Since school is starting up again in most areas, moms may find a little more time in their schedules. Why not earn some extra money with a home-based business?

Whether you are a work-from-home mom or work outside of the home these work-from-home business ideas will allow you to earn some extra income without even walking out the door.

1. After School Care

Child care is a booming industry if you are on the receiving end and not the parent who has to pay for care outside of school (because it can be quite expensive). If you are a stay-at-home mom or have a flexible work schedule, you could offer parents in the neighborhood a more affordable child care alternative by starting an after school care business.

Providing after school care is better than babysitting because you won’t have to do it on the weekends or late into the evening if you don’t want to. You can set your own rates and pick up other children after school to stay at your home for a a few hours until their parents get off work. You can provide a snack and services like homework assistance to add even more value.

2. Pet Sitting

Pet sitting is more laid back than watching other people’s children. If you like pets, you can offer to watch over animals in your community while their owners travel, work, etc. The easiest way to find business is to ask around and put an ad out in your local paper or community newsletter. You can also create business cards and ask local pet shops if you can leave them there.

3. Blogging

If you want to try something that is flexible and quite fun, you might want to give blogging a try. Blogging can be a great hobby, but it can also be profitable once you start treating your blog like a business.

In order to establish a blogging business, you’ll need to set up a self-hosted blog and specify your niche and the topics you’d like to cover. There are so many blogs out there these days, but the most profitable ones are the ones with excellent content that also help people solve a problem or overcome an obstacle. You don’t have to be technically skilled as it’s fairly simple to set up a blog. It’s also not that expensive – you can start a blog for as little as $3.95 per month with Bluehost and they set everything up for you.

You can monetize your blog by putting ads on your site, partnering with sponsors, selling your own products and services and affiliate marketing.

It takes a while to start earning money from blogging, but it’s worth it once the dollars start rolling in. Having a blogging business opens the door to diversify your income and even develop a source of passive income that requires you to work less hours.

4. Work-at-Home Bookkeeper

If you are good with numbers and accounting, you can try your hand at establishing your own home-based bookkeeping business. Smaller companies don’t want to go through the trouble of hiring a professional bookkeeper as a regular staff member and requiring them to come into the office each day since most of the work can be done remotely.

There are many CPAs and successful business owners who have created home-based bookkeeping businesses that you can learn from as you’ll probably need a mentor if you’re starting from scratch. The great thing about this business is that you don’t need to juggle a ton of clients to earn a decent income.

5. Social Media Manager

Are you always on your social media platforms? Learn more about social media marketing and different algorithms so you can turn your knowledge and experience into a lucrative business.

I always thought being a social media manager sounded like a blast. Once you learn about effective strategies to help grow a brand’s presence online, there are so many helpful tools, resources and software (mostly free to use) that will allow you to schedule out updates, track engagement, and promote special campaigns.

If you have been longing to work from home and earn an income with a flexible schedule so you can still have time for your kids, any of these work-from-home businesses would be great options to look into further.

Which one of these home-based businesses would you be willing to try?

It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to since I plan to start working from home as a full-time freelancer this fall. Many people reach out to me asking how they can earn money online or if I have work-from-home leads for them.

Sometimes I’m at a loss for words because the truth is, there are so many different ways to earn a legitimate income online. Sure there are scams, but there are twice as many real online jobs and freelance opportunities to take advantage of.

Part of someone’s success with securing online work comes from knowing where to look while the other part depends on what kind of skills they have. Not everyone can be successful with online work. You need to have at least some of the following skills.

1. Writing

One of my favorite ways to earn money online is with freelance writing. Businesses, entrepreneurs and website owners all need writers to produce content for their website and blog. Being a skilled writer can go a long way if you wish to earn money online.

All you need to do is pitch a few potential clients or respond to ads on job boards. Once you land a few recurring writing gigs you have the potential to grow your income by raising your rates or obtaining more clients. Many people earn both a part-time and full-time income from freelance writing so it’s a very flexible gig and you have the power to determine how much you earn.

Even if you aren’t interested in writing articles and blog posts, you still need to have some basic writing skills if you want to find online work. Many online gigs and job opportunities require you to fill out reports, send emails regularly, update social media accounts and so on and you need to know how to spell and use correct grammar in order to do the work. If you’re a good writer but simply want help launching an online writing business, check out my friend Cat’s course on writing for blogs and earn a living doing so.

2. Typing

This is a given. If you’re going to work online, you must know how to type and have some basic computer skills. If you don’t know how to type well it will really slow down your productivity and level of efficiency.

There are quite a few online gigs and jobs like transcribing audio and video, data entry and virtual assistant work that require you to type well in order to earn money online.

If you aren’t savvy with the computer or typing, you can download training programs like Mavis Beacon or visit your local library to see if they provide basic computer training classes and assistance. It will become second nature once you get the hang of it.

3. Word Processing

Speaking of having basic typing and computer skills, it’s important that you know how to use word processing programs so you can earn money teaching other people how to master them as well or offering your services by editing and organizing professional documents.

Almost all companies send out letters, emails, reports and marketing campaigns. Smaller businesses and even individuals who can’t have someone prepare these documents in-house may look to outsource the task to a freelancer.

