Rethinking the Degree and Financial Success
Students are constantly told if you go to a good University you’ll get a high-paying job. But in reality you never know if that’s truly what’s going to happen. The job market has changed and relying society on a degree might not set you up for financial success. As it once did and there are plenty of people who go into jobs or even. Their own businesses that have nothing to do with their degree. I personally majored in Psychology and music at school and obviously I’m not really doing any of that now. One of the most effective ways to increase your income. And have other options aside from your day job is by starting a side hustle. Side hustles have helped me quit my job become a millionaire by 30 become financially free by 31. They boost your income and increase your net worth faster. Learn More
Why Students Need Side Hustles
Side hustles also give peace of mind if anything ends up happening to your job and as a student. Not all graduates land their dream job immediately after finishing. Their studies so side hustles can provide supplementary income during the job search. I used to just make these videos and blog about personal finance investing. Side hustles for fun and now it’s become a six figure Venture. Whether you’re a student or not I think it’s important to explore different ways to make an income.
Side Hustle 1 faceless content creators are making tens of thousands a month making this faceless content with. YouTube Instagram reels Tik Tok. You can make videos where you don’t even need to show your face you just use b-roll with your voice.
Faceless Content Creation
Using AI and Outsourcing
You don’t need to use your own voice there’s sites like the script. And speechify that’ll use AI voices that read your text. Then all you need to do is make the script and you can use a mix of Chat GPT your own writing in and then possibly hire video editors on Fiverr or upwork to make that b-roll for you. There are even sites like Opus that can cut up long form video into short form if you want to focus on long form it AI generates short form videos for you from your long form video. Because you don’t need to use your face you can scale your content machine to multiple channels to make more money faster and then once you get that going you can monetize through ads Affiliates sponsorships or your own products.
Growing Your Social Media Income
Now if you’re confused by that, there are many online resources available on how to make money through social media. Number two is freelance Side Hustle 2 graphic design businesses are always going to need logos social media posts designs for Flyers designs for a website and they’re willing to pay a premium for talented designers. The great thing is it’s all online you don’t need to be there with your clients and the more you practice the better you get which means the more you can charge for your services. In order to find clients you can check Fiverr upwork or directly through social media. You can find influencers who need thumbnails for their videos or Instagram posts. I myself hire for for thumbnails for video editors I have hired for Instagram posts so there’s definitely demand.
Freelance Graphic Design
Specializing and Software Tools
And as you build your portfolio you can consider niching down for example you can specialize in just designing social media Graphics or book covers or infographics. This can make you stand out in a crowded Market which allows you to charge more if you’re just starting out you can start with platforms that are free like canva and then as you get better I would definitely recommend using software like Photoshop or illustrator. Side Hustle 3 selling digital products on Etsy. A lot of people sell handmade Goods on Etsy but they don’t know that you can sell digital products which is even better cuz when you receive orders Etsy is going to automatically fulfill your orders for you as they send the digital file you listed right away to your customers.
Selling Digital Products on Etsy
Low Capital and Passive Sales
The great thing is you can do this with low Capital I’ve made over $3,000 doing this and most of this was profit and that’s because I didn’t have to buy products or ship anything instead I made Photoshop templates and Microsoft Word templates for things like photo shoot mini session templates wedding card templates resume templates and more.
If you’re interested what you’re going to need to do is one you’ll make a digital product which you can do on Photoshop or canva and then you’re going to open an Etsy shop and you’ll put up a listing. The great thing is you don’t need a physical location you don’t need a buy inventory so it’s a lot less risky.
Optimizing Your Etsy Listings
Now in your listing you’re going to make sure to include photos SEO optimize your title description tags your digital products and just like any other business your main focus should always be producing high quality products so customers are going to come back and buy more from you. If you want more information on how to rank your listings and get sales, look for resources that help you make passive income through selling digital products.
