- People are starting their own side gigs as a way to make extra money amid inflation.
- Insider spoke with several individuals who rent out backyard space and do art modeling.
More and more people are turning to side gigs to pad their income amid inflation and company budget cuts. While taking on an extra job doesn't sound fun in theory — who wants to clock more hours after a full day's work? — in practice, it can sometimes serve as a much-needed creative outlet with little to no effort.
Insider spoke with several individuals whose unique side gigs include renting out backyard space, planning Disney trips, and art modeling. Here are their best tips for starting a lucrative side hustle and growing it while juggling school, a full-time job, or being a parent.
A travel blogger who's made $13,000: Connect with brands through casting calls
Once Nabila Ismail experienced her first solo travel trip in 2012, she was hooked. By the time she'd finished school, she'd traveled to 36 countries and found a way to monetize her experience online. Her travel blog has brought in $13,000 since the start of the pandemic through brand deals, helping to supplement her day job as an engagement-marketing manager at GoodRx.
Ismail said the key to landing partnerships is by using social media to reach brands. She saw an opportunity to work with one of her favorite clothing brands, Free People, through an open casting call posted on TikTok. Ismail got the partnership after she submitted a video introducing herself and explaining why she wanted to work with the company.
Read more: How a 27-year-old turned her travel blog into a lucrative side gig using TikTok
A Disney travel planner: Set expectations with clients
One day while scrolling through social-media posts, Chelsea Guffy noticed one of her sorority sisters was working as a travel agent planning Disney vacations for people. Guffy reached out to see if her friend could get her dinner reservations for an upcoming trip to Disney World.
"Then she said to me, 'Chelsea, you know Disney in and out. You should come on as an agent.' So, I thought about it, and come the new year I thought to myself, 'Okay, this could be something really cool,'" Guffy said.
While Guffy tries to give as much time as she can to her clients, she makes sure to be upfront with them that working as a travel agent is her second job. On average, she works an additional 12 to 15 hours a week after her son has gone to sleep.
Read more: How I started a side hustle working as a travel agent, specializing in Disney vacations
A backyard landlord who's made $26,7000: Price competitively
Julz Maleno was on the hunt for an easy way to make money while in her last year of classes to get her doctorate in acupuncture. Then she discovered the app Neighbor, which connects people who have extra space in their homes, garages, sheds, or yards with locals who are in need of storage space.
Maleno signed up immediately once she realized she could rent out the vacant lot on her property. Since then, she's brought in more than $26,700.
Every month, Maleno said she spends between five and 10 hours on the Neighbor app coordinating drop-off and pick-up times. While her original listing was underpriced, Maleno said she's since been able to raise her rates after consulting with Neighbor's customer-service representatives to determine the best price for the area and space size.
A microinfluencer who makes up to $800 a month: Be bold in your reachouts
Lydia Bielfeldt has had over 50 collaborations with brands since starting to create content on her social-media accounts last summer. She said she reached out to companies with a "Fake it 'til I make it" mindset.
"Don't be embarrassed to reach out. It doesn't matter if they say no. Even if you don't get brand deals right away, focus on posting consistently and tag brands. If they like your content, they might want to repost it or reach out to work with you," Bielfeldt said.
On average, she receives three offers a day and has been able to increase her rates to $300 for a TikTok video and $200 for an Instagram post.
A vending-machine owner who makes $10,000 a month: Prioritize the location of your business
In January 2020, Benjamin M. Smith and his business partner, Josep, pooled together $2,500 and purchased two vending machines off Craigslist. Today, the pair own 15 vending machines across Nashville.
When they were starting out, Smith said it took some trial and error to find the locations that were available and lucrative.
"A lot of businesses will tell you no — sometimes they already have vending machines or had a bad experience with a previous vendor — but you really only need one or two winning locations to start seeing profit," Smith said.
One of Smith's original vending machines was located at a hotel, while the other was at a nursing home. The locations made about $300 a month and $60 a month, respectively. Smith said he wished he had known at the time that businesses with high foot traffic, like hotels, gyms, and car dealerships, were bound to make more money than a vending machine tucked away on the third floor of a nursing home.
A figure model who makes $25 an hour: Lean on word-of-mouth marketing
After quitting her job at a major university to focus on her passion for writing and performing, Lauren Emily Whalen started exploring side gigs she could do to make money while maintaining a flexible schedule. She decided to try figure modeling after friends in the nude-modeling industry connected her with an art studio.
While she mostly models in studios and art classes, she's also posed after-hours in a tattoo parlor and an artist's living room. She said she charges between $20 and $25 per hour, plus tips, and gets most of her gigs through client referrals. "In my city, art modeling is very much about word of mouth — I usually leave a job with at least one to three new bookings," Whalen said.
A gift-guide writer who makes $14,000 a year: Do your research before setting rates
In August 2020, Christine Luna saw advertisements for websites in need of gift-guide writers in a freelance writing Facebook group. As a mom of four children, Luna jumped at the opportunity for some part-time work she could do while caring for her kids.
With limited freelance-writing experience, Luna charged $30 per guide. Then, in the spring of 2021, she decided to take a business course with some successful virtual freelancers. Through the course, she realized how much her clients were profiting off of the guides she was writing. With this new knowledge, Luna said she increased her rates to more than $100 per gift guide.
"With a better understanding of when to pitch gift guides, who to reach out to, and how to negotiate prices, I more than doubled my gift-guide income in the 2021 calendar year," Luna said.
A nurse who owns a million-dollar skincare line: Invest in branding
As a nurse on a busy National Health Service ward, Antonia Philp quickly realized that having to constantly wash and sanitize her hands was taking a toll on her skin. At one point, her hands became so damaged that she was required to take two weeks off of work to recover. During this time, Philp noticed there weren't many skincare products specifically for healthcare professionals.
In 2012, Philp and her husband, Jonny, launched their company, Nursem. While Philp's husband runs the business day-to-day, Philp continues to work as a nurse.
To create a strong brand identity, Philp recruited some help to do a rebrand of the company. They did a crowdfunding campaign and raised money to be able to make their first big batch of their skincare products. In 2021, the company's revenue was more than $3 million.
A college student who makes hundreds a month selling feet pictures: Go to customers where they are
Between juggling college classes, a campus job, and her social life, Riley didn't have much time to add a second job into the mix. So she decided to start selling feet pictures online as a low-commitment side hustle.
While some sellers use websites that are specifically for facilitating the sale of feet pictures, Riley said she prefers to use social media sites like Twitter and Reddit because they allow her to have a level of anonymity around her business. To reach her audience, Riley uses specific hashtags that she thinks potential customers might look up.