If you’re like millions of Americans, you are stuck at home worried about your finances. Now could be the perfect moment to invest some of your time into earning extra money, finding freelance work or starting a business.
Making money from home will require some hustling and a sharp sense of whether a project is worth the pay. Let’s explore how to maximize your opportunities.
Look for Remote, Flexible Jobs
Want a remote job you can fit around your schedule but worried about sham online offers or identity theft? Whether they’re national or just in your neighborhood, focus on reputable companies that are well known or easily researched online. Likewise avoid any job postings that promise quick riches, ask you to buy a starter kit or provide financial information upfront. Job postings are, unfortunately, sometimes an avenue for scams and these are all red flags.
Try a job board that vets remote opportunities before posting, such as FlexJobs or Virtual Vocations. Both screen job opportunities for legitimacy, saving you stress and time. Neither is free, though, with access starting at about $15 a month for each. Make sure those costs fit into your budget, because it may take a few months to find a job.
You can also search popular job sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor by entering “remote” into the location search box to narrow your results. Filter jobs further by specifying “part-time” or “contract” work, depending on what type of time commitment you can make.
Pick Up Local Gigs or Freelance Projects
If you’re a skilled laborer—or even an experienced hobbyist—you can connect with potential customers on sites and apps like TaskRabbit and Thumbtack. When visiting a client’s home or business, be sure to follow social distancing protocols, local public health guidelines and any rules the site is implementing. Office professionals, who can search for work outside of their commutable area, can search for freelancing or consulting projects on sites including Fiverr or Upwork.
Don’t forget to tap your network. One experienced freelancer recommends emailing everyone you know announcing you’re looking for clients. You can even offer a finder’s fee for leads that turn into gigs. If you’re looking for only a few projects, try scaling back and start with people you think are most likely to connect you with a potential client.
Start, Expand or Pivot Your Side Hustle
Been wanting to start your own business? Invest a few hours in planning for success with the help of this ten-step guide from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which covers everything from market research to getting a bank account.
If you’re looking to grow your side hustle, promotion is key, and some of the most powerful ways to market your business are free or nearly so. The biggest investment they require is your time. Social media, blogging and podcasting all help you position yourself as a thought leader in your field and attract new clients. You can start a podcast these days with just a smartphone and free or low-cost editing software.
Perhaps your side business had been booming but is now slumping. Consider pivoting, as one home organizing firm did, by switching to virtual sessions or teaching group workshops via video chat. Can’t conduct business online? You could sell gift cards for customers to redeem when social distancing rules are relaxed. Just be sure to follow all applicable regulations.
Get Creative
With so much time at home, you could declutter and sell items you no longer want on eBay, Etsy and Facebook Marketplace or specialty sites like Poshmark for vintage clothes or Cash4Books for college texts.
Don’t forget other income-generating opportunities, especially those the coronavirus outbreak has created. Focus on your particular skill set and think of ways to make it profitable. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:
● Have experience as a teacher or tutor? Consider offering video-chat sessions. Many busy parents suddenly have to juggle their jobs and their kids’ education, and you could earn money, give parents a break and help kids keep up with school.
● Know ergonomics? Help professionals working remotely set up a comfortable home office via phone or video chat.
Don’t undervalue your skills. Before you market your services, talk to prospective customers to verify that what you offer solves a problem people are willing to pay to have solved.
Elizabeth Whalen is a freelance writer based in Seattle. She loves writing about business, financial services and sustainability.