Alternative Digital Products
And one more thing I wanted to mention that if you don’t have graphic design experience you can still sell products on Etsy because if you think about it you can sell ebooks courses you can sell Google sheet temp templates. If you are skilled at Excel spreadsheets maybe meal plans things like that there’s a lot of things that you can think of to sell that don’t require graphic design.
This is another side hustle that I enjoy doing because just like Etsy this has also earned me thousands of dollars until now it’s still allowing me to earn passively and it’s called merch on demand which formerly was known Side Hustle 4 as merch by Amazon. It’s a print on demand service where designers upload their original artwork and Designs onto various products like t-shirts hoodies mugs and more. It doesn’t have upfront cost to get started so I don’t have to buy track and prepare any inventory and most importantly when I get an order Amazon’s going to print fulfill and Shop those orders for me.
Merch on Demand
Building a Six-Figure Business
Amazon will take their cut and you’ll get paid out in royalties I’ve made over $60,000 doing this and I haven’t touched the platform in about 5 years. I probably should but I’ve been doing stuff like making content doing real estate investing traveling but if you’re just getting started this is a great way to go and you can build it up to a six-figure business. If you’re curious about it I have a 20 minute tutorial on how to start on YouTube. I share my best practices in creating designs checking for trademarks setting up listings pricing tips and more.
Number five is online coaching if you have a Side Hustle 5 skill that people would love to learn like Fitness language tutoring academic support online coaching is a great way to go.
Online Coaching
Teaching and Scheduling Flexibility
And I personally think teaching English is a great way to go. Because I know you can speak English so you could probably teach it as well. And I’ve gone on sites like I talking and preply to learn. Other language so those are great places to teach English. The best part is with the side hustle it allows for flexible scheduling so that’s perfect for students. And all you really need to do is be able to teach a subject. And you’ll need like a computer setup a mic setup Zoom. For example if you’re gr at guitar you can offer virtual lessons. If you’re a fitness Enthusiast you can create personalized workout plans for clients. If you want to get started you can start offering free or discounted sessions to build up those testimonials.
Marketing Your Coaching Services
And then there are platforms like Zoom or Google meet where you can conduct your coaching sessions. You can also build a simple website or social media profile. That showcases your expertise and this will help you Market your services.
Number six you can sell on Side Hustle 6 Poshmark. Or Depot if you have gently used clothing shoes. And accessories that you no longer wear this is a great place to start.
Selling on Poshmark or Depop
I sold shirts on Poshmark before and the great thing is you can print out their shipping label. So you don’t have to pay for that shipping because it’s all included. The key to success on these platforms is taking great photos and writing detailed descriptions of your items. I do see a lot of products on there with subpar photos. So I think this is where you can shine.
Thrifting for Profit
And then after selling your own used stuff maybe you can go to thrift stores. And clearance racks and buy them and sell them for a profit.
Number seven is freelance writing and copywriting. I Side Hustle 7 know someone who makes six figures on Fiverr writing posts for clients.
Freelance Writing and Copywriting
You might think that chat gbt might be taking away business from you with this. But in reality a lot of creators might need email writers. They’re not going to want to just use chat gbt to make their own emails because it’s not going to be in that right style it’s probably going to sound robotic. But what you can do is use chat gbt to get ideas and then craft it into the style that the Creator wants so it’s a win-win for you you would be able to use chat gbt to your own advantage.
Demand for Email Copywriters
And then make it easier for creators what you can do is go on sites like upwork and freelancer. I’ve hired email copy writers on upwork before so it’s definitely in demand and just like a lot of the things that I mentioned as you build your portfolio you’re going to be able to charge more.
Number eight is video editing there’s just a lot of demand now Side Hustle 8 with short form video Instagram reels Tik toks YouTube shorts and then also YouTube long form.
Video Editing
There’s a lot of Need for clients and you see tons of people making videos every single day. That’s why the demand is there and you can definitely use that to your advantage if you’re able to edit quickly and maintain high quality standards you can definitely charge premium rates.
