Depending on your age, the average American has anywhere from about $35,000 to about $135,000 in debt. The prospect of paying off these levels of debt can prove daunting, even if you’re considering taking on a second job.
However, if you are considering a second job, consider the world of online hustlers. These are debt-reducing income-generating opportunities that you can do from your home.
Equally important, most of these hustles require little or no cash investment on your part to get started. So let’s jump in and check out 7 of these side hustles you can start today.
#1. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants take on many of the duties of an on-site assistant, but handle those tasks remotely. Some work full-time for an individual or business, but most VAs work for multiple clients.
Most VAs handle their work from a home office using a laptop or desktop computer and smartphone. In other words, they use technology they already own.
You will need a website. This means you need to buy a domain name from a registrar and get a hosting service. Most major registrars also offer hosting services so you can do everything in one fell swoop.
You can hire a professional to develop a custom website for you, but a basic WordPress installation and a few plugins will get you up and running.
You will need a list of services you offer, such as:
- schedule and appointment management
- writing social media posts
- handling routine phone calls
Stick to what you know how to do well.
#2. Freelance writer
The boom in business websites and digital marketing has created an amazing need for written content. Everyone from huge corporations to sole proprietors and marketing agencies outsource to freelancers.
The type of content they outsource can vary greatly. Just some of the content they might hire a freelancer to write include:
You can get the job done through your personal and professional network. If you have a professional background, your best bet is to write content for this niche. Some people develop a customer list in other industries or around a subject area they pursued as a hobby.
You should also create a website where you can identify your niche, host samples, and set your rates for different types of work.
#3. Blogging
Blogging looks a bit like freelance writing on the surface, because you spend a lot of time writing. The big difference is that you’re writing for your own website, rather than outsourcing your services to other businesses.
You can get a free blog hosted on major sites like blogger.com, wordpress.org or medium.com. Most bloggers eventually purchase their own domain and hosting so they can maintain more complete control over their blogs.
You can take advantage of many different ways to monetize your blog, including:
Blogging rarely generates much profit at first, but there is huge room for growth over time.
#4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a fairly simple process to earn money.
You choose someone else’s product or service and send customers to buy it. In return, you get a percentage of the profit from each sale.
Bloggers often take advantage of affiliate marketing programs within their niche. For example, someone who blogs about video editing might use affiliate links for editing software or editing courses.
#5. Online Courses
Do you specialize in something? Can you write or talk about it in a way that allows others to understand the material?
If so, you probably have what it takes to create an online course. If it’s a particularly complex topic, you may end up creating several.
You can write a digital textbook and create exercises that are hosted on your website. You can record videos of you lecturing and/or demonstrating the skills in action. For more abstract material, you can record audio lessons where you discuss material at a conceptual level.
#6. Sell crafts
Do you spend your weekends making tea candles in your wood shop? Do you create abstract masterpieces using acrylic cell painting techniques? Are you the king of custom screen printing posters?
You can then earn money by selling your crafts on any number of craft markets. The most famous of these marketplaces is Etsy. Other options include Artfire, eCrater, iCraft, and Made It Myself.
Most sites charge a small membership fee or listing fees, but these usually prove manageable for people at almost any income level.
#7. Sell Junk Items
As most people grow older, they find that they have accumulated many possessions that they no longer want.
They have a bunch of movies they’ll never see again or CDs they’ll never listen to again. They have outgrown these basic tools. Maybe that shelf is on the verge of collapsing with all the novels you pick up while waiting on work-related flights.
You can sell a lot of these old things.
Sites like eBay and Amazon provide a general marketplace for old items. You can sell locally through sites like Craigslist. You can even look at niche sites like Swappa or Gazelle if you want to offload online tools.
Other Considerations
There are, of course, ways you can manage your current finances to help pay off debt and reduce additional debt.
Combining earnings from a side hustle with these strategies can drastically reduce the time it takes to pay off your debt.
Parting thoughts on online sides you can start today
When thinking about online sides to help you pay off your debt, remember that you can do more than one.
Some side hustles will prove more challenging than others. Becoming a VA or freelance writer will take up most of your time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sell your old stuff.
You can create an online course and continue to sell your craft products through an online marketplace. Throw enough things at the wall and sooner or later you will find something that will bring you a steady profit.
Thinking of a side hustle but worried about the kids? Check out our post on succeeding as a freelancer with kids.
