Side hustles are one of the simplest ways to extend your income so you’ll pay off debt, save for an enormous purchase, grow your retirement savings, and reduce your financial stress.
Some of the Importance of Side hustles are :
1. It will increase your savings
one of the most alluring aspects of a side hustle is making money in addition to your current salary (or, if you don’t currently have a job, making money off something you’re passionate about). Depending on what your side hustle is, there’s potential for earnings, and that extra money is a great way to start shoring up your savings or pay off your student loans. Or, you can invest the money into your current business!
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It will develop your skills and experience.
Let’s say you opt to start out selling your craft projects online. It’s an excellent thanks to engage your creativity and make a touch extra cash — But you’ll also probably develop new skills along the way without even realizing it. You’d find out how to speak with customers, market your brand, determine your pricing, and much more.
These are incredibly useful skills for the business world, skills that are transferable to other jobs besides your side hustle. And who knows? The more experience you gain with these skills, or whatever skills you develop from your side hustle, the more clarity you’ll gain on whether or not your current career is actually what you would like to try to do.
3. It could become your full-time gig
For many people who transition their side hustle into a full-time job, it often means moving into full-time self-employment, which comes with a lot of benefits. You gain greater flexibility to work where and when you want, and you have the potential to scale your side hustle and increase your earnings, rather than being restricted to a fixed salary from a traditional job. Plus, you become your boss, which is something I enjoy.
However, there are also downsides to working for yourself, such as the likelihood of having an unsteady income at the beginning. This is exactly why starting a side hustle early is a great idea—you can build up demand and grow your client base while still earning a steady paycheck from your day job. Ultimately, the opportunity is there for those willing to take it. Keep in mind, it’s not called a side hustle because it’s easy—turning it into a full-time income requires effort. But if leaving your day job is your goal, a side hustle is a great way to make it happen.
Having stated some important side hustle, read on to get more profitable ideas to make extra Money
1. Create your designs for a print-on-demand business
Print-on-demand businesses are a great and enjoyable side hustle, especially for those with a passion for design. They are low-risk ventures that allow you to explore entrepreneurship without heavy upfront investments. Using Shopify apps like Printful and Printify, you can easily upload your custom designs onto items like t-shirts, mugs, canvas bags, pillows, and more, and then directly add those products to your Shopify store.
When customers place an order, the products are printed and shipped directly to them by your manufacturer. One key advantage of print-on-demand over traditional bulk manufacturing is that your product supply can scale with demand, without needing to invest in large inventories upfront. Plus, you can still put your unique touch on the items with your custom designs and branding.
Since the production and shipping process is handled by a third party, you’ll have more time to focus on what matters most—designing and marketing your business.
If you prefer the automated aspects of print-on-demand but are more interested in marketing and operations rather than creating custom designs, starting a dropshipping business might be a perfect fit. Dropshipping is an online business model where a third party handles the manufacturing and shipping of existing products for you. Your role is to set up your store, price the products, and market the business.
Like print-on-demand, dropshipping is a low-risk side hustle because products are only shipped when they’re purchased. This minimizes the need for upfront inventory and leaves room for profit as long as your marketing expenses are managed well. Since a third party takes care of production and shipping, dropshipping saves you a lot of time.
You can even dropship on platforms like Amazon and eBay to expand your customer reach. The time saved through dropshipping can be invested in finding a niche, marketing your products, reaching new buyers, and providing excellent customer service. Since product development and design aren’t required, dropshipping is an ideal side hustle for those looking to focus on marketing and business growth.
3. You can start Blogging as a Side Hustle
Blogging is one of the foremost popular side hustles because it is often done from almost anywhere. With just a laptop or a phone and a WiFi connection, any location can become your publishing den.
It may not be profitable directly, except for bloggers looking to create up a private brand, audience, and portfolio, a blog goes an extended way in advancing your career. One of the foremost interesting things about blogging is that the detour is going to benefit your current career—sharing your work can show employers and hiring managers how you think about problems and what projects you’ve worked on. Getting this data down can assist you get discovered or standing out from a barrage of resumes if you opt to use it for a replacement role.
Blogging, much like teaching, allows you to dive into any topic you’re passionate about, as long as there’s an audience eager to learn. This makes it a versatile side hustle with endless possibilities. However, one of the main challenges is figuring out how to turn a blog into a source of income.
Simply getting page views won’t pay the bills, so you’ll need to explore other options to monetize your content. This could include affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, placing ads on your site, or even offering services related to your blog’s focus. The upside is that once you’ve built a loyal audience, you’ll have already laid the foundation for long-term profitability.