While a lot of people still use popular word processing software like Microsoft Word, there are many other programs and platforms available to take advantage of these days along with email marketing platforms like MailChimp and Constant Contact. If you learn how to draft, design and edit newsletters using a popular email platform, that can be a valuable skill you can use to market yourself for online work.

4. Helping Someone Set Up a Website

There are millions of websites out there and thousands are still being developed each day. As someone who’s worked in the web design industry for the past two years, I know how high the demand is for businesses and individuals to establish a professional online presence.

If you have skills that involve graphic design, programming or even a general understanding of how to setup a basic website and hosting package, you can probably make a killing helping people set up websites from the comfort of your own home. It’s best to have a portfolio site to help attract clients for this type of work. Here’s our guide to setting up a site in a few short steps and you can get hosting for as little as $3.95 through my Bluehost link.

If you can write, you may even be able to offer marketing copy as an additional service for the websites you help create.

5. Communication

Communication skills are important for any job, but crucial if you are working online. Working from your computer at home requires you to rely on your communication skills more since you won’t always see the people you are working with face-to-face.

It’s important to have proper email etiquette, respond promptly and communicate important information to others.

Clients and employers who hire you to do online work will be looking for someone who is dependable and communicates well. Therefore, you must be a self-starter, able to work independently, and willing to communicate clearly despite working location independently sometimes.

Once you possess any or all of these marketable skills, the opportunities for establishing online work will be seemingly endless.

Have you ever tried to earn money online either as a side hustle or full-time job? What type of skills do you have that have been beneficial?

One of the downsides of working two traditional jobs is managing your daily schedule and trying to avoid getting burnt out. As a parent, I prefer not to be away from my home for hours upon end each day and I crave flexible work hours to a certain degree.

If you’re looking for a lucrative second job that offers stable pay, one of your best options is to find a position that you can work around your day job and other responsibilities. Below are three employers that offer flexible work hours.

1. Advantage Solutions

If you’ve ever seen those people at the grocery store who give out samples of food and drinks and thought: hey that seems pretty easy, maybe I could do it too as a side job, you might have been on to something.

There are several companies that hire brand ambassadors to do in-store product demonstrations part-time or even full-time. As opposed to being hired by an actual store to do demonstrations, most people are hired by marketing companies who have contracts with several different stores in order to reach a diverse range of customers.

Advantage Solutions is a national company that hires part-time Event Specialists to do in-store demonstrations for food, drinks and other products in stores like Target, Sam’s Club and Walgreens just to name a few.

What I like about this opportunity is that the hours are pretty flexible. Most shifts are about 6.5 hours and include a 30-minute unpaid lunch break and two 15-minute paid breaks. Most Event Specialists receive work based on their availability and can either start work earlier in the morning or closer to noon.

Weekend hours are also available making it an ideal gig for people who work the typical 9-5. Pay for this job is higher than minimum wage, and I believe it was recently at least $11 per hour in the Midwest.

2. First Student

School will be back in session very soon. Have you ever thought about driving a bus during your spare time? First Student is the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America. The company has 57,000 employees, 47,000 school buses, and transports more passengers per day than all U.S. airlines combined. Needless to say, there are always plenty of jobs available.

Working part-time as a school bus driver is flexible because you don’t need to work all day long. If you start work later at your main job or have an off day, you can pick up a shift for a few hours and be on your way. First Student provides training to all employees and bus drivers. According to Glassdoor, bus drivers make a starting hourly wage of $14.82.

3. Alorica at Home

Work-from-home customer service jobs are another option if you are looking for additional work that is flexible. To qualify, you mainly need a landline phone, internet connection and a quiet area to work since you’ll most likely be answering phone calls and talking to customers.

Alorica at Home is a top customer service company that allows you to answer customer questions and resolve customer issues from the comfort of your own home on your schedule. The company let’s customer service agents set their own schedules. Employees receive paid training and must agree to a background check that they will not be reimbursed for.

Alorica pays employees on a bi-weekly basis and offers schedules based on a per minute, per call or guaranteed hourly rate. The company does not allow active employees to earn less than minimum wage. In other words, if you want to earn decent steady income with this job, you should create some availability in your schedule to work at least 10-15+ hours per week.

These jobs may not be the highest-paying opportunities, but they offer a flexible way to earn a stable income that is guaranteed each month.

If you know anyone who is looking for an extra job and doesn’t know where to start their search, be sure to recommend these opportunities to them!

Sponsored Posts

If you have a large social media following, brands may want to sponsor some of your content. This means you can get paid to tweet a message, share an Instagram update and so on. Many celebrities do this actually as it’s similar to endorsements. The first two people that come to mind when I think about sponsored social media content are Kendall and Kylie Jenner who are very influential on social media and receive around $300k+ per Instagram post.

While everyday people like you and me shouldn’t expect to earn anywhere near that amount, companies targeting smaller audiences will gladly pay you to post on social media about a product or service they offer.

Of course, you’ll have to follow certain guidelines including disclosing that what you are posting is sponsored and by whom. If you are a blogger, thought leader, or influential business owner, you can sign up with IZEA.com to apply for sponsored post opportunities on social media. This site allow you to set up a profile and bid on opportunities that are relevant to you and your audience. They submit payment via PayPal.

If you’re confident in your social following and would like to work with a specific brand, don’t hesitate reaching out to them on your own and inquire if they would like to work with you.

