It’s great that you’re in uniform, but you and I both know you’ll only advance in rank and money when the system lets you.
It doesn’t matter if you do extra work, take college classes or any of the hundreds of other things they tell you to do; you’re still not in control of your own destiny.
You’ll only advance at someone else’s pace.
It’s the same when you’re working in the corporate world, except you have mobility.
In that world, if you have the skills and knowledge to pull it off, you can give your boss 2 weeks and take your ass to greener pastures.
Hey, why am I telling you this when you already know it, right?
So what’s the solution?
I’m going to let you in on a few side hustle ideas that you can start right now that’ll give you more freedom and control over your life.
If you take my advice and start one of these, you’ll have opportunities you never dreamed of.
But before we get started, just a piece of advice. If you decide to start one of these side hustle ideas, let’s keep it to ourselves, OK?
Because when you start pulling in some serious bucks, your “superiors” will probably get jealous. And you don’t need that kind of interference while you’re in, right?
Ok, let’s get started…
Why Most Side Hustle Ideas Crash and Burn
I’ll let you in on a little secret.
I hate most of the advice I read online about making extra money or starting a part-time business. Most of the articles I read are nothing but a B.S. sandwich. It looks great on the outside, but once you take a bite…
And the main flaw is that most of them are overloaded businesses. Everyone and their mothers are trying to make money with these bloated ideas and competition is very high.
And ya want to know why they’re so overloaded with side hustle wannabes?
It’s because they’re in businesses that have a low-pain threshold.
In other words, you can get started on one of these side hustle ideas with absolutely no knowledge and they don’t require you to get out of your comfort zone. So everyone and anyone with a computer will try to start one which means you’ll have a crapload of competition.
Here’s a formula you’ll need if you’re going to nail it in business:
Knowledge/Skills + Guts = Big Bucks
You must have the knowledge and/or skills to start working on a business that’ll give you some solid moola.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. If you have critical expertise that others don’t, you’ll be the one in charge — the go-to-guy or gal who knows how to get results.
But don’t worry, because you can get a lot of this education for free online and you can access it whenever you get the time. Matter of fact, there’s such a gigantic need for these side-hustles that online companies are promoting free training courses for them. (More on this later…)
The other part of this equation is you can’t be a wishy-washy panty waste who’s afraid to talk to people about what you do.
I know there are a lot of online gurus out there selling courses that tout you can make money working just an hour or two a day in your underwear.
Remember that B.S. sammich I told you about earlier? How about some mustard with that?
The reality, Bucko, is their students are only making peanuts.
There are bazillions of entrepreneurs, corporations, small businesses, etc. online fighting online every day for money. Do you believe you’ll be able to compete with all of them by being a wuss?
You can’t separate yourself from the pack and run with the big dogs if you’re going to be timid and puny. The #1 marketing method to establish any kind of business is personal contact.
Now look, I’m NOT telling you that you have to be a super salesman to start a business. But you will need to contact prospects that have raised their hands or have shown interest in what you’re putting out.
Once again, you can learn how to market to people and get them interested in your business very easily. There are tons of resources on how to do this, you just need to scope them out.
My Brain-Fart You Need to Read About
Man, sometimes I think if I lose my mind one more time I’m not even going to look for it anymore.
There was one more important part of the equation I left out:
Knowledge/Skills + Guts + Market with $$$ = Big Bucks
Now we’re hitting a nerve that sends me out of the dentist chair and running down the street.
One big reason why most side-hustles eventually die is that they’re approaching prospects with hardly any money. I’ve seen wantrepreneurs try to make money off of small-time markets where they don’t have a goat’s chance in Hell of making anything.
One of the mistakes I’ve seen over and over again is advertising yourself on outsourcing sites.
I hate crap like Fiverr and UpWork. You need them like Helen Keller needed glasses.
They’re nothing but a race to the bottom and you’ll work your ass off for next to nothing. If you want to get some experience with clients that’s fine, but that’s all you’ll get on those outsourced sites.
When you think about it, most businesses hiring on outsourcing sites are looking for the lowest rates they’ll have to pay to get the job done. And believe me, you don’t want to play that game.