4. Use your skills or talent to Provide a service
Businesses and individuals constantly need various services, whether it’s laundry, taxi rides, cleaning, tutoring, or coaching. Earning money from providing a service largely depends on the skills you possess and how much people value them. For instance, if you’re good at math, you could offer tutoring sessions for kids preparing for JAMB in your neighborhood.
Similarly, if you’re skilled in sports like football, you could organize training sessions for children in your area—parents are often willing to pay for such activities when they see the benefits. If you enjoy writing, why not start guest blogging for a fee? Writing ten articles a week could quickly add up to a significant side income.
5. Mini importation business
You’ll be surprised that you don’t need a huge amount of money to start a mini importation business.
Mini importation business is when you import a small volume of goods from a manufacturing country like China to Nigeria at a minimum cost and maximum profit.
The process is quite easy, anyone can do mini-importation as long as they can read and write. Your phone or a laptop computer; internet connection active email address, traceable home address, and as small as 100K or less is all you need to start.
6. Cooking and delivery
If people must eat, the food must be cooked. But cooking is a problem for several.
Bachelors, working-class high-income-earning mums, elderly families, busy working-class people, etc. might be your targets.
You don’t even need up thereto budget to start the business. Your location and the way you package your business matters.
This could be just a side business until your client base grows and you’ll then face it as a full-time job.
Driving a taxi can be a great side hustle, especially in major cities. Many working-class women, for example, drive taxis after their regular 9-to-5 jobs to earn extra income. If you live in cities like Lagos, Abuja, or Benin City and have driving skills (or access to a car), you can make additional money by partnering with ride-hailing services like Uber, Bolt, or Taxify.
As an Uber partner, you can use their app to connect with passengers nearby who need a ride. After picking up and dropping off passengers, payment is automatically transferred from the passenger’s account to yours, with Uber taking a 25% service fee. If you’d prefer not to drive yourself, you can let someone else drive your car and pay them a salary or a percentage of the earnings. The registration process is straightforward and can be completed online.
Skills required: Driving
Resources needed: Access to a car from the year 2000 or newer.
One weekend, my brother took out of his busy schedule to drive a quarter-hour to offer ₦50,000 to a lady she hardly knew. he had met the woman at church a few weeks prior and told her a few flats he was trying to rent for ₦500,000. the woman had found a tenant for my Bro, and automatically earned ₦50,000 for the referral! you’ll make 10% of the worth of renting or buying a property, just by connecting property owners with buyers or tenants.
I was chatting with a man who had a property purchasable from a “distressed owner”. Things had been very difficult for him until he got into the business a year ago. He goes to estate agents (especially those stuck in the past, and haven’t any idea about advertising online) and gets an inventory of their properties purchasable and for rent. He then shares them online and on WhatsApp. When a purchase is formed, he gets a tenth cut, whether it’s rent on a ₦500,000 property, or the sale of a ₦5m property. While my friend did this full-time, this is often a side hustle that you simply can make money from in your spare time. the sole capital required is your data subscription and a touch of legwork to start with.
Skills/Resources required: Marketing skills/Time
If you have a passion for writing, offering content writing services as a side hustle can be a rewarding way to earn extra income. Many businesses, especially online, are constantly in need of skilled copywriters, and there are always opportunities if you know where to find them. A good place to start is by joining content writing groups on platforms like Facebook, where job postings are regularly shared.
You can also reach out directly to blogs that may be looking for contributors or publishers.
Skills/Resources required:
- Writing skills
- Marketing skills
- Time and commitment
Honestly, beauty, especially in Nigeria, has evolved beyond just being “in the eyes of the beholder”—it’s now in the hands of makeup artists. They have an incredible way of transforming appearances, sometimes to the point where you can’t believe your eyes. It’s like they have the magic touch that can turn even the most challenging looks into something stunning.
Makeup artists make a solid income by covering up facial flaws and enhancing natural beauty. As a student, whether male or female, this is definitely a side hustle worth considering. And hey, I’m not saying full-time workers can’t get in on this either. In Nigeria, most ceremonies—weddings, parties, and the like—happen over the weekend. So, having a 9-to-5 job doesn’t mean you can’t take on makeup gigs as a side hustle. There’s always room to earn extra on the side, especially when you’re working around people’s special events.
Lastly, Reduce your expenses ;
Sometimes, making some extra cash can be done by cutting expenses. When was the last time you audited all your monthly expenses? How much is going out the door for that gym membership you don’t use or those pricey lunches you have every day?