Monetize a YouTube Channel

There are so many unique YouTube personalities out there these days, but there is always room for more. Video content is very popular and valuable. If you have something interesting to say about a particular topic or if you’d like to show or teach someone something via video, sign up for a YouTube account and post consistent videos online.

If you grow your audience and subscribers over time, you can start to cash in the views on your videos by applying to be a YouTube partner and allowing ads to play before or in the middle of your video. These ads will generate income based on how many people see them. You may not make a killing from using YouTube Partner ads, but if you enjoy making video content and growing your platform, it can be a great way to make some extra money each month.

Sell Products on Instagram

Instagram is a fun platform to share imagery to update others about what’s going on in your life, share inspiration or even promote products. Most users who sell products on Instagram are in the fashion/beauty industry but that is slowly changing over time.

Yet and still, if you have, make, or design clothing or jewelry, sell custom t-shirts and coffee mugs or even reupholster furniture, having an Instagram profile is a must in order to show off your work and connect with potential customers.

You can connect your Instagram account to an e-commerce service called InSelly. This WikiHow article walks you through the process of launching a successful Instagram store step-by-step.

Post Affiliate Links to Social Media

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to earn money from blogging, but you can also use social media to boost your affiliate income. Affiliate marketing basically allows you to gain a commission by referring someone to use a product or service. Once you sign up for a referral or affiliate program, you’ll be given a unique link to identify which leads are sent to the company from you. If you share that link on social media in a tweet, status update, etc., and someone clicks on it and makes a purchase, you’ll earn money as a result.

If you are using a product or service that you really like, see if they have a referral or affiliate program. Odds are they do and you can earn some extra money by connecting others with a quality product or service. Some affiliate programs take a while to payout so be sure to read the details and terms thoroughly. Also, be sure to disclose to your followers that you use affiliate links as this may be required.

Summary

This list has just scratched the surface of the numerous things you can do to generate extra money from your social media profiles. While most of these opportunities will not make you rich overnight, it’s important to understand that this can be a worthy additional stream of income as long as you are willing to put the work in to build your social media following upfront.

Keep posting content consistently, engaging and connecting with others, and increasing your list of followers all the time.

Have you ever tried to earn extra money from your social media profile? Which one of these options are you most interested in?

Getting started with freelance writing is easier than you think if you like to write and don’t mind networking and sending pitches to get jobs. However, there are a few common misconceptions and myths about freelance writing that may deter you from getting started or give you the wrong idea in terms of how to be successful.

Here are the top five myths about freelancing along with why they are untrue.

Myth #1: It’s Impossible to Make a Steady Income from Freelance Writing

This is a common myth spread by people who don’t understand how freelancing writing can be a lucrative side hustle and even a reliable career. Yes it’s true, your income will fluctuate as a freelancer. You may have tons of work one month and then your leads dry up the following month.

However, one of the best ways to make a steady and predictable income from freelancing is to secure recurring work. Ask clients to take you on as a regular staff writer for their site so you can produce articles consistently on a monthly, weekly or bi-weekly basis depending on the client’s needs.

You can also make secure your income by signing a contract with a client that states how much work you’ll receive each month so you can have clearer expectations of what your income will be like.

Myth #2: You Need a Degree to Start Earning High Paying Gigs

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a degree to become a successful freelance writer and often times, a degree or resume is not even required for most jobs including higher paying gigs.

To clients, the most important thing is your experience and knowledge about particular subjects. They tend to focus on how good your writing is, if you have good grammar, and if you present yourself as a professional and adhere to deadlines.

If you have specific life or work experiences that can add to your level of expertise on a particular subject, that can also help you land a higher paying job. Some clients also like to see that you have a sizable social media following so you can promote your work, and they may even offer bonuses based on how many social shares your articles receive.

Myth #3: A Freelance Writer’s Income is Capped

Unlike working a traditional 9-5 job, your income is not limited as a freelance writer. Since you can set your own rates, you can earn as much as you wish. That doesn’t mean that everyone will accept your rates, but you can search more efficiently to find someone who will.

If your expenses increase and you want to earn more, you don’t have to wait until the end of the year to secure a raise. You can start immediately by either asking your current clients for a raise, or pitching new clients and ask for a higher starting rate to increase your income.

Myth #4: Work is Hard to Find

One of the hardest parts of getting started with freelance writing is finding clients to pay you for your content. I don’t like to see it, but some people even quit freelancing early on because they can’t secure clients as easily as they thought they could.

Finding your first few clients is not extremely hard, but it’s not particularly easy either. Competition pay seem stiff but there is actually plenty of work to go around since there are millions of websites and blogs out there.

On the bright side, there are plenty of ways to secure a client shortly after you decide to start freelance writing. You can start by starting a blog to serve as your writing portfolio and comment on other blogs to establish new relationships. If you don’t want to start a blog, you can at least set up an online portfolio or a Contently page so potential clients can view samples of your work. You can start a blog for as little as $3.49 per month when you sign up through my Bluehost link and they will do all the work to get your site launched in a few simple clicks.

You can also start by guest posting on popular blogs and sharing in your bio that you are looking for freelance writing work. Put up a ‘hire me’ page on your blog so visitors can learn more about the services you offer. You can send cold pitches to bloggers who seem like they could use your help or companies that have a blog. Make sure you are emailing the right person like the actual blog owner, an editor, or a content manager and don’t forget to include writing samples in your pitch.

