You only get a fixed number of hours a day. And in college, most of that time is spent in class, studying for tests, sleeping, or hanging out with friends. There’s hardly any time left to dedicate to a regular job and earn a decent income.
The best way to maximize your income isn’t to get a second job on top of your part-time employment. It’s to find passive income sources or monetize your hobbies. In this piece, you will learn how to make some money on the side and start building your wealth early on. Here are seven ideas you could try out:
Create an Online Course and Sell It
Are you particularly good at a specific area/ topic? One way to make money off your skill or knowledge is to create a course. Then, sell it online on a platform like Udemy. While it will take you some time to make the course, you will be earning money every time someone buys/ subscribes.
So, you’ll be earning income for the course merely being there. The more evergreen your material is, the longer it will make you money.
Build an Application
Have a talent for software development? You can make an app that does anything you like and sell it on the Apple or Android app store. Building an app is a one-time thing that will earn you money long after it’s launched.
Of course, you will dedicate a bit of time for maintenance and updating here and there. If you have a good app idea, you can still create one by hiring someone with programming skills. Lots of app developers have achieved incredible success from their applications.
Sell Photographs on Stock Photos Sites
This income generation idea is excellent for a student who enjoys taking photos during their free time (as a hobby). You can turn your hobby into a money-making activity with little to no extra effort. If you have numerous pictures you’ve taken in the past, submit them to a stock photo website of your choice. Then, wait to earn a percentage of the proceeds whenever someone buys them.
Blogs, magazines, newspapers, and different kinds of websites are always looking for and buying pictures online. Some popular platforms you can try include Shutterstock, iStock, Getty Images, Pixabay, and DepositPhotos. If you decide to follow this path, take some time to study the different licensing kinds when it comes to selling photos online.
Audiobook Narration
Do you love reading? Do you find yourself grabbing a book every time you have a free hour? You can actually make money by reading a book out loud to create an audiobook. With audiobooks growing more popular today, you can make anywhere from $100 to $400 hourly by becoming an audiobook narrator.
The investment is quite simple (a mic and a smartphone/ computer). If you become good at it, you can outsource the tasks to other freelancers and earn money while doing nothing.
Flipping Items Online
Perhaps the easiest hustle you can start while in college is flipping items on sites such as Craigslist. You can buy items on flea markets, local auctions, garage sales, etc., and re-sell them at a profit online. The good thing is that you can start with an investment of as little as $20. All you need is to sign up on Craigslist and set up your profile.
Work as a Freelance Writer
If writing is right up your alley, you probably enjoy doing it during your free time. So, why not earn some dollars doing it? You can sign up as a writer for a paper writing service to offer students help in subjects that you are good at.
You could write for blogs, companies, and so forth. Find some niche that you are good at and try it. While freelancing is not really passive, it’s still one of the best ways to make money online at your own time.
Rent out Your Spare Room
If you’ve got extra living space in your apartment, renting it out can earn you income. You don’t need to put much time to it apart from preparing it the first time you start the venture and tiding it up after guests. Airbnb is the most popular, and probably the most convenient platform to find and host travelers in your living quarters.
Final Thoughts
These seven ideas are just a few examples. There are literally dozens of side hustles you could try out. You could also combine as many gigs as you like depending on your interests and free time. Given the little to no investment required, you could begin one of these ventures today.