Whether you’ve been longing for a fortnight’s beach holiday since Christmas, or have been lusting after a particular pair of trainers or shoes for months; the chances are the only thing stopping you is your current bank balance.
Taking action and changing a few things in your life, can help increase your income; so it’s time to be proactive, and guilt-free purchases could become a regular occurrence for you. If you get home from uni or work each day and immediately get stuck into your hobby or passion; then why not check out if it would make a feasible small business, for some extra cash at the end of each month. Maybe you craft beautiful, artisan ceramics, or bake incredible macarons that your friends cannot get enough of; you should take your creations and sell them at local markets, or get them up online so that the whole world becomes your potential customer.
If you’re not so good with your hands; don’t worry, maybe you’re a comedy genius and should get out on the circuit every Saturday night. Or, if your piano and singing skills are of a standard people would happily pay to listen to you; there’s often slots available in hotels, bars and restaurants for such talents in the evenings and on weekends. Think about your abilities outside of the office or the lecture theatre, and use them to get your holiday cash. There are also an array of opportunities to start earning and saving cash from what you do online; this is a great option for those that next something flexible that they can use their laptop for, from any location. The following are some ideas, tips, and advice for those who want a spark of inspiration to help them boost their bank balance.
Blogging And Content Creation
If you’ve been blogging for a while now; it’s probably because you love what you’re writing about, and have the passion to continue your blog in the future. There may come a point where you have built up a dedicated audience for your blog and social media platforms, and the numbers seem to continue to grow. If you feel that brands and companies are approaching you with enough potential projects and opportunities regarding your blog; it might be time to start thinking about taking it on as an extra bit of income. Running a successful blog requires plenty of hard work and dedication; however, you’ve already put plenty of those into your work, so it won’t be a shock if you transition into working for yourself or making it a serious side hustle.
There are an array of positive elements to doing extra work from home and for creating your own small business. There is plenty of flexibility with blogging, so you can sit with your laptop after getting home from work or after a long day of lectures. Look into cheap broadband only deals so that you’ll have the means to upload whatever you want, and whenever you want to. You can also head out to some of your favourite spaces to work from a laptop or tablet over the weekend and in your free time. However, you’ll need to motivate yourself each day and be prepared to work even if you’re tired, if you’ve agreed to a deadline with a brand. You’ll can be savvy regarding your extra income, and savings for the future; treat your side hustle like a nest egg for any future ideas or projects
You’ll probably squeeze in your blogging here and there, whenever you have the free time or inclination as it’s your hobby. However, you’ll need to have constant and consistent content if it is to become a successful blog that gets you exciting opportunities and the interest from brands you love. Therefore, make sure you create plenty of content in advance and utilize the array of scheduling tools available so that there’s something fresh going up on your website every day, or on the expected days, at the expected times. Ensure that your social media platforms are working hard to promote each blog post, and research into how to best analyse your data so that you’re posting at the best time for your target audience. Once you get into the swing of a routine; you can get back to the fun of creating content and writing about your passion, and your blog will continue to grow and succeed. Another route to explore in creating content is utilising video production techniques.
Crafts, Talents, And Hands-On Skills
If you’ve got a skill and talent for handcrafted items, you’ll already understand how fulfilling creating your wares can be. You may have already been selling them in a market setting, where people can come and pick up your items and invest in the time, effort, and quality that you put into every piece. There has definitely been a surge in recent years in independent stores and businesses finding a place on the high street and online. People are getting sick of repetitive, generic, and mass-produced things, and are looking towards people like yourself to find something unique and special. Customers are starting to invest in individuals and people over major corporation and faceless businesses. Therefore, it’s the perfect time to grow your independent business a little more, and offer what you create to a wider audience so that your side hustle can fulfil you in more ways than one.
Many fresh brands and independent businesses are heading online, where they can avoid expensive overheads, and have more control over their company, appearance, and how they run things. If you’ve been selling your items in a physical setting already, and they’re a popular choice for many; it’s time to get a wider audience and sell them online too. Much like your market stall; you want your website and store to show off your items, along with your character, as best it can. Therefore, it’s worth looking into developers who can help you to create your ideal internet environment.
Try to keep things as simple and straightforward for yourself and your potential customers as possible. Developers will help you ensure that you’re branding, contact details, and most importantly, your products are visible and easy to access. If someone arrives at your website and finds it easy to navigate and visually enjoyable; they’ll stick around. You want it to be as easy as possible to upload and sell your wares online, and you can still enjoy the face-to-face contact you have with customers when you head to a market or fair in your free time.
Get Savvy And Start Saving
Perhaps you don’t have the time for another job role or task each day, and your side hustle needs to become saving your money. Making better financial decisions, cutting back when necessary, and putting plenty of cash aside for a rainy day (or holiday), can be a job in itself, and will need some thought, effort, and planning. Aside from not shopping in designer stores every weekend, and never eating out in a restaurant again; it might be less obvious how you can reduce your monthly outgoings, which affect your overall annual income.
You might need to take a look a the largest items within your life and see how much they a costing you. Your car might guzzle gas at a faster rate than an array of other cars, so why not consider trading it in for a more wallet-friendly vehicle. Perhaps it’s your rent that’s the biggest expense that you face each month; so consider downsizing, moving area, or gaining a flatmate. Reducing your monthly payments will have a major impact on your annual income. Therefore, it’s worth putting aside whatever you end up saving; so you’ll end up with a substantial amount of money annually, to save or enjoy.