Currently, as technology and priorities change rapidly we are seeing the shift of more people making money online. Entrepreneurs show their success but never show how they do it; or explain what side hustle they use and why it works for them. Everyone has a different personality, and some side hustles are better than others based off if you are left-brained or right-brained. So, let’s get into some side hustles you can do off your laptop from home if you are a creative entrepreneur.
Creative Side Hustles.
If you have any design skills, say you are an artist or a graphic designer, there are so many streams of income you could make for yourself. People always tell you to pick a niche and continue down that niche to sub-niches to make the most money. For example, pets is a niche, and if you wanted to continue down that rabbit hole, you would go down with nurses who have dogs. You would then try to create a product that crosses those two niches to have less competition and be successful. However, if you are passionate about something and know your target audience, it is easy to continue making something fulfilling when you want to show up every day to do it. So, if you’re an artist – have a lot of art and want to make some money off those pieces – here are a few ideas for you.
- Selling your work on Redbubble, Society 6, Zazzle, or Merch by Amazon.
These are websites you can upload your artwork and sell it as stickers, t-shirts, shower curtains, or even duvet covers. They have these systems already set up in place – all you is provide your artwork and know your keywords to write your description and title. Then all you need to do is sit back and wait. These websites will promote your products for you within their online eCommerce platform. And each time you sell a product they cover the manufacturing and distribution. So, you make a commission off each item sold. Simple as that. If you want to succeed then you need to promote your products on social media; Pinterest is great for this so is TikTok. If you have ordered samples and can show your product and process, TikTok will work even better for you.
- Creating your website with print on demand.
If you want to build your brand and not use someone else’s eCommerce platform–a great way is to create a Shopify account and open your eCommerce store using print on demand with either Printify or Printful. You’ll be able to set up your systems so that every time someone places an order one of these two print-on-demand companies will print and ship your product without you ever touching it. This is great because you can start creating your label and have more freedom to gain larger profits. The only downside is that you will then have to deal with customer service more often. Customer service mainly deals with someone ordering something not in their size, and the customer wants to return it. There are many other print-on-demand companies out there to work for you, but if you want an international audience – Printify and Printful are the best. For smaller companies, if you want to sell within the United States or your specific country, it is easier to maintain your brand standard and quality control when knowing your printer. Using a smaller printer, besides Printify and Printful, allows your branding to take shape even better. For example: sew in tags, if you don’t want to see Bella canvas 2000 on the label, but rather have someone see your logo in place this is a great way to do that. From personal experience, I loved this journey it was so much fun to order samples and photograph them. The main thing I learned was: how small the profits were per shirt, with all the sew-in tags. You need to learn how to price-adjust if you take that route.
- Middle Ground
If you do not want to use Shopify, but still want to do print-on-demand without using Redbubble, you could use Etsy. At Etsy, technology has been changing quickly, that they have a direct plugin for Printify and Printful to fulfill orders. Etsy is great because you can set prices and have Etsy promote your products for you versus (Shopify) setting up your website and running ads for traffic. The main difference between using RedBubble versus Esty is that you’re creating extra steps by using Etsy, but you could have a larger profit margin. It all has to do with your target audience and your keywords, advertising, and social media. With Etsy there are more options than just print-on-demand t-shirts, there are many other companies that do you print-on-demand, for example: jewelry and metal laser-cut signs. These are high-ticket items that can make you an even larger profit.
At Etsy, you can also create digital products, such as selling your artwork for customers to print at home or digital templates. The options are endless for creating products. Etsy sellers have listings for wedding invitations, spreadsheets, table numbers, business cards, and many other things. You can create templates in a Canva account, create a pdf with the shared template link and have a product quickly.
- Amazon KDP
What is Amazon KDP? It is print on demand for books, as simple as that. If you’ve been on TikTok you’ll have seen a video of people talking about low-content books. A low-content book has the same page repeated throughout the entire book. The only thing designed is the cover. KDP is another great way to show your artwork by using it as a journal cover or as a sketchbook. Amazon offers hardback in soft cover books in many different sizes, KDP is a great way to make passive income after you have chosen your niche, written your description, and book title with relevant keywords. The key to this is to niche down and then niche down again, so you don’t choose an oversaturated market. If you’re trying to put up a journal with a random cover, it is more than likely that you will never be found. Therefore, it is important to do your research to figure out what will sell and why. For example, a scuba diver logbook. You create the design to fulfill the needs of the scuba diver, which is all designed on one page and repeated for the whole book. Then all you need to do is design a cover, throw in your keywords and you’re good to go. It takes a little more in-depth than that to be successful, but it is a great way to learn about keywords and how to use them appropriately.
- Freelance
There are many websites to list your services as a graphic designer or illustrator. One of the main websites people go to find freelancers is fiverr.com. Fiverr is great because when you have listed your service and someone orders, Fiverr holds that payment until the job is complete. This means you aren’t chasing anyone down for your payment, it’s simply ready for you when the job is done. However, they do take a commission off your services based on having promoted you on their platform, which is the only tradeoff. So, if you’re wanting to make custom pieces for people that are digital products, this is a great way to get started. There are many things you can offer, such as: copywriting, illustration, data entry, voiceovers, videography, NFT, or graphic design.
All these options are great for getting your toes wet to figure out how to make money online works. I highly recommend Redbubble as your first stepping stone if you have never done eCommerce. I have sold a ton of stickers by picking specific niches, making drawings, and uploading them, and I haven’t promoted them once — it is a great passive way to make money online.
