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sareesinthewind · 5 years ago

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Photo 1: My Ammama's house Photo 2: My home during the 2 richest months of my life Photo 3: The TRO office on the A9 Road, Killinochchi (2005) Photo 4: 2 Grave "stones" of Tsunami victims erected at a mass burial site Photo 5: 69 children, all under the age of 12 perished at this Children's Home in Mullaittivu. There were remnants of feeding bottles, toys, shoes and books strewn around. SHIRANEE ************ 19 February 2005

Hi all When I arrived at the TRO office in Colombo and asked if I could hitch a ride to the Vanni I didn't know they were looking for a translator for 2 French ladies who had arrived with relief items that they wanted to distribute at the camps (known as welfare centres). That is how I met Sandrine and Catherine Chopin (S&C) and had 4 memorable days on the road with the sisters. The trip up to Vanni was smooth (left Colombo at 2am) until we reached the Army checkpoint at Omanthai at 9am. We followed the heavily laden truck (with relief items), by van. The SL Army insisted on unloading the truck to check if we were carrying any banned items (like guns!). They detained us in the hot sun for 3 hrs while they unloaded, checked then reloaded and demanded Rs.1800 for their trouble !! Sandrine was not going to part with the money without a struggle. She asked to be taken to the highest ranking army officer who was rude and relentless while the junior officers were very apologetic saying they were only carrying out orders. We had no choice but to pay the 1800 rupees and get out of there before they thought of other ways of harassing us. While they checked our personal baggage 2 female army officers helped themselves (or thought they did) to 2 of the trauma bears that I had brought. When they finished with my bags, I pretended I didn't understand any Sinhala, grabbed the bears from them and put them back in my bag and zipped up very quickly. They made rude comments about the Tsunami victims being 'lucky' because they received stuff like the bears !!!! My limited knowledge of Sinhala prevented me - I was so tempted to say something which would have been a very foolish move under the circumstances. Arrived at Killinochi (TRO Headoffice) at 3pm, very tired, hungry and longing for a shower but had to go into meetings with the TRO guys who would help us with logistics/direction re distribution. I was on a PC translating and typing lists, 15 minutes after arriving in our homeland - felt very useful and glad to be so. All records are maintained in Tamil so any information needed, has to be translated, which is where I become useful. 95% population speak only Tamil. The 20 year civil war preceding the Tsunami has impeded the education of the younger generation. They had no opportunity of learning English (or anything else for that matter). Coming back to S&C, we got the necessary information and with a guide provided by the TRO we left Killinochi for the Mullaitivu area to distribute relief items - this we did for 3 days, returning only to sleep at 11.30 pm each day. Mullaitivu is about 1-2 hrs by (pot-holed, mostly dirt) road. We visited several welfare centres, all run by TRO. We met victims still in schools (Phase 1), in tents (Phase2) and saw individual homes still under construction (Phase 3) where they will eventually be resettled. Life in the tents is unbearable in the 40 degree heat - very sad. They sit in groups under the shade of trees during day and go into the tent only at night. They have no choice. I managed to distribute the stuff I brought - Karen, the kids loved the trauma bears. They have nothing to call their own and hugged them tight. The stuff that Sue and Kate gave too were gratefully received - very useful. S&C brought stuff that were suitable for infants - we had made up baby kits with about 12 items in each kit before we left Killi. The smaller camps were easy but there was a rush for stuff in one camp that we reached only at 6.30pm. We had to use the headlights of the van to distribute the packages as there was no electricity - this was a bit scary as we were losing control of the situation - people mobbed us and were visibly disturbed that they had not each received something. Those who didn't get anything were complaining to me as I was the only Tamil in the 'team'. Very sad I wish we could give them all something - they had lost absolutely everything - some even had their clothes washed away and found themselves naked when the water receded. TRO is doing a marvellous job with the limited resources. We had lunch at one of the camps y'day and the inmates were thrilled that we shared their lunch. It is not an experience I can even begin to describe. I had the opportunity of talking to many of the victims. A lady who was surprisingly cheerful said she had lost 15 relatives including 3 siblings and 3 grandchildren. I asked her how she coped with her grief - she said being amongst others like her helped her cope. She pointed to the rest of the refugees and said that they were all in the same plight. There was a very young father who blinked away tears as he related his story. He had returned from Dubai when he heard of the Tsunami only to find his wife and all 3 kids had perished. He is not sure if he wants to go back to Dubai to continue his job as a truck driver there. He says he has no one to earn for. There was a lone young woman sitting under a tree - I sat with her for about 10 mins but could not get a word out of her - she sat with her head lowered and was not even aware of my presence. The others told me she had lost her youngest who was born 2 months after her husband's death (natural causes) - this child had been special. She had 2 other young kids who hung around. She ignored them. The other inmates are caring for those kids. Several such stories. It was the fisherfolk who were most affected in the Mullaitivu district. The fishermen, now living in temporary shelters are proud breadwinners and are not happy to live on handouts. They want to get back to sea as soon as possible. I think that is the best 'relief' we can offer them. I have now made contact with Prof. Soosaiananthan who has taken time off from his job at the Jaffna University (lecturer in Fisheries and Aquaculture) to help restart the fisheries industry in the Mullaitivu area. I start work with Prof. Soosai's team today working on the "Back to Sea" project and will be based at the TRO office in Killinochi. The "team" consists all of 3 members including yours truly!! We have an office set aside for us with 2 PCs. I will be translating reports and other data which we will send to people overseas who are interested in helping. Everything happens at snail pace here - so don't expect updates from me too often!!! S&C returned to Colombo this morning and I miss