Yahoo Finance The Average Side Gig Pays Under $300 a Month: 4 Gigs That Pay Way More
If you’ve been thinking about testing out a side gig, chances are you don’t want to spend your time on something that doesn’t bring in much money. While a side gig can help you with paying down debt and saving up some money, you want to ensure that you find a venture that’s worth your time and effort. The truth is that some gigs aren’t worth it.
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We will look at how much the average side gig worker earns and the gigs out there that will allow you to earn much more than this.
The Average Side Gig Income
According to a survey of more than 1,000 people conducted by GOBankingRates, 52% of people with side gigs bring in under $300 monthly.
That includes 54% of women and 49% of men
64% of those 65 and over make under $300 from side hustles, but 9% in this demographic made over $1,000 a month
5% make $1,000 or more monthly, with 4% of women and 7% of men falling in this category
22% of people ages 18-24 brought in $301 to $400 monthly
It’s worth noting that income from most side gigs will depend on how much time you have. However, the results show that the average side gig worker isn’t bringing in a significant amount of money.
Check Out: 9 Ways To Make $200 (or More) a Day Running Errands
Why Are These Side Gig Incomes So Low?
Here are a few reasons many side gigs don’t bring in a significant amount of money:
You get paid based only on the work that you do. If you don’t have the time to dedicate to the venture, then you won’t bring in a lot of money.
There’s a lot of competition for some gigs. If you live in a major city, there will likely be others looking to bring in extra money as well.
You haven’t built up your profile yet. With many jobs in the gig economy, you have to build up your profile with positive reviews to get more opportunities. Sometimes, it takes time to build up the five-star reviews.
Four Side Gigs That Pay Way More Than $300 a Month
The good news is that some side gigs pay way more than $300 a month. We found four that will help you boost your income in your limited free time.
Pet Sitting or Walking Dogs
If you enjoy spending time with pets, you can pursue a side gig on a platform like Rover. According to Thumbtack, dog walkers earn an average of $20 to $40 per hour, so this side gig can easily pay more than $300 per month. If you’re willing to house-sit or board dogs, you can make up to $100 per night.
An article in The New York Times earlier this year shared how many dog walkers in the city are earning six figures. While you might not have the time to devote to pet sitting, you can at least increase your income while getting some exercise.
How can you make money with this side hustle? Here are the best ways:
Dog walks
Dog boarding
Cat check-ins
Dog training
House sitting
With more people becoming pet owners, many opportunities have popped up in this space. You have platforms like Wag!, Rover and Sittercity to explore. You can start by searching for sitters near you to see what the rates are like. The amount you can earn will depend on your location and the competition near you.
You can walk dogs in the evenings and do the occasional weekend house-sitting gig to surpass the $300 mark easily. Once you become more established on the platforms, you can also raise your rates.
Perform Random Jobs on TaskRabbit
If you’re looking for flexibility with your side gig, you will want to check out a platform like TaskRabbit since you can perform random tasks for money.
Here are some of the most popular tasks in most cities:
Furniture assembly
Mounting shelves, TVs or art
Help with moving
Home cleaning
The goal is to look through popular projects near you to see what your income potential is. From there, you can create your profile and pick up tasks as they come your way.
What makes TaskRabbit enticing is that you can get paid for completely random jobs that you likely never knew could bring in money. For example, you can get paid to wait in line for someone. Whenever a new Apple product is released, the platform sees an increase in requests for people to stand in line. One user was compensated $1,500 for waiting for the newest iPhone.
You can easily pass the $300 mark depending on your skills and how much time you’re willing to dedicate to projects on the platform. The best part is that you can pick and choose which jobs you want to do based on your schedule.
Freelance Work
The good news is that freelance work is a fairly broad category, and you can find a side gig with some sort of service. You can apply one of your skills, like video editing or music production, to create a new income stream. You can even perform a similar service to what you do at your day job.
There are many established freelancing job boards like Upwork or Freelancer.com. The goal is to find work that fits your skill set. You can browse the boards to see what the income expectations are like before signing up.
What kind of freelance gigs can you find?
Writing
Graphic design
Video editing
Content creation
Copywriting
Social media help
If you’re looking to make much more than $300 per month with a side gig, you will want to get involved in freelancing. You can bid on jobs so you know how much income you can expect with your time restrictions.
Airbnb Management
If you have any extra space in your home, you can make much more than $300 monthly from listing it on Airbnb or another short-term rental platform.
How do you make money on Airbnb?
Decide what kind of space you want to list
Look at what comparable listings in your area go for
Create your listing
Offering an excellent accommodation and experience
Screen guests
Collect money
For those who don’t have any extra space, you can still have a side gig on Airbnb.
How can you make money from Airbnb if you don’t have any property?
You can lease out a place and list it on Airbnb — if it’s legal where you live.
You can offer a related service for Airbnb users. There are Airbnb hosts who need help with setting up the property, cleaning the unit and dealing with guests.
You can be a property manager. Many real estate owners are too busy to run an Airbnb property, so you can help run the listing, from setting up the profile to screening guests.
You can easily make much more than $300 monthly; in some communities, you can make that for one weekend. The amount you can earn will depend on the demand in your location and the type of space you can offer, so it’s essential to look into the logistics before starting.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Average Side Gig Pays Under $300 a Month: 4 Gigs That Pay Way More
