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Three Ways You Can Make Money Online Today

In 2020, a growing number of people are exploring the possibility of multiple and alternative sources of income. This is an endeavor that rewards diligence, decisiveness and ingenuity. Above all else, making extra income requires an open mind. If you have a laptop and any of the traits listed above, you may be able to earn money in your spare time!

Freelance Work With Sites Like UpWork and Fiverr

Do you have any skills, talents or certifications? Maybe you can draw really well or have a knack for graphic design? Perhaps coding is a skill you possess, or software engineering? Google ads? Film editing or production? Or maybe you’re like me and you (hopefully) have strong writing skills? Even if none of the above apply to you, I highly encourage you to spend a few minutes on each of the above platforms browsing the diverse and numerous jobs up for grabs.

You may be surprised to find out that you indeed do have a marketable skill. Results may not occur overnight, and the most successful freelancers devote the time necessary to build a portfolio to help them win the jobs they want.

If you’re interested in a specific field or type of freelance work then you can find highly specialized platforms or companies that can provide you with more lucrative and specialized jobs. To do so, simply run a quick google search for your specialty and include “freelance jobs” (for instance “xyz freelance jobs”). Look for job boards, forums, blogs or services that relate to your particular niche and get involved. It’s going to pay off to out in some solid research and elbow grease in this area, make no doubt about it.

Skilled freelancers with solid portfolios and references will be the ones most likely to acquire recurring business from reputable clients, and that’s where the real money is to be made. In order to get there though, you may have to start small, completing projects at no cost during the portfolio-building process is not altogether uncommon, while freelance veterans can make hundreds or even thousands on just one project.

Selling Online with eBay and Marketplace etc

I won’t go into vast detail about the nuances of different platforms. Beyond a basic description of each platform I’ll provide you with a link to a more specific article or blog that talks about each one more in depth.

A friend of mine told me years ago about how they paid their mortgage with money they made on eBay. Intrigued, I asked him to tell me how he did it. If you’re a hustler, like my friend is, you can actually make good money on high end clothing bought low and sold high. By tapping into the local market and hunting the best deals, you can get high-end fashion at low prices and make a bunch of profit selling it on eBay. Try attending local estate sales and yardsales in good parts of town, some stores like goodwill may even have really nice things at insanely low prices (like a Cartier watch for 100 dollars) if you go to ones in the more affluent sections of your city.

There are stores such as Nordstroms rack which offer high-end merchandise at moderately discounted prices, and if you know what to look for you can make a profit reselling that merchandise on eBay (here is a beginners guide to ebay selling that can teach you more about the ins and outs of being an eBay seller).

If you’re committed enough to hustling up some extra cash, you can post items for sale locally. You might have different levels of success with certain items locally than you would on eBay, but I’ve found some of the best items to sell include electronics, game consoles, jewelry and tools. If you need some inspiration in the realm of profitable items to invest in look here.

Working Remotely Part Time

One advantage of belonging to today’s world is that many things are just a keystroke away from making you a dollar. You can get hired for a variety of different companies in a myriad of roles and never even have to commute to work.

In general, companies offering remote positions will require you to have a distraction free workplace, a dedicated internet connection that meets speed requirements, sometimes a phone line and, at some companies, a door that shuts.

Check out our article on 5 of the Best Remote Work From Home Opportunities for a comprehensive guide that provides you with companies that hire remotely, what they typically pay their remote workers, if they provide equipment or not and tips to get you hired.

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Top Three Side Hustles in 2020

Things change really fast these days. Really fast. The thing about constant change is that you have to be quick in order to keep up with the pace. You have to learn quickly and adapt even faster! Lots of savvy everyday people have turned to side hustles in order to keep their wallets lined with cash.

1. Drive Into the Gig Economy

The most accessible of these is diving into the so-called gig economy. If you have a driver’s license the options open to you are pretty extensive. Even if you don’t have a car, profitable rideshare companies like Lyft, and Uber are actually willing to lease you a vehicle to use provided you commit to giving a given number of rides per week and pay their weekly fee. Companies like these will pay you to download their app and hop on for some dedicated drive time.

If you’re not into giving people rides but still want to use your car to make money in your free time (or some do it full-time! Check out this blog about being a fulltime driver with lyft or uber!) you can look into other drive-oriented gigs like postmates, doordash, grubhub or ubereats that allow you to work on demand as a delivery driver, bringing people food from local restaurants. Ubereats drivers can expect to earn between 8-12 dollars an hour after vehicle expenses such as gas and maintenance are factored in, although day to day take home pay can fluctuate depending on which hours you work and the tips that you get that day.