them - we had a wonderful time together with our young muslim driver, Innam and Jeevan the TRO guide - everyone worked so well together. I am beginning phase 2 of my work here (!!) today. Very rewarding time so far and am already sad that almost a week of my 8 weeks here is coming to an end. I will write whenever I find time. I am going to try and attach some photos and hope it gets through to you. Sadeesh the IT guy here tells me hotmail will only carry one photo at a time - will therefore send you separate emails with photos - please bear with me !! Shiranee ************ 13 March 2005 Hi everyone This is another update in case you are interested. I am continuing to enjoy my stay here and find the work very rewarding. I live in a small house built by the TRO for volunteers. There are 5 such houses in one compound but not all are occupied all the time. At the moment there is a couple (retired engineer and wife from UK), 2 young engineers and myself occupying 3 houses. All meals are delivered from a communal kitchen in an adjoining compound. It is quite normal to hear rustling sounds in the house. I am too scared to investigate so I get under my mosquito net (for safety!!) and read by torch light. I am quite often in bed by 8pm. I can ask the watchman (of the compound) to have a look but don't want to - this is all part and parcel of life here. I suspect frogs have decided to keep me company. Plenty of wildlife around. The UNICEF rep here (American lady) was bitten by a snake and was airlifted to Colombo after 3 days at the Killinochchi hospital. I ride a bike to work and back and arrive at the office huffing and puffing much to the amusement of the TRO staff. I am so unfit. At the moment I walk to work (45mins each way) because I have a flat tyre which needs fixing. The sun is scorching hot by 7am. Believe it or not, I have now acquired a tan !!! I work in the office 6 days and teach English on Sundays (after attending CSI church at 7.30am) at one of the orphanages close by which cares for 520 girls and a few boys under 5. I can't bear to go the baby section because it is so pathetic. The kids are very well cared for, well fed and kept clean but there is still that sadness in their eyes. I try and make the lessons as fun as possible - games, actions, colouring etc The Year 9's were only interested in the story I read and explained to them in Tamil. There is a 21 yr old in the office (Akila) who grew up in the same orphanage. She is keen to learn English but all she wants to do everyday is read the Cinderella story - I try to distract her and teach her other things but later wondered if that story is her dream too and whether that is why she wants to read that story over and over again. She is gradually beginning to trust me and now tells me her story - very sad. She has a little sister in the same orphanage and a brother in an adjoining boys home. Her sister is currently down with mumps along with 34 other kids and has been quarantined. Akila told me her sister was tiny for her age (I am yet to meet the sister) because she had only been fed water for the first few weeks of her life. Children as little as 7 draw water from the well, hand wash their own clothes and attend to all their needs themselves - they are so much more independent and capable than our children growing up in luxury in Australia. Another girl (Year 9) told me that she owned a cow called 'Letchumie". She does not speak of her parents or siblings (probably dead, not sure) but keeps telling me she misses her cow and wonders where it is today. Like the Tsunami victims I spoke to, I think these girls take comfort in the fact that everyone around them is in the same plight. Some who have one parent or relatives (who are interested enough) go home during the holidays but the others stay all through the year. One girl even told me that she misses the orphanage when she goes home and feels 'out of place' when she is with her family who she sees only once a year - probably true. My work is quite varied and I am happy to do whatever is useful which is mostly the use of my language skills. For example, I attended the sports meet of a preschool run by the TRO where they teach kids 3-6 years in ENGLISH. The people here are aware of their lack of English skills and make it a priority to learn the language. Anyway, at the sports meet, I was asked to make the announcements in English (I was only there as a guest). The guy making the announcements in Tamil was so professional and here I was spluttering my way through colloquial English - lucky not many understood me!! I am often called into meetings to translate - sometimes challenging and exhausting because I have to be very careful to understand the issues before I translate and get the right message across. I went to Colombo for a day to get my visa renewed (we are only given 30 days on arrival). I managed to get a lift in an air-conditioned NGO 4 wheel drive - sheer luxury. Returned in a TRO vehicle driven by a young maniac with a death wish!! I had to keep my eyes peeled all the way back. We left Colombo at 2am to avoid the sun and also to make sure we arrived at the army checkpoint early. The driver said "akka, keep talking to me, I am feeling sleepy"!! So I had this deep and meaningful conversation which went on for 8 hrs. Thank God we arrived safely - wont be travelling with that guy again. I have approx 4 more weeks here and panic when I realise that my days here are numbered. Will write again whenever I find the time. Shiranee ************ 4 April 2005 Hi all It is with much sadness that I have begun saying goodbye to the wonderful people I have met during my stay here in Vanni. It is so true that time flies when you are having a good time. This is my final update before I return home in a week. People have been very warm and gracious in sharing their stories with me. Every person I met had a story – they had lost at least one (usually more) family member either in the war or as a result of the Tsunami. Displacement has thrust them into poverty. It is interesting how they’d go to the trouble of explaining how well off they were before the war/Tsunami. All the Tsunami victims have now been moved into temporary shelters by the TRO which is a very basic structure – one room and veranda, communal baths/toilets. The shelters are built only 7 mtrs apart from each other – no privacy at all. They cook outside on an open fire. The children in these compounds seem reasonably happy but some have not gone back to school yet. This is probably because they are left with one parent (or none) and have no guidance and support to get them back to school. Several school buildings were destroyed by the wave. Some of the students gather under trees in the school compound for lessons. I have enjoyed sitting cross legged on a mat and chatting with these newly resettled families. Most are happy with