You need to take it VERY PERSONALLY when anyone tries to low-ball you because you have to look at your business as a way to generate solid revenue from the get-go.
So you must only approach businesses and individuals that have money.
For example, let’s say you’re going to write blog posts or create content for businesses that need that kind of service. Do you approach a local web designer who has been in business for 3 years and has an annual revenue of $30,000?
Or would you approach a startup that just got crowd-funded with several million dollars?
Even though the startup is new, they have the bucks to spend and they’ll spend a lot of it on getting their product into the market.
So the key is to look at working with companies that make annual revenue in the millions. If you’re selling products to individuals online, you’ll want to target professionals that have money, like golf products for lawyers and doctors.
Now let’s get to the meat because I know how flippin’ impatient you can be when big money comes into view…
The Most Lucrative Side Hustle Ideas You Can Start Immediately
These are not the only side hustle ideas there are, but I didn’t want to overload your brain and dash off a ton of them. All you need is a few resources to get started.
And the best part? They’re legit.
These are businesses you can start today with very little money and make a killing if you do it right.
However, there’s one catch.
You have to get the skills first. You could take a cell phone and start calling corporate execs and land a few contracts today. It’s really easy to do and I’m telling you anyone could do it right now.
However, if you don’t have a clue about what you’re doing, you’ll look like a fool. Because the way you’d handle the meetings with these people would be disastrous. Your prospective clients or customers will figure out very quickly you don’t have the skills they need.
So In each section of this post, I’m going to give you links to the resources you’ll need to get the skills and knowledge you’ll need to “crush it” in your own business. The speed at which you can launch these side hustle ideas depends on your drive, ambition, and commitment to learning these new skills.
Digital Marketing: A Wide Open Side Hustle Idea
Hey, I feel your pain.
I know that this first one sounds highly technical, but it’s not. Digital marketing is any kind of online marketing you’d use to promote a business or product.
What’ll probably fry your cracker is that there are a lot of different kinds of digital marketing opportunities. And because I don’t want to overload your brain I’m just handing you a few.
One other thing I wanted to mention. If you’re not sure you want to work in a particular skill area, take a beginner’s course first. They’re shorter and you can get through them faster.
That way if you find that it’s not the thing you want to do, then you can dump it and move on to one of the other ideas I’ve thrown at you here.
(No sense in putting more time into something you don’t like to do. Right?)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What is it?
This is getting people to come to a site with free organic traffic. Having this skill is very desirable because it can save a company or client a ton of money and bring in business for years to come.
There are all kinds of tools, strategies, and categories of SEO you’ll need to learn. However, if you learn just a few of them well enough, you’ll know more than 90% of the entrepreneurs online.
This is a wide-open opportunity for anyone that wants to learn a valuable skill and start making money because every online company and business needs it.
How much money can I make?
If you were to get a job doing this you could make between $41,000 to almost $70,000 a year. If you were to freelance and had the prospecting skills to get clients you could negotiate a lot more than that.
But don’t be lured by big bucks alone, you must like what you’re doing and get good at it or you’ll look like a dork. (Just sayin’.)
Where can I learn it?
Because this skill is in such demand, you can get schooled in a bunch of different places online. Here’s a list of where you can learn it for FREE:
Free SEO Course by MOZ – MOZ is a super respected online company that has been at the forefront of SEO since the Internet began. They have loads of excellent free courses for you to take
WordStream’s Complete Beginner’s Guide to SEO – Wordstream is a company that has developed a keyword search tool that has dominated its market for years. Once again, it’s amazing that a company of this stature would offer a free course. But why look a gift horse in the mouth?
Hubspot Academy’s Free SEO Course – This company has some of the best online marketing software ever created. It’s unreal that they’re offering courses on SEO for free.
Quick Sprout’s Advanced Guide to SEO – Run by one of the Internet’s biggest marketers Neil Patel. Mr. P started is quite possibly the biggest experts online you’ll be able to find. The great thing about him is his instructions are so thorough, you probably won’t need any other source.
SEMRUSH Academy’s Free SEO Course – This one has offer’s a well-respected certificate with it.
SEO Courses you’ll have to pay for…but they’re worth it.
