If you’re a school teacher or high-school student, the laid-back pace of summer often provides the opportunity to hustle. Not having a side hustle is rarer these days, as it can provide peace of mind to not put all of your income streams in one basket. Here are a few side hustles I’ve picked up over the years when it became necessary to bring in more cash.
Manual Labor
This was my go-to route as a teen. Whether grass cutting, hay bailing or industrial blueberry picking, it offered a little bit of cash and a bad sunburn for a hard day’s work. Though I’m not against backbreaking labor when necessary, I’ve had to slow down a bit since my ankylosing spondylitis diagnosis ten years ago.
Selling Collectibles
This has become a hustle I’ve returned to at various times during my adult life. It helped that, as a child, I held onto all of my toys, all of my video games and all of my comics. Once you reach the ripe old age of 42, BAM!, those childhood playthings have turned into collectibles.
I’ve tried my hand at selling some on eBay, which has had diverse results that are very much impacted by the state of the overall economy and where people’s priorities are found. I’ve sold some at a flea market, getting less than they’re worth. Once the right seller came along, I had enough for groceries after he paid $300 for 9 long boxes of low-value comics. I’ve also sold the bulk of the valuable comics I’ve been holding onto to a comic shop. Again, I got less than they’re worth because the shop owner had to justify a price that could turn a profit for him. Still, I factored in the time savings from selling them all in one fell swoop, giving me time to put $1,000 into my book sales, which theoretically will earn me more money someday.
My son has picked up on this trick, using my eBay account to sell some of his old video games so he can finance his dream of becoming a video game designer. Interest on eBay is much lower than it was a few years ago when I sold some Thomas the Tank Engine diecast trains that he had outgrown.
Freelance Journalism
I’m fortunate, for many reasons, in that my first job out of college was as a newspaper reporter for The Press-Sentinel. I’ve maintained a good relationship with several of the employees, allowing me to return and work part-time when my wife got a teaching job at a nearby school. Though I’ve since become a teacher myself, I still write occasionally on the side, allowing me to pay a few bills through telling stories that interest me and taking pictures that represent what’s being told.
Though writing a few articles each year is enough to scratch my journalism itch, there are tons of online news sources looking for high-quality and efficient freelancers to keep the content flowing. Many of those gigs are posted on Upwork, Indeed and JournalismJobs.com.
Publication
I’m learning quickly that J.K. Rowling-level income is the exception to the rule when it comes to what kind of money to expect from writing books. When determining whether to publish a book, you’ll want to decide whether you want a tiny bit of money now (through self-publishing) or a bit more later (through landing an agent and then a publishing deal).
Because I’ve been dealing, for decades, with a fear of not being good enough, I’ve put off the steps of seeking an agent or publishing house. Sure, I could attempt to tackle that fear overnight and submit queries to agents and publishers, most of which will likely be denied, or I could focus on exercising the muscles of writing to completion and then putting those writings in front of an audience. Right now, I’m choosing the latter, which strengthens my resiliency muscles without adding a bunch of complicated moving pieces.
For my books for tabletop roleplaying games, I’m writing-to-completion as many of them as I can. Then, I’m calling in favors from a buddy who graciously handles my layouts and much of my art in exchange for editing his seminary papers. If my savings account allows, I’ll commission someone to provide art for the cover. Then, I submit my book to either Amazon Booksellers (for a larger audience with broad interests) or DriveThruRPG (for a smaller audience with niche interests).
Is this lucrative? Even with the low costs of production, I’m still lucky to get a single sale each month. Can it be lucrative? Absolutely. And the more books you get out there, the more likely someone will stumble across your work and want to buy it.
In self-publishing, your biggest hurdle will likely be finding your audience, as a publishing house handles the marketing when you take the traditional route. My best method of book sales comes from meeting someone face-to-face–whether at a gaming store or convention–and spreading my enthusiasm in person. Of course, this takes more time, effort and gas than striking it big through online sales.
Film Work
I’ve served a variety of roles on film sets, mostly because my graduate degrees are in screenwriting and I thought that it just made sense to be among my people. It’s surprisingly easier than you’d think to get work on films, specifically in film hubs like Atlanta or Savannah, Georgia.
The first great entry-level position is as an extra/background actor. You won’t have any lines, the pay’s not the best and you’ll get weary from rushing to sit for hours and then rushing to another location to sit for hours, but it’s a really great way to get familiar with a film set without people relying on you to have any high-level knowledge.
Another way to get more hands-on with film work is as a production assistant (P.A.). These are the little ants that do grunt work for various departments. Interested in hair and makeup, wardrobe or production? Get a P.A. gig in one of those departments. If you live in the area where the filming is being done, I’ve found that P.A. work in the locations department is pretty easy to get. It’s exhausting and thankless, and the stress levels can be off the charts when millions of dollars are on the line. Still, it’s kinda cool to see the fruits of your labor on the big screen about a year or so later.
Secret Shopper
This can be fun, whether you’re testing out restaurants, browsing retail stores or, like me, going into for-profit colleges and secretly recording conversations with admissions counselors and financial-aid professionals. I quickly found out, though, that pretending to be someone else if you’re raised to abhor lying can be really unnecessarily stressful. And the first shop I did, under a made-up pseudonym, put me directly in front of a high-school classmate who loudly announced my name and was confused as to why someone with two master’s degrees was going back to college. The minute she left the room, I dropped the clipboard and fled. Again, it’s incredibly challenging, though important, work, but I accumulated so many funny stories from the experience. If you’re interested in seeing more of the U.S., Norton Norris was the company I worked with.
Social Media Manager
A few years after my autoimmune disorder diagnosis, the medical bills were piling up and I needed to bring in more income. I joined a really great (though now defunct) online course called the Internet Business Mastery Academy. Among the many things I learned about running an online business was social media management. So I decided to start a side hustle and offer my social media management services to small businesses.
Promoting myself as an expert required me to really stretch my marketing muscles. It was a difficult, though important, step toward self-confidence and resilience at the many responses of “No, thanks” that I got. Within days of my deadline of whether I should continue with it or phase it out, I was earning the same monthly amount as I was making at my full-time job. Hoping to grow my management business, I resigned from my day job of teaching so I could provide my clients with the attention they needed.
Before long, all of those now-well-known harmful effects of social media began taking their toll. The extended time weeding through the highlights of near strangers in an endless feed not only fed my ADHD in an unhealthy manner, but it began to affect my anxiety and depression as well. When all of my social-media clients’ contracts were over, I pivoted to the next hustle, hoping to spend less time on social networks from then on.
What’s your hustle?
Side hustles are becoming increasingly important for making ends meet these days. Regardless of which path you take, remember to have a financial goal in mind. What specifically are you going to do with the extra money? At the end of the day, money is just another tool. If you fall for the trap of seeing it as the end goal itself, you’ll never seem to accumulate enough and easily get distracted from what really matters in life.
One incredible resource that helped me to better understand money and how it relates to psychology is Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Despite the gimmicky title, it has done wonders for my household’s financial state. If you don’t seem to have enough money on a regular basis, it includes actionable steps to take charge and set attainable goals. I can’t recommend this book enough.
What side hustle is your go-to? Share in the comments below!
(Note: This post includes affiliate links. This means for every purchase you make following some of my links, I get a cut from the product provider. This doesn’t cost you any extra money, but it certainly can help me pay the bills!)