the assistance they have received but TRO is not without its share of disgruntled beneficiaries. They are unhappy that they have not been given boats and fishing equipment yet – they are not able to comprehend the mammoth task that TRO is faced with. I had to explain to them that TRO itself relied on donations from the Tamil diaspora and had very little money to work with. Some were also annoyed with people like me (incl. myself!) who come, chat to them and go away leaving them ‘empty handed’. I hope they understood when I said that my aim was to go back and publicise their plight and get more donations so TRO could do more for them. I could easily have caused a riot if I started handing out money. It is very clear that people are emotionally disturbed and the men in particular seem lost and helpless. Some are not coping well with their ‘altered’ social status and stress that they owned big houses with their own generators, couple of boats, trucks etc before the Tsunami. Tamil funeral customs are fairly elaborate and there is a lot of trauma relating to people not having been able to perform the burial/cremation rites for their loved ones who died in the Tsunami. In a sort of compensating gesture there were several memorial functions held on the 90th day of the Tsunami, couple of which I attended. At one such service I met a 45 yr old lady who was terminally ill. She said she lost her husband and all 3 kids in the disaster – she cannot understand why she was spared and attributes it to ‘karma’. At one of the shelters I met a man who kept thrusting this photo of his family (all perished) at me repeating “thanichu ponan” (I am left alone). He had scribbled the names of his family on the door of his shelter. In the adjoining shelter there was a young widow with 3 kids with sad vacant eyes. I have lots of photos but there have been occasions when I have felt it inappropriate to take photos. I have given up trying to make sense of these people’s misery. It has been an emotionally draining experience but very enriching at the same time. Sumathi is a student teacher at the English College run by the TRO. I always spoke English when conversing with Sumathi so she’d get some practice. Whenever she reverted to Tamil I would keep speaking English until one day, exasperated she said “Akka, can we speak Tamil because I want to ‘talk’ to you” . She then poured out her story. She had lost two brothers in the war and her family had been displaced several times. Her older sister fell in love with a LTTE soldier and married him which threw her parents into further despair. Sumathi said she tries to remember the times when her mother was happy (before the death of her brothers). She seems desperate for her parent’s happiness. Interestingly, she didn’t refer to her own grief. I have been visiting a few of the Nutritional Centres run by the TRO. These are places set up in remote villages where malnourished mothers and babies are cared for until the baby reaches an acceptable weight. A mobile doctor visits the centres weekly. The dormitories that house the mothers and children are mud huts with thatched roofs which often collapse during the monsoon season. There is a chart of recommended nutritional meals displayed on the wall but they often can’t afford to follow that chart. TRO allocates only Rs. 25,000 (A$320) per month to each centre for food. This is far from adequate and the kids often go without basic necessities such as milk. With donations from family in Sydney I have arranged to buy 2 cows each for 2 of the centres and 200 chickens for another and also paid for the construction of a hen house. This will now provide enough milk and eggs for the centres and any excess will be sold. The needs are endless. These centres are also refuges for abused women. I met a 14 yr old mother who has been abandoned by her parents for bringing shame on the family by becoming pregnant out of wedlock! The man who promised to marry her had absconded. The centres provide training (cottage industries) for these mothers who are often illerate, so they will have a skill and are able to earn a living when they leave. This email is going out to friends and family in over 9 countries. Some of you have worked tirelessly for TRO over the past 20 years. Having lived and worked amongst these people I can tell you without a doubt that your efforts are not in vain. You’d never find a more dedicated bunch of people such as those working for TRO. They work long days and have a ‘makkalukaha” (‘for the people’) attitude in everything they do. On a lighter note…… Sleeping-in, is not a choice we have in this part of the world – the cock-a-doodle-doo usually starts around 4.30 and goes on until 6am when the last lazy rooster decides to join in! I am usually up and out of bed by 5.30am with absolutely nothing to do until I leave for work at 8am. I lie in the hammock under the mango tree until the sun is up and scorching, around 7am. One of our neighbours must have managed to buy some batteries for his radio – he thinks nothing of sharing his choice of Tamil music with the entire neighbourhood from about 5am and then again late into the night. He plays the music so loud that it is really horrible and distorted. I ride about 2km to work along a dirt road bordered by beautiful paddy fields on one side. The fields were dry and brown when I arrived in Feb but are now being ploughed and prepared for ‘Siru Poham” (low season) cultivation. It is sad to see young boys who should be at school working in the fields. For farmers who cant afford to pay for labour this is the next best thing – to have their children help in the field. Very young girls bring cooked food to the field for their fathers and brothers at lunchtime. I am going to miss everyone here so much particularly the 3 young boys in our compound who insist on doing a ‘full service’ on my bike each morning!! All I need is to have the rear tyre inflated a little. They love tinkering with bikes and I seem to have provided them with the perfect toy. Kate is another Aussie volunteer sharing the house with me. She arrived 3 weeks ago and plans on staying for 6 months teaching English. We both have a session of debriefing at the end of each day which is great. I have been translating for Kate both in the neighbourhood and at the orphanage where we teach together on Sundays. She is now hurriedly writing down Tamil phrases that she can use after I am gone. Its been a lot of fun and I will miss Kate too. This incredible experience would not have been possible if not for the support and encouragement of my immediate and extended family. My employers, Blake Dawson Waldron were generous in allowing me 5 weeks additional leave as part of their Tsunami relief effort. I was therefore able to save some of my leave and hope to come back again, may be late next year. See (some of) you soon. Love Shiranee

