Examples of side hustlers

Partial post from Creative Money by Mindy Crary

Renee was a client service coordinate for a financial adviser friend of mine.  Her background was in non-profit event management, but she couldn’t find a position in that field with the economy being so tough the past several years.  Her boss loved the fact that she was so savvy at planning and executing events, and she started getting approached by other financial advisers to plan their events too.  Since she can do it anywhere she has a phone and computer, she could easily moonlight after work for four more advisers when her kids were watching TV.  She made an extra $20,000 in one year.

Jay was an IT professional working for a high-tech company.  All of his self-employed friends had trouble setting up computers with the proper software and backup systems, so he started charging a retainer for tech set-up and then monthly maintenance.  This was something he could do from 9-11 pm at night, when his kids were in bed.  He increased his income by $30,000 in one year.

Jeanine worked at one of the local tech companies in Seattle where you’re allowed to bring your dog to work.  She had always loved dogs and her own were agility-trained, so it was easy for her to connect with other dog owners.  She started being the “go-to” person for training and behavioral questions, and started volunteering to care for the dogs when the owners traveled.  By the end of the year, Jeanine had banked the $15,000 she had made from doing pet visits on the side and was ready to launch her full-time pet sitting and pet behavioral consulting business.

Laura was a self-employed small business attorney just getting her business of the ground.  While she marketed and worked on her business by day, four nights per week she was a hostess for a local steak house—a position she loved, since she had been friends with the owners all her life, and had helped them out whenever they needed an extra hand.  Tips and wages covered her rent and groceries so she never had to worry about bringing in enough money when her business was in start-up mode.

Read more of Mindy’s post on Creative Money’s blog >>   Five Steps To Finding Your Side Hustle