The gig economy is one of the fastest growing economies these fast few years, with millions of people around the world taking up contract jobs to make a living.
Recent events such as COVID has only further pushed this economy forward and allowed more traditional businesses to allow their teams to go remote and take up contract staff.
Growing up, I’ve always relied on small jobs here and there to make money. From the early days of helping local businesses market their website on Google to consulting with national businesses, the gigs that you can take up are endless.
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Best of all, unlike a traditional job, you work on your own terms and there’s no limit to how much you can make.
So let’s dive in and explore some gigs you can simply take up to same some extra money.
1. Social Media Management
Social media management is one of the most in demand jobs you can go for if you’re tech-savvy, especially if you’re one of the younger readers and you’ve grown up with social media. Almost all businesses need a social media presence these days, and from content creation to managing the posts, you can create a job for yourself if you have the sales skills required.
2. Content Creation
As a tangent of social media management, content creation is where you can help businesses film and produce content for their social media. There are two ways you can find gigs like this. One is directly from the businesses themselves, and the second opportunity is by partnering up with social media agencies and offering your videography and photography skills for them.
3. Paid Ads Lead Generation
Lead generation is another gig you can get into relatively easily, due to all platforms having their own training programs that you can easily learn from. Every business needs new leads and more sales, so if you can help them run campaigns online to get more leads, then you can create a nice job for yourself, with a comfortable management fee. The largest channels out there are Facebook and Google, so I’d recommend you to start learning how to run ads on them to get started.
4. Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is the art of helping websites rank up on Google. SEO is one of the most important skills you can have, and if you have the skillset, you can not only get some good gigs but turn it into a proper business. Every business will want more traffic into their website, so if you’re able to help them rank up, then you will put yourself in a very valuable position.
5. Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is big business, and very competitive too because writers all over the world are competing against each other. However, if you’re good at writing, then you can easily make some good money helping marketing agencies and brands with their blogs. Platforms such as Upwork make it incredibly easy for you to apply for gigs to get your foot in the door.
6. Proofreading
On a tangent to writing, proof reading is when you help writers proof read their work. This is quite an important job for self published authors, when they need someone to check over their work before they release it, and also to give them a 2nd opinion when needed. Gigs like this can be offered on Fiverr, where you can list your services up and interested buyers can get in touch with you.
7. Graphic Design
Staying within the marketing segment, graphic design is also a hiigh demand skill if you have what it takes to create designs that clients love (see that – clients love, not you love). Graphic designers can do all sorts of gigs, from book cover design, to social media content design to poster design for local businesses that need Boxing Day sales printed out. The offerings are endless, and all it takes is a few happy clients to recommend you to their friends and will you have a good client base going.
8. Web Development
Web development is easier than every for new entrants to get on board, with WordPress becoming the dominant builder for websites. Web developers can help all sort of businesses with their sites, from local plumbers to anyone wanting to get up an e-commerce shop. The easiest way to get yoru foot in the door is to have a few hobby sites you create, and then you can show potential clients what you can do for them.
9. Software Testing
Software testing is when you help pre launched software developers test their products before the general public can see it. Your job will be seek out all the bugs and kiks, so paying customers won’t cokme across them. You can find tasks like this on Upwork.
10. Ride Share Driver
Now this is almost one of the easiest ways you can make some extra money if you have a car. Of course, your car needs to be relatively new, due to safety reasons, so if you have access to a car thats in good shape, driving for Uber or Lyft is a great way to make some extra money.
11. Delivery Driver
Especially in times of a pandemic, where some restaurants are still closed, delivery drivers have been high on demand as more and more people are ordering takeaway. Unlike a ride share driver, all you need is a bike for short distance deliveries or a motorbike if you want to do longer distance deliveries.
12. Car Rental
Now this is one where there is no dominant platform I can recommend you to join, because this is one that depends on your location. Car rentals is big business, but you don’t need to be a company to rent out your car for some cash. You can easily make a few hundred a week if you have a spare car in your garage and want to lend it out. Who you lend it to and the insurance policy you have is up to you. Smart note: you may be able to get away with claiming potential accidents under “unlisted driver” if your car does get into an accident – but don’t quote me on that, do your research first!
13. Flipping Cars
This isn’t exactly an ongoing gig, but if you have a knack for mechanics and automotive in general, then you may be able to find gold in buying and selling cars. If you keep your eye out, you can usually find private sellers that want their car gone fast, usually because they need to leave the country or they have a company car for free, so they’re ok with selling their car at a lower market value just to cash out. If you have some cash on hand, you can buy the car, polish it up and sell it at market value and make the difference. I wouldn’t recommend anyone that lacks auto knowledge to get into this, because there are too many things that can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re getting into.