You can also search for work on the ProBlogger job board and join freelance writing groups or get a coach to help you learn how to land gigs. There are even courses available to help you start freelance writing. My friend Cat has a great course that helps you launch your own freelance writing business. When it comes to securing work, you can’t be afraid to network and pitch people about your services. Sometimes you’ll get rejected, but other times you’ll receive a positive response.

Myth #5: Freelance Writing is a Great Side Hustle Option for Anyone

Freelance writing is a good side hustle option but it’s not suitable for everyone. For starters, if you don’t like to write and send pitches for work, or it takes you a long time to come up topic ideas consistently, you may not enjoy freelance writing.

Along with the actual work, you have to send invoices to clients in order to receive payment and may be asked to attend regular virtual meetings which could cause you to spend quite a bit of time at your computer. There are plenty of other active side hustles you can try out if you don’t want to be stuck at the computer often throughout they week.

Does the Honest Truth About These Myths Make Freelance Writing Seem More Appealing to You?

If the pros outweigh the cons and you can earn a consistent income from freelance writing, I’d say it’s worth a try. My freelance writing income has been consistently increasing after I started over a year ago. Plus, I love the work! I was able to pay off a lot of debt this past year and build my savings all thanks to the extra income I earned from freelancing.

Did any of these myths surprise you? Would you ever try freelance writing?

The following is a contribution from my friend Nate at InvestmentZen – on one of my favorite topics, starting and growing your own business!

A couple months ago, Chonce wrote a fantastic article showing you how you could turn your hobby into a profitable side hustle. If you followed the steps there, congrats! You now have a thriving side hustle that’s bringing in extra income, helping you pay bills, pay down debt or invest for retirement.

But what if you want to take the next step and turn your budding side hustle into a full-fledged business?

Having a successful side hustle lets you dip your toes into the waters of entrepreneurship without forcing you to take a risky plunge. Still, there are fundamental differences between running a real business and having a side hustle. It’s important to understand the distinctions so you can smoothly transition from scrappy side hustler to successful business owner.

The Benefits of Having a Business

When you have a side hustle, you’re providing a service (or selling a hand-crafted product) in exchange for money. Side hustles are all about trading your time for dollars. But building a business is a different game altogether – it’s about creating a real asset that can systematically earn money on its own without having to always invest your time.

With a business:

• You’re not limited to trading hours for dollars. Instead, you’re building an asset that will one day let you make money while you’re on vacation, or even in your sleep.
• You can take a profitable business model and combine it with systems and employees to help you scale. Your earnings are no longer capped by the hours you have in a day.
• You’re building a long-term asset that can be sold for life-changing wealth.

Sounds simple enough in theory, but what steps do we have to take to go from side hustler to business owner?

Understand That You’re In The Business Of Business

The classic business book The E-Myth Revisited tells the story of a lady named Sarah, a small business owner who accidentally traps herself in a never-ending hustle. Here’s her story in a nutshell:

Sarah learned at a young age how to bake delicious pies from her dear Aunt. She dreamed of opening up her own pie shop, but when she finally did, she found that it wasn’t quite the fantasy she had envisioned:

“I get to the bakery at 3 in the morning and bake the pies, open the shop for business, take care of my customers, clean up, close up, take the money to the bank, have dinner and get the pies ready to bake for the next morning so I can start another long day. And this goes on 6 days a week, year-round.”

This story is all too common among small business owners. The E-Myth warns us that this happens when the business owner thinks that their job is to be a technician, when their actual job as a business owner is to run the business. Running a business means there are entrepreneurial and managerial responsibilities to take care of as well.

Being great at your side hustle is about being a technician who can bake great pies. But being great at running a business isn’t about baking great pies – it’s about building a system that makes great pies. That’s an often overlooked but incredibly important distinction. It’s about hiring great people to make that system run smoothly. It’s about knowing how to lead employees. It’s about understanding your business model, understanding your balance sheet, running marketing campaigns to bring in new customers, managing logistics and so much more.

The key to turning a side hustle into a business is to understand that it’s not just about being great at baking pies – it’s about business. Let’s take a look at some of the business concepts you’ll have to master as you transition from side hustler to business owner.

Do You Have Enough Margin?
Not every side hustle has the economics needed to sustain a business.

If you’re already charging a premium price in your side hustle, that’s a great starting point! You likely have the profit margin to hire young, hungry, talented workers who can do the work and help you grow.

But if you’ve been charging low prices and barely making standard wages for your industry, you’ll need to find a way to raise your value. You can’t hire someone else to do the work if what you charge can barely cover their labor.

If you’re not seeing enough margin in your side hustle to turn it into a sustainable business, you need to figure out how to increase prices. Sometimes, that’s as easy as just having the confidence to ask for more money!

There’s no one-size fits all answer here. But if you’re stuck, one super important tip is to look at successful businesses in your industry and figure out what makes their pricing model work. If you’re slinging Fiverr logos for $5, figure out how the top sellers on Fiverr are using upsells to increase their rate by 10X or even 20X.

If you want to think even bigger, ask yourself how the top design are agencies charging tens of thousands of dollars for the same level of work. Ask yourself how they got there and work your way back.

