If you’ve ever looked into improving your personal finances, you’ve probably heard advice along the lines of creating a side hustle. While it might sound cliche at this point, side hustles are a massive way to improve your money situation.
The income they bring in can be used to pay off debt, build savings, or even purchase a few luxuries. With the cost of living being sky-high, many more people are having to turn to sources of income outside of their regular jobs to make ends meet. A quick look at Google Trends will show that searches for the term ‘side hustle’ have spiked since 2022 and show no signs of slowing down.
This has been made a lot easier with the rise of social media, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence. Now, there is no shortage of side hustles online or advice on how to get started with them. With that in mind, there are a few steps you should take to create effective side hustles that will push you even further towards financial freedom, some of which are as follows:
Embrace Automation
As much as possible, make sure that your side hustles are not overly time-consuming and one of the ways to do this is to automate them. For example, there are print-on-demand platforms like Redbubble where you can upload designs for various items and have people make orders through the site.
With this, you don’t have to handle the printing, shipping, and customer service aspects of the business. Instead, you’ll only need to create your designs and promote your page. There are other innovations like this that allow you to make a side income as passively as possible.
Also, consider tools like Hootsuite to automatically schedule posts for social media to promote your side hustle, tools for invoicing, and other things that can make the admin part of your side hustle a bit less tedious. The rule of thumb is that if there is any way you can automate some of your work, you should.
Embrace Web3
One of the hottest trends in the online space these days is web3, which is generally considered the next stage of internet evolution. Creating a web3 project means that your side hustle is more likely to remain profitable well into the future.
And while it might be intimidating to embark on a web3 side hustle adventure, there are resources to help. Take Morph, which is on the frontlines of web3 accessibility for both users and entrepreneurs.
Cecilia Hsueh, Co-founder & CEO of Morph, is bridging the gap between the underlying technology and daily usability. After founding an investment consulting firm in 2014, she later transitioned into the Web3 space as an investor in 2018. Her role as CEO of Phemex from 2019 to 2022 further solidified her place as a leader in the Web3 environment.
During our interview, Hsueh explained: “One of the barriers to Web3 integration is the technical hurdles that might daunt those from outside the field. I want to close this gap to make it easier for developers and businesses to move their platforms onto Web3-based technology and to do that we need to help them scale up.”
Morph supports developers by giving them the framework to produce decentralized applications, speeding up and refining the production process. This shortening development cycle means Web3-based startups may become more disruptive than first anticipated.
Monetize Your Time and Opinions
A lot of your free time can be monetized by sharing your opinions with corporate brands. This can be through surveys, user tests, product tests, and so on. There are many sites online like UserTesting that allow you to take surveys or give your opinion on various websites in exchange for money. These can be anything from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars depending on the amount of work involved and the brand in question. All you’ll need, in this case, is a computer with a working microphone and a webcam to record your sessions. You might have to take an initial test session before you are onboarded but once this is done, you’ll get more comfortable with giving your opinion.
Some sites also send users products from brands to test out and give their opinions. In this case, you could get money or a free product or both. The benefit of this type of side hustle is that not only do you get a side income from your free time but you can also get some enjoyment from trying out fun products, seeing cool websites, and much more. You could dedicate as little as 30 minutes each day to these tests and create a stream of side income.
Leverage Your Hobbies
One thing about having a side hustle is that you are much less likely to stick with it if you don’t enjoy it. That is why, as much as possible, you should try to leverage your hobbies and interests into a side hustle. If you enjoy writing, for example, consider starting a blog on a platform like WordPress as both a creative outlet and a way to make some money on the side.
The same goes for arts and crafts, making videos, graphic design, and much more. Sites like Etsy have a large community of entrepreneurs selling hand-made items and this can be a way to publicize your creations. There are also marketplaces for skills like Fiverr where you can advertise yourself and get paid. If you’re able to secure a consistent customer base, your side income can be made with less effort over time.
Your main source of income already likely feels like ‘work’ so your side hustle should be as stress-free as possible. So, find out how you can monetize your hobbies and use this to improve your financial situation.
These days, it’s easier than ever before to set up a side hustle and make extra cash, all it takes is a bit of luck and creativity. From taking advantage of the rise of web3 to getting paid for your opinions, these tips should have you well on your way to a better financial position.