Software for Beginners and Pros
And then once you get really good maybe you can start your own agency with everything if you’re just a beginner and you want to get started you can definitely check out software like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker cuz those are free. But then once you master that I would definitely upgrade to Final Cut Pro or Adobe Pro premiere. And a great thing is if you are a student a lot of these programs offer discounted student rates so you should definitely check if those programs offer that.
Number nine is affiliate marketing Side Hustle 9 with affiliate marketing you’re promoting a product or service and if people buy from your unique referral link you get a commission.
Affiliate Marketing
This can be done on your blog your YouTube channel or social media profile and a lot of people might think you just Spam links.
Creating Value for Your Audience
No that’s not going to be the way to make money with this you have to create that value for your audience where they will want to buy something from your links. For example if you have a Blog about Fitness you could promote fitness equipment or supplements. A great way to get started is going on Amazon Associates because everyone uses Amazon and what it allows you to do is grab a unique referral link for any product you see on Amazon and then you can promote that. Make it relevant for people make sure you’re creating value for people where people will want to buy through your link. You can also check share sale and impact these are other affiliate networks where you can find affiliate programs and products.
Emerging Affiliate Platforms
Another thing is I noticed that Tik Tok shop has been growing a lot a lot of people are making money through that and doing the same affiliate marketing business with it so you should definitely check that out Side Hustle 10.
Number 10 is website design it’s a skill that’s always in demand for businesses organizations even individual influencers need websites.
Website Design
If you’re techsavvy you have an eye for design this might be great for you. What’s interesting about it is you don’t need to be a coding genius because you can use sites like WordPress Wix or Squarespace where you can drag and drop. But I think you really should learn HTML CSS or JavaScript as you’re getting better because that’s going to greatly increase the value of your services.
Learning to Code for Customization
Because a lot of people will want that full customization on their website so in order for you to offer top dollar you’re going to need to learn these different coding languages. Website design can definitely be scaled into a full-fledged business if you’re getting started definitely practice building websites for free to gain experience use platforms like Wix or WordPress and then as you gain clients create that portfolio of your work to Showcase your skills. Definitely check out Fiverr upwork where you can offer your skills.
Number 11 is eBay flipping Side Hustle 11 flipping items on Ebay has definitely been around GV talks about it a lot where you can buy from garage sales and sell it at a profit.
eBay Flipping
Reselling for a Profit
I even tried it I went to a garage sale I bought some stuff I was able to sell this Rue plushy from win the Pooh it worked. What you should do is check what you have and no longer use and maybe sell it on Facebook Marketplace or Ebay see if you’re able to sell it at a profit. Then once you made a few sales you’re comfortable with the platforms you can reinvest that money into purchasing items at thrift stores garage sales discount stores and then resell them on eBay at a higher price.
Discord Moderation and Community Management
The last one is Discord moderation and Side Hustle 12 Community Management. There are a lot of paid communities and you might be surprised it’s a lot of work to essentially moderate those groups.
Becoming a Moderator
You want to check for good behavior you want to make sure. It’s all civil in there you want to make sure that they’re talking. About relevant stuff that’s what a moderator does. This is going to be really necessary for creators for businesses to make sure. That the rules are followed in their communities. And if you are young students you are probably familiar with apps like Reddit and. Discord so it would probably be more natural to you. What you want to do is start by volunteering as a moderator in a small online community to gain experience. Once you’re comfortable with the role then look for paid moderation jobs on platforms. Like upwork or reach out to community managers who might need extra help.
Conclusion: Consistency and Starting Now
I hope you enjoyed these 12 different side hustles for students. I think they are great opportunities to earn money while still at school without requiring a massive upfront investment. And the great thing about this is a lot of these can scale to really big businesses. And I would say that this doesn’t just apply to students it applies to everyone. Everyone should pick up different side hustles and have multiple income streams. The key is make sure you’re consistent with it make sure that you are willing to learn and you’re proactive so don’t wait make sure to start. Read More