#TamilSurvivalStories #TamillStories #Vanni #Killinochchi

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disndatlife · 7 years ago

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99 Side Hustle Business Ideas You Can Start Today

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One of the most common questions I hear is how to start a side hustle when you don’t have any good ideas. This is a little list of side hustle business ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and I encourage you to add your own idea to the bottom if it’s not on here.

The beauty of these side hustle ideas is that many don’t require a huge initial investment or even necessarily a highly specialized skill-set. And certainly, not all qualify as “business ideas,” but each has the potential to earn you money in your spare time.

If you prefer to download a PDF version of this post to read later, click the button below:

Click here to download a free PDF version of this post

1. Affiliate Marketing. Refer website visitors to buy products online and earn a small commission on each sale. This is actually how I’ve made the bulk of my living over the last 10 years, so it definitely works!

Note: Please do me a favor and don’t buy into anyone’s sleazy affiliate marketing “program” or “system.” There are unfortunately a lot of slimy salespeople out there making their living taking advantage of newbies.

If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing, check out Shawn Collins’ Extra Money Answer. Shawn is one of the most trusted names in the business and this super-inexpensive guide is filled with practical and actionable advice. And yes, that is an affiliate link. See? That’s how it’s done!

The next step: Check out my chat with Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, who consistently earns over $50k a month as an affiliate — all while traveling full-time.

2. Airbnb. If you have extra room in your house, you can earn money renting it out to visitors on Airbnb.com. It’s a pretty cool way to make money and meet interesting people from around the world at the same time.

With a little bit of traction, you could even cover your entire rent or mortgage by hosting guests on Airbnb. Have you tried it?

My friend Jasper travels the world while renting out his Amsterdam apartment.

The next step: In addition to a small portfolio of her own short-term rental properties, Zeona McIntyre has built a side business in “co-hosting” other Airbnbs. She essentially acts as the property manager, coordinating guest check-ins, maintenance, and cleaning, in exchange for 20% of the rent — with none of the risk.

3. Alterations. Handy with a sewing machine? I believe the market for clothing alteration is ripe for disruption because of a lack of transparency in pricing. I’ve had some suits altered from a couple different places with dramatically different rates.

Free marketing tip: Post flyers at the gym or other places where people may have lost a lot of weight and need their clothes altered.

4. App Development. The mobile app market is hot, but one developer likened it to the gold rush — where the ones who made the most money were the ones selling the gear and the shovels. Similarly, an app developer gets paid whether or not the app goes on to become a hit.

To learn more about app development and some useful tips and strategies, check out my podcast interview with Benny Hsu, where he shares how he made $30,000 in 30 days on the app store, with no programming experience!

And more recently, uber successful app-preneur Carter Thomas broke down what he’d do if he had to start over.

5. Baking. Do people love your desserts? Maybe you could provide cake, cookies, or cupcakes to some corporate event in town.

Kathryn, my public coaching volunteer, was hustling hard to start a gluten-free bakery in Portland.

6. Becoming an Adjunct Professor. You may need a graduate degree for this one, but it can be a fun way to share your knowledge with the next generation of students and earn some good money on the side — especially if you can teach online or with pre-recorded lectures.

7. Being a TaskRabbit. Task Rabbit is an on-demand errand-running service that enlists regular people to help out. You can earn money in your spare time completing real-world tasks on their unique platform.

One user in Atlanta makes a full-time living assembling IKEA furniture!

The platform also allows for virtual work like online research and other tasks that can be done remotely.

8. Blogging. Blogging is difficult to monetize but can be a fun outlet to practice your writing or build an audience around a particular idea.

Jon Dykstra is the master of quickly building and monetizing blog sites from zero to six-figures, and my friend Rosemarie now earns $20k a month with her blog about frugal living.

Want to start a blog of your own? Check out my free 6-part video course on how to start your own site.

9. Bookkeeping / Accounting / Tax Preparation Service. Help other businesses with their accounting and finances. This can be a great option for people with an accounting background from school or from their day job.

10. Brand Ambassadorship. Big brands are always looking for assistance with their on-the-ground marketing efforts, and pay pretty well for the help.

Kenny Azama explained it’s a relatively easy (and fun) way to earn $1000 a month part-time, and could even turn into a full-time gig. When we spoke he was earning $2k a week on a cross-country RV road-trip as a brand ambassador!

11. Building an Authority Website. While niche sites (see below) get a lot of attention, an authority site has a better chance of withstanding the changes in Google’s algorithm and turning into a long-term asset.

You may not even need to be an authority when starting out. My friend Perrin got a new puppy and was disappointed with the information he found online, so he got to work and 20 months later HerePup.com was valued at $200,000.

12. Building Niche Websites. Building niche sites is a popular side hustle because after some initial research and time investment they can be a relatively hands-off income source. These types of sites generally cover a very specific topic and earn money through advertising, affiliate relationships, or digital products.

Spencer Haws of Niche Pursuits joined me on a podcast episode and shared his exact step-by-step process for creating and ranking a brand-new niche site.

Later, Kurt Elster told me about several fascinating one-page microsites that earn money with Google AdSense.

