Side hustle has become a huge buzz word in the last couple of years. We hear about so many people turning their side hustles into their full-time hustles but where do they start? Well, simply, they get to where they are now just by starting. While you have the time and not as much pressure to be working full time, the best time to start your side hustle is as a teen. And how knows, with the right entrepreneurial moves, you might be able to make a full-time salary out of it and build your own business.
Here are 5 of the top ways that you can start a side hustle as a teen.
Freelance Writing
With a passion for writing, there are so many opportunities, from getting paid to write articles for other people to potentially even ghost-writing books. Sites such as UpWork and Fiverr are crowdsourcing platforms that you can find people that need these services. With writing, it’s possible to create your own blog to showcase your skills/portfolio and as you gain more experience, more opportunities will come. There is no shortage of demand for written content and this can be a lucrative one.
Social Media Management
It’s no secret that social media has taken off in the last 5 years. Nowadays, some people are making a living (and in some celebrity cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars) from social media. According to ABC News, the average teen will spend over 7 hours a day on their phone. Why not make some money during that time? Social Media Management allows you to learn some of the most popular trends on social media and put that knowledge to use.
Graphic Design
Branding is one of the most important things for any company, and these skills can be used to help many small businesses. All you need is the necessary software, such as Adobe Creative Suite, the time to learn how to use them, and then you’re ready to offer your graphic design skills to anyone who may need it! Don’t know where to start? See if any of your family or friends might have a small business that you can help them with, then go from there!
Web Design
Similar to Graphic Design, web design is a service that has become more in demand, especially as e-commerce has taken off. Having an online presence that isn’t only social media is very important to a business, but is something that takes time and is often overlooked. With some basic coding skills, creating a website is simple and these services are desired by a lot of people. As you gain more experience, it’s possible to do this full-time.
Create a digital product
The best part of a digital product? It generates passive income. This means, you put in the work and the hours upfront, create an amazing product and list it online. If you create an online course on a hot topic like, branding or photography, there will always be people who want to learn and will pay money for the course. There are many platforms out there that will take care of the rest. They’ll host the course on their site, take care of the payments and distribution, and then pay you, the creator, whenever someone purchases your course.
Don’t want to create an entire course, but still have something to offer? An ebook may be the way to go. Create a how-to guide on something that you know a lot about and there are platforms or even Amazon that you can sell your product. This could generate income for years to come (as long as the topic is still relevant and the information is desired).
As a teen, one thing that you have an abundance of is time. Utilize it to create momentum to build something you can benefit from. These are all side hustles that you can turn into a career if you wanted to, and since you started as a teen, you already have a head start.
Opinions expressed by AsianBlurb contributors are their own.
Francisca Li (born 9/15/2001) is a student at the University of Texas at Dallas studying Business with a concentration in IT and Finance. She is a freelance graphic designer and branding expert as well as a co-founder of Orenda Change.
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