In the last few years, I have seen many blog posts and YouTube videos that list several side hustle ideas for those who want to work towards leaving their full-time jobs or just make some extra cash. In many cases, these articles or videos are created by people who have either been wildly successful with their side hustle or they simply regurgitate information that can be found all over the internet. It can be difficult to find content that describes “normal” people’s experience with starting a side hustle.
The truth is that starting a side hustle while you are working full-time is hard and it takes a while to start making money. This has certainly been my experience with side hustles. However, I encourage you to resist the urge to click away! Starting a side business can also be very rewarding (even if it does not allow you to quit your full-time job). I can honestly say the first $10 I made through blogging was more satisfying than my first paycheck as an engineer! It sounds crazy, but the feeling of creating something people will actually pay for (without the oversight of an employer) is incredible.
The following article will discuss my personal experience starting an Etsy business, a blog, and creating an online course. I will share my successes, my failures, and my advice for those who are just getting started. My hope is that sharing these experiences will be encouraging to others who are looking to start their own side business.
1. Etsy
My most lucrative side business to date is my Etsy shop, Maps By Paige. This is probably because I spend a lot of time working on my Etsy shop. My Etsy shop started like many shops you see on the platform today. During the early days of the lockdown in 2020 because I was seeking a creative outlet/project to fill the inordinate amount of time I was spending at home. Although I was still fortunate enough to have a job and was able to work from home, my job was not keeping me terribly busy because so many projects were on hold during 2020 and 2021. For this reason, I decided to use some of my free time to open an Etsy shop selling some of my digital art, specifically maps. Over time, my hobby has grown into a part-time business that brings in about $1,000 per month of extra cash (more during the holidays).
Starting an Etsy store is fairly simple. There are many articles and YouTube videos online that will show you how to do this. The harder question is what do you sell? As you can probably tell by the name of my shop (Maps By Paige), I sell maps. I decided to sell maps because, like many civil engineers, I have GIS skills that I have developed through work. This may seem very niche, but there are actually many map-related shops on Etsy. Before starting an Etsy shop, it’s important to figure out your “niche” or what you want to sell. For example, you may want to sell photography depicting your city or sell t-shirts with engineering jokes on them.
About Etsy
Etsy is an online global marketplace where people can buy, sell, and collect unique items. Etsy is different from Amazon or eBay in that the items sold on Etsy should be handmade, vintage, or craft supplies. This includes items that involve putting a design you created on mugs, t-shirts, posters, etc. Vintage is defined as items that are at least 20 years old. Yes, that means items from the 1990s are considered vintage. Yikes! Etsy is not a resale marketplace. This means it is not an appropriate place to sell your old clothes (unless they are at least 20 years old), kitchenware, electronics, or other items you would typically find on eBay.
The Etsy target audience is also different than eBay or Amazon. For instance, Etsy buyers and sellers are mostly women. This does not mean you should not sell items that appeal to men. Women use Etsy to buy gifts for their boyfriends, husbands, fathers, brothers, etc. This means marketing masculine products as gifts would be a good strategy.
Browsing through Etsy can be almost overwhelming. There are millions of shops on Etsy, and it can seem like it is impossible to sell anything else that would be considered unique. Admittedly, it can be difficult to stand out on Etsy. However, if you are patient and persistent, it is very possible to carve out your own space on Etsy. In the next section, I will discuss how I sell my maps on Etsy.
Print on Demand (POD)
I fulfill orders in my shop using a print-on-demand (POD) business model. POD describes a situation where I, as the seller, do not directly create finished products or store inventory. Rather a supplier/fulfillment company will print my design on their products when a customer orders a specific product. POD is a great option for those who are just starting an e-commerce store because you do not have to commit to buying a bunch of products that may not sell. Rather, you can just buy what you need as customers place orders.
There are a number of POD services that you can use such as Gooten, Printify, Printful, and Printed Mint. I use Printify for my products because their prices are competitive, and they integrate well with Etsy. It is worth noting that Printify does not actually manufacture its own products. Rather, they are an integration platform that connects sellers (like me) to manufacturers. I like this because you can select from many products. However, it is worth noting that not every product on Printify is of the best quality. For this reason, it is best to order a test print of something before selling it.
Advice for those who want to start an Etsy shop
While setting up an Etsy shop if fairly simple, running a successful Etsy shop is a bit more challenging. When I first started my shop, I made many mistakes. While some mistakes are inevitable, I hope some of the following advice will minimize the chance of you making the same mistakes I did if you decide to open an Etsy shop.
- Understand copyright. You do not need to steal someone’s exact design for it to be considered copying. For example, do not make anything with Disney characters or Star Wars characters on it – even if you are incorporating those characters into an orignial design. There can also be a blurry line between inspiration and copying. This is why I encourage you to come up with your own original ideas and avoid borrowing other people’s work. Large companies and small sellers alike will send out cease and desist letters. While it is very unlikely that any actual legal action will be taken against you unless you ignore this kind of letter, copyright infringement is unethical. It is also important to understand copyright because there are sellers that will file copyright complaints against potential competitors. If you know that you did not break any copyright laws, counter these bogus claims and move on.
