JoshFor students, cash can be incredibly hard to come by.
Between the cost of burdens such as hefty text-books and hidden college fees, is it even worth mentioning the ever-growing concerns of mounting student debt?
The natural answer to escaping the cash crunch that surrounds student life is simple, right?
“Get a job.”
But even that is easier said than done in the face of stiff competition on-campus. Therefore, it’s perhaps more prudent for struggling students to consider a side gig as means of generating long-term, passive income. The benefits of a solid side gig include:
- Allowing yourself a combination of spending money and free time to focus on your studies
- You can get paid to do what you enjoy and potentially uncover a new career path
- Hone career skills that you may not be able to harness in the classroom
So, how can you turn your passion projects into potential income? Consider the following side gigs as means of turning your everyday interests and hobbies into potential cash.
Build a Blog
Making money by starting a blog is a tried-and-tested means of generating passive income. Granted that you’re able to build an audience that’s interested in what you have to say, ideally in a niche that’s willing to spend, you can sew the seeds of a long-term business through the written word. Thankfully, you can get started with little more than a WordPress account and a web host for mere dollars per month.
The beauty of blogging comes in the fact that you have all the freedom in the world to drive traffic, build your audience and make money. For example, you could start a niche business blog based on keyword research to generate passive income: granted you can unlock a profitable niche and understand the basics of SEO, you can build an affiliate site empire over time. Likewise, if you can drive enough traffic to a monetized site, you can build a valuable business through flipping your blog or selling products in the future.
Graphic and Web Design
If you’ve got a knack for creativity, consider the massive need for graphic designers when it comes to building sites and providing killer visual content to blogs. Any combination of the following is fair game if you’re handy with Photoshop, web design or photography:
- Website frameworks, design and WordPress themes
- Logos and banners for websites: likewise, many sites need designs for their social media ads (which could result in on-going work)
- Infographics and hero images for blogs, as visual content is becoming increasingly important to complement written work.
By getting started now, you can build a portfolio that may help you land an internship or job down the road. You can use sites like Upwork or Fiverr to get your feet wet with clients and build from there.
YouTube and Streaming Services
Video content is quickly becoming a viable medium for making a living: many YouTubers are making full-time income by crafting videos surrounding their interests and hobbies such as DIY crafts and gaming. For example, gaming platform Twitch.tv has a huge concurrent viewership akin to that of a cable television channel.
With more and more of the public ditching cable in pursuit of cheaper entertainment, web-based video will continue to boom and represents a potential goldmine for those willing to put in the work to maintain a channel. Much like blogging, consistency is the name of the game with video content. Over time, you can monetize your channel and essentially get paid to do what you love.
Making money while in college doesn’t have to translate into slaving away at a drive-thru counter. The sooner you get started following your passions in the form of a side gig, you more likely you can turn them into a business for the long-haul.