You’ll often find that the people charging 10X higher prices aren’t necessarily 10X better. However, they’ve found a market that is happy to pay 10X more for their services because they’ve found a market where they can add more value.

If you don’t have enough margin at the moment to turn your side hustle into a business, your job right now is find a way to charge more for your services.

Create Systems & Processes

How is it that a McDonald’s Big Mac tastes the same whether you’re in the middle of Times Square or in Fairbanks, Alaska? The answer is systems.

Let’s go back to the example of Sarah and her pie shop. How will the business operate when she’s not there? How will the business grow to 2, 4, 8, 16 pie shops? After all, Sarah can’t be at all 16 pie shops at once.

The answer is that she will build systems to guide the business.

A system is nothing more than a series of processes that can run without you. Systems and processes are what will allow you – the side hustler – to automate tasks you’ve been doing yourself. It’s what allows the entry-level burger flipper in Fairbanks, Alaska to cook the exact same burger as her counterpart in Times Square.

As a successful side hustler, your business is nothing more than what you do/build personally. To become a successful business owner, you need to build systems so that the smart people you hire will know how to run your business when you’re not there.

To create processes, start by writing down every step of the main tasks you do. You’ll find that some tasks are easier to define than others. For more complex tasks where independent judgement may come into play, start putting together training materials – film yourself performing the tasks while you explain what you’re doing and the thinking behind your decisions.

For an in-depth look at the power of systems and how they can be used to grow a business and give business owners freedom, check out the book Work The System by Sam Carpenter. You can get a free copy of it here. It’ll open your eyes to the power of systems and how you can start applying them to your business.

Hiring your first employee

Going from a solo hustler to employer is a scary step, but the sooner you can hire someone, the faster you can start growing.

If your income isn’t stable enough to hire a full-time employee yet, you can dip your toes in the water by hiring freelancers. Use sites like Upwork, Freelancer, Guru or Fiverr to take advantage of the gig economy.

Re-investing into your business

Unlike your side hustle where your revenue is basically money in your pocket, building a business means dipping into that cash flow to grow your business. As a business owner, you get paid last while you reinvest into your business.

One of the benefits of turning a side hustle into a business is that you already have a proven revenue stream to fund your business. This means you don’t necessarily have to take on debt if you don’t want to. While I advocate bootstrapping whenever possible and avoiding debt or giving up equity, some business models simply require investing more capital up front.

If you’re confident in your business plan but it requires some funding, you may want to look into a small business loan, taking out a personal loan or finding investors. In many cases though, you can keep your scrappy side-hustling mentality to build a business based solely on your existing cash-flow.

Still, even if you manage to avoid debt, spending half your revenue (or more) on your growing business isn’t exactly a fun feeling when you’re used to putting that money into your pocket. Just remember that it’s a short-term sacrifice you’re making to build a long-term asset.

Hustle Your Way To Business Success

As your business moves away from its side hustling origins, you’ll find yourself spending less time “baking pies” and more time “running a business.” Now that you have a scalable business model, systems and processes and staff to put them into action, what’s next?

You’re still going to have to hustle, but you’re no longer hustling to create “pies” by yourself. Focus your limited energy on the high impact decisions that can help you hit your business goals. Whether that’s hiring smart people or figuring out new avenues for growth, you’re well on your way to building an asset that can change your life!

Photo courtesy of: ©Depositphotos.com/AndreyPopov

Fiverr is a website that allows people to advertise their services and obtain $5 gigs. There is a wide variety of services you can offer on Fiverr including editing and proofreading, article writing, graphic design and logo creation, advertising, video and podcast editing, animation, image editing, voice overs, sound effects and more.

Some tasks require less skills than others and I’ve seen simple gigs such as holding a company sign, singing a song, posting product listings on Amazon, or drawing a picture so there is literally something for everyone regardless of what your skill level is.

Now you may be thinking: How can I earn a profitable income by trading my time and services for only $5?

How to Earn More Money with Fiverr

While customers flock to the popular website in search of budget services, as a Fiverr seller, there are also opportunities for you to raise your rates and use the platform to your financial benefit as well. Many Fiverr sellers start advertising their basic service for a low rate of $5. That $5 service is often delivered in the most basic quality without many extras.

If you want extra services or accommodations, sellers list those add-ons by increasing their prices to $20-40+. That’s when you start making the real money. As you can see in this screenshot below, a seller who’s advertising Amazon product description listing services offers tiered pricing based on the customer’s needs.

If they want a basic listing with standard features, they will only be expected to pay $5 for the service. But if they prefer better sales copy, industry research, and an SEO keyword strategy they will have to pay more.

By offering additional features to your range of services you can upsell your customers and earn more.

Best-Selling Gigs on Fiverr

If you want to attract new customers by getting more gigs on Fiverr, you need to offer a service that is in demand. While it’s possible to earn money doing a wide variety of things on Fiverr, here are the top five services offered:

Graphic Design – If you are creative and know how to use Photoshop or Adobe Indesign to create custom graphics, you’ll always be in luck on Fiverr. Graphic design is in high demand these days as many companies and individuals are in need of a new website, a new logo or other graphics and branding materials. Plus, custom graphics can be quite expensive which is why this genre of work is among one of the top services on Fiverr.