Want more? Here’s a step-by-step guide on the fastest cheapest way to build a website.

13. Car Flipping. If you’re a savvy negotiator and know your way around cars, you can buy low and sell high and turn a profit quickly with this side hustle.

14. Car Wash and Detailing. A mobile detailing service would be a super-low cost startup and you could get clients in bunches at office parks, shopping malls, schools, sporting events, and other places where cars like to gather.

15. Caregiving. This business continues to grow as the population ages, and popular sites like Care.comcan help match you with customers.

16. Carpet Cleaning. Carpet cleaning would be a relatively simple and low cost business to start. You could get clients on an annual or semi-annual recurring schedule like the dentist.

17. Catering. If you have a passion for cooking, a catering business has a lower barrier to entry and time commitment than say, opening a restaurant.

18. Child Care. Is it just me, or does “babysitting” sound amateur compared to “child care”? Register on sites like SitterCity to begin building a client base.

19. Cleaning Service. It may not be glamorous, but it’s something nearly every business spends money on and usually gets done in the after-work hours.

Cassandre Poblah actually earned $1000 a month doing this part time.

20. Computer Repair Service. There are more computers in this country (including tablets and smartphones) than there are people. The repair market is very fragmented which means there is opportunity for solo-operators to break in.

(image source)

John Rouda offers monthly IT support and maintenance contracts for local businesses, calling it one of his “for-profit hobbies.”

21. Computer Tutoring. Some of the computer skills we take for granted are still lacking for portions of the population. If you can find them and sell them on the necessity of technical skills for their careers, there might be a business opportunity here.

22. Consulting / Coaching. Consulting is an ambiguously broad field, but there are consultants for practically every area of expertise. What are you a relative expert in that others might pay for your advice?

With platforms like Clarity.fm, you can get started very quickly and earn $60/hour and up.

In this episode, my friend Kai Davis breaks down his step-by-step methods of building a consulting business in 20-hours. Later, Jonathan Stark shared his framework for getting a new consulting business from zero to $5k a month.

23. Cover Letter and Resume Service. Especially if you have experience in HR, there is a massive opportunity to help job seekers with their resumes and cover letters. Since the payoff of landing a job is so high, it can be worthwhile for applicants to seek some professional assistance on their documents.

It would be interesting to see this sold on a pay-for-performance model, where you only get paid if the applicant gets the interview.

24. Craigslist Arbitrage. Craigslist and other markets are still filled with inefficiencies that a trained eye can exploit for profit. There are some great stories of regular people doing just this.

For instance, Ryan Finlay of ReCraigslist.com, makes a full-time living buying and selling on Craigslist and stopped by the podcast to tell me about it.

25. Craigslist Gigs. There’s a little section in the bottom right corner of Craigslist (at least at press time) specifically for side hustlers. Check it out and see what kind of gigs you might be able to fnd nearby or online.

26. Customer Service. Some companies are now employing part-time customer service representatives to work from home and handle incoming phone or live chat service requests.

27. Dating. The dating site WhatsYourPrice.com actually lets suitors pay women to go on dates with them.

28. Delivery Service. With services like UberEATS you can earn money on your own schedule delivering take-out orders in your town … and you don’t have to worry about keeping your car super clean for passengers.

29. Dividend Investing. This has been one of my favorite ways of “buying cash flow” lately, and is a simple way to get paid over and over again from work you do once.

30. Dog Walking. Yes, some people are too busy to walk their own dogs. Post flyers in your neighborhood or set up a profile on WagWalking.com.

31. Doula Service. Doulas can earn $500-$1000 per birth, if you’re into that sort of thing.

32. Driving. If you’re free nights and weekends, you can earn extra cash driving your fellow citizens around.

One cool “hack” is both companies offer “Destination Mode”, which basically allows you to earn money on your regular morning and evening commute by telling the app which direction you’re headed and only accepting riders along your route.

33. Dropshipping. Dropshippers set up their own storefront and process sales, but never touch the actual product. Instead, the items are shipped directly to the customer from the manufacturer or wholesaler.

Next Step: I had the chance to sit down with Anton Kraly who runs Drop Ship Lifestyle and chat about how to get started.

34. Ecommerce. Sell products online through your own store or through Amazon or eBay. In this episode, Will Mitchell walked me through how to find a profitable import product.

35. English Teaching. Earn $14-22 teaching English to young students in China via video chat with VIPkid. A bachelor’s degree and a year of educational experience are the only prerequisites.

36. Estate Sale Service. Estate sales are often managed by a third-party company, who takes a percentage of the proceeds in exchange for handling the event. To learn more about this side hustle check out Robert Farrington’s post on Budgets are Sexy.

37. Event DJ-ing. I feel like DJ-ing is something of a lost art in the era of pre-made iTunes playlists, but there are still plenty of events that have a live DJ.

38. Focus-Grouping. I made $100 an hour at an in-person focus group. Here are some companies that facilitate them near you and online.

39. Freelancing. There are millions of people supplementing their income by freelancing in their spare time. You’ll find them on sites like FreeeUp or Fiverr.

On The Side Hustle Show, I really enjoyed hearing how both Gabe and Gina set their freelancing businesses up for recurring revenue.

40. Furniture Making. If you’re skilled in carpentry, maybe people would like to buy your hand-crafted furniture. OK, this one reminds me of Ron Swanson.

(image source)

41. Ghostwriting. With millions of websites all competing for attention, writing is a service that’s constantly in demand. Someone’s got to create all that content, right?