Udemy SEO 2019: Complete SEO Training + SEO for WordPress Websites – $20
Yoast Online SEO Training – $41.70 a month subscription
Distilled U SEO Courses – $30 a month subscription
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What is it?
This is where you get traffic to a site with paid advertisements. Using paid advertisements is critical to a business and is a very good skill to have. Since Google ads are the most powerful ads online, you’ll need to learn how to make the best of it. Again, this is one of those specialized side hustle ideas and if you get good at it, you can make some serious bucks.
How much money can I make?
According to the Digital Marketing Institute, the demand for search engine marketing specialists will increase by 23%. The salary median if you were to get a gig with a company would be about $46,000. Without getting too preachy about this, you can still get your clients and always ask for more…
Free SEM Courses You Can Take Right Now
Free SEM course by eMarketing Institute
Paid SEM Courses
Intellipaat – $172 for the self-directed course or $400 to learn with an instructor.
MarketMotive – You can view MarketMotive’s SEM course outline at its site. It costs $499 but you will take a certification test and become a bonafide SEMer.
Search Engine College – They give you some Google Adwords and Adsense credits so you can test out what you learn online. The subscription is $99 a month.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
What is it?
This is one of those side hustle ideas that should be listed in the content marketing section of this post. But as you know, I’m not perfect, so what the hell…
Social media marketing is producing custom made content for each social media site (or platform) staying within the context of what it’s about, so it will push user sharing and engagement.
You’re creating content for social media sites. However, that’s not all there is to it because each site will demand different strategies. If you have the skills and knowledge you’ll know what kind of game plans and content will work for each platform. (If you don’t know what will work, you’ll know how to test and evaluate it to find the best way.)
HubSpot’s Social Media Academy
Social Media Quickstarter by Constant Contact
Free Introduction to Social Media Strategy with Learn Buffer
Coursera’s Content Marketing and Creating Contagious Content Course
Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking Up Clients – Udemy
Paid SMM Courses
Digital Marketing Institute’s Course – This social media marketing course with a diploma for completion will run you $1955.
Online Marketing Institute’s Social Media Marketing Certification Course – This site has different subscription levels so you’ll need to check them out.
Content Marketing Side Hustle Ideas You Can Start Immediately
This is one of those side hustle ideas that’s just exploding across the Internet. The reason for this explosion is quite simple; everyone with a business online wants free organic traffic.
As it turns out Google, just like the oil companies, is in a position to gouge on pricing with its ads if it wants to. And since it’s the biggest game in town, who’s going to stop it?
The only way around this beast is to have regular well written, SEO researched content so that your site attracts organic traffic for free.
This is a gigantic opportunity for writers of all kinds so I dashed off a shortlist below to give you an idea of some of the opportunities.
Writing Blog Posts
What Is It?
Everyone knows what writing a blog post is, but few really know how to write them. Writing posts for businesses who will hire you will require some knowledge but you don’t have to be great to start making money. Of course, you’ll have to learn how to craft enticing headlines, subheads, and content but it doesn’t take a long time to learn.
How Much Can You Make as a Freelance Blog Post Writer?
Decent freelance writers can expect to make between $70 to $300 a post. However, if you approach big companies and get savvy at pitching them your services, you can get a contract that will run for months. Not only that but if you know any SEO stuff, you can charge them for those services too.
Free Resources Where You Can Learn How to Write Posts
Mom’s Make Cents Free Blog Launch Blueprint – This site takes you through all the steps of creating a blog and will help you get started writing.
ElmoCopy’s Blogging for Money – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide – I wrote this massive guide to getting started in blogging to include how to write your first posts.
Income School’s Youtube Channel – All video, absolutely amazing!
Paid Courses for Writing Blog Posts
Smart Blogger by Jon Morrow – These courses will set you back around $2000 and you can make payments of $200 a month.
Writing a Compelling Blog Post – By LinkedIn Learning.
Viral Blogging 101: Blogging & Content Writing Masterclass – $11.99 at Udemy.
Freelance Copywriting
What is it?
