An online side hustle can help you with a financial storm or even change your life.
Top 5 side hustles of 2021
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This year has been a difficult one, and that is an understatement. If Covid has taught me anything about finance it is that a three to six month emergency fund, as important as one, will not always cut the beard. Financial self-reliance proves that we have many skill sets and income streams. And that brings me to the importance of sideboards.
Thirteen years ago I started a personal finance blog. The goal was not to make money; it was more of a pastime. Over time, however, it turned into a side facility and then a full-time business. What started as just a blog allowed me to retire from the practice of law in my 40s. This is one reason I believe everyone should start sideways.
With that in mind, here are the top 5 side hustles for 2021. They are all online side hustles as they require very little investment and are lifestyle friendly.
1. Start a YouTube channel
Forbes recently published the highest paid YouTubers of 2020. While the numbers of making millions of dollars from YouTube are slim, countless people making extra money are making videos about it. everything from cats to painting. My channel, which is all about financial freedom, made about $ 250 last month. That doesn’t change lives in and of itself, but I’m on my way.
You can start your own channel with nothing more than an iPhone. In my case, I put some money into a camera and lights. Here is a list of the gears I use:
- Sony Alpha a6400 mirrorless camera
- Sigma lens 16mm f / 1.4 DC DN
- Elgato headlights
- Sound HEiL Dynamic Studio Microphone PR-40
- Broadcast Boom Above Heil Sound PL-2T
- Screen-streaming software
Buying this one at a time would cost around $ 1,500. Again, however, this is not necessary. If you have an iPhone, you can start a YouTube channel. A good example of this is the Idaho Painter, which has renamed its Paint Life TV channel. It started back in 2011 with a very basic video on paint sprays. Today, its channel is a full-time business with over 300,000 people.
Once you reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time, you can monetize your channel with Google Adsense. You can also make money from relevant affiliate links that you put in the description of your videos.
2. Create a Product Website
The second hustle inside is to start a product website. Almost every product sold today pays bloggers a commission when the blogger’s website generates sales. For example, a blogger can create an affiliate link to almost every product on Amazon. Send a visitor to Amazon via a linked link, and you will receive a commission when they purchase the product.
Starting a website today is very easy. Most blogs and even many company websites run on WordPress. It’s free and very easy to set up.
A great example of the product website is the School of Digital Photography. The site reviews and runs cameras and related photography gear. While I call this a product website, it is much more than that. For example, they have created their own courses and e-books. There is also a ton of content on the site that talks about how to use the gear they review and how you can become a better designer.
With a product website, you can choose something that you are passionate about. Anything from golf to mountain climbing could be the subject of a lucrative blog that will both manage and market relevant gear.
3. Publish an information website
An information website is like one with a focus on results. The difference is that the focus of an information website is not to sell corporate products. A good example of an information website is the site I started back in 2007, Dough Roller. (I sold the site in 2018.)
The site aims to provide information to help people make the most of their money. Content goes from how you can invest or improve your credit score, to where online banks pay the best rates. Like a product website, one site based on information can start on just about any topic. Some of the most rewarding topics, in addition to finance, include health, fitness and productivity.
4. Book Review Website
The fifth side hustle online is what I am going to call a book review website. I’m actually listing this one as a way to give you an idea of the different ways you can make money online in a sidebar. A good example of this type of site is one called Brain Pickings.
Founded in 2006 by Maria Popova, she created what I hope is a full-time book-reading business and shared her insights about those books on her blog. It is completely unfair to call a website “book review” on its site. The ideas she draws about life and life are far deeper than just critique. That said, it generates revenue from, among other things, donations and Amazon affiliate links to the books she talks about.
Brain Pickings is a great example of someone making a living doing what she loves.
5. Sell your own product
The final side bustle is creating and selling your own product. Many bloggers have made a fortune selling online courses and e-books that help people learn a new skill. One example of this is a good friend of mine who runs the blog, My Wife Quit Her Job.
Several years ago, Steve and his wife started an online business selling series. You can check this out. Following the success of that business, Steve started his blog to teach others how to start their own online product business. This second business has been hugely successful, and has helped countless people launch their own side.
Concluding remarks
Whatever idea you follow, get ready to roll up your sleeves and work. Any of the above ideas can be successful, but you have to learn a lot along the way. These don’t get rich quick schemes. They are more like working harder than you can imagine, building a steady income stream, and achieving financial freedom over time schemes.
20 years ago was the best time to start a side. It is the second best ride today. Be prepared to work hard with very little to look for first. Stick to it, though, and over time it can change your life.