You can start out on your own, or find gigs through the popular aggregating service Contena.

Dayne Shuda even turned his ghostwriting side hustle into a full-blown agency!

42. Gigwalking. Gigwalk is a free smartphone app that pays you to complete small tasks in your neighborhood, like photographing the inside of a store.

You might also check out the similar EasyShift app.

43. Graphic Design Service. Quality graphic design is always in-demand, and never before have there been so many outlets on which to sell your skills. The most popular design-focused site is 99designs, but you can check out Crowdspring, DesignCrowd, or any of the freelance marketplaces as well.

One fun example of a side hustle graphic design business gone global is Design Pickle, where the founder told me, “I sucked at design.” So instead it became his job to match customers with contractors, and less than 3 years later, the little side project was doing $400k a month in revenue!

44. Handyman Service. This is certainly not a great option for my less-than-handy self, but I’m positive someone else with the right skills can make it work. You might try setting up a profile on TaskRabbit (where I connected with an on-demand handyman) or Thumbtack.

45. Home Inspection Service. Certification is required, but this is a viable side hustle because the inspections can be scheduled at your convenience and only take a few hours.

46. House Sitting. I’m more intrigued in house sitting as a way to get free accommodations while traveling, but I guess it can be a way to supplement your income at home as well.

47. Human Billboard. If you’re not afraid of embarrassing yourself on a street corner, there are always businesses looking to hire sign-spinners or people in costume to attract attention.

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48. Hyper-Local Newspaper. Could you start a small newspaper for your neighborhood? Could you sell advertisements?

Kai Davis and I discuss this idea (among others) in Episode 4 of The Side Hustle Show.

49. Interior Decorating. With an eye for design, interior decorating could be a fun part-time business.

50. Investing in Websites. If you have some idle cash and want to put it to work, buying a pre-existing cash flow may be the fastest path to side hustle income.

51. Ironing / Mobile Laundry Service. Holy crap do I hate ironing! I’m certain a decent chunk of the population is with me on this one and would be willing to pay to make that problem go away.

52. Junk Hauling Service. This is an especially feasible side hustle business if you already have access to a large truck or van. Bonus points if you can re-sell some of the junk!

53. Kindle Publishing. Selling ebooks on Amazon is one of the income streams I’m cultivating. I love the idea of having my work for sale on the world’s largest store!

From my very first author royalty check in 2012, I keep learning more about self-publishing and am hopefully getting better every time I put pen to paper … or fingers to keyboard.

I generated 20,000 downloads with my first “serious” book launch in 2014, and my latest title earned nearly $18,000 in its first year.

54. Medical Transcription Service. Medical transcription, which involves typing out doctors’ recorded voice notes, is often a part-time work-from-home position.

55. MLM Sales. MLM (multi-level marketing) programs are frequently derided as pyramid schemes — and many of them are! — but some people manage to do quite well with them, often starting out part-time. Amway is probably the most well-known.

My friend Kellie is crushing it as a Beachbody coach, and shares some of her best network marketing tips here.

56. Mobile Oil Change Service. Save people time by bringing the shop and supplies to them. If you’re comfortable fixing cars, you might actually check out YourMechanic.com, which helps match you with customers in need of car repairs.

57. Modeling. Stock photographers are sometimes in need of subjects for their work. Strike a pose!

58. Movie / TV Extra. Your odds are better if you’re in LA or New York, but there can always be “on location” shoots nearby. Bonus points if you can get your Screen Actors Guild credentials!

59. Moving Service. Moving is never fun, but can be a good way to earn some extra cash on the weekend if you’re strong and don’t mind carrying other people’s stuff.

60. Mystery Shopping. Companies will pay you to verify their in-store or on-the-phone experience, or to spy on their competition. It’s possible to make over $10,000 a year being a mystery shopper.

We live near a place called the National Food Lab and occasionally get called in for taste tests. They pay cash and it’s really easy; just answer a few questions and you’re on your way.

61. Notary Public Service. Notary certification is granted by the state and the cost is generally less than $100.

Once you’re certified, you can charge your own fee to notarize documents, or become a loan signing agent like Mark did and make $75-200 for overseeing mortgage signings.

62. Online Surveys. This industry is rife with scams, so my only advice would be not to pay anything up front to join any company promising paid survey riches. CashCrate appears to be a legitimate operator, and you may find some opportunities on Mechanical Turk.

If you love this stuff, check out Swagbucks and InboxDollars for more.

63. Party Planning / Wedding Coordinator Service. Put your organization skills to good use.

64. Peer to Peer Lending. This is one of my favorite side hustles because it’s automated and passive. Yes, it takes some capital to get started, but I’ve been earning pretty solid returns for the last 6 years.

Related: 79 Alternative Investment Platforms to Earn Stronger Returns, Build Cash Flow, and Diversify Your Portfolio

65. Personal Chef Service. Could you picture yourself making meals in someone else’s kitchen? This could be a good way to break into the food services industry without the time commitment and overhead of starting your own restaurant.

66. Personal Training. People are always looking to get in shape and if you have a passion for fitness, this could be the perfect side hustle.

67. Pet Grooming. Just like their owners, pets require haircuts too. A mobile pet grooming service can be a low-cost part-time business.

68. Pet Sitting. When homeowners travel, it opens up an opportunity for pet sitting services to come by and take care of their animals.