Freelance Writing – If you are trying to jumpstart a freelance writing side hustle, consider starting on Fiverr. Press releases, copywriting and articles and blog posts are most sought after from Fiverr customers. Consider offering a rush fee to increase your rates for customers who need the work completed quickly.

Video Creation – Fiverr can be a goldmine for those offering video creation services. Customers are looking for video editing, funny videos, custom intros and more so you can really have fun with these gigs.

Voice Over Acting – Has anyone ever told you that you have the perfect radio or announcer voice? It’s time to cash those characteristics in. Companies and entrepreneurs who want to advertise a product or service but don’t want to use their own voice will look to a professional voice over actor to deliver the best results. Voice over acting is easy, fun and quite profitable. You can upsell customers by offering more lengthy advertisements for an additional charge.

Proofreading and Editing – Everyone doesn’t have a knack for writing and grammar which is why proofreaders and editors are so valued. No one wants to release copy and newsletters with typos and other errors, so if you are good at editing, you can market your services on Fiverr to help customers release more professional content.

Bonus Idea: Social Media Shares – Remember, Fiverr is not all about having tons of impressive skills. There’s a more laid back side to the platform that allows just about anyone to earn money. Another service that is in popular demand is social media sharing and marketing. If you have a ton of social media followers, you can offer to advertise on your platforms for others on Fiverr. This won’t take much time or effort on your end, and you can earn some extra money in the process.

How to Be Successful on Fiverr

Once thing I should mention about Fiverr is that it is very competitive, meaning there are probably hundreds of other sellers offering the same services as you. Therefore, you need to set yourself apart so you can rise to the top of the search results and gain some new customers. You can achieve this by doing a few things.

Produce High Quality Work – This is no secret, but if you want more customers to come to you and view you as a professional, you need to deliver flawless work. Even if you have to start off earning just $5 per gig, achieving customer satisfaction is key.

Get Lots of Reviews – When you search for a service on Fiverr, the first few people who pop up in the search results are the ones with the most reviews. Having lots of positive reviews on Fiverr is the key to success because it helps you gain other’s trust. Ask each of your customers to give you a review after you’ve delivered the work to them and let them start piling up.

Sell Your Differentiating Assets in the Description – First impressions are everything, and on Fiverr, you only have a few seconds to make a lasting impact on a potential customer. In your profile description, sell yourself and your services by telling others what makes working with you unique and anything you can offer that your competitors can’t. (See example below of a unique description that will reel in customers) Proofread all your writing to make sure there are no errors.

Don’t forget about advertising extra services with your gig description and using high quality visuals to attract new customers. Fiverr is worth a shot for anyone looking to earn extra money with a limited client base.

Have you ever used Fiverr as a seller or customer?

Your dream wedding shouldn’t put you in debt and ideally, you should be able to pay for the special event in cash so you don’t have to go into your marriage with new or additional debt.

Having recently gotten married myself, I can hardly explain the amazing feeling of relief that comes with being able to pay for everything in cash. Since we already have student loan debt of our own among other things, we really didn’t want to add to that by taking out loans and owing wedding vendors. If you have that same mindset, here are a few ways to help ensure you pay for your wedding in cash.

Match the Features of Your Wedding with Your Budget

First, you’ll probably want to develop a specific wedding budget and outline your ideas and preferences. Determine how much you and your partner are earning each month and what seems like a reasonable price for your wedding. If it seems logical that you can only afford a $10,000 wedding, you’ll need to adjust your wedding budget accordingly.

There are numerous ways to cut the cost of your wedding including:

• Having a smaller wedding
• Getting married during the off season or on an unpopular day
• Skipping the venue option
• Having a smaller bridal party
• DIYing your centerpieces and flowers
• Making a playlist for the reception to avoid hiring a DJ
• Hiring a student photographer who can provide professional photos for a more affordable rate

The list goes on and on. To make sure that you can afford to pay for your wedding with the cash, you have to prioritize what you want and make sure you’re okay with getting rid of the things you don’t want.

Open a Designated Savings Account

You’re free to start saving for your wedding before you even get engaged. The early you start setting money aside, the better. Even if you and your fiance decide to open a savings account right after getting engaged, make sure it’s a high-yield savings account so you can earn a little money in interest simply for keeping the account funded.

Some of the best banks that offer the highest rates for savings accounts are online banks like Capital One 360, Ally and Discover Bank- as they all offer decent rates.

It’s not a lot, but it’s better than anything else at the moment. Invite your friends and family to contribute to the account if they can and set up automatic withdrawals so you can consistently grow your wedding savings.

Set the Date Far in the Future

Having a long engagement might help you avoid getting into debt for your wedding. If you are in no rush to get married, set your actual wedding date more than a year ahead so you can have enough time to save for everything. For example, if you and your fiance can only afford to set aside $300 per month for your wedding and get married after only having a six month engagement, you’ll only save $1,800 which may barely be enough to cover what both of you will wear.

But if you save $1,800 during the first six months, then bump your savings up to $500 per month for the next year once you get some momentum going, you’ll have saved up $7,800 over the course of 18 months.

Establish a Side Hustle for You and Your Partner

When it comes to side hustling, two is always better than one. It’s a challenge to manage one side hustle, but if you and your future spouse both start side hustling, you’ll bring in twice the extra income.

