It was October of 2010, and I remember it quite well.
I purchased my first busienss domain (www.amdwebservices.com), and I was “in business”. AMD are my initials, so creativity wasn’t a strong point back then ?
Zero business courses taken in school.
Not knowing a damn thing about business.
But I was on a mission to figuring it the fuck out.
I attended YouTube University, and self taught myself web design.
I obsessively consumed hundreds of hours of FREE YouTube videos on anything related to digital marketing.
I was 29 and living in Las Vegas, and most weekends were spent behind a computer. That’s the sacrifice I was willing to make. And I made EVERY mistake possibly, and I made a lot of those mistakes multiples times.
I am what you call, a slow learner.
In this blog post, I am going to reveal 4 side hustles from home to earn $100 a day.
I have done all 4 of these over the last several years.
Side Hustle #1 – Social Media Agency
This is a very popular side hustle, and a lot of people (some in their teens) have quickly turned their side hustle into a full-time business/marketing agency. There is a lot of potential as this is an extremely valuable skill, and one business owners can benefit from.
Hold off on the website, logo and business cards, until you get some money coming in.
Most spend way too much time “getting ready” and don’t take action.
Don’t be like most people.
You provide social media services to local businesses. This could include account creation, strategy, community management, content creation, posting to certain social media profiles or running Facebook/Instagram/Twitter ads for the business.
Facebook ads is a popular one, as it’s relatively easy to learn, and can generate massive results for a local business, if done properly.
If you’re interested, I record a step-by-step training a few months ago walking you through the entire process. You can check it out at the link below:
How to Create a Facebook Ad (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
There are several benefits to this side hustle, and here are a few of them:
Low Cost to Start Up
You could get started with this side hustle for ZERO dollars and ZERO cents. However, I would recommend a couple pieces of software to drastically speed up the process. If you work a full-time job, this software can help you automate a lot of the tasks while you’re at work. You don’t need much more than $50/month for this side hustle.
High Profits
Since you’re basically selling your time/expertise, this can be an extremely profitable side hustle to start. It’s not out of the ordinary to start charging $1,000 per month, per client. You have very little over-head (software), so you keep a lot of this money.
Little Experience Needed
There are many people who go out and sign clients, without knowing much about the service they’re offering. Now, I do not suggest doing this, as it’s unethical. However, you can quickly learn about social media marketing/Facebook ads by bingeing on YouTube videos, reading blogs, purchasing courses and/or asking questions in certain Facebook groups.
Obsessively consume this type of content for 30 days, and you’ll be more educated than 95% of the population, if not more.
Those are a few of the benefits, but this is no where close to the perfect side hustles, as there are some drawbacks. There is no such thing as a “perfect” business model.
Here are some of the drawbacks to this side hustle:
Client Work is Tough
Client work can be tough, as each client is similar to a boss. A one-man show can effectively handle 4 – 6 clients, before being spread too thin. You MUST set proper expectations form day one — ideally on the sales call BEFORE they become a client. I find most of these small businesses owners have unrealistic expectations when it comes to social media/Facebook advertising.
Another important note is to set proper boundaries. This is absolutely crucial and something I failed to do when getting started.
Years ago, I had a client who called me on a Friday evening when I was down on the strip with friends. He assured me it was a 911 emergency, and I quickly drove home, as I needed access to my computer. It turns out, it was something small. It did not need to be addressed right away, and could have waited until Monday morning.
That’s just one story, but I have several.
SET BOUNDARIES.
Must Be Good at Sales
This is something most (read: all) courses don’t share with you. To succeed with this, you must be good at sales. This is a sales business, and you have to be good on the phone, talking to people, LISTENING, and handling objections. Sales has never been a strong point of mine, and this is why I struggled in the beginning. Over the years my skills improved, but took me a long damn time to realize how important it was.
Now, I am not the Wolf of Sin City, not by any means. Sales is still something that is a struggle of mine, but have improved drastically over the years.
Side Hustle #2 – Launch an eCommerce Store
This is another very popular side hustle, and for good reason, it can grow QUICKLY.