To set up shop, try Rover.com. These three people are all making over $1000 a month watching other people’s pets!

69. Photography Service. This is my wife’s favorite side hustle. Turn your photog hobby into an income stream.

Side Hustle Show guest Vincent Pugliese shared how “freelanced his way to freedom” and went from earning $30k a year to $30k in a day.

70. Picking up Trash. Brian Winch has been doing this over 30 years and calls it “America’s simplest business.” He says you can earn $50,000-$100,000 a year for basically walking local parking lots and cleaning up the garbage.

71. Podcasting. With a unique angle to your podcast, you can attract a large following, which can translate into serious sponsorship dollars. It costs less than you think to start and has honestly been a life-changing project for me.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. My friend Steve Young turned his part-time podcast into a full-time business with multiple streams of income.

72. Pool Cleaning Service. If you live in a warm climate with a lot of pools, this could be a fun and interesting side hustle to enjoy the summer outdoors.

73. Private Labeling. In this side hustle, you identify hot-selling products and bring your own to market to compete with them. There’s an art and science to this, including negotiating with suppliers (often overseas), but Andy breaks it all down for us in this crash course on how to get started with private labeling.

Later, I sat down with Greg Mercer to chat his Amazon FBA product sourcing guidelines and tips.

74. Product Licensing. Who says ideas are worthless? With product licensing you can sell the rights to your idea to large companies, who will pay you royalties for every sale they make from that idea.

I had the chance to sit down with Nate Dallas, who earned $300,000 from Mattel in this way, after licensing an idea to them for a Pictionary spin-off.

Later, Stephen Key stopped by to drop his wisdom on product licensing and why there’s never been a better or easier time to get started.

75. Proofreading. Do you like to read? If you have an eye for detail you can set up shop on Upwork as a proofreader and bid on jobs large and small. I actually offered this service on Fiverr for a while and made some decent money.

76. Raw Land Flipping. This sounds a little crazy, but my guest Mark calls his raw land investing business the best passive income model because he doesn’t have to deal with “problem tenants, rodents, or repairs.”

77. Real Estate Wholesaling. In this side hustle, your job is to connect motivated sellers with real estate investors. You earn the difference between your negotiated contract price and the eventual sales price.

The best part? It doesn’t put your cash or credit at risk. On the podcast, J. Massey shared some more tips on how to find distressed properties.

78. Rec Sports Officiating. Recreational sports leagues are often in need of referees and umpires, and this can be a fun way to spend your evenings and earn a little extra cash.

79. RentaFriend. RentaFriend.com facilitates strictly platonic paid companionship. Friends report earning $20-50 an hour to hang out with strangers. Yeah, this sounds a little creepy and weird but I guess if you’re lonely and have got the money…

80. Renting Out Your Car. In select markets, you can rent out your car on a daily or hourly basis to earn extra cash through companies like Turo.

According to their site, the average car sits idle 22 hours a day, so their service is a unique opportunity to capitalize on those idle hours. The company handles all the insurance.

81. Selling on Amazon. One of the most popular side hustles lately has been Amazon’s FBA program, in which you find bargain deals locally, and ship them off to sell on Amazon.

One Side Hustle Nation reader reports earning $500 per month doing this in his spare time, and a year later was up to $4k a month.

Another scaled this to 6-figures in less than a year, and I even made a bit of money when I tried it myself.

82. Selling on eBay. eBay can be a tough, low-margin, competitive environment, but that’s not to say there aren’t any opportunities left to earn extra cash on the world’s largest marketplace.

I met one side hustle ebay seller who sold $100,000 worth of stuff (mostly used electronics) on ebay in one year, and another who built a 6-figure business as the “Flea Market Flipper.”

83. Selling on Etsy. Etsy is the world’s largest marketplace for unique hand-crafted goods. What can you make?

My friend Kara started selling wine-themed wedding decor on Etsy as a side hustle and since turned it into a full-time business.

84. Selling on Fiverr. Fiverr is one of the greatest sites in the world. The basic premise is “what would you do for $5?” You’ll find everything from hilariously weird and useless gags to legitimate and genuinely helpful micro-business tasks.

Check out these fine Side Hustle Nation posts for more on how to make Fiverr work for you both as a buyer and a seller:

I’ve used Fiverr for graphic design, book covers, website optimization, article writing, and even the intro voiceover for The Side Hustle Show. Lately I’ve been experimenting as a seller on Fiverr, and have found it a pretty successful avenue for selling non-fiction ebooks.

Getting a little more adventurous with my gigs, I got featured on the homepage and was flooded with orders, ultimately earning $920 in 10 days. Later, I broke down my first year on Fiverr, where I earned an average of $500 a month.

85. Selling on Teespring. Teespring is a print-on-demand t-shirt platform, where you can custom-design your own shirts and sell them through the site.

I created an “Every Day I’m Hustling” shirt and sold enough for the campaign to ship, but didn’t earn much on the experiment because of some not-very-effective Facebook advertising. Still, some opportunity here and a friend of mine is doing REALLY well with this. If you can create awesome designs and reach the right people with good Facebook targeting, Teespring can be very profitable.

On the podcast, my friend Benny shared how he built a 6-figure business on Teespring in under a year — even after a pretty discouraging start!

86. Small Business Marketing Service. Many small companies don’t have the staff or know-how to do all their marketing themselves, especially when it comes to putting their best foot forward online and on social media. You can help them with that, much like Sean does in his business.

