In recent years, the side hustle concept has made its way to the forefront of the American vernacular. It’s right up there with an emergency personal loan or student loan forgiveness.
But what exactly is a side hustle, and how easy is it to get started with one, especially if you don’t have much capital to get it off the ground? We’ll talk about these concepts in detail in the following article. If you need money, and the side hustles we mention don’t seem to match your skill set, you can also check out Credello’s recommendations for personal loans.
What is a Side Hustle?
A side hustle is something a person does for extra money. In other words, it’s a way you generate income in your spare time, usually in addition to your primary job or “on the side.”
The pandemic and the accompanying financial hardship so many Americans experienced brought side hustles into the mainstream, but they were becoming more prominent even before Covid-19 first appeared. But how can you get a side hustle going with little or no money to fund it?
Free Side Hustles
The thing you should realize about side hustles is that there are thousands of options, if not millions. You need at least a little money to get some of them off the ground, but others are completely free.
For instance, you can collect empty cans and bottles in your spare time. It costs nothing, and you can get five cents for each one you return to a recycling center in several states.
You can create a free profile on a site like Upwork or Fiverr. If you have English writing skills, you can write website copy or proofread college essays in your spare time. You might create cover art for eBooks. The platforms will take a percentage of what you make as a commission, but creating a profile on them is free.
Inexpensive Side Hustles
You might also feel like you have a skill set that warrants a side hustle, but it costs a little money to get the idea off the ground. If that’s the case, the only thing you need to be sure of is that the money you bring back is more than what you spend.
For instance, maybe you’re an excellent baker, and you can make custom birthday cakes for parties. You can advertise this service for free on your social media profiles and rely on word of mouth to get people interested. All you have to do is charge more for the cakes than you spend on the ingredients.
You could even start an eCommerce business on a budget. Maybe you’ll scour antique stores, thrift stores, and estate sales for items to buy cheaply. Then, you’ll advertise and sell them online at a markup.
You’ll need to pay Etsy, eBay, or some other online marketplace a commission. However, as long as you make a profit, there’s no reason this can’t be a viable option.
Side Hustles Are Possible with a Little Creativity
When you start learning about side hustles and what they entail, it’s easy to see how you can make some money off of them if you set your mind to it. Setting up a profile on a site like Upwork or Fiverr costs nothing. You just give a percentage of the money you make to the platform.
You might sell vintage items through eBay or Etsy or create your own items to sell. You’ll just need to think about any skills you have that could be worth something to others.
As long as you don’t need raw materials for what you’re making, or you’re making enough money to cover those materials while still netting a profit, implementing a side hustle is absolutely within your power.
Think about any particular knowledge or skill you have and how you can turn it into a money-making venture. That’s how most side hustles start, and they’re becoming more commonplace as time goes on.