It is very difficult to get ahead and make plans for the future when you are living paycheck to paycheck. Besides the real financial constraints that may hamper upward mobility when you are strapped for cash, the stress from being in such a situation may also affect your level of production at your current job and so put your primary source of income in jeopardy.
If you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, I have great news for you. It has never been easier for a motivated hard working person to make money without having to appease industry gatekeepers. If you have a tradable skill, because of the technologies available today, you can connect with people who are willing and able to pay you for those services outside of the traditional working environment.
The good news is that you don’t have to quit your current job to increase your income. You can earn more money without jeopardizing the current benefits your job guarantees you. This post will show you three reliable ways to take advantage of the gig economy to earn enough money to ease your financial burdens.
Leveraging the Skills You Currently Use at Your Job
If you are gainfully employed at a job, you have skills people are willing to pay good money for. Your employer wouldn’t have you on the payroll if they weren’t able to make a profit off of your labor.
Fully understanding that one of the primary roles your employer plays is connecting you with people willing to pay for your skills can be liberating. Wouldn’t it be great if you could connect with these people directly?
If you work for a test prep company, for instance, wouldn’t it be great to be paid directly by parents of the students you are tutoring instead of your employer? If your employer charges the parents $100 per hour and they give you $30 per hour, eliminating the middleman (your employer) will definitely result in more money in your pocket.
As mentioned earlier, a lot of the things you can do to increase your income can be done while still holding your current job. You can do them in the evenings after you leave work or on the weekends. In the test prep example, most student coaching programs are done either in the evenings or on the weekends.
The easiest way I have found to hit the ground running when going about this is to enter into arrangements similar to partnerships. There are people who currently serve your ideal customer but who don’t offer the services you want to offer.
In the test prep case, if you tutor Physics, you can approach a small test prep company that doesn’t offer Physics tutoring and sell them on the idea of bringing you onboard as a partner. There will probably be students in their stable who wouldn’t mind taking your classes. You will be giving them an additional class to sell to parents and so make them more valuable while giving yourself a semi-autonomous operation that guarantees decent extra income.
Decent Extra-Income Jobs That Will Only Cost You Your Time
People’s interconnectedness has created a lot of opportunities to serve and earn money without having to learn any new skills. If you know how to drive, you can work as an Uber or Lyft driver in your free time. If you love shopping, you can become a personal shopper for those strapped for time. The options are pretty much endless.
The beauty of these new service jobs is that there are several apps and guides that can get you up to speed on the industry of your choice in less than a day. If you choose to work as an Uber driver in your free time, you will have access to several apps that can tell you anything from where to get the best fuel prices to the best times to drive Uber.
Further, there are new technologies and services that have brought these service jobs to the 21st century. For instance, Uber drivers have dash cams, access to emergency services that arrive in minutes in case a car breaks down, forums to connect with other drivers, and opportunities to earn extra cash through in-car advertisements.
Online Freelancing Opportunities
Online freelancing platforms such as UpWork and Freelancer.com have a consistent stream of people looking to hire service providers to help them with their projects. These sites have freelancers from all over the world and the skills on offer are as varied as the jobs posted.
Some of the popular skills on demand on job boards include writing, search engine optimization, graphic design, web development, app development, data entry, transcription, voiceover work, and research. With just an internet connection and a laptop, you can start working as an online freelancer and earn decent money on the side.
The barriers to entry are almost non-existent. As long as you are motivated and have enough self-discipline to work unsupervised, you can make it as an online freelancer. If you already have a job, you can work on your freelancing projects in the morning before you depart for work, in the evenings after work, or over the weekend.