87. Software Mogul. Software is one of those “perfectly scalable” business models, in that you can theoretically create something once and sell it over and over again.

The cool thing is, you don’t even know how to write code. Christopher Gimmer built his SaaS business by getting outside help on the technical side.

88. Sperm Donor. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a business, but it’s probably more fun than donating blood.

89. Sports Coaching. School teams are sometimes in need of coaching help and this can be a fun and active side hustle.

90. Swagbucks / InboxDollars. Also not really a business, but you can earn gift cards, cash, and other rewards by answering surveys, watching videos, playing games, and shopping online with both Swagbucks and InboxDollars. At press time, both companies are offering a $5 bonus just for signing up!

91. T-Shirt Printing Service. Create silk-screened t-shirts for events and organizations. Bonus points for creating the designs yourself.

My wife and I have gotten into this ourselves lately, but we’ve been letting Amazon do the printing through their Merch by Amazon program.

92. Teaching Music. With a love for music, teaching, and working with kids, you could start a part-time music teaching business.

93. Teaching Online. Udemy is an impressive online education platform where students can connect with teachers from all around the world in any subject. You can create your own course around a topic you’re an expert in and set your own tuition rate.

To learn more about this cool new side hustle, check out my interview with top-performing Udemy instructor, Scott Britton. He shares how he created a passive income stream on a topic he wasn’t an expert in, in just 18 hours!

Later, Rob and Phil shared their success stories as well.

Related: The 134 Best Udemy Courses for Entrepreneurs, Freelancers, and Side Hustlers

If you have an existing subscriber base to sell to, you might be able to sell the course directly and not have to worry about losing margin to Udemy. One resource with some great information on creating your own online course for “passive” income is my podcast with Ankur Nagpal.

94. Teaching Yoga. A certain level of expertise and certification may be required, but becoming a yoga instructor could be a fun and healthy part-time business.

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95. Tour Guide Service. Do you want to show off your city to visitors? You can create your own unique tour experience with the help of websites like Vayable.com, ToursByLocals.com, and LocalGuiding.com.

For example, Alex Kenin leads urban hikers through the hills of San Francisco at $50 a pop.

96. Translation / Interpretation Service. A translation service could be an excellent way to put your bilingual skills to good use. There are always translation jobs on Upwork, as a place to start.

97. Travel Agent Service. Are you a seasoned traveler? Do you always know where to get the best deals and the best experiences? It might be surprising that despite widespread access to travel information there is still a healthy demand both for insider travel knowledge and the hands-off experience of letting an expert handle the booking.

Plus, you can put your travel-hacking skills to the test and earn money at the same time with services like FlightFox.

98. Tutoring. Put that education to use by helping students learn in a comfortable one-on-one setting. WyzAnt is one of the largest operators in the online tutoring world.

In this post, Matt Fuentes shares how he built his tutoring business up to $1000 a week.

If you already have experience teaching or tutoring, you might consider VIPkid, where you can teach English online to students in China.

99. Vehicle Advertising. According to Wrapify, you can earn up to $500 a month by putting an advertising “wrap” on your car.

Has anyone tried this yet? Let me know!

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100. Vending Machines. Matt Miller’s passive income vending machine empire started with just $36 and a bag of gumballs. He’d been flipping used books, but found it took too much time. Looking for something a little more automated, he settled on bulk vending.

101. Virtual Assistant Service. Virtual assistants provide administrative support to clients from their home office. If that sounds like a fun side hustle you can set up shop on your own or jump on board with an established VA company like BELAY or Fancy Hands.

To learn more about starting your own virtual assistant company, check out this interview I did with Lee Drozak, a professional VA who began her firm in her spare time.

102. Voiceover Acting. Companies are always on the look for professional voiceover talent. Once you start listening for it, you’ll hear voiceover work everywhere.

One Side Hustle Show guest reported turning her voiceover side hustle into a full-time gig in just 4 months, earning up to $3000 an hour in the process.

103. Web Design Service. There’s no shortage of crappy looking websites out there. Pitch the benefits of good design and help them out.

Even though I’m not super-technical, I was able to build out a pretty nice looking site in a few hours using this rapid-launch method.

104. Window Cleaning Service. Window cleaning can be a nice little weekend side hustle, and requires minimal startup capital; you may already have a ladder, a bucket, and a squeegee.

105. Working on Mechanical Turk. Mechanical Turk is a service provided by Amazon to help companies complete micro-jobs that sometimes only pay pennies for each one.

The good news is they are relatively simple and fast to finish so you may be able to earn a modest side hustle income in your spare time from home. One reader reported earning $21,000 in his spare time over the last couple years.

I’m not sure the hourly wage will be anything amazing here but I wanted to include it as an option in case you wanted to check it out.

106. Yard Work Service. Much like the cleaning service above, it’s not the most glamorous side hustle in the world but the fact is nearly every yard in the country requires some sort of maintenance. That means there’s a big business opportunity.

107. YouTube Channel Host. Google (which owns YouTube) pays channel-owners to host their ads on their videos, meaning if you generate a lot of YouTube views, you can earn a lot of money with their revenue sharing program.

Several YouTube users report earning more than $100,000 a year, and I recently sat down with Gabby Wallace, who turned her YouTube English teaching channel into a full-time business.

108. Reader’s Choice! Help me out by adding your part-time business idea in the comments below!

from DISNDAT.LIFE https://disndat.life/99-side-hustle-business-ideas-you-can-start-today/

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