Our generation is getting hungrier. Here are 10 of the most rewarding side hustles to make it happen in 2021!
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So you’ve learned about creating multiple streams of income for yourself, or you’re simply looking to make a little more money on the side. One thing is certain, your side hustle(s) might just be the initial step towards building financial wealth. Lets begin.
#1. Airbnb
Airbnb is a sharing service that offers opportunity for travelers to get cost-efficient accommodation wherever they travel to. This side hustle allows you to earn money for essentially renting out your property to people looking to opt out of high hotel rates. If you aren’t a property owner yet be sure to keep this in your radar!
#2. DoorDash
DoorDash is a courier company that offers service on demand. Dashers deliver food from all type of restaurants. The flexibility to choose when you deliver allows you to accommodate your schedule accordingly. This is perfect if you’re looking for a part time or weekend hustle.
#3. Mobile car wash / detailing
Mobile car detailing services are becoming a little more common. This gig requires a van or truck to move your equipment and get the job done. Although this hustle is mainly seasonal, creating relationships and building the proper clientele can secure your side hustle year round.
#4. Turn your hobby into a business
Whether it’s dancing, singing, producing, painting, climbing, collecting, restoring, you name it! You can monetize your content on YouTube through vlogs, DIY, and tutorial videos. If you’re a recording artist get your music distributed and get paid from streams! Find a way to make money doing what you love.
#5. Buy at wholesale cost, sell below retail market value
This is similar to flipping except you don’t need to add value to an item. You purchase items at a wholesale cost so you can retail them and make a profit margin. It’s wise to look at the current retail value of what you’re selling and price it just below the market while still profiting from the cost of your initial purchase. You can use websites such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook Market & Craigslist to sell.
#6. Babysit
If you love children and have a knack for taking care of children, babysitting can be a very rewarding side hustle. Plan your availability in accordance to your schedule. When you tend to help people, the reward seems to be greater for some reason. There’s just something amazing about the integrity involved with such a responsibility.
#7. Work a part-time job
If you’re a teacher already working part-time, find another teaching job to get the most out of your career. If you’re in the medical & healthcare industry working part-time, find that second part-time to increase your income and experience in the field. A part-time job or hustle (if you’re already working full-time) will increase your income, no questions asked.
Fiverr is a great way to teach online making it the perfect side hustle for millennials.
#8. Rideshare service
Companies like Uber and Lyft allow you to earn money by transporting people to their destination in the comfort of your own vehicle making it a perfect side hustle. Get paid to drive while potentially saving the lives of others by prohibiting them from driving under the influence.
#9. Party planner
Party planners take control of the design and presentation of a celebration in order to create an awesome experience that will always be remembered. Note down all the exciting details for every project. Discuss budget and come up with a fixed dollar amount to make this happen. Sell it and over-deliver. Budget on the price negotiated with the client and the profit is yours.
#10. Store and list your space
Neighbor.com allows you to list your drive space, garage, attic, or basement to store your fellow neighbors belongings. You essentially rent out space you don’t use to people that need it. It’s another great way your property can generate an income for you.
#11. (BONUS) Instruct or teach online with Fiverr
Fiverr allows you to instruct or teach just about anything online. Millennials are teaching people how to speak another language, they’re writing as freelancers, and teaching digital services. People are making anywhere from $10-$800 on services!
In today’s post I’m going to share with you how you can turn your side hustle into a 5-figure business. We’re going to walk through some of the steps I took when building my 5-figure business from what started as just a side hustle.
So, why is this so significant? Well for one, many of us lost a job or saw a drop in sales revenue during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We had no other option other than to sink or swim. Developing skills outside of a current job will allow us to create multiple streams of income and reach financial freedom.
This post is going to provide you with so much value. You too will be able to start manifesting your career and money goals in as little as less than a year. Let’s get started.
How much money is 5-figures?
5-figures refers to a five digit numerical value. In money terms this ranges between $10,000 – $99,999.
6-figures would then go from $100,000 – $999,999.
Turning my side hustle into a 5-figure businesses should have been something I should’ve celebrated, but I didn’t. I was shooting for six.
It’s important that you celebrate your small wins guys. It’s also important that you set the bar high. Why? Because if you fail, and you will, at least you’d have created something valuable from which you can continue to scale.
I’m proud though, this happened during the pandemic so there’s that. Lets start with the importance of niching down.
The importance of niching down
Now that we understand the definition of 5-figures, let’s discuss the importance of niching down.
Before you begin to build your five figure business you’ll need to niche down on your side hustle first.
What is a niche?
A niche in short is a specialized or particular area in the market for a specific type of product or service.
