How to Pivot Your Career with a Side Hustle
The current state of the world has shaken many of us out of our complacency toward our own financial well-being. With many people being laid-off, job scarcity feels very real; but thankfully, it doesn’t have to be.
While you’re out there job hunting or trying to pivot in your current organization, you can help yourself feel financially supported and creatively fulfilled. There’s no better time than now to start your side hustle, even if you don’t know what that is yet. In this blog post, I’ll discuss some of my favourite side hustle ideas.
Firstly, what is a side hustle?
Broadly speaking, a side hustle refers to any kind of income-generating activity outside of your regular “day to day” job. It’s sometimes referred to as a part-time job or a side gig. And of course, eventually, it can become your full-time occupation as for a lot of people, that’s the goal. Many want to start their small businesses on the side and then grow them into their primary source of income.
But what makes a good side hustle?
That can be pretty subjective but flexibility is a point that should be considered. A strict part-time job may have you work preset hours. A good side hustle can be more flexible and allow you to work from home on your own time.
So, what should my side hustle be?
What do you currently do? Or what was your most recent position? The first step in finding your side hustle is assessing your skills.
Do you spend any time copywriting at work? Do you enjoy writing? If so, you could start freelance writing on the side.
Are you a project manager at a tech firm? Your management skills can be transferred to a variety of industries you might not have considered in your initial job searches.
If you’re a web developer or software engineer, you can outsource your skills to smaller companies as a freelancer.
Alternatively, do you have skills that you’ve never used at your day job? Things like photography for friend’s social media accounts, making jewelry, designing graphics, etc.
The key is to observe which of these skill sets brings you the most joy.
It’s important to enjoy your side hustle. It’ll keep you motivated to succeed. Observe your skill sets and which types of activities bring you the most energy. Start there. That’s the place where you want your side hustle to emerge.
Once you have an idea of what that is, what’s next?
It’s time to roll up your sleeves.
Resume Ninjas can help you hone in on how to pursue your side hustle. From assisting you in crafting an industry-appropriate resume to connecting you with your desired network, Resume Ninjas will help you take your first step toward your new entrepreneurial life.
One quick note before we go through the top side hustle ideas: make sure there are no conflicts of interest. If you are still employed, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your side hustle doesn’t breach your current contract.
Now for my Top 10 Side Hustle Ideas
1) Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is one of the most flexible and creative side hustles out there. If you’re a good writer, you can absolutely put your writing skills to use. There are numerous types of professional writing. Here are a few examples of what writers do:
Marketing campaigns
Blogging
Email newsletters
Ghostwriting
Website copy
Grant writing
Technical writing
Once you figure out what “genre” of freelance writing you’re interested in, you’ll need to discover your writing niche. As you’re starting out, start to narrow your writing focus so that you’re able to master a couple of subjects. People don’t like to hire “masters of none”. The goal is to build your expertise so that your writing is worth more money.
Next, you’ll need to build a portfolio. Grab any work you’ve had published, posted online, etc. and start making your portfolio collection. A portfolio is extremely helpful when getting freelance jobs.
So, where do you find writing gigs?
Fiverr, Craigslist, or Upwork are all great resources for freelance jobs. However, be warned that it can take a while to land a job on these sites as they can be oversaturated with job searchers. That being said, they’re a great place to practice your client interface skills and get used to pitching, submitting drafts, and receiving feedback, etc.
A surefire way to land a client is to find one you already know. Use your social media, including Facebook and Linkedin to network and connect with people and businesses who need some copywriting done. Promote your work on your own social media accounts so that potential clients are aware of what you’re offering. Once you demonstrate that you can create quality content for one employer, others will come.
What about writing for publications? Freedom With Writing is an excellent resource for writers that are trying to launch their career. It’s a free electronic web magazine that sends culled alerts for freelance writing jobs, calls for pitches, job postings, and available grants. Best of all, it’s free.
As you can see, the options for freelance writers are fairly broad. If this feels daunting, try and narrow in on exactly what you want to write. Start there. Find the niche. And remember that no two writer’s paths are the same.
2) Become a Social Media Influencer
Didn’t we all want to be famous when we grew up? When you see influencers popping up on your feed, do you get a tinge of anxiety, envy, or admiration? Does the idea of becoming an influencer feel shameful for you? It might be time to unpack why you don’t feel comfortable because building your own personal brand is the best thing for your business, self-esteem, and growing your community.
Anyone can become an influencer on Instagram. You don’t need to have 1 million followers anymore. In recent years, micro-influencers have formed very powerful relationships with brands whose values align with theirs.
We love this Medium guide with some helpful tips on getting started. Don’t be shy. If you have something to share with the world, now’s the time.
3) Become a Virtual Assistant
This is often one of the most overlooked side hustle ideas. Do you have an administrative background? Virtual assistants are highly in demand and can work from home. Some of the tasks that virtual assistants take on include:
Data entry
Bookkeeping
Research
Responding to emails and phone calls
Scheduling meetings
Organizing calendars
Creating presentations
You can become even more specialized depending on the industry. ZipRecruiter is a great place to start looking. Please note that virtual assistants may need to stick to the client’s working hours.
4) Sell Photography
Is photography one of your passions? Do you have a camera and know your way around photoshop? You could have a photography side hustle.
In order to get clients, you’ll need to network and build your personal photography brand presence online. Like all industries, you’ll need to pick your poison. This could mean capturing events like weddings and engagements, portfolio photos, or product photography.
Alternatively, you can also sell your photography to stock websites such as Alamy, Shutterstock, and Unsplash. Or you can set up your own website and sell your photography independently.
A side hustle like this can be financially rewarding and will nurture your creative energy.
5) Create and Sell Your Goods
Are you a crafter? Do you create jewelry, refurbish antiques, or crochet? Your hobbies can be your side hustle. One of the reasons handmade products are so appealing is because they are one of a kind.
Your specialized products can stand out in the marketplace.
There’s a huge market for ethically sourced fairly-priced commodities, and you can tap into it. One of the simplest ways you can sell your products is through platforms like Shopify where you can create a website and shopping cart model to sell, ship, and manage your products.
If your craft is in the digital realm, you can still sell your goods. If you’re a designer, painter, filter creator, etc, you can sell your products online with ease. People can directly download your prints through stores like Etsy. On Etsy, independent sellers can sell both physical items that are shipped and digital items that can be downloaded by the customer after payment.
6) Teach
This is a fairly broad category and the possibilities are endless. If you are already skilled as an educator in an academic field, an organization like Coursera is a reputable platform to aim for.
If you’re not in the academic mainstream, you can still teach. From tutoring students to teaching an instrument or yoga online, there are many platforms that will pay for excellent educational content. You can create your own classes on websites like Skillshare and Udemy.
Payment for these can be based on subscribers or individual class purchases, depending on the platform. Regardless, if you’re able to create in-demand content, you could see a lot of passive money coming in as students find your course in future years.
7) Paid Ad Campaigns for Small Businesses
Digital Marketing can be a scary, confusing industry, especially for small businesses that are struggling to compete in this increasingly online way of selling and buying. A profitable side hustle is helping them run Facebook ads to generate new income.
Paid Advertising on Facebook can allow small businesses to reach massive audiences. This is a great starter guide for this type of work and a good introduction to anyone interested in working in this or any area of Digital Marketing.
Other freelance jobs like this include paid advertising for Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
8) Start a Podcast
Podcast listenership has been growing over the past few years. There are thousands of niches in podcasting, as well as some very heavily saturated genres (ahem, true crime).
Podcasts are rapidly beginning to be used by businesses of all shapes and sizes as part of their marketing strategy. Within a few years, they will be an absolute staple.
If you have an audio background, love storytelling, and love interviewing people - this could be a great opportunity to create a side hustle. You’ll need to be specific in the type of subjects you’ll be covering but if you’re able to come up with a niche or topic that is underserved in your industry community, you’ll have a true shot at real success.
Here’s a helpful podcast guide from Shopify.
9) Start a YouTube Channel
Did you know that there are over a billion users on YouTube? If you haven’t checked out how large the platform has gotten, it’s time to familiarize yourself with this social channel again.
If you’re a creative who loves video or if you have services, advice, ideas, or tips for people, you can use YouTube as the king of your content kingdom.
Small businesses are turning their eyes toward YouTube to help get their products and services in front of new audience members. While it takes time to build a large audience for a brand, with a strong content strategy you can bring hundreds, if not thousands of views to a business.
For more information, check out this guide on Wix.
10) Start a Consulting Service
Want to get paid for your wisdom? This is one of my favourite side hustle ideas. People are happy to pay for guidance, particularly in emerging markets where there aren’t as many educational materials available.
If you have knowledge worth sharing, charge for it.
When you’ve identified your niche, you need to set up your platform - your website and social media feed are integral to your success. Make sure to include any credentials and if you have the opportunity, invest in getting more. Once you’ve helped your first few clients, make sure you’re collecting and posting testimonials. These help build your credibility.
Check out Fundera’s how to start a consulting business guide for more advice.
A Note on Rates
Hopefully one of these side hustle ideas resonates with you. Your mind might be racing toward what kind of money you can make with each side hustle. For this, you’ll need to do a bit of research and see what the market is saying regarding your type of work. Usually, it’ll be a sliding scale.
Be wary that you don’t undersell yourself too much. Beginners tend to undercharge for their services. Although it might be necessary to charge a lower rate at the beginning of your side hustle, be very mindful that you don’t set this as a basis for yourself.
Likewise, don’t charge at the top of the range if you don’t have a ton of experience under your belt. That’s a fast route to a burning bridge.
Resume Ninjas is here to help you kickstart your side hustle by helping you create the best resume for your new field. Contact me today to start your new chapter