Ideas That Could Make You Up To $1K a Month in Your Spare Time – Tina B's World
make up to a thousand dollars a month in spare time

Ideas That Could Make You Up To $1K a Month in Your Spare Time

There are a plethora of ways to supplement your income. Surprisingly enough, it’s not that difficult. It’s more a matter of commitment than anything else.

A little prep work will help your ventures be more lucrative as time goes on. 

make money in your spare time

Getting Started

Getting off on the right foot will help to ensure your success as you take on a new moneymaking venture. That way, you’re more likely to do well and make much more money in the future.

Let’s discuss the preliminary work: 

Make a List

List your special skills and knowledge. It’s not necessary to know or be able to do anything special to make an extra $1,000 each month, but it doesn’t hurt. Having a unique skill-set can allow you to charge more for your time. 

Set Parameters

Think of things like:

  • Do you have to earn the money outside of a regular job?
  • Are your weekends free? 
  • What about your weekday evenings?
  • How many hours are you willing to work?

Things like that. 

Get By With a Little Help From...

Do you have any friends or family that you can help?

Maybe you have a friend with a construction business or another business within your skillset that needs help on the weekends.

Think about everyone you know.

They just might have something that would be perfect for you. 

Try New Things

Be willing to try something new. It’s possible to force your will on the marketplace, but it’s a lot easier to simply provide what it needs.

What do you hear people complaining about in your area of expertise?

Find a need and fill it. 

Market, Market, Market

Prepare to become a marketing machine.

Quite a number of money-making methods require finding clients.

The work itself is quite simple in most cases. Finding clients is the hard part. 

HAVE. FUN.

Being miserable should be temporary.

It’s one thing to slightly overwhelm yourself for a few months to reach a goal, but it’s quite another to do it long-term.

Find something that you actually like to do. 

remember

It’s completely possible make another $1,000 each month.

You might even be able to do a few different side jobs and eventually replace your full-time income.

Even one successful venture might be enough to tell corporate America to kiss your tuckus goodbye.

Now on to the good part… 

woman using a calculator while counting money

Money-Making Methods

Note: Depending on where you live, all of these ideas could be viable options. However, some are more suited for certain areas than others.

Hopefully, you’ll find a method that appeals to you.

That being said, let’s discuss: 

Create a Website & Sell Something

Click HERE for a thorough list of blogging/website resources.

WordPress has made it easier than ever to set up and run your own website. You no longer need coding or programming skills. 

Selling on a website is simple. Just find a topic that interests you and then monetize it. 

Whatever you’re into, you can find others who will consume your content. 

Sell a Service

What can you do better than the average person? You don’t have to be an expert – you only have to be a few steps ahead of the person who needs your services.

Some tips:

  • Join an ad platform (like Google Ads or something) and get paid when people click on them. Pay-per-click marketing is huge!
  • Consider affiliate marketing. Join an affiliate marketplace like Impact or Share-A-Sale, add your social media channels and start promoting some of the great brands you already use. 

More about affiliate marketing in the next section.. 

Affiliate Marketing

When you join an affiliate program, you earn a commission whenever someone makes a purchase through your links. They can be anywhere from 10% to as much as 70%. Some companies/brands might even provide a sales page where you can send customers. 

The most important affiliate marketing tip I could give you is to stick to brands you use or that are recommended by people you trust. Promoting things just because they are offered to you won’t make sense in the long run.

Make sure you are clear on the terms and conditions before you sign that dotted line. Some programs have strict rules for how you can present their products.

Do yourself and your readers a favor and don’t misrepresent a product. Too many returns on your referrals might get you booted from a program. 

Website Traffic

Simply put: you need to get customers to your site if you want them to click on your links and purchase your affiliate products. I’ve already published a post on this, so you can see more tips HERE if you’re interested. 

Here are some tips to market your site:

  • Write articles related to your topics/niche and post them in appropriate places, like article directories or broad-topic sites that allow submissions.
  • Write incredible content. Some popular websites were never intentionally marketed in anyway, but the content was found in searches and people flocked to read it.
  • Create buzz on social media. Use relevant hashtags. Post graphic quotes or summaries to your channels that come straight from your content. The goal is to get potentials wanting to read more. 

