Freelancing

Hands down, freelancing is the one of the fastest ways to begin making extra money on the side.

You don’t need to build a website, create a product, or even come up with some killer business idea. All you need is to dig into your inventory of current skills, and find ONE client you can solve a problem for.

What kind of problems could you solve? In the archives here, you’ll find people freelancing their skills in:

For more, here are some of the most in-demand freelance skills.

No, it’s not as sexy as “passive income,” but it’s not as speculative either. You can start getting paid right away, and if your goal is to replace your day job income, there’s probably no faster way.

The Best Freelancing Podcast

I compiled a binge-worthy selection of freelancing and service business podcast episodes from The Side Hustle Show into this playlist. I think you’ll like it!

Dive into the archives here to figure out what you can sell as a freelancer and how to get it done.

241: Reverse Engineer your Dream Job: How a Struggling Songwriter Built a Multiple 6-Figure Business Doing What She Loves

August 25, 2023August 3, 2017

Over the last decade, Cathy Heller has earned $100s of thousands of dollars from her music and helping other musicians license their songs.

In fact, you’ve probably heard some of her music without realizing it. Songs of hers have been featured in ads for huge brands, like McDonald’s, Walmart, Kellogg’s, as well as many popular TV shows.

Today, the mother of 3 balances family, her art, her agency, her online course, and her new Don’t Keep Your Day Job podcast, where she interviews other entrepreneurs, artists, and influencers.

Freelance Writers: Here’s The Upside Down Business Model That Will Transform Your Side Hustle

April 26, 2024June 26, 2017

What if I told you there was an easy way to access the hidden freelance job market?

That with just a few minutes work you could unlock a world of high paying, unadvertised freelance writing jobs, that are looking to hire people like you.

You’d probably say I was crazy. But the truth is that such a system exists, and it’s been a key part of my own business for the last two years.

234: Side Hustle Sales Coaching: What Do I Do and Who Do I Do it For?

October 17, 2018June 15, 2017

Listen in on a real life side hustle coaching call with customer acquisition and retention strategist David Hutcherson (he’s the client), and sales pro Brendan Alan Barrett (he and I share the coaching duties).

On the heels of last week’s sales-themed episode, I invited Brendan on because of his sales background both with companies large and small.

We’re joined by our “client” David, who’s seeking to grow his freelance/consulting side hustle and build on his decade of experience in customer service.

233: How to 10x Your Service Business in Under Two Years

November 5, 2021June 8, 2017

“People don’t buy intellectually, they buy emotionally and rationalize it later,” Jim Brown told me.

Jim is a former professional wrestler, a Marine Corps vet, a sales coach, and is the founder and host of the SalesTuners podcast at SalesTuners.com.

In this year’s survey results, a lot of Side Hustle Nation readers said they needed help growing their business and attracting new customers. This is exactly what Jim does with his clients, and he shares his tactics and processes in this episode.

229: How a Part-Time Podcast Turned into Multiple Streams of Income

September 29, 2023May 11, 2017

Steve P. Young is a side hustler turned full-time entrepreneur. He has hosted more than 500 episodes of the AppMasters podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping app makers get more downloads and sales of their apps.

Steve was working full-time when he decided to start his podcast interviewing app developers and putting out content for the app community.

How to Find Clients for a Service-Focused Side Hustle

August 28, 2023April 24, 2017

Thinking about starting a service-focused side hustle? Looking for clients to launch your side hustle?

For new side hustlers, finding clients is often the number one concern. You might be unsure how to go about marketing yourself and your services to attract potential clients. You might even have some fears about the sales process once you connect with potential clients.

But remember, you are only new once and everyone starts in the same place: with zero customers.

218: How to Build a 6-Figure Side Hustle on Fiverr

November 5, 2021February 23, 2017

Kendell Rizzo made over $100,000 in profit in 18 months part-time selling services, workbooks, and other downloadable products on Fiverr.

In addition to being a 6-figure Fiverr seller, Kendell is a crowdfunding expert, a world traveler, an ironman triathlete.

Fiverr is still going strong, it’s a great example of a Buy Buttons platform – there’s no bidding for work and no outside marketing necessary. This is what attracted Kendell to Fiverr after being frustrated with other freelance endeavors that sap time bidding for jobs or submitting resumes.

210: Steal This Process: A Step-by-Step System to Consistent $10k Months

December 15, 2023January 5, 2017

Nagina Abdullah turned her weight loss blog, MasalaBody.com, into a 6-figure side business. By day, she works for a large consulting company, and with a busy work schedule, a young family, and limited time to work on her side hustle, Nagina has been very smart about her marketing and pricing.

After struggling with her weight for all of her adult life, she finally hit on something that worked and dropped 40 pounds! With friends, colleagues, and neighbors asking how she did it, she started her blog to share recipes and tips.

3 Productized Service Business Ideas You Can Start Today

April 26, 2024December 12, 2016

Productized service businesses are all the rage these days. They involve packing up a service traditionally sold on a freelance or hourly basis, and instead selling it at a fixed price or on a monthly retainer contract.

Examples include Dan Norris’ WP Curve, which offers unlimited WordPress support for $79 a month, or Russ Perry’s Design Pickle, which offers unlimited graphic design tasks for $370 a month.

These services are popping up in a ton of different niches, and for good reason. They have low startup costs, low overhead, and a simple to understand proposition for customers.

205: From a $1 Million Bankruptcy to $20k in Monthly Recurring Revenue: A Productized Service Case Study

January 8, 2024December 8, 2016

Gabe Arnold is the founder and chief pencil sharpener at CopywriterToday.net, a subscription based article writing service. In his early 20’s Gabe saw his construction business hit by the downturn in the property market to the tune of a $1 million bankruptcy, and began freelancing to support his family.

One common hold-up on his website projects was the words to paste into the pages, which gave him an idea. Tune in to hear how he took that idea from zero customers to $20k in monthly recurring revenue.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social