You may need to work around each other’s schedule, but your best best is to choose a side hustle that’s flexible and allows you to work from home or in your spare time. Getting a second job can be demanding, especially when planning your own wedding.

But if you decide to freelance your skills by becoming a content writer, virtual assistant or secret shopper, you can set your own schedule and work as little or as much as you want.

Put all the extra money you earn from your side hustle toward your wedding. Then, once you get married, you can either slow down or take a complete break from hustling. You can also monetize your free time by taking short surveys to earn extra cash. Many will help you earn several hundred per month, at least, which can be put towards your wedding budget.

Sell Some of Your Belongings

If you have items around your home that could be worth a decent amount of money, try selling the things you no longer want or need for extra cash. You don’t have to get rid of everything at once, but you can start little by little each month.

You can also host a huge garage sale for a couple of weekends throughout the summer to the amount of sales you get.

Start Living on One Person’s Income

As you prepare for marriage, managing your finances should be a huge topic of discussion. It’s important to determine who will pay certain bills and be responsible for specific expenses you both have in order to keep your household running smoothly.

Among deciding who will pay for groceries, consider cutting your expenses as much as you can while planning your wedding. The first expense to cut should be cutting the cord. You’re likely going to be busy planning the wedding and not able to watch as much as normal. It also instantly frees up $100 per month, if you’re paying the average.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is one option to cut the cord and still get the content you want. The Fire Stick is a one-time cost, often below $50. It lets you access streaming providers, plus watch the content available from the dongle. Check out the Amazon Fire TV Stick channels to see what content you can get from the device.

If you both have jobs, try living on one person’s income for a few months and put a majority of the second income toward wedding expenses.

Even now with saving for big goals, my husband and I have found that we can make way more financial progress by living on one person’s income instead of each saving a small portion of our own income. Sure we spend less and have less disposable cash, but this strategy will help you reach your financial goal quicker and provide you with more motivation to get there.

While loans and credit cards can be tempting, try your best to pay for your wedding in cash so you’ll have one less financial burden to deal with in the future. If you do use credit cards, use them wisely and pay off the bill in full. Remember that’s it’s possible to have the wedding of your dreams on a budget.

Did you pay for your wedding in cash or would you? Why or why not?

Back when I was in college, I tried to pick up hours at work during the summer so I could save up for expenses that I knew would be popping up in the fall, but my employer hardly ever scheduled me for enough hours each week which was frustrating.

I wish I would have thought to start a summer side business back then, but if you find yourself in this position currently, here are a few things you can do over the next few months to earn good money quickly this season.

Start a Date Night Babysitting Service

Take a profitable twist for this common side hustle by offering to babysit in the evenings so couples can have a much needed date night. A lot of parents put their kids in summer camps during the day or daycare if they work, so they may or may not need a babysitter during this time. But for the evening, childcare options run low since everything is closed so your clients will be much more willing to seek out your services. Plus, a lot of couples would probably love to have a date night away from the kids.

If you have experience babysitting, negotiate a reasonable rate and provide the kids you watch after with a fun activity or craft to do as apart of your service, you should have no problem bringing in clients even if you have to start with your family or friends. You should eventually set up a profile on Care.com or SitterCity.com to bring in more clients so you stay busy most evenings.

With this side business, you can still enjoy summer in the daytime as you please and set your own schedule with a few off nights each week.

Yardwork and Landscaping

Get to your neighbors before those pricey landscaping companies do. You may want to purchase a few yard supplies first in order to be prepared. Then, start going door-to-door to see if anyone needs help mowing their lawn, planting or watering flowers and keeping up with their landscape this summer.

You can print business cards for cheap via VistaPrint and offer summer referral specials and discounts to bring in more clients.

Carpet Cleaning

My husband used to work for a carpet cleaning company last summer and the owners made a killing since most people want to get their carpets cleaned during this time of year. I couldn’t shake the thought of how much one person could make cleaning carpets on their own in the summer as long as they had the proper equipment.

Since some customers can’t afford services like Stanley Steemer, you can offer a discount carpet cleaning service on your own. You’ll need to rent a carpet cleaning machine at a store like Menards or Home Depot and purchase trusted stain removers, shampoo, etc.

Rug Doctor is a popular carpet cleaning machine brand to purchase or rent and they even provide their own easy-to-use cleaning products to go with the machine. It would be best to offer a basic service and stay away from powerful chemicals that professional companies use if you lack experience. You can market your service as a discount solution and set realistic expectations for any clients you serve.

Snack Shop

There will be tons of sporting events, festivals and outdoor gatherings this summer. A profitable business idea would be to see how you can sign up to be a vendor and run a snack shop to bring in money at various different events.

You will need to talk to your city officials and local groups and organizations to see what you need to be able to sell snacks at events. You may need a permit to start, but if you stick to simply reselling already prepared concessions and not cooking anything on your own, the process will probably be easier for you.

Sam’s Club and Costco sell a wide variety of snack foods that people can resell in bulk for cheap so you can make a profit. You may also want to look into investing in a snow cone or popcorn machine that you can use to enhance your menu if allowed.

Make your Business a Success

Starting a summer business can be pretty fun and memorable if you stay true to your vision and don’t over think it. Once you come up with an idea that you want to commit to and start setting everything up, start promoting yourself early.