In June of 2015, I launched my first Shopify, with absolutely zero experience in the eCommerce world. I set up the store on a Thursday, and had my first sale early Friday morning. It was roughly 2 hours after I started building the store.
Shopify is the platform I used, and they make it extremely simple for someone to get up and running quickly. You do not need a lick of web design experience, as they have a plethora of free templates, along with paid ones. I recommend free when starting out.
In June i did about $260 in sales (not profit, total revenue).
July I generated about $2,500 in sales.
In August, I topped $15,000.
It was a quick, fun ride.
Within a year, I had done $272,000+ in sales, from a little jewelry shop.
There are several benefits to this model, here are a few:
No Inventory
For this side hustle, I am going to recommend you starting with dropshipping, as it minimizes risk. What is dropshipping you ask?
Per the Google machine:
Move (goods) from the manufacturer directly to the retailer without going through the usual distribution channels.
You do not need to house the inventory, nor purchase it.
You basically buy your item from the supplier for x, and mark it up and sell it for y. That’s the gist of it.
If you’re looking to get into eCommerce, over the years, I have complied a list of U.S. based drophippers. If you’re looking to save yourself an enormous amount of time and frustration, you can purchase the list below;
>>> Grab My List of 476 U.S. Based Dropshippers Here <<<
Little Experience Needed
Over the last several years, this business model has become extremely popular, so it’s not as easy to crack into as it once was. However, it’s still a very lucrative side hustle, and you don’t need a ton of experience. I know high schools who have six figure stores.
Can Be Automated
Of all the business models I have dabbled in over the years, this was the most automated. My little jewelry store was generating a few thousands dollars in sales, and I worked maybe one hour a day. Now, it took effort to build it, and hire a team, but it’s absolutely possible.
There were days I felt guilty for not working enough, while generating all this money.
It was a weird mental hurdle for me to overcome.
Now, eCommerce is not a perfect busienss model, as there are some drawbacks. In my opinion, the benefits FAR outweigh the drawbacks.
Need Start Up Capital Speeds Up the Process
Money is not needed for inventory, however, you do need to get traffic to your store, and that costs money. Facebook and Instagram are great places to drive
If you’re low on cash, then you can generate traffic organically. this takes work and quite a bit of sweat equity.
This Margins
Unlike social media marketing services, eCommerce isn’t nearly as profitable — percentage wise. Cost of Goods (COGs), shipping, advertising, etc all eat into your margins. eCommerce is in the 15 – 30% profit margin range.
Side Hustle #3 – Website Design
In October 2010, this was my first crack at an online busienss. I started off offering web design to local Las Vegas businesses. This is similar to social media marketing, as you’re providing a service. The benefits and drawbacks are very similar to social media marketing, so I am not goign to list them out again.
The one glaring difference between the two is web design is a one-time payment, so you’re not getting paid month after month like you are offering social media marketing services. This means you have to go out and hustle for new clients each & every month.
Side Hustle #4 – Email Copywriter
The #1 skill an entrepreneur can learn is copywriting.
Per Google, copywriting is:
A person who writes the text of advertisements or publicity material.
In other words, it’s the ability to persuade people with the written word. That is my definition of it, and honestly, I think it’s better than Google’s definition
This is a skill that can make you millions upon millions.
Excellent copywriting is behind every ad you see online (or offline). This is a skill that I am constantly trying to improve, and recommend you study it as well. It can help in many, many area of life, not just business.
Email copywriting is writing emails for businesses. If this is something you’re interested in, I would recommend focusing on eCommerce businesses, as they are able to measure the effectiveness of your emails. This is a service based businesses, to the benefits/drawbacks are very similar to social media marketing.
No need to repeat myself.
Repeat myself ?
Wrapping It All Up
I recorded a video diving deeper into these 4 side hustles that you can watch below. Also, included is another side hustle that you can start today leveraging Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Offer Up. It’s probably the side hustle that brings in the cash the quickest.
You could literally make money in the first 24 hours, if you take fast action.
Check out the video below:
