kjoyce4In November 2020, I left my corporate job. Since then, I’ve done nearly a dozen different things to make money without giving up freedom and flexibility.
I understand that these jobs may not be for everyone, but I hope this post helps you find a similar job to fit your skill set to add as a side hustle or full time gig.
- Pet Sitting – This is where I’ve made the bulk of my money over the past month and a half. I worked at a boarding kennel for three years as a summer job, so I have a lot of experience with animals. Through the app Rover and personal connections, I’ve been able to build up a few clients that I sit for Monday through Friday. This is a great option for animal lovers, and you can typically set your own schedule. I usually spend between one and three hours a day doing drop in visits during the week and get $25-$35 dollars an hour, depending on the number of dogs. Rates could be a lot higher if you live in a city though.
- Painting a house – My dad is flipping a house and let me paint the entire downstairs of the house for a rate that’s way less than he would pay a professional. It’s hard work (way harder than I thought it would be), but the project didn’t take very long, and the pay was still good despite the family discount.
- Selling gigs on Fiverr (or a similar freelancing site) – There are tons of freelance sites out there, and lots of people looking for help with their projects. Personally, I use Fiverr, but you can try places like UpWork or Freelancer. I’ve posted gigs for photo editing and blog post writing, but my most popular one has been writing social media bios. You can do anything from graphic design to voice acting depending on your skill set.
4. Poshmark – When I moved out of my apartment and decided to downsize, I listed a bunch of clothing on Poshmark. The app is really user friendly and easy to use. Most of the clothes I listed would have been donated anyway, so it’s a little cash for me (they take a small fee out of the profit) and makes sure my clothes go to a new home.
5. Tutoring – In addition to refreshing my Rover account, I revived my Care.com listings and have picked up a couple tutoring gigs. With school staying remote for a lot of kids, it’s been hard on parents to make sure their kids’ learning stays on track, so tutoring listings have been a lot more popular in the pandemic.
6. Etsy – I love crafting, so I decided to sell some of my extra crafts on Etsy. There are only so many dog bandanas and knit head beads a girl can use. You can check out my listings here. Since it isn’t my main form of income, I decided a portion of the proceeds from the headband sales will go to charity.
7. Odd Jobs – I’ve done so many random jobs over the past few months, I honestly can’t remember them all. Since I went to school for journalism, I have a solid background in writing, shooting photos and video and editing both different forms of media and writing. Take a look at the skills and experience you have and let people know that you’re looking for work. Word of mouth and social media are still great ways to find odd jobs to help you fill in the gaps.
8. This blog! – While this blog is definitely not supporting me financially, it’s recently started making a little bit of money from ad revenue. Blogging can be very lucrative if you have the right niche and promote yourself well. I’ve found that bloggers who talk about how to blog and finances tend to have a higher success rate. That being said, if you’re not blogging about something you love, you’re more likely to give up if your site doesn’t succeed immediately.
There are so many ways to make money that don’t require you to work in an office 40 hours a week. Tell me if you’ve tried any of these or your side is the comments!
