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.

111: How to Make Money as a Freelancer – Without Competing for Jobs on Elance or oDesk, with Daniel DiPiazza

August 25, 2023May 14, 2015

Freelancing or selling some useful service is one of the fastest ways to earn more money. It may not be as sexy as “passive income” but it does come with instant gratification.

Make deals, deliver awesome work, and get paid.

In today’s show, I’m excited to welcome back Daniel DiPiazza from Rich20Something.com. You may remember Daniel from Episode 35, where he talked about how his “marsupial method” took his tutoring business from $18 an hour to $1000 an hour.

Beyond $5: 5 Fiverr Gigs with High Average Order Values

December 4, 2020May 6, 2015

Fiverr may have started as the $5 marketplace, but savvy sellers know there’s potential for much higher earnings on the platform.

These opportunities come in the form of gig extras (upsells), multiple orders, and their new custom offer tool. With the custom offer tool, you can now actually make sales up to $10,000, as AnarchoFighter shared earlier this year on The Side Hustle Show.

But if you’re just starting out as a seller, it can be tough to identify which gigs have high average order values.

93: How to Start and Scale a Service Business to Quit Your Job, with Dayne Shuda

November 6, 2021February 12, 2015

Dayne Shuda runs GhostBlogWriters.com, a done-for-you blogging service that commands premium prices, and oversees a team of 20 part-time writers to deliver the work for clients around the country.

But like most businesses, Ghost Blog Writers came from some pretty humble beginnings. In fact, Dayne started it as a side hustle with $0 upfront investment.

92: Building a Location Independent Business of Freedom and Travel — Even With a Family

March 17, 2025February 5, 2015

Here’s a guy who built an online business, and had the courage to up and move to Cozumel, Mexico — with his wife and 3 young daughters.

It’s not your typical single-23-year-old-dude digital nomad type of story, though Sean’s business itself is simple enough to be replicated.

This is a fun chat about hustling for business and building a lifestyle on your own terms. I think you’re going to like it, even if you have no desire to move abroad.

The Complete Guide to Pricing Your Side Hustle Service

March 31, 2025January 19, 2015

So there I was in my entry-level job earning barely enough to cover car, gas, home, and all the necessary stuff, yet my friends were out 3 nights a week without me.

Frustrating.

My income just wasn’t good enough for my lifestyle.

I started coaching youth soccer, pulling from my playing experience (not coaching) from college, and I was getting a side-stream of income.

87: The 5 Step System to Quit Your Job In the Next 12 Months

January 5, 2023January 1, 2015

If you’re not already following Bryan Harris, I recommend you do. The guy is super smart and has a unique way of breaking things down so that they’re easy to understand and implement.

He doesn’t mess around, and gives super-detailed actionable advice with some awesome examples, but gives the caveat that it takes real work. This is not a 4-hour workweek passive income system — at least not at first.

But that’s OK, because we’re hustlers and ready to make something happen in 2015, right?

78: How to Build a Full-Time Freelancing Business

November 9, 2021October 30, 2014

Carrie Smith’s CarefulCents blog is one of my personal favorites.

Why? Because she’s a side hustler who’s been there, done that.

She’s built her part-time freelancing business to the point where she was able to quit her job and become a full-time entrepreneur. In the process, she’s built up a popular blog and personal brand, paid off $14k in debt, and commands significantly above-market rates for her work.

76: Building Recurring Revenue Streams as a Side Hustler

November 4, 2021October 16, 2014

Today, Alexis Grant runs a social media, content marketing, and blog management agency and manages a team of 10 people to get it all done.

But like many of us, she started off as a side hustler, working her way up and adding clients until it was time to make the leap.

She took some very strategic steps along the way, including setting up clients on a retainer model instead of a one-off project basis, and building a “personal brand” and audience of her own through her blog.

75: How I Earned $7490 in My First 14 Months on Fiverr (and my plans to double it)

June 6, 2024October 9, 2014

One of the surprising bright spots in my side hustle portfolio (my strategy of building multiple income streams) has been Fiverr.

After hearing the incredible story of AnarchoFighter last year, I knew I had to give the platform a shot!

While I haven’t exactly earned house-buying money, it has turned into a nice little revenue source. I’m up $7490 through 14 months, or a little over $500 a month on average.

71: One Page Adsense Sites and Productized Consulting

August 28, 2023September 11, 2014

If you’ve been in the “niche site” game at all over the past few years, this week’s conversation will open your eyes to a whole new world of possibility in the realm of making money with Adsense.

Kurt Elster is the co-founder of EtherCycle, an online marketing strategy and web design and development firm. But on top of that, his company also runs a plethora of one-page micro-sites that earn advertising revenue with Adsense.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social