Nau Mai Haere Mai! We're back at it again with another Blog Post. Just a reminder for those of you who do not know: Maori Millionaire has content every single day of the week! Monday, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays we have blog posts and Wednesdays and Sundays we have podcasts! Make sure to subscribe so that you won't miss out on free posts and information. Remember, we are on a mission to empower Maori to become financially independent. We can't achieve this without your help. Share our stories, and tell your whanau and friends so that we can all start our journey towards financial independence.
People often ask: How do I start? What is your number one tip?
My Number one tip is this:
Live below your means, always.
What this means is that if you have an income of $100 - you best make sure that your expenses are less than this.
Then, I often get this: "I can't afford to live below my means" "I don't make enough money". This is where a side hustle comes in. There's only so much you can do trying to cut costs and limit expenses. At some point, you'll be asking yourself how to survive on less food just to save money. This is unsustainable! At some point you need to increase your income. This post is to tell you how you can do this.
Firstly, What is a Side Hustle?
A Side Hustle is something you do on the side of your full time work or study which helps to increase your income. Some people mow lawns, others sell cupcakes at Sunday markets. Whatever it is, the intention is to make money.
Why should I have a side hustle?
Why not?? Seriously though, side hustles are key to building wealth. Some may require a side hustle to make ends meet and for others it will be the difference between living pay check to paycheck and building your savings and investments. Side hustles are able to supplement your income.
What benefits are there to having a side hustle?
Side Hustles have many benefits. Here are a few:
Money (Obviously)
Some have the potential to keep you fit (mowing lawns, paper runs)
Fulfilment - One of my side hustle's is writing for Maori Millionaire. This allows me to spend quality time researching finance (which I love doing), and creating posts, and providing resources for others. This makes me feel amazing because not only am I researching finance but I'm able to share this with whanau and friends who want to learn.
What are some side hustle ideas?
Side Hustles come in many shapes and forms. Some enable us to quit our day jobs, and others are simply to do outside of work. See below to find out what side hustles you could start, and how.
Starting a business is always everyone's ultimate goal for a side hustle. However, growing a business and creating a successful business is very difficult. If done well, creating a business can definitely be a lucrative side hustle.
Social Media Management for old people or people who are too busy to do it themselves. This one can be charged hourly for $60 hour and you can spend as little as 20 minutes a day doing this. It's also really easy if you're a teenager because you already know how to use social media. This one can be very lucrative.
Another idea is to get a part time Job outside of your full time job. This could be as minimal as 6 hours on a Saturday at McDonalds which could mean an extra $100 per week towards your goals or needs.
Blogging can generate income once grown to a certain level. Ad's can be placed in your blog posts or you can also be sponsored to write stories. Learn more here: https://www.maorimillionaire.com/post/my-first-month-blogging-what-have-i-learnt and here https://www.maorimillionaire.com/post/my-first-month-blogging-what-have-i-learnt
YouTube can too! Sponsors, ads, affiliate links.
Chores for the elderly - think cleaning, errands, gardening, tech jobs
Selling things you no longer need - try Facebook market place, trade me
Bake sales at your local market
Meals on wheels, cooking in bulk and then selling these to people who want easy food.
Selling your skills
Affiliate marketing
Sponsors
Ads
Surveys - Don't come at me!!
Selling photos on Shutterstock
Typing handwritten documents for people
Gardening/ Lawn Care services
Renting out a spare room at your property
Breeding Puppies
Selling custom sneakers - DIY some Nikes in to something cool and then sell for a profit
Renting your garage out to someone who needs storage space
Investing in property, renting the property out
Doing nails, lashes or brows in your down time
Selling art you create
Another side hustle idea is to be a 'Mum's little helper'. If a woman has just had a baby she's probably tired and stressed out. You can help her by doing odd jobs around the house, errands, baby sitting whilst she showers. This could be a position you hold for a few months whilst mum is able to get back on her feet.
If you live in a large city which has Uber or Lyft - drive for them or deliver food.
Tutoring! This one is awesome because you are able to kill 2 birds with one stone. I used to tutor and it was like 'studying' for myself which I got paid to do. You can usually charge around $30 per hour for this.
Writing resumes for people. You can charge $30-$50 to write someones CV for them if they don't have time to do it themselves or do not know how to. Make sure you're good at it first!
Teach a language! I used to teach Te Reo Maori to a French lady and this was really cool. I loved it but it can also become a side hustle if you begin to charge. Advertise on Facebook groups or in supermarkets.
Be an extra in movies. Movies can pay you $500+ just to be a random behind the actors.
House sitting is also an easy one and it can be almost like a holiday! Sometimes rich people need their flash houses to be house sat whilst they go on vacation to make sure no one robs them. They might chuck you a hundred bucks for doing so.
Write an EBook. I'm currently writing a book of which I plan to sell. It will be passive income because once the book is written I won't need to do much but I'll earn money each time it sells.
Walking dogs
Investing in stocks can earn you dividends which can act as supplementary income
Investing in property can make you money through capital gains
Investing in Real Estate can make you money by renting the property out
Drop Shipping is cool. Learn more here: https://www.maorimillionaire.com/post/what-is-drop-shipping
Podcasting can earn money through affiliate marketing, sponsors, and ads
Graphic Designing is really cool if you're an artist because you can do what you love and then sell it. I paid someone $60 to design my logo and I think this girl does it for a living. She makes enough money from all of the $60's to cover her living costs.
Proofreading - If you have a knack for reading you could charge students to proofread their assignments. Advertise in local Facebook pages.
Gigs - You could sing at bars
Busking - I used to do this. I'd play my Ukulele outside the Tamatea Pakn'save and people would chuck money in to my hat. I had a friend in high school who used to do this with Bag Pipes. She would make hundreds of dollars in one day!
Fitness groups. You could run a little bootcamp style fitness thing at a local park. I used to go to one at Park Island in Napier and we paid either $2 or $5 (I can't remember). There were about 10 of us every Sunday. This lady would have been making between $20-$50 just to work out with other people!!
Selling images on the dark web has been growing in popularity and whilst I do not recommend it, it seems to be making a lot of girls a lot of money.
Last, but not least is knitting. Knitting is a great way to let your inner creative out whilst still making money.
So, Now that you have a side Hustle Idea, Where to now?
Now, you need to market it! Market your content, market your skills, market your products. Here are some tips:
Cold Call people!
Send Cold Emails! I've sent cold emails to Hawke's Bay Today, Sorted, and Money Hub and they have all responded and written about Maori Millionaire and shared it with their thousands of visitors. - Free marketing
Use social media to market your skills. Make an Instagram and tell your friends and family to share it. Force them to share it. Take their phone and share it yourself. I did this.
Advertise your hustle in the supermarket bulletin boards. My mum used to put one up and advertise a spare bedroom and then someone would ring up, come look at the room, and then shortly later we'd have people moving in.
Spread the word! I used to be embarrassed of all my side hustles. I started a YouTube channel when I was younger and I got so embarrassed that I deleted it and all of it's content. Try find it... you won't - because it's gone. Moral of the story: Don't be whakamaa and just get on with it!
So, get hustling.
Now.
You got this!