Lucrative side gigs that will boost your income
Take advantage of the gig economy to earn more in 2017.
Whether you’ve got debts to clear, or financial goals that require just a bit more cash from you than you currently earn, there are many ways to generate more income to do it. Earning cash on the side can make a huge difference to your monthly budget; it’s often easy to fit around other commitments and you might even enjoy doing it. If you’re looking for inspiration then here are some lucrative side gigs that use existing skills to boost your income and will help you to afford the things that you want.
Tech skills: Create your own app
If you have the skills then creating an app can be a very fast and convenient way to make money on the side. Whether you’re charging per download or offering high cost advertising to brands you can make a lot of money from doing very little once the app exists. If you’re not sure how to create your own app then – believe it or not – there are books and classes out there. You could also consider a partnership with a developer where you split the profits. If you have a problem-solving or entertaining idea for an app then it could be a life changing side gig.
Writing skills: create your own eBooks
Amazon pays writers 70% royalties on eBooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 and that’s a lot more than you’ll get from a traditional publisher. If you’re a bit of a wordsmith, either on the fiction or non-fiction fronts, producing eBooks is a simple way to start generating cash. Once the eBook is written there’s nothing else for you to do except promote it and wait for the cash to roll in. Who knows, you might even get picked up for mainstream publication too.
Teaching skills: become a private tutor
Tutoring offers a great way to make money on the side, particularly as you can do this either on or offline. All you really need is a website or some well placed ads and you can start generating cash for sharing what you know on everything from maths to music – no training required. Remember that you may have skills that are worth something even without being aware of it. For example, if you’re a native English speaker you can charge by the hour for ‘conversation classes’ that will help non-natives to speak more naturally in your language.
Buying skills: set yourself up as a middleman
The online world offers great incentives for those willing to put in a little effort. From T-shirts, to antique chairs, shoes and candles it’s pretty simple to set yourself up as a conduit between someone making or finding products and someone who wants to buy. With each sale you take a commission from the sale price for doing nothing more than creating a page or website to which people come to buy.
No skills: participate
Everyone has some skills but if you don’t feel like you have any that are particularly marketable then you can still take part. Whether you offer your mind for market research, your body for medical research, your face for life drawing or your opinions for focus groups, there are brands and organisations that are willing to pay quite substantially for people who are willing to take part.
Read more about how to make money from the gig economy here.