You can post updates on social media, put up flyers in your area, attend local networking events, start building connections with potential clients, and advertise on free websites online.

Aim to keep your start-up costs low if you can and try to set up your business to earn back the initial investment you put in as soon as possible.

Also, don’t forget about sales and offers. Reward your clients and customers with discounts and freebies for spreading the word about your services and bringing in referrals. And most important, have fun with it and manage the extra money you bring in wisely.

Are you planning to earn any extra income this summer? If so, how?

However, I saw and heard of other people earning $100 per hour or more regularly by doing legitimate work. I knew it was possible, and I didn’t sabotage my own progress by casting those people as ‘out of my league’ or believing that I didn’t have skills and talents that were similar to theirs.

If you don’t have a degree or years of experience under your belt, there are still quite a few legitimate ways to earn $100 per hour.

Become a Freelance Writer

Freelance writing is one of my personal favorite ways to earn extra money. If you want to earn good money fast from writing, you will probably want to write for a blog with a client who can afford to pay higher rates for posts.

Writing marketing material, courses, books, etc. is also a great way to diversify your freelance writing tasks, but the quickest assignments in my opinion are blog posts that are 1,000 words or less. If you are a disciplined writer and choose a niche that you are very familiar with, you may be able to draft a quality blog post in an hour or less easily.

Then all you’ll need to do is find a client who can afford to pay you at least $100 per post or $150 per post to account for extra time you may need to spend proofreading and editing.

The great thing about freelance writing is that you can earn that type of money without having a special degree. All you need to do is improve your writing skills so you can meet your client’s needs and build up your experience over the course of just a few months. If you start out with a lower rate, you can always increase it over time and pitch blogs that are for medium to large-sized businesses or that seem to hire a significant amount of staff writers.

You can also take advantage of your network and see if your friends or colleagues know anyone who may be hiring quality writers for their business’ website or blog. I found my first client that paid $100 per 600-word post last year after connecting with a fellow blogger online who happened to be an editor for a large financial website. If you’re interested in becoming a freelance writer, check out Cat’s course to help get you started making money writing online.

Personal Development Coach

Personal development coaches like life coaches generally make a minimum of $100 per hour. If you are interested in serving others and helping them meet their goals, you could become a certified coach. Even if you don’t want to obtain a certification, you can try your hand at being a self-taught coach and help people overcome an obstacle you were once faced with and overcame.

There are many different kinds of coaches including business coaches, fitness coaches, communication coaches, leadership development coaches and so on. As long as you are motivating your clients, offering unprecedented value and pushing them to succeed and reach their goals, a starting rate of $100 per hour is suitable to charge and people will be willing to pay that amount of money for your services too in order to experience positive results.

Start a Blog to Earn $100 Per Hour

Starting a blog requires lots of passion and hard work upfront. You won’t be able to start monetizing your blog well to earn at least $100 per hour until you increase the amount visitors you have coming in each day. Once you have a lot of traffic, you can convert that to income by promoting helpful products and services as an affiliate to gain commissions, posting ads on your site in a non-spammy way, and partnering with other brands to market their business and message on your platform as long as you stand firmly behind it.

Earning money from blogging is not so cut and dry and the amount of work you put in may not always be reflected by what you earn.

The best way to track your blog income and determine how much you are earning per hour is track your time when completing blogging tasks each day or week, then calculate how much you earned at the end of the month.

If you spend 2 hours working on an affiliate post to promote a product or service you like and earn $350 in affiliate sales after your audience reads your post, you’ve earned about $175 in two hours.

If you earn $200 in passive income from clicks on ads you placed on your site months ago, you literally earned $200 in less than an hour and put forth very little effort to earn that money.

And if you accept a sponsored guest post written by a brand you’ve admired and partnered with for $150 and it took you only 30 minutes to proofread the post and put it up on your blog, you’ve earned more than $100 in less than an hour.

As you can see, with blogging the income you earn may vary, but once you build a strong and dedicated following and have lots of traffic coming in through your site, earning $100 per hour is just the beginning. It can be very simple to start a blog it’s the building it that takes time. If the technical aspect scares you, Bluehost offers one-click WordPress installation to get you started. If you sign up through my Bluehost link, you get hosting for $3.95 per month and a free domain name.

Scale Up and Find People who Can Afford your Services

Now that I’ve debunked the myth that earning $100 per hour is hard or impossible, it’s important to realize that once you find a way to earn this rate of pay that interests you, you’ll need to scale up and expand your work if you want to see the true benefits. For example, if you earn $100 per post freelance writing but only write five posts per month, you won’t be earning that much to cover your expenses even though you’ll be spending less time.

On the other hand, if you choose to coach others and expand your client list, charge a fixed rate of $100 per hour and work 20 hours per week with six clients, that’s $2,000 per week. Or, if you create a new resource or market your blog to attract more readers so you can charge advertisers more, you’ll earn even more from your blog than just a few hundred dollars each month.

The key is to scale up. Find people who can afford your services and see the value in it. Trust me, there are many people who pay more than $100 for products and services that are pretty silly or meaningless. You just need to find the people who need what you have to offer and have a stable income allowing them to be able to afford it.

What ways could you earn $100 per hour? How would you go about finding your target audience?