How to get a side hustle

Many people say that they’re unhappy with their jobs. The biggest reason? They don’t earn enough money. 

If you can’t afford to quit but need more income than you have, a side hustle might be the perfect solution. Side hustles are a great way to use your existing resources to build up your bank account. With a little creativity and elbow grease, you may be able to get to your financial goals faster.

What’s a Side Hustle? 

Side hustles are part-time money-making activities you do in addition to your regular job. You can do them for a few hours every weekend or every day. They can be temporary gigs, online activities or something that repurposes skills you already have. 

What Are Some Good Side Hustles? 

The best side hustles use skills you already have to bring big benefits your way. 

If You Like To Drive…

Gig-based side hustles like delivery driving, ride-share services, moving and courier services can be a great option. 

Some gig apps let you choose when and where you work but have no guaranteed pay rate. Don’t let that discourage you, though. Depending on how enterprising you are and how sharp your nose is for bonuses, you can easily make a few hundred extra dollars a week. 

Don’t let the less popular options pass you by. Lesser-known gig work opportunities include:

• Roadie, an app-based courier driver service.
• Gigwalk, which sends you to local stores to complete tasks for consumer research $10 to $20 payment.
• Sudshare, which lets you hire yourself out as a local laundry service — all you need is a washer, dryer and a car to pick up and deliver the clothes.

If You’re a Techie…

Amazon’s Mechanical Turk workers earn cash by bidding on small technical tasks that can usually be completed online. 

You can also look into transcription services and online data entry companies, which require good typing skills, patience and a fast internet connection to get started.

All of these have flexible hours and let you grow your income without having to restructure your entire life. 

If You’re Freelance-Ready…

Don’t discount the power of doing a little more of what you already do for someone who might just pay a little more. If you love your main job, why not do more of it? 

For example, if your day job is in web design,reach out to your network to see if anyone needs a new web page, and offer to build it. If you work in property management, you might be able to find extra work helping local real estate agents show houses or brokering rental agreements for landlords who don’t need full management services. 

Finding a side hustle related to your main hustle comes with a few caveats: Be wary of conflicts of interest and try to structure your side hustle work in a way that doesn’t compete directly with your main employer. But don’t undercut your freelance work either. Be careful to charge what you’re worth, and don’t make the rookie mistake of accepting peanuts for your first freelancing gigs. 

How to Get a Side Hustle

If you want to find a side hustle, start with what you know. Think of services that you or your friends already use, like laundry, food delivery or transportation. Download the gig app and see how it goes. 

The good thing about side hustles is that many of them are low commitment and low overhead. If you try it and don’t like it, there are no major consequences of giving it up and trying something new.

Never underestimate the power of your network. Keep your ear to the ground for your community’s needs. You never know when someone needs a housesitter, landscaper or web designer. Being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference in finding a good side hustle. 

If you’re worried about making time for a side hustle in addition to the rest of your responsibilities, don’t stress. Instead, look at the places in your life where you can multitask or shuffle to make things work. 

For example, if your full time job has remote work options, see if you can turn your commute time into side hustle time. If you go biking every Saturday to stay in shape, see if you can combine your hobby with a delivery route and get paid for your commitment to fitness.

There are lots of ways to make a side hustle work, but like all things related to making money, they require a blend of creativity and flexibility. Take a long look at your current schedule and use your imagination to make the most of your extra hours.

Can a Side Hustle Be a Full-Time Job?

What happens if you start your side hustle and discover you love it more than your regular gig? Our advice is to go for it! Just be aware that there are challenges to gig or freelance work that your regular job may not have. 

Before you make the leap, think carefully about things like health insurance and income stability. Many side-hustle jobs offer high pay rates if you go full time, but they don’t offer benefits or guarantee wages. Have a savings plan to keep a slow month from throwing a wrench into your plans. It can also be challenging with some institutions to buy property or make major financial moves while working for yourself full-time.

But don’t let these issues stop you. Think about them, find solutions, and find partners who can help you reach your goals while working the way that you want to.

If you’ve made your hustle your full time thing but are concerned that will make it hard to qualify for a mortgage, think again. Quontic specializes in loans for gig workers and the self-employed¹ to give you access to home ownership.