- Watch Kara Buntin’s YouTube channel (A Cake to Remember). It is a wealth of Etsy-related knowledge. She goes live on YouTube every Tuesday at 2 pm EST. Handmade Alpha Academy is another fantastic YouTube channel.
- Join some Etsy-related Facebook groups. The Etsy seller community is awesome!
- Understand that there will be negative reviews and returns. As an engineer, I rarely interact with the public on a professional level. Starting an Etsy shop took me back to the days of working retail as a teenager except people can be even nastier online! If you start an Etsy shop, understand that negative online interactions will happen eventually even if you do everything perfectly. When you receive negative feedback, I recommend taking a few hours (or maybe a day) to calm down and process if you are upset. Then assess whether there is any truth or validity to their criticism. If a customer cusses at you or is threatening, report them to Etsy. Such behavior is against Etsy policy.
- Learn Adobe PhotoShop or Adobe Illustrator if you want to create an Etsy shop that sells digital art. Honestly, you can do so much with these programs, and basic graphic design skills are useful for most professionals.
- When pricing your products, make sure you account for Etsy fees. They add up!
- Learn about Etsy Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Do not compare yourself or your shop to someone who is farther along on their journey than you. The truth is that you may not be good at something when you first start, which is completely understandable.
- It takes a while to make money. Some shops take off the minute they hit Etsy. Most of the time this is due to a large Instagram following. For the rest of us, it may take a couple of months to get your first sale.
Plan for Maps By Paige Moving Forward
In the future, I plan to continue working on my Etsy shop. I am also working on building up my Shopify store. The advantage of having a Shopify store is that you have more control over your store, and Shopify charges less in fees than Etsy. However, unlike Etsy, Shopify does not market your products for you. For this reason, I am working on developing a social media strategy that will allow me to drive my own traffic to my Shopify store. Social media is not my forte, so I am taking a social media marketing class at my local community college. It has been helpful and is much cheaper than most of the online courses you find online.
2. Blogging
At this point, blogging has been around for a long time. It may seem like an almost antiquated concept. However, you may be surprised to learn that over 70 million new blog posts are produced each month. Creating a blog is fairly easy. Writing blog posts on a regular basis is more difficult. I enjoy blogging because it can be a great way to make a little extra cash while building your personal brand or writing about a topic you enjoy. In the next section, I will discuss my blogging journey so far.
My Blogging Journey
I started the Let’s Talk Water Blog on my personal website in early 2022. However, I have been on a blogging journey for several years now. Prior to starting the Let’s Talk Water Blog, I ran a similar blog on a different website (engineerpaige.com). The Engineer Paige Blog lasted for three years. In the last year of the blog, my blog traffic increased significantly. The blog was consistently getting 1,000 to 2,000 visitors per month. With that traffic, I was making $100 to $150 per month in Google AdSense revenue. I have to say, it was very cool getting paid by the internet every month. It was even better when I started receiving messages and emails from people around the world thanking me for the helpful information they found on my blog. Around this time, there were a few instances where my web host had to shut down my blog due to security breach issues. I ended up paying hundreds of dollars to get the website back up and running. But then it happened again! Eventually, I had to shut down engineerpaige.com because it was hacked repeatedly, and it started costing me too much money in website repair/security services. Based on this experience, I have learned that it is best to avoid using numerous plugins to build your blog/website. These plugins can be buggy and cause issues that are difficult to fix.
In addition to my professional blogs, I also have a gardening blog called greenexperimentcompany.com. I earn between $40 and $50 per month from this blog. However, I have not worked on it for a while. There are probably some things I could fix to increase this amount fairly quickly. Pinterest has been a great way to drive traffic to my gardening blog.
Is blogging right for you?
So is blogging right for you? If you want to start a blog, the first thing to consider is whether you actually enjoy writing! If you are someone who hates writing, blogging will most likely be a miserable experience. Similarly, it is also important to create a blog about a subject you enjoy researching.
There are many benefits to blogging. For example, my writing skills have improved since I started blogging. Specifically, I can write reports more quickly.
If you are interested in blogging, you will likely come across several content creators who have created profitable blogs very quickly. While this is certainly possible, most bloggers experience slower success. This is because it takes a long time to build authority with Google. In other words, your website may need to be around for a while for Google to consider your content trustworthy. If you want to increase the chances of your blog posts ranking higher in Google, I recommend learning more about Google search engine optimization (SEO). In short, SEO involves writing content that answers questions people are asking in Google searches and writing content in a way that maximizes the chance that it will rank higher. It is worth noting that SEO is a big topic. There are whole agencies dedicated to SEO!