Some examples of a niche include:
Restaurants —> Restaurants in Southern California —> Best Restaurants in Los Angeles, CA —> Best Pizza Restaurants in LA —> Best Vegan Pizza Restaurants in LA
Gaming —> Horror Games —> Indie Horror Games for PC
As you can tell, niching down means getting down to specifics about a general topic.
The reason you should niche down is because you’ll be able to provide people with content, product, or services that are exclusive to that particular demand in the market.
By doing so, you are creating a small pool in the market that can help consumers find exactly what they’re looking for.
If you’ve already found your niche you’re more than likely already generating some income from it.
Side hustle to 5-figure business
When does this transition happen? Taking your side hustle to a 5-figure business is a process.
You need to make sure your side hustle is scalable. Meaning you know you can turn it into a business. And if you can’t, you’ll need to try something else.
Set the bar high. Write down your goals. The things that happen on your journey to meet your goal is the transition process. This is progress is the success you won’t see until at the end of your first year.
When you reach $10K in sales, you can choose whether you want to establish yourself as a small business. Of course, you can do this before $10K. However, reaching this number allows you to establish yourself as a small business owner which should be a goal to pursue if you want to make money.
These are some key points that helped me see the potential in my side hustle and grow it to a 5-figure business.
Now, I want to touch base on 3 very important elements that made this happen for me and can make this happen for you too.
These 3 vital steps are what’s going to separate you from everyone else. These foundational elements are what transformed my side hustle into a 5-figure business. I guarantee you they will do the same for you.
The foundation for a 5-figure business
#1. Get professional, start a business
I initially set up my legal business first, although it was just a side hustle in the beginning. I knew that I could make money from it but I wanted to carry myself professionally about it.
It wasn’t good enough to simply sling my product or services here and there without it being a legit business. By moving professionally about it I was able to provide more value in the marketplace. Setting up my business from the get go established credibility. And guys let me tell you, it’s not that difficult. I’m going to teach you guys how to do this step by step so make sure you subscribe to the newsletter. For now, lets keep moving forward.
#2. Brand your business
Once I established my business legally, I started pitching to the marketplace. But it didn’t go very well. I was using a Gmail account for my business emails and my website was in blog format (free).
So, I put out a little bit of money from my earned income (job) into creating a professional website and obtaining a professional email to use. I then created my own logo using Canva Pro.
This changed the game to say the least. Businesses now knew who was reaching out to them. It was an actual business.
Why branding played a huge role in my 5-figure business
Branding created credibility. I feel like people didn’t take me seriously prior to branding my business. This is what branding did for my hustle:
Created an image of trust
Boosted my credibility in the marketplace
Increased my sales (during the pandemic)
Allowed me to create something from nothing
Established my side hustle as a legit business
Branding is the most important thing you can do to take your side hustle to the next level. It’s what’s going to set you apart from everyone else doing what you’re doing.
I strongly urge you to make this small investment and commitment towards your growth. Spend the extra money on a professional email, spend the extra money on Canva Pro. Believe me when I say it’s 100% worth it. When you look back, you won’t recognize what you created. Yes, that was you. Yes, you created that.
Which leads me to the third element that allowed me to turn my side hustle into a 5-figure business. Creating a unique website.
#3. Set up your website early on
One mistake I made was not setting up my website early on. Think about it my fellow readers. You make a pitch and the prospect is very interested. They’d like to take a look at your website but it’s either under construction or you don’t have one yet.
Yeah, that isn’t very professional now is it?
When I was shopping around to see how to set up a website for my small business I knew two things:
Pricing had to be affordable and within budget.
My website had to be unique and professional – huge deal breaker for me.
Now, I purchased Bluehost when it was originally at $8.99 per month. However, you new small business owners can now create your website for only $3.95/mo.
What attracted me the most to Bluehost is just how easy it was to use. And, if I had any questions, their amazing 24/7 chat was available for my convenience.
Let me tell you guys something. Turning my side hustle into a 5-figure business had challenges. Building and growing my professional website was not one of those challenges.
The importance of this foundation
These 3 foundational elements are what transformed my side hustle into a 5-figure business.
I am now working on what it takes to scale my 5-figure business into a 6-figure business. It is important to note that you cannot reach 6-figures without setting up your foundation first.
I had to shift my mindset and look at my side hustle as a business rather than just a side hustle.
Branding my business was an essential process to standing out.
Not only was building and creating a professional website easier than I thought, but it was a vital process for the growth of my business.
Now that you understand what it takes to turn your side hustle into a 5-figure income earning business I’m going to share with you some of my personal experience on this journey. I want to provide you with even more value by putting my perspective out on the table for you to learn from.
If you’re enjoying this post so far be sure to bookmark it so you can come back to it in the future.