When deciding to drive part time with any of these food delivery services it’s crucial that you work the lunch and dinner rushes if you wish to be on the higher end of the payscale.

There are also some companies such as InstaCart that place you in the role of personal shopper for profit and ask you to shop for and then deliver groceries to people who place orders online. Instacart operates in thousands of cities nationwide and some people like the guy in this video have had some fabulous results working for Instacart

If driving isn’t really your thing, you can check out apps like Instawork which is a really great platform where local businesses post requests to have positions filled on short notice. It’s basically a virtual temp agency that relies on crowdsourcing to meet the labor related needs of various companies. The sign up process is pretty straightforward, although in order to access most of the really good gigs you’ll need to provide some documentation and register as a w-2 eligible employee.

Pay varies from location to location; however, most of my experience with this app has earned pay rates handsomely above minimum wage. The best thing about Instawork in my experience has been that there is no shortage of work available. Types of jobs you can expect to see will vary from labor to administrative to food service. In order to link you up with the most compatible jobs Instawork will ask you a short set of questions during the signup process.

. Another neat one to look into is TaskRabbit which connects freelancers with local customers doing things such as cleaning, delivery, handyman services and more. I personally don’t have much experience with this app, but I’ve spoken to several people who do and it always came recommended. Check out this article for a full run-down on Taskrabbit.

For those of you out there with hospitality experience there’s a service called Qwick which hooks local talent up with resorts and restaurants in need. I made 20 dollars an hour for washing dishes, even. Bartending and serving gigs tend to pay more than that! Go to their website and see if they operate in your location.

To get set up with qwick you will need to attend an orientation hosted at a local resort, usually, where you will complete the companies onboarding process. From there you will receive text message notifications whenever there are available relevant shifts up for grabs.

2. Buy/Sell Locally

This one can be a bit elusive and involves some cash up front but can be very lucrative when done with savvy and discipline. For the sake of this article, we’re going to assume you know all about apps like OfferUp and platforms like facebook marketplace. Well have you ever noticed how there are some really great deals to be found there? That’s because there are! Consistently! Start with familiar territory here and pick items you are knowledgeable about (I picked electronics, bicycles and tools. A friend of mine picked car stereo equipment, jewelry and sports equipment.). Find these items for a great price, assess their condition and price out any necessary modifications or repairs. If you plan on selling the item for more than you paid for it and any parts/labor that went into it, you are left making a profit.

Some things to keep in mind while you’re getting started buying/selling locally as a side hustle-

You are not obligated to buy something just because you agree to meet someone. If you get there and the item isn’t as described or they try to mess around with you on price, feel free to walk away.
People will often be more flexible than you might think when it comes to what sort of price they’ll agree to. If someone has it up for 60 dollars and you want it for 50, ask them if they’ll take 40, and so forth.
Keep records of transactions so you can monitor profitability. By doing this you will be able to (over time) identify your most profitable types of items and spend more time buying/selling these instead of lower margin ones. See this article about the Pareto Principal for a deeper understanding of what I’m talking about here.

While this side hustle won’t make you rich overnight, I have managed to make upwards of 500 dollars a month in profit with a fairly minimal amount of time invested. Just make sure you buy low and sell high, don’t be afraid to leave your item on the market for a while until you get an offer you like.

Just make sure you keep records and only mess with the most profitable items!

3. Airbnb

For those of you that own your own homes, looking into Airbnb as a method of generating income could turn out to be quite lucrative for you. As a matter of fact, the average expected income for Airbnb hosts renting out two bedroom apartments or homes is about 20k! See what people have to say about being an Airbnb host and get helpful tips here!

Whether you choose to rent space within your own home or to rent out space at a dedicated property, is entirely up to you. A growing number of seniors are choosing to participate as Airbnb hosts! Worldwide there are usually about 2 million people per night staying in an Airbnb location with over 500k bookings a day. Check out their website if you’re interested in becoming a host with Airbnb.

Some cool features of the platform include: the ability to set prices yourself, no minimum or maximum amount of hosting time, set your own rules and requirements for guests and a helpful community center loaded with tips and support for hosts hoping to maximize their earnings!

Gig Economy & the Future of Work – Productivity Hub

https://productivityhub.org/2019/07/02/gig-economy-the-future-of-work/

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Five Immediate and Legitimate Work From Home Jobs

In today’s world, the number of people who are electing to telecommute at least some of the time is staggering. For some though, working remotely all the time is what’s desired. If you are one of those people then check out this list of five legit work from home opportunities that will enable you to do just that.