Advice for those who want to start a blog
- Watch the Income School YouTube channel if you want to learn about blogging.
- If you are unsure whether you want to become a serious blogger, start with a free website. You can start a blog or website for free at wordpress.com. Squarespace also has options for those who want to start building a website for free.
- If you are not sure what you want to write about, I recommend purchasing the domain name for your name (e.g., paigebrue.com).
- Edit your content for grammar and spelling. I recommend using Grammarly for this purpose. You can download it for free. It is also helpful to write your content and come back a day later with fresh eyes.
- If you want to make money from blogging, it is important to publish content regularly. This is particularly important in the early days of a website.
- Select a niche or specific topic for your blog if want to make money from advertising or affiliate products.
- Do not obsess over the design/look of your blog too much. People visit blogs for information. The visual appearance is important, but even the default WordPress theme looks more attractive than many of the older blogging websites out there.
- Incorporate videos into your content. The State of Video Marketing 2021 reports that 86% of marketers say video has increased website traffic.
- If you are writing content for the purpose of attracting an audience, it is important to write about topics that people are actually searching for on Google rather than just writing articles to get something off of your chest.
- be patient. it will take a long time for google to find your blog and put you on the SERP.
- The rules of blogging and Google SEO change constantly. If you would like to make money from blogging, it is important to always keep learning!
3. Online Courses
I have also built an online HEC-RAS course to make some extra money. Admittedly, I have spent much more time on Etsy and blogging than building online courses. Like blogging and Etsy, building an online course takes a significant amount of time and effort. After building the course, it is important to continue to engage with students and improve the course as you receive feedback.
My experience in building online courses is limited to Udemy, an online learning platform. The following section briefly describes Udemy.
About Udemy
Udemy is an online learning platform. The company was created in 2010. As of July 2022, Udemy has more than 54 million students, over 200,000 courses, and 71,000 instructors teaching in over 75 languages. The most popular Udemy courses cover topics related to programming and technology. There are free courses available. However, most courses cost between $10 to $25 if you purchase them while they are on sale.
Udemy courses are for those who are seeking to learn a specific skill (e.g., Photoshop, Python, Java, Excel). Unlike other platforms such as Coursera or edX, Udemy does not have an academic focus. Students expect step-by-step instructions.
My Experience With Udemy
Overall, Udemy was a positive experience in that it taught me a lot about putting together courses and presentations. I also got feedback on my presentation style. However, I did not make a significant amount of money from Udemy. For about one year, I made $20 to $60 per month from my Udemy course. I also put my HEC-RAS course on Skillshare. I earn around $2 to $5 a month from Skillshare. After about two years of offering my HEC-RAS course, I decided to discontinue the course in hopes of making a better one in the future.
If you want to get started in building an online course, Udemy is a great option. Posting a course is free, and you can make a little bit of money while figuring out how to improve your course. In addition, Udemy will market your course to its users, which is helpful for those who do not have an online following from blogging, YouTube, or podcasting. The feedback from reviews (which could be harsh) was also valuable. While I worked really hard on my course, I do think I could have made it better and presented the material more enthusiastically. Once you gain some experience building courses, I recommend moving your courses over to Teachable where you have a bit more control over pricing and content.
Final Thoughts – What I’ve Learned About Side So Far
There is no one “formula” or set of steps that will ensure you start a successful business. Starting your own business (even a side business) will require developing a unique product or service that you can market to a unique target audience using a unique marketing plan. That is not to say that you need to completely “reinvent the wheel.” Most businesses are very similar to at least one other business. However, it is important to determine what makes your particular product or service different and then communicate that effectively to potential customers. This takes time and requires trying different things that may fail.
Work on your side business/hustle in the morning before work. I understand that waking up early is not fun or ideal, but most people work best in the morning. Most people are mentally fried by the time evening rolls around and want to relax for a bit before bed. If you are working for yourself, why would you not show up at your best?
There is no such thing as passive income. The only true way to earn money passively is to invest your money and leave it alone. Unfortunately, a business does not work that way. While some business models require more babysitting than others, there is no such thing as a set-it-and-forget-it business.
Once you start working on a side hustle, you will find yourself thinking about it often throughout the day. I recommend recording random ideas and thoughts on your phone for future reference.
You will learn a lot from your side hustle. I have learned new skills such as customer service, business, writing, and Adobe Photoshop by running a side hustle. These skills are also useful in my “day job.”
Manage your expectations. It can be easy to start comparing yourself to YouTubers and Podcasters who appear to be overnight success stories. The reality is that sort of situation is rare. In most cases, it takes a while to build a hobby into a side hustle. And longer still to build a side hustle into a sustainable business.
Have fun. Side hustles give you the opportunity to do something the way you want to see it done. Have fun with it and dream big!