5 Tips to scaling your side hustle to 5-figures
Here’s a quick rundown of some useful tips that allowed me to scale my side hustle to 5-figues in only one year. In fact, I was able to accomplish this in only 11 months; so just a little under one year.
#1. Become an expert in your niche
It is essential that you become an expert in your niche. Otherwise, scaling your business will take you much longer. This is primarily because you will still need to learn the ropes in your niche in order to conduct business and close sales.
Being an expert in your field give you a huge advantage over competitors. This is how I was able to conduct myself as an authority in the marketplace. Your knowledge is like extra credit. The three foundational steps for a 5-figure business is the A+.
#2. Offer exceptional quality work and customer service
You and the service or product you intend to offer are the primary reasons people want to do business with you.
Your power over everyone else is no one else is you. Show this to your customers and your sales will grow.
#3. Your network can push you ahead by one year
Your network should consist of people who are business and success oriented just like you are.
Make yourself and your business known to them. You must make yourself top of mind awareness to them. This means when they think of a specific product or service, you’re the go-to-person. This is what you’re known for.
#4. Be persistent and find out what works
When it comes to selling your service or product you will find out certain pitches don’t work. Don’t let this discourage you for one second.
That same pitch you’re thinking of discarding can actually work on someone else. So, be persistent but don’t be afraid to find out what else works.
#5. Reinvest your first profits
Once you implement the 3 foundational steps to scaling your side hustle to a 5-figure business, you’re going to start seeing cash flow.
Do not pay yourself just yet. Reinvest the profits towards further scaling your business. See where you can put some money to optimize growth.
I personally used profits for advertising and marketing. This allowed my business to be seen and brought in new customers.
When I was slinging products and services on the side through my niche, I too started from $0. It was easy for me to seek money-making opportunities within the industry when I became an expert in my field. This is what eventually led me to turn my side hustle into a 5-figure business. It goes back to becoming an expert in your niche. I already had loads of knowledge and information in my industry.
Networking
Aside from this, I was already known as the go-to person in my area of expertise from high school and college peers. This of course gave me an advantage with awareness. In fact, some of my first clients were due to networking. They were the first brands and businesses
My entire career has basically been sales in one particular segment of my industry. Sales is what allowed me to further network with people effortlessly over the phone, in person, and via email.
Quality of service
The quality of service I provided made me become favorited by my first customers. Quality builds trust and trust builds likeability.
Because I delivered quality services and products, my customers would place reorders every month to every other month. By delivering exceptional quality products and services I was able to further grow my sales revenue passively.
In some instances I didn’t even have to follow up.
My first reinvestments
Some of my first reinvestments in my small business were on social media advertising and on samples to pitch.
The mindset behind my reinvestment strategy was quite simple. If I could put $100 in advertising to potentially bring in a new customer on board, it would yield an amazing ROI (return of investment). Even if I didn’t break even.
See the thing is one new customer could either cover the cost of the ad by buying from me, or I could profit doing business with them. What if their project was lower than the initial cost of the advertisement? Well, then I would have gained a new client from which I could follow up with every month or so.
In this case, I see an opportunity to do business with them in the future. Even if it is a long-term process.
So, what pattern are we seeing here?
The pattern here is that the tips presented on this article have proven to turn a side hustle into a 5-figure business. I’ve implemented these strategies myself and can now pass down the knowledge that worked for me to help you access that next level of success.
My expertise in my industry was only the icing on the cake. It wasn’t until I applied the 3 foundational steps mentioned in the beginning of this article that I found my side hustle transition to a 5-figure business.
If I didn’t 1) treat my side hustle as a business, 2) brand my business, 3) or create a professional and unique website, I wouldn’t have been able to succeed.
Because ultimately what businesses want is to work with an attractive company that can solve their problems.
This journey has been a lot of fun, it’s been a lot of work, and let me tell you it’s been absolutely worth it.
Final words of advise
My advise to you is to put your skills to use and to never stop learning. This will help you turn your side hustle into more than just a 5-figure business. These are the building blocks to creating a successful and prosperous business. However, you have the power to take this even further.
There will be times where you possibly doubt yourself and perhaps even lose some form of motivation. Understand that this is normal and even the most successful of people go through this. It’s part of the process. Learn to grow through what you go through.
Be sure to subscribe to the mailing list where you can personally email me with any questions. I reach out to our readers when a new post has been published or when I have something to share that I’m confident you can truly benefit and learn from.
We are super excited to share these amazing tips to keep you grounded during hard times. Kudos to you for looking out for yourself. Here’s how to stay afloat during a recession.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
Budget
Coupon
Cut unnecessary expenses such as subscriptions and streaming services (e.g. Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, etc.)
