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When some people decide to work from home, it’s because they’re sick of working for someone else. Who wants to deal with a manager drunk on their own power – especially when their idea of a fun time is micromanaging? Who wants to deal with an hour-long commute, get stuck in a traffic jam, then get docked for being late? No one’s got time for that! It can be freeing to jettison all the negative aspects of earning an income, but keep all the good stuff: feeding your creativity, creating something to be proud of, and bringing home some moolah.
So if you’re over working for someone else, you don’t necessarily want to jump into a job at a virtual call center or a content mill or virtual assistant agency. You want to be free – and I’ve got 10 jobs for you today that let you make money without working for someone else.
Let’s dive in.
1. Start Blogging
Blogging is a great opportunity to build something for yourself and create income along the way. Choose a topic and niche you’re passionate about, snag a domain name, set up your blog, and get going. If you collect emails for your mailing list right away, then set up affiliate marketing as soon as possible, you’ll be on your way to turning your blog into a cash-generating asset. As your site develops, you can expand your earning potential with passive income through ebooks or courses or subscriptions. There are tons of resources on my site for new bloggers, and I also recommend the Elite Blogging Academy for folks just getting started.
- Get more info: 7 Reasons to Start a Blog This Year (and how)
Sell Your Stuff
Clean out your junk and make a buck! This is one way to make money that you can start immediately – just look around for the belongings that you no longer use, including everything from gently-used clothes and sporting equipment to jewelry and even books and laptops. Take some pictures, write a few descriptions, and sell your stuff online. You can sell your clothes via Poshmark, your media to Decluttr or Cash4Books, and use sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook’s Marketplace alongside apps like LetGo for everything else. If you don’t mind dealing with people face to face, you can also hold a garage sale or get a table at a local flea market. If you’re jonesing to get started on spring cleaning, don’t wait – use it as another way to bring in some cash.
Get more info:
Write for Yourself
Becoming a freelance writer isn’t the only way to make money off your skill at putting words together. You can also write creatively on spec. Do you love whodunnit crime novels, or alien invasion sci-fi? How about romcoms or fantasy adventure or nonfiction documentaries? Whatever your subject interests, harness your passion and write novels or screenplays or nonfiction books. Once you complete your work, you can shop it to publishing houses or publish it yourself on Amazon. Writing ebooks is a great way to start generating some passive income to keep money flowing in over time. If you self-publish, be sure to present yourself professionally: make sure your work is well-edited, and put together a great cover – you can find artists to help you with that on Fiverr.
Get Crafty
Do you love to craft? Make that love work for you! There are tons of ways for crafty people to make an income off of their work, if you just put the time in and know where to sell. Whether you’re a jewelry-maker, a textile artist, or love working with pottery or wood, there’s someone out there who’ll pay you for your work. Set yourself up with a shop on one or more of the big websites – you can sell tooled leather or small animal sculptures made out of polymer clay on Etsy, or market your artisan soap or candles on Amazon Handmade. Level up with custom branding for your work – get a logo made on Fiverr, and maybe even set up your shop on your own website using a service like WooCommerce.
Retail Arbitrage
Put your love of shopping and bargain hunting to work for you. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or living on a budget, you know the importance of seeking out the best deals and paying the lowest price for what you need. You can also translate these skills into an income through retail arbitrage. Basically, you’re shopping the best sales and deals on clearance, then flipping those items you purchase for a profit. This works especially well with product types such as cameras, electronics, outdoor gear, power tools, toys and games, video game consoles, and more. Sell what you buy on Amazon or any other site supporting online peer-to-peer sales (eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, etc.).
Get Graphic
Do you have an eye for design? Design your own products. You can do this even if what you’re best at is choosing beautiful fonts. Brainstorm some beautiful (or funny!) words or design, and pull together your idea in a high-resolution graphic file. Once your design is ready, you can use a site like Redbubble or Zazzle to create products featuring your design. The number of different products you can create is almost limitless and includes everything from stickers and mugs to keychains, hats, throw blankets, and leggings. And, of course, t-shirts: I’ve got a great rundown on how to make money selling t-shirts without any money down here.
When creating your designs, make sure you’re using public domain images and fonts – otherwise, be sure to pay the appropriate license to sell products using those assets.
Make Art
Do you have a dream of creating art – full time? You could! There’s the traditional route of painting or sculpting (or whatever your process is) in your home studio, scoring gallery shows at which to sell your art, having it displayed for sale in other venues (like restaurants), and selling your art as your source of income. Thanks to the Internet, that’s not the only way to be a working artist for yourself these days. You can build your audience through sharing your art on your website or DeviantArt, monetize your audience through a site like Patreon, and sell art prints and posters via various sites like Society6 or Fine Art America.
Make Music
If music is your thing rather than visual art, you can make a go of being a musician. Thanks to the Internet, it’s easier than ever for artists of all stripes to find and connect with their audiences. Whether you’re a solo artist or have a band, you can share your music via sites like Bandcamp or SoundCloud, and easily offer your work for sale the same way. Music is another great reason for maintaining a Patreon, and you can post exclusive tracks for Patreon backers (or give them exclusivity for a short period before you make the songs available for public purchase). You can even do virtual concerts for your listeners through venues like Facebook or YouTube, and set out a virtual hat for tips and donations. (For more great ideas for how to make money off your love for music, check out this post.)
Private Labeling
Private labeling is a great way to sell your own products on Amazon without having to actually make them. All you have to do is decide what products you’d like to sell and purchase – make a smart choice balanced between what you can afford to invest and products that are likely to move. And then dive into the fun part: dream up what you want to call your brand, and create a logo to represent that brand. You can get this part done on the cheap at Fiverr, but make sure all your packaging does look polished and professional. Since you don’t have a nationally-recognized brand name driving the product you’re selling, attractive packaging is incredibly important. Want to learn more about private labeling? I have a post for that.
Become an Influencer
In the Internet age, it’s possible to be known just for who you are and what you love by building your personal brand and becoming an Influencer. How does that work? First, you’ll need to find your niche – something you’re passionate about that’s also marketable. Are you a beauty icon? Or perhaps you specialize in traveling. Whatever it is, embrace your niche and choose the social media platform that’ll work best for you – the most popular is Instagram, of course, but you may find it worthwhile to use additional platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Grow your audience with a smart content marketing plan inspired by your interests (and research into your competitors), and build your relationship with brands who will pay you to share your thoughts on their products with your audience.
It’s wonderful to work for yourself: no job leads to chase and no one else to answer to – just be sure to follow through! Make yourself proud and give yourself an income.
