Easy, low-cost "side hustles" can help you make extra money while doing what you love
MINNEAPOLIS -- One way to earn more money goes beyond the typical 9 to 5 job, and you determine how hard you work and how much you make.
When that day job paycheck isn't cutting it, some seek part-time work. But the constructs of a second job, and the hours required, might not fit your schedule. That means hustling on the side.
Nick Loper is the founder of Side Hustle Nation, a community of everyday people sharing advice on how to grind for extra money.
"It has a more entrepreneurial connotation than just bartending or delivering pizzas," Loper said. "When you're doing it on the side for your day job, the last thing that you need is a second job that you hate, that you come to dread doing."
When starting a side hustle, Loper says pick something you're inspired to take action on. Take advantage of skills learned from your day job, from school, even from hobbies. To avoid long hours, make it part of your daily or weekly routine.
"Where it's the same as going to the gym, same as reading books to the kids, it just becomes part of something that you do," Loper said.
A survey asked side hustlers what motivates them. Creating passive income was at the top, followed by diversifying income, then saving for a specific financial goal, and then saving for a specific purchase.
Loper says some of the more popular side hustles that are both low cost and low time commitment include flipping, which involves selling used stuff around your house and buying low-cost items at garage sales to then sell online. There's also freelancing or consulting, which utilizes skills you've learned from a job or school.
Or you could create online content, like a YouTube channel or website.
Loper suggested renting out assets, including things you already have or investing in something unique.
"I connected with a high school teacher in New York who was renting out portable hot tubs," Loper said. "He had a fleet of like 25-30 of these things."
Loper's side hustle in his 20's -- and the early days of the internet -- was a website that compared the prices of shoes across several websites. It helped him quit his corporate job by his 25th birthday.
