If you've ever wondered how to make more money, you're not alone. Even if you’re earning good money there's usually a point in your life where earning a little extra moolah will help you through a challenging time.
There are all sorts of reasons that people end up asking themselves the question - how can I make more money? - and whatever your reason is, there's bound to be an answer that suits your particular situation.
As a free spirit, my reason is usually because I've moved somewhere and I need to get myself set up again, but having a part-time gig on the side can offer more than just money.
If your money situation is a little tight and you're worrying about it, you can find yourself feeling a lethargy, leading to inertia, where you get stuck in a place of no-action.
So getting into action, finding some kind of part time work to help you through will actually lift that oppressive feeling - in all areas of your life.
Of course you'll also feel more positive - because at least you're doing something about increasing your income.
And there's nothing like getting into action to banish those nasty little fear-thoughts from your mind...
One time when I got back home to Sydney after a few years away, the first thing I did was scour the local cafés for a part time waitressing job to earn a little extra money. I found one pretty quickly and worked mostly nights and weekends, and I spent the days looking for a full time job.
It gave me the freedom to wait for the right job, with the added benefit that I was getting out and about and meeting people - and I met some really awesome people!
And, maybe it's the free spirit in me - but I really enjoyed the fun of working in a busy cafe.
In fact it's an ideal situation for a free spirit because you often meet people you wouldn’t normally meet and learn new skills that you can use elsewhere. as well as answering your concern about how to make more money.
So, here's a list of some of some side gigs. It’s not an exhaustive list, but if there's nothing here that appeals to you, it may at least get your creative juices flowing so you have a few ideas of your own.
Part time waitress/barperson
Baby-sitter - don't just think evenings, what about weekends and late afternoons?
After school child minder
Pet-sitter
House-sitter - depending on where you live you can get paid to house-sit. But even if you don’t you will drastically cut back on expenses doing this.
Leaflet deliveries
Dog walker
Night packer (in a grocery store)
Telemarketer - lots of companies want part time telemarketers for evening and weekend shifts
Become an Uber driver
Fast food delivery (Uber have a food delivery service now too)
Model/film extra – you don’t have to be a tall, size 6 stunner to do this. Advertising agencies look for all shapes and sizes – and ages.. and if you strike it lucky you can earn some decent money from this.
House or office cleaning
Casual store sales assistant
Online data entry - beware of scams with this one – but there are legitimate data entry jobs out there
Translator – can you speak a foreign language proficiently? You can do this off line (locally) or online (internationally). For online opportunities check out places like upwork.com (formerly elance), guru.com and many others.
Part time social media consultant – if you have experience with Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Instagram, Pinterest and the latest social media… this could be for you
Barista or kitchen staff
Bookkeeper – offline or online – check out upwork.com
Call centre or customer service assistant – many companies now employ people who work shifts from home – even though the customer dials the company number, the calls get diverted to you.
Local tour guide - if you have in depth knowledge of your area or specific parts of it. (Look up Triip - kind of like AirBnB for tour guides.)
Transcriber - transcribing interviews and any form of voice recordings
Virtual worker - such as a virtual assistant, or any kind of work you would normally do in an office, you can do virtually from home. Check out upwork.com and guru.com just for starters...
Expert – for online sites like justanswer.com, you get paid to answer questions on your subject of expertise
Market Research Focus Groups – they pay you for your opinions on products
Tutoring – (online and offline) do you have skills you can use to tutor?
Sports coach - for children and adults, if you're a strong swimmer, tennis player or golfer for example, people will pay you to coach them on weekends
Sell stuff on Gumtree, Craigslist or eBay, or in a garage/yard sale
Rent out your spare room/share your house or become an AirBnB-er
Rent out your car
Rent out your garage or parking space if you live in an area where parking is at a premium
Upcycle furniture – either for clients, or to sell
Start an e-business - this is more of a long term option, but you can start a site like this using knowledge you already have and a topic you love
Content Writer – write content for websites or blogs
Design Websites – you can do this privately, or sign up with upwork.com for great exposure
Make things to sell at markets or to stores, or even online (clothing, craft, preserves, jewellery)
Clothing alterations and repairs
Online marketing
Freelance photography
Freelance journalism
Write an e-book and sell it online
Using some of these ideas you can even set up your own small business part time. The beauty of this is if you find it's viable you can end up taking it full time...
Although some of these have been mentioned the lists above – they deserve repeating as they're ideas that work well as businesses:
Start an e-business - Use what you know and love and start a site like this
Dog walking
Pet sitting
Garden design or garden service
House (or office) cleaning
Clothing alterations
Consulting – set up as a consultant and use your expertise to help others
Coaching - such as life coaching, transition coaching or career coaching just to mention a few areas you may be interested in.
Bookkeeping
Virtual Assistant
Personal shopper - offer a shopping service to busy mothers, executives or anyone who is struggling with time freedom
Mobile Hairdressing
This is just a basic list of things you can explore if you're interested in how to make more money - there are plenty more ways - in fact the options are limitless if you are willing to use your imagination.
Let your free spirit take you on a journey - find something totally new to do - you never know where it could end up leading you!
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