Struggling to Make Ends Meet? Start a Side Hustle Now!

Has your credit card bill arrived from all your Christmas shopping? Mine too… and it's enough to make me hang my head in shame at the amount I've spent!

I remember a time—not that long ago—when receiving my credit card bill would make me shudder and avoid opening it for a good week… if this is you and you're sitting there, wondering how on earth you've even going to make the minimum repayments, then you need to keep reading…

If you're struggling to make ends meet, lying awake at night from the stress of all your money worries… don't fret my pet, start a side hustle instead 🙂

There are so many business models and opportunities available right now that allow you to start a side hustle with almost zero investment, so you have no excuse!

Here's what you need to do to start a side hustle without having to fork out another cent…

Starting a Side Hustle with Zero Funds

If you're truly struggling to make ends meet, then you likely don't have any spare funds you can allocate to starting a business, which is totally understandable.

Below you'll find five different business models you can get started with that will truly cost you nothing to get started, other than your time of course.

#1: Make money with your passion/hobby

If you're crafty, then you can turn those crafty skills into money by selling your crafts on sites like Etsy or eBay. Although free to get started and setup, you will have to pay fees to list an item.

These fees are low, less than 50 cents, which you will easily make back on your first sale. Etsy is a great marketplace where you can sell anything from iPhone cases to handmade baby clothes to printables such as wedding invitations. If you can make it, you can sell it!

If you've never checked Etsy out before, take a visit, you'll be amazed at what you'll find there.

And rather than reinventing the wheel, use this Ultimate Guide to Selling on Etsy to get yourself started!

#2: Use your skills to freelance

Take the skills you use in your day job and break them down into single tasks and then go freelancing with them! What am I talking about?

I'm talking about how awesome you are at creating Excel spreadsheets or creating a mail merge in MS Word. Those skills are in high demand. Or maybe you know your way around Photoshop and can create logos and ebook covers, awesome! Literally any skill you have can be turned into a freelancing business.

I'd suggest starting with a site like Upwork, where you'll find thousands and thousands of jobs that you can start right now. It costs nothing to set up your Upwork account and you don't even need to pay for the membership right away, as you'll receive 60 connects once you complete your profile. You'll need 2 connects for every job you apply to.

If you want to ensure that you set your Upwork profile up the right way, check out my Udemy course, “Pimp Your Profile” — use this link to grab it for FREE!

#3: Start a blog

If you decide to go this route, be aware that you won't make a lot of money from your blog in the immediate future, this is more of a long-term play.

Starting a blog is a great way to earn money, but you need to put in some effort to get things off the ground. It's free to setup a WordPress blog at www.wordpress.com, so you can get started immediately.

If you want to learn how to monetise your blog, check out the Niche Site duel over at SmartPassiveIncome.com for an indepth look in how this all works. It's free to join the duel and if you start now, by this time next year, you could not only have a very profitable side hustle, it might actually become your full-time hustle!

#4: Write and publish your own books

You can write and publish your own books on sites like Amazon, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play. You can take it one step further and have someone handle all of these marketplaces by utilising a site called Draft2Digital.

It's free to write your own books and if you have a little design skills, you can easily design your own cover on Canva.com and upload it to Kindle, Kobo etc.

While you won't see an immediate return (sites like Amazon pay 60 days in arrears), once you get sales every month that exceed $100, you'll receive a royalty payment every, single month.

If you are interested in writing and publishing your own books, check out my other website, www.authorbasics.com and grab the freebies while you still can (part of the free membership) as we're about to do a site redesign and take away a lot of those freebies!

#5: Use your car and make some extra cash

You've heard of Uber by now, right?! If you're looking for a way to make some very quick cash, consider turning your car into a taxi and get paid to drive others around.

I've been using Uber for just over 6 months and I love it. The drivers are always friendly, often offering water and snacks, free of charge… you wouldn't get that in a taxi unless it was a town car or limousine!

One of the best things I've heard from a number of the Uber drivers I've spoken to here in Australia, is the ability to say yes and no to being available. All they have to do is turn their app on and Uber instantly see's they are available and sends jobs their way… and then if they are tired or don't want to drive, they simply turn the app off and no more jobs are sent their way.

This means you're in complete control and can say how much or little you're actually driving.

You can learn more by reading this article on how to make money as an Uber driver. Make sure you read all the fine print as well, as you need to account for taxes, insurance and fuel as well.

Start Your Side Hustle Today!

So there you have it. Five ways to get your own side hustle off the ground without having to spend a dime upfront. If I was getting started again, I'd definitely look at the Etsy option… in fact, I might still do that as I start to create more printables for myself! I love printables!

If you're ready to start a side hustle but don't know where to start, grab the Side Hustle 7-Day Challenge: How to Identify a Profitable Side Hustle, and kick-start your retirement security today!