How to earn money on the side

Many people enjoy the rewards of running a part-time business on the side, and some even become successful enough to go full-time, earning good money and building substantial businesses. You don’t have to be a budding entrepreneur to start a side hustle; you can do it simply to earn the cash for a holiday, or to spend on personal luxuries. There are numerous ways to earn a little extra cash, and you can choose to spend as much or as little time on them as you wish.

Choosing your side hustle

Don’t be put off by the current terminology! A side hustle is just a way of describing any kind of money-earning venture that you do in addition to your main job. It doesn’t have to be as elaborate as a small business; you could make commission sales or make regular sales on eBay. If you’re stuck for an idea, there are some great articles online that are full of good ways to earn money on the side.

Old job, new approach

One very good example of how side hustles have developed over recent years is in the field of beauty catalogue sales. For years the Avon Lady would call round to your house with a catalogue, or customers would organise parties where all their friends would come and chat to the Avon rep. This business model is still alive and kicking, but it’s also transforming into a new, modern interpretation.

Many Avon reps are now creating videos showcasing the products and demonstrating how to use the makeup. Beauty videos are big business, and many people are earning good money from their YouTube channels and similar enterprises. The clever part is that you still earn your commission from Avon from any sales placed as a result of someone viewing your online tutorial.

Making life easy

Maybe you would like to start a business, but time isn’t on your side, or you don’t feel you’d have the mental energy to deal with all the day-to-day admin required to run a business. Modern technology and smart ways of working could provide a solution to this problem. For example, if you want to sell online, rather than trying to manage your stock on multiple platforms, which can be very time consuming, you could use an enterprise ecommerce platform like Shopify Plus.

These services enable you to organise sales on multiple outlets, including the online retail giants and social media channels, so you get more time to concentrate on the business side of your venture and not get bogged down in the admin. There are already many more examples of how you can use technology to reduce the time you need to spend on your side hustle, and new tools and services are being produced all the time.

Having some extra money coming in on the side is a welcome contribution to your overall income. That could be a significant help in achieving some of your goals and paying for some treats.