14. Garage Sale Flipping
Do people still run garage sales these days? Just like cars, if you hunt around on Facebook marketplace or your local notice board, you will find people giving away or selling their unused household products at a minimal price. If you want to succeed in this space, you need to know what’s the market price of what you’re potentially buying and how soon you can offload the stock once you’ve got your hands on it.
15. Pet Walking
Pet walking is another gig you can take up if you want more of a relaxed gig and if you love pets. Pet walkers can actually make some good money, especially if your clients are more wealthier and will be happy to pay a premium for someone they trust to walk their dogs. Simply join your local Facebook groups and you will come across requests time to time.
16. Pet Grooming
Pet grooming is one which does require a bit more specific knowledge, but if you grew up around pets and know how to handle them well, you can make some good money pet grooming other peoples pets. You will need to buy a mobile grooming station if you plan on taking your business to your customers.
17. Tutoring
Tutoring is another great gig you can take up if you’re good with academics and graduated with good grades. Be smart with where you offer your services, and keep in mind that families in weather suburbs will pay more than other suburbs, so be flexible with your offerings and find your clients there. Like most local gigs, you can post your services in the local job board, and keep an out out on local Facebook groups.
18. Sports Coaching
Are you more skills at sports? Consider taking up coaching, where you can train kids up either 1 on 1 or group coaching. What you do have to keep in mind is that if you’re coaching basketball or soccer, you will need to have a dedicated field to book out, so that maybe quite costly.
19. Babysitting
Babysitting is another great local gig you can pick up. Although it’s quite gender bias (I’ve never seen a male nanny)… If you’re great with kids, this is definitely a gig for you. Plus, it helps if you can cook and do housework, so you can upsell your services and charge a premium compared to other nannies that just sit there with the kids.
20. Cooking
Just off babysitting, but if you’re a great cook at home, then you can run your mini home kitchen and help people too busy to cook with their meals, especially when they prefer home cooked food over eating out. Find your niche, whether it’s Chinese food or healthy meals, the market is wide open for you. Do keep in mind that once you reach a certain size, you will need to cook out of a commercial kitchen so you dont get in trouble.
21. Domestic Cleaning
Definitely not on the attractive side of gigs on this list, but cleaning yields massive returns if you’re good at your job, and if you have the slick sales skills to get clients. Almost no one likes to clean their house, so if you’re able to find clients to pay you a good amount, you can find a nice job for yourself. Expand it larger, and you can start hiring a team to do the cleaning and you can focus on sales and management.
22. Pressure Cleaning
Pressure cleaning is another popular gig if you’re based in the suburbs, where you can buy a pressure washer and help clean people’s houses, driveways, roofs (if you can do it safely), decks and more. A pressure cleaner will cost you around $100 for a good one, and you can charge around $100 per job, and upsell for more areas to clean.
23. Car Wash
Quite a self explanatory gig, car washing isn’t something you pay $5 for the neighbourhood kid to do, but if you can learn the right technics, then people with premium cars will pay you a premium amount to wash their cars. Techniques such as a no contact wash are quite popular (with a pressure washer) or learning how to detail a car can be a good opportunity.
24. Landscaping
Another service you can offer if you’re in the suburbs is helping people with their yards. Landscaping is big business, but you can carve out your own piece of the pie if you focus on small offerings at the start, such as lawn care or hedge management.
25. Personal Training
Do you like to stay fit and work out? One of the most straight forward gigs you can take up is by helping others out either in the gym, your client’s home gym or your own personal gym. Personal trainers can get qualified through many online channels, and you’re good to start getting clients within the day you get qualified.
What is a gig economy job?
The gig economy basically consists of all the jobs that are not offered as part of a traditional employee style role. You usually operate as an independent contractor (or cash in hand… off the grid) and will need to go out of your way to find work. Unlike a traditional job where you’re expected to work 9-5, you work the hours that suit you and the more you work will mean the more you get paid.
Final Thoughts
To wrap things up, there are endless amounts of opportunities in the gig economy for you to take up, and the only parting advice I can give you is to get started. Take the first step to list your services out in the public and don’t be afraid to go door knocking looking for jobs. You never know, maybe this side gig that you take up turns into a full blown business.
Just get started!