Even if you’re not technologically inclined, a website is still a great way to boost your income in your spare time. 

Sell a Technical Service

There is a LOT that goes into running an online business and not every business owner knows how to do everything. They rely on the wisdom of others to help them along. 

I think it goes without saying that technology, systems and tasks can be both intimidating and overwhelming. 

So again, I ask: what are you good at that others might need your help with? There are plenty of easy/simple services that others would love to outsource.

So what services are we talking about? 

Creating Websites

Simple website setups can be created in just a few hours work. It wouldn’t be difficult to find people who are willing to pay a few hundred dollars for a site setup.

Example: if you charge $500 per site, you would only have to get two sites done for that extra $1k/month. You could do more if you have the time. 

Social Media Profile Setup

Considering what a part-time or full-time employee would cost, it should be no surprise that most small businesses don’t have marketing teams behind them. While they just can’t justify the cost of hiring one, but just might consider a one-time help.

-> If you are so inclined, you could even run the page for them eventually. Starting an agency might be your calling.

Facebook walks you through the process of setting up a business page and it can be done in just a few minutes. You can charge $100 or more, depending on just how much the business needs you to do. Creating 2-3 a week would hit the $1k mark.

YouTube videos are a great service too. Some stock photos (my faves HERE) or slide deck templates could be added to an audio track or music with a little bit of time. 

Twitter could be a potentially good place for leads, so businesses consider creating an account. You could set their profile up with all of their creatives and links. 

Finding Clients

The most common methods for finding clients:

  • In-person visits
  • Phone calls
  • Emails
  • Snail Mail

Never underestimate the simplicity of stopping by a shop or picking up the phone and calling them. 

These services are probably easier to complete than you realize. You can teach yourself anything you need to know fairly quickly (by setting up your own profiles, for example). 

Do Taxes for Others

With the software that’s now available, nearly anyone can do some else’s taxes. You won’t require a degree in accounting to put some numbers in a software program.

Many of the people working for the big tax firms each spring are just regular people working part-time. In the rare event that someone’s taxes are too complicated once you start doing them, simply tell them the truth.

Just as all lawyers aren’t qualified to handle all cases, it’s okay to admit you can’t do the taxes of a multi-millionaire with extensive offshore investments. 

Drawback: Not Year-round

This method won’t work all year. It’s going to be limited to a couple of months, but you can easily make more than $1,000 each month during that time. It will be a great way to beef up your summer vacation fund. 

Think about other services you can offer to the same clients. If they’re happy with your tax preparation services, maybe they’ll give you the opportunity to do something else for them during other times of the year. 

Remember: ask for referrals. 

The easiest way to find new clients is by receiving a recommendation from other clients you’ve worked with.

Rent out Your Extra Space

Airbnb is a unique website that allows people to rent out space they own: 

  • A tree house
  • Walk-in closet with an air mattress
  • An entire vacation home
  • Simply: a room in your home 

The more unique, the better. If you have any piece of livable space, someone would probably be interested in renting it from you. If the space isn’t currently being used, it’s really just a wasted resource.

Some tips:

Licenses & Leases

Have a proper lease in place. If you need to be licensed to rent or need permission from a condo board or co-op, make sure you have that too. Make sure your insurance policies are up-to-date and you purchase extra coverage if needed. 

Laws and customs can vary from state to state.

Contact an attorney or your local real estate investors club for assistance. 

Background Checks & Security Deposits

Do yourself a favor and get a thorough background check before letting a stranger move into your home. There are services available to run background checks, credit checks, and every other type of check you can imagine. Know who you are letting into your home, on your property or around your family. 

Before letting anyone move in, you’ll probably want to require a security deposit or rent up front. Everyone seems to have a story about getting the ‘money next week.’ Don’t fall for it. Have everything in a lease agreement. 

Mind Your Comfort Levels

If you’re not comfortable with someone new living in your space, there’s not a lot that can be done, depending on the terms of the lease.

If you’re interested in providing space in your home, think about how you want to handle the common areas. These would include the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Also, figure out where they’ll park their car.

Have all that information available on the listing. It will save the awkwardness later. 

Why waste space you’re not using? Monetize it instead!