1. Apple – At Home Advisor 30-31k/year

Watch Apple’s own video about being an at-home advisor! Sound like something you might be into? Apple at-home advisors work as remote call center employees that assist Apple customers with Apple products mostly via troubleshooting. As a non-student employee you will be required to commit to at least 20 hours of work a week, sometimes more depending upon need. You may be asked to work nights and weekends.

It’s important that you understand being bilingual is basically a must.

Some of these positions are phone based and others are virtual chat positions, while some employ a mixture of the two. If you’re interested in a chat based position you must be able to type at least 40 words per minute.

You will receive a headset and computer for use during your time with Apple, which is a huge plus! Requirements are: a room with a door to keep out noise, a desk, an ergonomic chair, a dedicated telephone line and an internet connection meeting certain criteria.

Glassdoors website reports that at home customer service specialists with Apple make an average reported salary of 31k a year. In order to apply for one of these jobs visit Apple’s jobs board.

Keep in mind, Apple hires in over thirty states around the U.S. and a limited number of locations outside of the U.S.

Read this comprehensive article to learn everything you need to know about the position, then watch this video to learn how to land it!

2. American Express – Virtual Customer Care Specialist 16.13/hour base pay rate

If you live in the U.S. you could consider applying to this position with Amex. It will be your job to provide tailored solutions to card members in a manner consistent with consultative sales. According to the company’s website applicants should have two or more years working in an environment that required excellent customer service and consultative sales skills as well as a secure, distraction free workspace in your home.

You must also have a highschool diploma, ability to implement feedback and live within the contiguous United States except California. While using a preferred provider, Amex will actually cover the cost of your internet and telephone services. If no preferred provider exists within your area, they will cover up to one hundred dollars for connection and monthly fees.

You can check out what glassdoor has to say about the position and visit this website for even more information about what it’s like and how to get hired.

If you live within 35 miles of an Amex office you may be required to work from that office. Offices are located in Arizona and Florida.

3. Buffer 65k+year

Buffer is a social media management platform that provides its customers with a valuable online tool. Using an audience based approach, Buffer aims to provide tailored and effective content, copy and techniques to increase sales and engagement.

This company has over 75,000 customers and employs a total of ninety employees and is really focused on getting the best talent. While most employees reside within the U.S. persons from all over the globe may apply.

The application is reflective of the company’s values and unique milieu with questions such as “what milestone(s) are you most proud of?” and “what audience building strategy are you most excited to test at buffer?”. So when you are getting ready to submit an application with this company, be prepared to provide some well thought out and cohesive answers.

Check out Buffer’s own blog to get a better idea of what it’s like working for this company within their very unique culture.

Some very cool benefits of working at Buffer include: the ability to work remotely, healthcare, paid vacation, family leave, profit sharing, funding for coworking space, 500 dollars towards setting up your home office plus a laptop just to name a few.

You can check out reviews of the company by current and past employees right here.

4. A Place For Mom, Senior Care Advisor 60k/year

This one is not going to apply to everybody, as most of this company’s remote positions are either partially remote or require you to live within a certain market (see this handy post that tells us why work from anywhere jobs and remote jobs are different).

That said, persons with at least three years of relevant experience living within eligible states (mostly Florida, Kansas, Texas and Washington from what I’ve noticed) can explore career opportunities here.

As a senior care advisor working remotely for A Place For Mom it will be your job to connect families with providers in order to facilitate the best elderly care possible. You will work directly with families providing resources and follow ups throughout the care process.

There’s a scarcity of information regarding remote employee experiences with this business because of their semi-remote nature; however, if you want to check out the company’s glassdoor page you can learn more about career opportunities.

5. Rev, Transcriber 8-15/hour

For those of you who haven’t heard of this one before, Rev is basically a company that provides captioning and transcription services to clients. To begin working as a so called “revver” actually proves to be a very simple straightforward process.

You will be asked to answer a few questions, then, if you’re eligible you’ll take a short sample test that will familiarize you with Dash, Rev’s own transcription software. When you first begin working with Rev, you will be labeled as a rookie and only allowed to work on certain projects while receiving a slightly lower rate of pay.

Once you have completed 60 audio minutes of work on the platform, if you have met certain metrics, then your account status should change allowing you to take a wider variety of jobs at a higher rate of pay.

It will behoove you to possess solid typing skills, a firm grasp of the English language including grammar, spelling and punctuation, as well as attention to detail.