The wheels on my plane from L.A. to Denver had barely touched the ground and I was already racing to my house to drop off my suitcases to go to the fun side hustle I had scheduled before returning to Denver.
You’re probably thinking-wth!!?? Michelle, you side-hustled the day you arrived?! Yep, and I would do it again. There was a slight logistical glitch because my flight was delayed by 3 hours, but for a few hours of my time I got $50 bucks, some great coffee, and cookies.
But, it got me to thinking about my side hustle process. Basically, I do HAVE a process for side hustling that I touched on in an earlier post that I wrote called the Alchemy of the Side Hustle. But, for this post I broke it down even further so that newbies can get the most out of their side hustle process.
$500 In Less Than A Week
Yep, I am on track to make $500 by Wednesday of this week. I returned on Tuesday, February 23, 2015 and it is Monday, March 2, 2015 and I have $455 in side hustles that I will have completed and basically received pay for by Wednesday.
It’s possible that you can do this too. But there are some things to consider, so, here’s my list of:
11 Ways To Change Your Side Hustle Process And Start Making At Least $500 A Month
Related Post: 101 Fun, Awkward , and Cool Ways To Make an Extra $1000 Next Month!
- How Big Is Your City? I hate to say this but, the size of your city might make a difference in the type of side hustles that you have access to. The smaller the city, the more challenging it might be to find side hustles that make large amounts of money around your town. The larger your city the more opportunities you will have to make money. The possibilities are endless.
- What Kind Of Side Hustles Are Out There?
- Taking Surveys-I don’t really do this one.
- Focus Groups-Is your area an area that companies go to to research new products? Get on lists so that you can get called to do a focus group.
- Brand Ambassador-Fun marketing gig! Dress up like a character or give people free stuff.
- Event staff (short term)
- Writing (Ghost writing/blogging/etc)
- Babysitting* Safety certifications to do this at a professional level
- Cleaning (homes or offices)
- Cooking for busy families
- Virtual Assistant-This one takes some time to build up, but can be very profitable.
- Helping out a homebound person* You should have safety certifications to do this at a professional level
- Retail is a TIme and Wallet Killer-I used to work retail for years and I appreciated the jobs that I had. Period. Without them I wouldn’t have eaten. But, if you are focused enough and live in a big enough city (Portland/Seattle/Chicago/Denver/L.A./D.C.) you can find gigs where you make a nice amount of money in a lot less time than you would working retail. I used to make $11 dollars an hour (kind of high for retail) selling high end olive oil. I actually really loved that job. But, I would work a full shift which was usually around 8 hours and make $88. Then, you had to subtract the taxes. So…I would work 8 hours, spend an hour getting to the mall, and then get home exhausted after dealing with a ton of people. Also, being in the mall would encourage me to…umm, I don’t know…shop. So, then I would walk out the door having “earned” less than what I should have. Proving my point that retail is a time and wallet killer.
- Consistency Is Key-If you aren’t consistent in your process, you won’t build the kind of momentum that you need to really get great side gigs. I spend about 35 minutes a day looking at Craigslist for gigs. About 15 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes mid-day, and 10 minutes in the afternoon. You want to be one of the first people responding to a Craigslist post. The bigger the city, the more competition.
- Don’t Just Do Anything! You have to be clear about what you would like to do. If you say “yes” to doing just anything then you will end up doing weird things or things that you aren’t comfortable doing. I think this is also a life lesson as well.
- What’s Your Number? What is the absolute minimum that you’re willing to earn per hour?? The idea is to earn as much as possible in as little time as possible. As I mentioned earlier, I made $88 in 8 hours. What if I could make $100 in 4 hours?? I’m fine with that. Especially if it’s a fun side hustle where you dress up like a zombie. Yep, I got paid to be a zombie. It creeped me out, but I got paid $25 an hour and it was a lot of fun. For Brand Ambassador gigs I like to make at least $20-$25 an hour. But, if it’s fun and free food is offered…I’m there! I also have a minimum amount that I request for writing gigs…basically, I want to make at least 30% more per hour than what I was making hourly at my old job.
- What Time of Year Is It? The warmer it gets the better it is for the side-hustling crowd. Make hay while the sun is shining. Basically, there are more opportunities for side-hustles because it’s warmer. Here isalistofopportunitiesyoushould be looking at NOW for warm weather side hustles
- Events: Denver has HUGE events from March-November. I’m sure that your city does too. If you’re into Brand Ambassador opportunities March is the time of year to sign with for Brand Ambassador businesses so that you’re already on the roster for upcoming gigs.
- Festivals: There is a festival for everything. Really. Look at your city’s event’s website and figure out what’s out there. Usually for festivals you will see people hiring for short-term help serving drinks for the 3 days of the festival sometimes paid in cash/cash and tips/or by check.
- Music Festivals: Same as festivals
- Sporting Events: Usually the venues have staff hired but they may need additional people for special sporting events.
- Parades: People need help selling things, dressing up as funny characters, or serving food.
- Yard Work: Raking leaves, yard clean up, etc.
- Babysitting: I don’t love this one because you’re responsible for other people’s kids. But, people need help with their kiddos. If you do this side hustle I would take a class on CPR and really talk to the parents about safety protocols, etc.
- Be Professional and Pleasant: It’s still work! I have gotten called back because people had a pleasant experience working with me. I always remembered hat I was working-not just there to have fun and I hustled! I also arrive on time, have my clothes ironed, smell good, and stay focused on the task at hand. I’ve seen people arrive disheveled, smelling of cigarettes (pot/alcohol) and the company contact was PISSED because big wigs were going to be stopping by our booth as well to meet us. Not cool.
- Join A Brand Ambassador Facebook Group-These groups will post on their page when they are looking for Brand Ambassadors for upcoming events or when someone doesn’t show up for an event. Join the group associated with your city.
- Join A Virtual Assistant Facebook Group-Similar to the Brand Ambassador group, jobs will be posted or requests to forward your information to be vetted for a position
SAFETY!!!
I cannot stress this enough. Safety comes first.
- When you are looking for positions on job boards anything that seems too good to be true IS.
- If the dollar amount is ridiculously high-then the position is not legit.
- If you get a weird vibe-TRUST YOUR GUT. So many people don’t do this. If something feels strange, trust your instincts.
- If you’re setting up business in your neighborhood and one of your neighbors is a weirdo-don’t work with them.
- Your safety always, always comes first. Period.
So, here are 11 ways to change your side hustle process and I really hope this helps you make more money in the future. Keep me posted!
Do You Side Hustle?
Is There A Minimum That You Like To Make An Hour?
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I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.
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Congrats on the $500! I don’t have a process per say. I was thinking of looking into doing brand ambassador work. I think the minimum depends. If it’s lower pay it better be easy and not time consuming. If it’s higher pay I can put more time or have it be more challenging.
Thanks! I really enjoy the B.A. work because it’s usually a lot of fun and I meet some great people.
Wow! Sounds like your on a roll. These are all great tips. I live in a very rural area so it can be hard to find side hustles around here. But they are there if you look hard enough.
It’s starting going well so far! But, I had to mention the size of the city in the post because sometimes that can really affect what’s available to people.
I’m loving side hustling. Many of these don’t apply as I live in a town of 7,000, so not many brand ambassador things or events to work. But I am making about $1000/month side hustling online!
I felt like my online side-hustle process is a totally different animal. And that takes a different mindset. You’re rocking it!!
Thank Michelle. A lot of your suggestions are ones would never have even been on my radar. I live just outside a large regional city so you never know, there could be a reasonable amount of these side hustles around. Now, I know to look for them. Cheers!
Yay!! I’m glad that this was helpful. Let me know how it goes.
Great post. I think I will look and see if I can find some brand ambassador opportunities.
Thanks Jason! Let me know how it goes.
Awesome post. My side hustle is a thing that I allow to expand to fit the time. I am TOTALLY not efficient and really should put more effort into being more efficient. *sigh*
I live in a small town, and your point about big cities is so true! There are definitely fewer side gigs available around here. Thankfully, I’m not in the market for any 😉
The smaller the town the trickier it is. I think you have to rely more on personal relationships in that situation because it’s likely that you actually know the people that would hire you for a side hustle. You’ve already got a TON of things going on 🙂
What certificates for helping homebound people if going professional?
If you’re in the U.S. I would check to see what your state requires in terms of licensed caregivers for homebound people. You can always connect with a couple of (probably at least 3)well-vetted organizations that hire people to help with homebound individuals and see what qualifications they like their employees to have.