Writing

If you have a way with words and writing is one of your fave hobbies, it’s time to capitalize on that and get paid for it. There’s tons of content published online every single day. Someone has to write it. 

Here are some options for you: 

Freelancing/PLR

Offer bloggers or business owners your relevant content. 

Pay rates can vary, but you could possible make a few hundred dollars per article if they’re well-written enough. 

You could also get into Private Label Rights, which means you write one article and sell it to multiple people. PLR gives you the flexibility to not have to write as much, while still making a decent profit. 

Content Providers

Sites like Textbroker and iWriter provide content to buyers for a price and you get a cut of that.

How do they work?

You simply search through their jobs and find ones that appeal to you and your expertise.

If you want to earn decent money, you might have to learn how to write faster, but at least you can do it from the comfort of your own home and in your spare time. 

Ad Copy

Offer to write ads for eBay or Etsy sellers.

Contact the sellers of high-ticket items and offer to write their ad copy for them.

Suggestions: 

  • Homes
  • Cars
  • Motorcycles
  • Boats

Your fee? Just 1% of the selling price. It will prove your worth because you won’t get paid unless it sells.

For example: you write an ad selling a $20k car and your cut would be around $200. 

Writing can be hard work, but it has very flexible work hours. You can easily work it into your busy schedule.

Tutoring/Lessons

Some tutors are making over $100 an hour!

What’s your hidden talent – 

  • Piano?
  • Golf? 
  • Tennis? 
  • Painting?
  • Math? 
  • Homework Help?
  • Exam Prep? 

If any of your skillset is marketable, consider giving lessons.

You also have the option of signing up with Chegg to tutor. 

Reach out to friends who have kids and offer free lessons. Have the parents give you feedback on your teaching style from their point of view and their kid’s view too.

Research the average fees for the service you’re providing and offer a competitive price.

Home Maintenance Services

This could go along well with taxes. You could do the taxes in the late winter and early spring and then move into basic landscaping. Just a thought 🙂 

It’s not difficult or uncommon to make $20 or more per hour mowing lawns. We used to pay a company $35/week to cut our grass, but we’re on Long Island and everything is expensive here. 

Some tips: 

Advertise Close to Home

Avoid having your profits eaten up by gas and travel costs by keeping close to your house. Pass flyers around your neighborhood. 

Be friendly while you hand out flyers and business cards and make sure you’re offering a competitive, but fair price. 

Equipment

If you own a house, you probably have your own yard tools anyway. Yes, you can use your own and yes, you can purchase additional equipment when you need it. 

What’s really required? 

  • Lawnmower
  • Hedge trimmer 
  • Transportation
  • Bags for leaves/trimmings 

Discuss responsibilities beforehand.

For example: if you don’t plan on picking up your trimmings, you should be upfront about that. Also, DON’T BE THAT GUY! 

Additional Services

Our lawn guys charges an extra fee for the annual yard cleanup with our lawn guy, which included leaves and cleaning up the flower beds.

You could offer:

  • Edging
  • Gardening
  • Cleaning up after pets
  • Cleaning the driveway/porch/stoop
  • Cleaning out gutters

Think of anything that would make a property shine bright like a diamond.

Offer that. 

The elderly population and busy professionals have one thing in common: they’re the ones most likely to outsource yard maintenance.

That’s where you come in 🙂 You can create custom pricing and packaging, tailored to client needs. 

Pet Sitting

Many individuals work all day and their pets need to be let outside for obvious reasons. Some people go out of town and prefer to leave their pets at home instead of boarding them at a kennel.

Love pets? Here are some tips: 

Extra Help

You could offer additional services.

Since you’re already at the house, think about other things you can do that would be helpful: 

  • Dog Training
  • Picking up the dog poop

But also:

  • Picking up the mail
  • Watering plants
  • Cutting the grass 
  • Cleaning the house

Suggest something that might make their lives easier. 

Vacation Station

Be their vacation solution.

If your clients plan on being out of town for a bit of time, offer to take care of their pets. It’s better than boarding because the pet already knows you. While boarding can be great, rescue animals might feel abandoned. 

Remember: dog have to be let out around 3x/day. You might want to ask if it’s okay to keep the pet at your house instead. It might be more convenient than schlepping to their house every few hours.

Either way, stick to clients that are close to your home. It’s not worth it driving 20 miles each way just to make $11 to let the dog out.

In the same token, if there is an emergency, their vet’s office might not be close to you either. Best to stick to people who are close by. 

Other Animals

You can easily expand your animal services. Try not to limit yourself to just dogs.

For example: in my house alone, you would have to deal with multiple dogs (they’re all trained though), as well as a bunny who stomps if you fill his litter box “wrong” and a cat who will stare at you from across the room for no reason other than the fact that you dare to exist in her home.  

With a little reading, you could easily learn how to care for cats, birds, hamsters, an iguana, and just about anything else. 

Low Stress?

Taking care of other’s pets is a low stress way to spend your time. It’s the reason most people get their pets in the first place. If the pet is hmm let’s call it “high strung” (read: destructive), make sure you negotiate compensation for any injuries to your or your home in advance. 

Before you decide on your own rates, check with Rover to see the rates of other pet sitters.

Advertise anywhere you can think of, like on social media, in pet stores or in vet offices. 

Those places would make the most sense. 

Flip Items

This has the potential to be a very lucrative part-time business.

In a nutshell, you find items on Craigslist or another online marketplace that you’re confident you can resell at a profit. Stick to things you’re knowledgeable about. 

Some tips: 

Watch Your Ad Copy

Some sellers create such horrible ads that even if they are legit, they just look sketchy.

Post pictures.

Talk about the item.

The better your ad, the higher the price you can charge for the product. 

Limit Yourself

Stick to a few different types of items.

Do your research or stick to items you know about.

If you know guitars, look for guitars. Same with jewelry, appliances, whatever.

The more you know about something, the faster you’ll be able to spot a good deal when you see one. 

Make Them An Offer

People tend to price items appropriately as they see them.. but they also might be in a hurry to sell.

That will work in your favor because they’ll take whatever you offer just so they make money quickly.

You’ll never know if you could’ve gotten a bargain unless you ask. 

To Free or Not to Free?

Yes, it’s competitive.. but you just might find something valuable being given away for free. Even a simple $10 or $20 item might be worth acquiring and reselling.

It’s all profit that goes straight to your profit. 

Low-Priced Items

Avoid getting involved with lower priced items.

There’s only so much profit to be made on a $10 item, but it’s not hard to make $50 on a used refrigerator. Your time is valuable. 

Transportation Costs

You might need a truck.

Some items, like large appliances, will require a truck.

If you don’t have one, there are plenty of other items that are suitable buys. 

Make sure you factor any associated costs (like gas and a truck rental if needed) into your resell price.

Babysitting

Please Note: PLEASE check the childcare laws in your state before offering to watch multiple children.

There was an incident in 2009 of a woman being threatened with arrest or fines for “operating an unlawful daycare” – just for watching a few kids before school! This story is old and I can’t find the article anymore, but you can find a chat thread HERE where some people are discussing it. Yes, it was years ago, but you can’t be too careful.

Some kids are able to use after-school programs while others are latchkey kids, so if you like children, babysitting could be a great idea for you.

You can offer to watch kids between the time they get home from school and when their parents return from work. This could be done by simply meeting them at the bus stop or picking them up from school.

For the most part, you’d be giving them a snack and helping them with homework. If you had to feed them dinner, there would probably be more money in it for you. 

Some things to consider: 

Watching Multiple Kids

I think it goes without saying that watching two kids would pay better than one. Watching more would be even more pay.

Again, please look at the laws in your state. Even if you register as a daycare, you might have a limit to how many kids you can watch at one time. 

Third-Shift Parents

Consider the third shift crowd.

Some parents work third shift and someone has to watch their kids. What could be easier than putting a child to bed in your home and getting them ready for school in the morning? You could easily make a decent rate per night per child.

Do what you feel comfortable with here. If you’re not comfortable disciplining other people’s kids, let their parents know. 

Private Swimming Lessons

Yes, public pools offer free swimming lessons with memberships or by themselves, but you spend the majority of the time watching other kids take their turn and there’s always some unruly kid who keeps getting yelled at by the instructor. 

It’s not always a fun experience.

Some parents might not want to deal with public pools, so they are happy to pay for private lessons. Get certified as a swim instructor and get out there! 

While you’re at it, get certified as a life guard, bringing even more job opportunities. In warmer climates, either of these can be done year-round. 

If you have your own pool, you could give lessons there. 

Online Freelancing

Have a regular job, but could use some extra income? 

There’s a good chance you can get paid to do the same thing at home. As I’ve said before, someone out there wants help doing whatever it is you do.

Fiverr is a great place to find clients for your services.

You can do anything:

  • Writing
  • Setting up websites
  • Transcription
  • Spreadsheets
  • Voiceovers 

Don’t sell yourself short. 

Yes, there are those who are just looking for the cheapest deal, but if your service is valuable, don’t let them undercut you. 

If you can’t find anyone on Fiverr, you can try ZipRecruiter. 

Photography

Let’s be honest: photographers can make impressive money. 

If you have the skill, you can photograph weddings and other formal events. Family portraits are another way to make a decent buck. 

Here are some things to consider.. 

Stock Photos

Simply put: people need pics.

Even people who don’t own a business use stock photos for social media posts.

Let’s face it: you’re not going to earn a lot by selling a copy or two of your best sunset photos, buuuuut you could sell hundreds individually or in packs and that will really add up over time.

You can also offer a membership and upload new photos every month for a cost. I LOVE my stock photo memberships (my faves are HERE) and can’t imagine not using them. 

Sitting Fees

If you enjoy photographing people and want to do shoots, then you could charge a sitting fee instead of packages.

You can meet clients at their homes or in a venue for the shoot (charging extra for travel if needed).

You post the photos in an online album for them to see, then they order the photos they want in the sizes they want. 

Merch/Products

Create calendars and other items with your photographs.

Take pictures of your travels and make a calendar.

Take pictures of your pets and create calendars or notebooks with them, like my Pug Shop HERE, where I take pictures or use designs that are Pug-related. 

Note: you don’t need fancy equipment. A decent digital camera should suffice.

You might even be able to use your phone if the camera is good enough. I don’t recommend that for professional shoots, but it might work for stock photos.  

Write an Ebook & Sell on Amazon

You might not write the next bestseller, but if you pick the right topics, you could net your monthly income goals from each one you write. Some people actually write a book or two each month.

Dream big! 

Owning Your Work

Yes, we already discussed writing, but this is different. We spoke about ghostwriting, but this is YOUR work. You get to keep control and ownership of the writing, selling it on your own and getting paid multiple times for the same work. Once that first eBook is up for sale, you can continually capitalize on every book for years to come. 

Note: you’re not guarantee any solid income, but the potential rewards are huge. 

The process is explained HERE if you are interested in going this route. 

Pen Names

Planning on writing books on a variety of topics?

  • Try to use a pen name for each topic. You’d be making things difficult for yourself if you claim to be an expert on dog care, but then have books on the stock market or real estate.
  • Writing on various topics under the same name could mean no one will take you seriously. You’ll end up being known as someone who will write about anything for a quick buck.
  • Consider carefully whether you want to do this because you’re going to have to create different websites/profiles for each pen name you use. 

Writing and selling eBooks is a very viable way to make some real money. 

Remember: pick a topic that already sells well. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.

Bottom line: here are many ways to earn an extra $1,000 each month.

Commit to the method that best suits you, while considering your circumstances.

If you live in a rural area, writing an eBook probably makes more sense than being a dog-sitter. If you live in a suburban area, but have a full-time job, being a dog-sitter may not be practical.

Make a plan to stick to the method you choose and make it work. Most of the choices you make will be based on your own expertise or what you have the capacity to learn fairly quickly. If something isn’t a perfect fit, do your best to mold it to your strengths. 

Remember: marketing is key. The work is the simple part. Finding clients will be the tough patch and you’re going to want to work on that a little each day for maximum benefits.

Utilize every form of marketing you’re familiar with. Focus on what bears the most fruit for you first, then branch out over time. 

Don’t forget to ask for referrals from happy customers. Have digital or paper business cards ready to hand out to family, friends and acquaintances.

All you have to do now is look forward to earning the extra money you need or want, so go buy yourself a KitKat bar. You’ve earned it!  

Best of luck to you 🙂 

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