Avoid eating out – includes takeout
Use coupons to your advantage for discounts on your groceries and other necessary household items. By momentarily cutting off subscriptions and streaming services, you give yourself more breathing room. Avoid eating out as it tends to cost more money than cooking at home. Some restaurants or delivery services might offer free delivery at the moment but they are in the same situation during a recession. Take care of yourself first.
Build Your Emergency Fund
Put money in a high-yielding savings or money market account to earn you interest.
Stack some of your earnings in a personal savings account as liquid money.
By putting money into a high-yielding savings or money market account, your money gets to work for you. Compound interest will begin to accumulate and earn you money every month whether or not you keep depositing earnings. Tip: The more you deposit, the more your return is.
It is important that you keep stacking your money for your necessities. Move money into your personal savings account to keep as liquid money, or money you can pull out within a matter of seconds in case of an emergency. It usually takes 3 business days for earnings to come in from a money market account so it would be wise to keep some cash at hand in a personal savings account.
Live Below Your Means
Hold off on any moving plans, stay put
Avoid liabilities such as a new car / new home
Rethink your current standard of living
If you were planning on upgrading your standard of living this year you might want to hold off on those plans. Stay put, chances are your rent or mortgage is currently lower than where you want to go.
Avoid liabilitiesaltogether. This means the new vehicle, the new home, the new tuition, etc. It is important to stay out of debt during a recession. Liabilities require you to take money out of your pocket and prohibit you from saving and investing it.
It Can Wait
Rethink your current standard of living. If you’re able to momentarily downsize then you’re in a great situation, do it to reduce your costs on rent and utilities. Another great tip is to work together with people you trust and split the cost of rent in order to live adequately to cut back expenses and continue to save money.
Use Gift Cards During A Recession
Gift cards are an amazing way to treat yourself for free. Most people tend to use gift cards when the economy is booming and everything is great. If you’re like us, you probably have a few saved. Perhaps you just never got around to using them or have a little sense of self control most don’t.
Gift cards are great during a recession because it allows you to make a purchase without taking money out from your wallet. You’ll never get to appreciate them the same again.
Recycle / Cash In Change
Recycling is a great way to keep you afloat during a recession. You’re essentially getting cash back on all your recyclables. Plus, it’s great for our environment; let’s not forget that. Although recycling money may not be a lot, it is certainly a good way to earn $10-$20 every month.
Cashing in loose change is also a great way of gathering money that’s been collecting dust. If you’ve already been filling up the piggy bank now is a great time cash it in.
Work Temp For An Essential Company
Essential companies seem to be the only places hiring during our current coronavirus pandemic situation. Although we are currently facing this issue, it is unlikely we will be coming across this challenge for every recession.
Take precautions, but see what is hiring and how it may convenience you. Go where the money is and keep stacking your money.
Develop An Extra Source Of Income
Developing an extra source of income is one of the best ways to keep you afloat during a recession. There are many ways people are earning money online by working from home. Find your side hustle! Read: “Ways You Can Earn Money During The Coronavirus Lockdown” to see how you can begin making money on the side and from home.
An extra source of income will help pay for your necessities or allow you to put extra cash away into your money market account or personal savings account.
Sell items that you don’t use anymore to keep you afloat during a recession. This strategy is a quick way to put cash in your pocket.
Consider selling (old, extra, or unused):
MP3s / iPods
Cellphones / Smartphones
Blu-ray, DVDs, Headphones, Televisions
Gaming consoles / Games / Movies
Books / Board Games / Magazines
You can sell on Facebook market, eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, etc.
Rethink Transportation
Think Outside The Box
It would be wise to make transportation arrangements in order to cut back on fuel expenses and avoid unforeseen car repairs. If you work locally perhaps it would be best to bike to work. Maybe your work is a few blocks away, walking is another alternative. If your work is cities away carpool with someone one week and alternate driving.
Use A 0% APR Credit Card
We don’t usually condone the use of a credit card but there are times where they become handy, especially when used responsibly. We suggest using a credit card with 0% interest in the event that there are no savings in your account. The 0% APR will help you pay off the credit card without any additional interest per the providers agreement. Do your research to see which cards fit your needs during a recession.
Here are other benefits to using a 0% APR credit card:
Payoff other credit card debt
Apply payments to principle on loans eliminating accruing interest
Most 0% APR credit cards have terms up to a year
Qualifying for one of these bad boys requires you to have great credit score so make sure you keep track of yours.
This strategy is last on our list as it is only suggested as a last resort. The government has currently signed off a stimulus package that allows you to withdraw from your 401k without any fees. Although this is only temporary, it is certainly an option in order to keep you afloat during a recession. We recommend keeping a portion of these earnings in a money market account to earn you interest while it’s out of your 401k.