Working from Monday to Friday from 9 to 5. Resting only according to the schedule. Having to ask your boss first for permission to take a vacation. Not exactly a dream life, right? Add to that the economic uncertainty that has gripped the world and the rising prices of … well, just about anything.
Which is all to say that today, right now, is the perfect time to start thinking about earning extra money through a side hustle while still working your day job.
Adding a side hustle to your workload may seem overwhelming, but the results will pay off. You’ll have extra money, which means more freedom and financial security. Ideally, you can turn your side hustle into a real startup. This way, you can eventually quit your job. Plus, you won’t need your boss’s permission anymore to manage your own time.
Sure, turning a side hustle into a startup means starting your own business, which means more responsibility and even more work than before. But the prospect of doing something you’re really passionate about while developing your entrepreneurial, leadership, and sales skills and experimenting with business ideas, outweighs all the other benefits. This is why we look for startup ideas every day, literally every day.
But you know what? Stop looking.
In this article, we’ve collected real, not ephemeral, side hustle ideas to help you get your startup off the ground with little to no investment.
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7 ideas for a side hustle that can grow into a business
Stop and think about what you enjoy doing the most (besides your job, of course). Maybe you can’t wait until the weekend to do this:
- Bake cakes for your children;
- Shop for cheap clothes to create stylish outfits;
- Read books about how the brain works and share your thoughts about those books in your Instagram stories;
- Make Christmas decorations out of wood.
It should be something you are interested in and good at. This will be the cornerstone of your transition from side hustle to startup. Below, we’ll look at 7 concrete ideas on how to turn a side hustle into your own business. And most importantly, how to make money doing it.
Breath new life into old things and make money doing it
Today’s world is full of things we don’t need, but which continue to be produced, bought, and polluted. It’s time for all of us to stop and rethink our consumer culture. One way to manifest your thoughts about conscious consumption is to take old things, even junk, and turn them into something modern, functional, and even beautiful. If you’re used to finding old planks and turning them into a stylish table, keep doing it. You can repair suitcases, chairs, and benches, and create mirror frames from unnecessary pieces of wood. Your design will be unique and therefore in demand. Few people with good taste and money want to buy things that everyone else has. They are more likely to buy unique items and designs that emphasize their individuality. To get your first sales, start with free tools like social media. To increase sales, post your products on marketplaces like Etsy.
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Start a podcast based on something you’ve experienced or are thinking about
Let’s face it, the technological tools available today are amazing, and all we have to do is use them to let the world know who we are. Do you have a life experience you would like to share? Or maybe you want to share your knowledge or just your thoughts on life? Do it. Don’t like editing videos or talking on camera? Check out the possibilities of podcasting. All you have to do is
- record your thoughts using your smartphone’s built-in voice recorder or a special app,
- then edit the audio as you need it,
- upload it to podcast hosting platforms like iTunes, Buzzsprout, Podbean, etc.
These and other podcast services have both free and paid options – choose the one that works best for you.
What may seem like a hobby at first has a good chance of growing into a business. You can monetize it by placing links to advertising partners. As you continue to release engaging episodes regularly, you will gain popularity and be able to invite guests to your podcast. Who knows, maybe in a few years your podcast project will be talked about as an example of a successful transition from a side hustle to a successful startup.
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Become a champion of a healthy lifestyle
If you’ve experienced firsthand that exercising, eating right, avoiding alcohol, or other healthy habits work for you, why not share that experience with others? You don’t have to be a fitness or running coach to encourage people to do the same. You can share your own example and simply inspire. Start a blog on Instagram or a channel on YouTube. The latter can be monetized once you reach a certain number of followers and views. On other social networks, you can place ads in your posts or find a sponsor, such as a sports equipment or clothing brand. Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?
You can go further and create a mobile application that covers various aspects of healthy living. You can go further and create a mobile application that covers various aspects of healthy living. Where to start? You can build a minimum viable product (MVP) to test the viability of the idea. This can be a basic application with a few features to ensure the application works as intended. Once the MVP is ready, you can distribute it to early adopters and get their feedback. How to get the app done? That’s great if you’re tech-savvy enough. Otherwise, ask your friends for help or try using free app builders like Google AppSheet, Adalo, App MySite, etc. to quickly go from idea to app. But the most important thing at this stage is that your application is in tune with the needs of your users.
If you live in the countryside, you can grow tea or tomatoes
Living in the countryside not only opens up new opportunities but also allows you to learn something new about yourself. If you’ve noticed that you love homemade tea and vegetables, you’re probably not the only one. There are definitely people among your friends and social media followers who would love to buy natural tea and fresh vegetables. Make the first batch of tea – grow, dry, and package it – for yourself. This way, you can test the technology and make sure the product does not spoil, which means you can safely offer it to your first customers and continue to grow your business. As for tomatoes, this is a perishable product. The solution? Let customers come to you in season and pick as many tomatoes as they need. Start with those who live nearby. The same approach applies to growing grapes or apples.
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Share your artwork and get paid
Check your smartphone. I’m sure you have tons of photos waiting to be seen by the world. Maybe you’re not just capturing moments in your life or beautiful skies, but creating art through your every day, maybe even mundane, photography. Stop storing your unique photos on the back of your device. If your device breaks, your precious photos are lost. Instead, let them earn you money. You might be surprised to know that there are people all over the world, many people, who are looking for photos like yours to download to their smartphones or computers as wallpaper or to decorate their living room walls with. There are specialized sites like Unsplash or Society6 where you can share your work and get paid when people buy your photos.
Become the handyman that everyone needs!
Think anyone can fix a pipe under the sink or a door lock because it’s easy? If so, you should definitely consider turning your side hustle into a startup. Your skills in repairing furniture and appliances are invaluable, as many people have no idea how a coffee maker or light switch works.
If it comes easy to you, you have a lot of experience and the right tools, start offering your services to neighbors, neighbors’ relatives, etc. Over time, you may have a small van to service customers in other parts of town, and even a team of assistants. To increase your visibility, use social media like Instagram or TikTok – people like short videos providing quick results, so chances are you’ll get noticed by the right audience.
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Turn your knowledge into products that generate money
If you’ve been in marketing for a long time, if you can draw, or if you tell stories fascinatingly, then you should create your own training course or workshop. We, ordinary people, need the experience of other ordinary people. You may mistakenly believe that your 10 years of mobile photography experience and the joy of your followers under each of your photos is a common thing. But it can also be a sign that you have good photography skills and can see the compelling story in an ordinary setting. Tell others how you do it, how you got there, and what you learned along the way. What is a common skill for you may be a wannabe skill for someone else. Use Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, and similar services to go from an inspired beginner to an entrepreneur who inspires.
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Conclusion
We have covered several ways to turn a side hustle into a real startup. My main point is that you should not complicate your search, but rather build on what you already know and are good at. Someone is bound to need your experience and skills. Let them know about you. So the action plan might be as follows:
- Review your interests, skills and experience,
- Use free tools to make your startup visible
- Test your business ideas, select the most profitable ones, and gradually scale them to increase sales.
In order not to overload the process of transitioning from a side hustle to a startup, keep working at your main job, but also keep up with your hobbies. That way, you will keep trying and one day it will happen: you will start your own business.
Image by master1305 on Freepik