Copywriting is the ability to make money using words, plain and simple. Just like these other side hustle ideas, there are different types of copywriting like:
- Direct response copywriting – The ability to use words to sell products and services either online or off
- Writing copy for products
- White papers for corporations
- Technical writing
- Billboards
- Email marketing
- Brochure and printed media
- Webpages
- Product landing pages
- Manuals and product descriptions
- Video scripts and whiteboard presentations
I could easily keep going with this category, but you get the drift.
How much money can you make copywriting?
There are different levels of copywriting. If you’re just starting out in one of the categories above, you can make some decent money. On the low end, a junior copywriter can make in the $30,000 a year and as you get more experienced, you can make six-figures eventually.
Direct response copywriters can earn mega-bucks if they have the chops to pull it off. (Yeah, it’s that lucrative.)
The famous copywriter Dan Kennedy once wrote a sales letter for $25,000 and the hardest part was keeping a straight face when he told them how much he wanted for it.
Here’s a video that will help explain the money you can make in this lucrative market.
Free Resources Where You Can Learn Copywriting
The Gary Halbert Newsletters – Mr. Halbert was known as the uber copywriter. You can’t be serious about copywriting without reading his FREE newsletters.
Joanna Wiebe’s Copyhackers – Man, this chick rocks, kicks ass, and takes names later. (In the land of copywriting, that is.) This is her FREE Ultimate Guide to Copywriting.
Neville Medhora’s Kopywriting Kourse – I love this guy’s stuff. Not only is he an awesome copywriter, but he will crack you up with some of the illustrations he creates. An excellent resource and easy read.
Copywriting Courses You’ll Have to Pay For – But are Worth It
Jon Carlton’s Kick-Ass Copywriting Course – This guy learned directly from Gary Halbert and is considered a top copywriter himself. His course runs just under $100 and is an absolute steal at that price.
The Cult of Copy – This is a course that’s on Facebook for $99 a month. Collin Theriot is the man in charge and courses are well worth it.
Dan Kennedy’ AWAI Copywriting Course – You may remember I dropped Dan’s name several paragraphs back as the guy that got paid to write a single page sales letter for $25,000. Well, you can take his beginner course at AWAI for $2000.
Carol Tice’s Writer’s Den – Carol Tice is a veteran copywriter that’s written all kinds of copy from magazine articles to blog posts. There are tons of courses on her site and the best part? Only $25 a month to become a member.
My Last Dying Words on the Subject of Side Hustle Ideas
I’ve written a rather extensive post here, but I plan on adding more to it in the coming months. So, make sure you come back to see what other Bon-Mots I’ve added.
But before I leave you to run off to make your vast millions, I’d like to tell you a few other things that might save your ass if you’re worried about getting downsized or burnt out.
First, there are a lot more side hustles you can start running beside the ones I’ve handed you here. If I were young and starting over in my life and wanted to be in any kind of business, here’s what I’d do.
I’d get a job in sales. The more hard-core the better. I’d want a gig that required me to make a lot of cold calls on the phone and do some face to face selling.
Why?
Because even if you’re great at just one of these side hustles, you’ll still have to sell yourself. You can be the greatest SEO expert on the planet, but if you can’t sell what you do, you won’t get too many clients.
It is possible to generate interest online with what you do, but you can move much, much quicker if you can sell what you do.
By the way, did you know that almost 90% of the CEOs on the planet started their careers in sales?
The reason is that it’s the fundamental skill of business. It’s kind of like becoming an artist; the first thing you’ll have to master is the art of drawing.
Finally, if you don’t want to learn any of these online skills, you can always learn offline skills. Trades are still in demand. Band instruments still need to be repaired, expensive clocks need to be cleaned and serviced.
HVAC installers and repair people are still in demand and have good salaries. (Not easy work, but it’s in demand and you can make good money in that trade.)
And the best part of this is that there are loads of specialized skills out there waiting for you to discover them.
OK enough. Now it’s time for you to go out and grab that brass ring and tell your superiors to kiss it.
But before I cut this short, here are some words of wisdom to help you get started:
For things to change, YOU have to change. For things to get better, YOU have to get better. For things to improve, YOU have to improve. When YOU grow, EVERYTHING in your life grows with you. – Jim Rohn
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