you are looking for a beta group to go through your program at a discounted price in return for feedback and reviews on your consulting service.

This can go a long way to helping you land more clients.

Go Full Bore.  Once you’ve proven that your idea works and you’ve done a test run of your service it’s time to crank things up.

Set up a website and Facebook page and start promoting your service.  Things will likely be slow in the beginning but over time as people hear about your service things will begin to ramp up.

#3 Sell Stuff You Have

The final side hustle you can start in a day or less is selling stuff you have.

What I love about this side hustle is that it doesn’t involve finding clients or even creating products.

On top of that you probably already have tons of stuff around your house you need to get rid of.

However it doesn’t need to end there, you can also do what is known as product arbitrage.  This is where you go to local stores in your area and buy products that are being discounted and sold online for a higher price.

For example, if you find a pair of high-end headphones at Best Buy for $120 and they sell online for $150 that leaves you with a profit of $30 for every pair that you sell, which is not a bad deal.

How To Get Started

#1 Determine what you want to sell

The first step is to figure out what you want to sell and if you’re like me you probably have tons of stuff you can sell.  If you plan to go the product arbitrage route then you’ll want to research a product that sells for less in your local area that you can sell at a higher price online.

#2 Get your product online

The next step is to get your product online fast for sale and to do this there are four places I recommend, Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook auctions.

Craigslist is a free marketplace to sell stuff but it’s also local so you may not have as many people to sell your product to.  Next is eBay and the great thing here is you can sell stuff pretty much anywhere you want. Finally, Facebook auctions are also a great place to sell your stuff but again it’s likely to be more of a local market.

#3 Ramp It Up

Finally, the last step is to ramp things up and once you’ve listed your product for sale and sold a few things it’s time to expand and go to the next level.

If you want to sell lots of product consider opening up an Amazon Sellers account and putting your products on the world’s leading online store.

You could even create your own products eventually and sell them there as well.  To learn more about how to do this check out this interview I did with Chris Guthrie here.

Now that I’ve shared 3 side hustles you can start today what is your plan?  If you are still having a problem deciding on what side hustle you want to start you can get my free checklist here that will show you how to find the perfect side hustle for you.

Cheers!

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6 Comments

  1. Great article; however, I noticed in at least two spots where you you used the wrong their. The correct form should be there. I am sure it was just an oversight. Keep up the good work.

  2. I’m new to blogging, but I threw together a Craigslist tips and suggestions post a couple months ago. I think it’ll definitely help with selling items.

  3. Saw your article this morning through the Penny Hoarder page. Interesting article as I would like to find something to do on the side from at home. I did notice some errors on this page. Can one get into proofreading a side?

  4. Thanks for checking out the article Jennifer. Sorry about the spelling errors, it’s not my strong point as you can tell. The good news is that I’m talking to someone right now to help fix this issue. As for proofreading as a side hustle I think that is an awesome idea! To best way to go about finding these clients is just how you found my errors. Their are tons of blogs out there and I’m sure some of them need an editor to manage them.

  5. Thanks Jodi, I’m glad you liked the post. Thanks for letting me know about the mistakes I really appreciate it. I’m talking to someone right now about doing some editing for me.

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