If you’re going to start a side hustle (ie, a job in addition to your full-time job), it needs to be lucrative. While you can make extra money taking online surveys, it usually won’t amount to anything greater than coffee money. Here, I’m showing you the highest-paying side hustles you can start today that are guaranteed to bring in substantial income each month. And hey, if you work really hard, you may even be able to quit your full-time job! A life of freedom and being your own boss?! Heck yes!
How to Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Do you browse Pinterest in your free time? Do you want to work from home? And not just work from home, but actually run a super profitable business from home? If so, I highly recommend becoming a Pinterest virtual assistant.
How To Make Money This Holiday Season
This time of year is my favorite. I don’t want to miss out on Pumpkin Spice Lattes and fall festivals because I’m on a budget. Instead, I want to enjoy everything that encompasses the holiday season. And yes, that means spending some money. Here is how to make extra money this holiday season.
Instead of providing the normal “How to save money this Christmas”-style post, I wanted to do something different. I want to show you how you can make money this holiday season so you have a bit more wiggle room in your budget.
How to Start a Successful Handyman Business
Are you ready to learn how to start a successful handyman business? Working for yourself as a handyman has tons of advantages, such as setting your own schedule, choosing the types of jobs and people you will work for, setting your own pay rates, and being in complete control of your income.
Don’t think you need to do all the work yourself, either. The most successful handyman business owners have crews that either help them with the labor or do all of the labor, allowing you to focus on growing your business, generating more sales, and increasing your profits.
Here is how to start a successful handyman business.
Updated August 2017
How to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom without Changing Your Lifestyle
I think it’s safe to say that working moms would enjoy the possibility of being a stay-at-home mom if it meant keeping their lifestyle the same. I personally am one of those crazy people who actually enjoys my full-time job, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t even consider what it would be like to stay home.
Here’s the thing, though. I think the majority of us working moms would miss having “something for ourselves.” We’d miss contributing to the family financially, and we’d definitely miss socializing with other adults (big one for me!!). If this is exactly how you feel, keep reading.
How to Start a Website for Your Business
Are you ready to start a website for your business? Whether you run a service-based business (such as a handyman company) or have an actual retail store, having a website is crucial to the success of your company. Nowadays, everything is online. Potential customers might want to read reviews, someone may be doing a Google search of your product or service, or a current customer may just want to learn more about you and your business.
Creating a website for your business doesn’t have to be complicated or break the bank. I’ve started numerous small business websites – including a handyman website and multiple blogs – in under an hour, and I am no expert when it comes to technology. If you’re ready to start a website for your business, keep reading.
How to Start a Website for Your Business
Step 1: Choose Your Domain Name
Your domain name is your “.com” name. Ideally, this will be the name of your business, but there is a chance that the name will already be taken.
To start a website, you have to purchase a domain name and hosting – which is what your website will live on. I’ve always used Bluehost and highly recommend them. They’re affordable, easy to use, have excellent customer service, and they give you your domain name for free with the purchase of a plan.
To browse domain names, head to Bluehost.com and select “Get Started Now.” Next, you’ll choose a plan. I recommend the Basic plan shown below:
Next, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can choose your domain name. Enter it in. If it’s available, you’ll be able to continue moving forward with the process. If it’s not, you’ll be asked to choose a different domain name. Feel free to play around with this until you find the perfect domain name for your business.
Step 2: Purchase Bluehost
Once you have your domain name selected, you’ll be prompted to enter in your account information on Bluehost, shown below:
Followed by your package information:
The 36-month starter plan is the best deal per month, but you can always start out with the 12-month price and then in a year, purchase the 36-month one. I also added the Domain Privacy Protection for $0.99 per month. I did not add any other items, but you are more than welcome to.
Step 3: Install WordPress
Next, you’ll want to install WordPress, which is the platform on which you will run your website. Click “Hosting” at the top left, then “cpanel” where you’ll see “Install WordPress” under the Website Builders section (pictured below):
Click on your domain name:
Fill out the form:
I recommend you write down your Admin Username and Admin Password and keep it in a safe spot! Click “Install Now” and you are done!
Step 4: Design Your Website
Your all set! Now, it’s time to design your website and start adding valuable content. Most blogs and websites run on Genesis, and then have their own child theme on top of that (think of Genesis as the engine of your car and your theme as the body and color of your car). This blog is using a Restored316 child theme, but you can browse themes for free on WordPress (in the Marketplace on the left-hand column) if you want.
Phew! You did it! To help get your business’ website looking professional, I wrote a book titled The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging. Feel free to email me (sbrooks52111 @ yahoo.com) and I’ll send you a copy of my book for free! It’ll show you how to create business pages, design your sidebar, set up your “About” section, and more.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment!
How to Spend Your Tax Refund
Ready for some awesome ways on how to spend your tax refund?! Hopefully, you are getting some money back from Uncle Sam. I am happy to report that we are getting a nice chunk of change back. However, this coming year we will be in a different tax bracket and most likely will owe, so this is probably one of the last refunds we will see in a while.
According to the IRS, the average tax refund is $3,120. While it may sound fun to go on a tropical vacation or upgrade your furniture, it’s a better idea to invest that money back into yourself, save or pay off debt.
Here are four ideas on how to spend your tax refund.
How to Make Money Online
Are you wondering how to make money online? If so, you’re at the right place. I’ve been making money online now for four years! I first got started freelance writing when my first daughter was born and have been doing it ever since. I don’t think a month has gone by that I haven’t made money online.
Right now, I make my money by blogging, which I’ll show you below how you can do that, too.
This post is for those of you who want to change your life. Whether you need a couple hundred extra each month or you want to quit your full-time job so you can stay home with your kids, you have to get started.
This guide will show you exactly how.
Six Figure Business Ideas: How to Start a Six Figure Business
Are you ready to start a six figure business? Do you dream of one day working for yourself and bringing in more than enough income to support your entire family? If so, now’s your chance. Don’t wait any longer; instead, let 2016 be the year you decided to make a change. Below are top six figure business ideas that you can do from home.
Six Figure Business Ideas
I’m first going to share my two favorite ways of making money: freelance writing and blogging. I don’t make six figures (yet), but I also don’t work full-time on my side hustles. They’re merely a fun hobby of mine that just so happen to bring in a few hundred to a few thousand extra dollars each month. You can view all of my income reports here.
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing can be an incredibly lucrative career. I started out making $25 per post and now make almost $300 per post. That adds up big time. I can spend just a few hours per week writing and make well over $1,000 per month on my efforts. Holly Johnson, who blogs at Club Thrifty with her husband, will invoice more than $225,000 this year in freelance writing. She recently created a course to help those that want to become a freelancer called Earn More Writing. Her course is packed full of information on how to get started freelancing, where to find jobs, how to raise your rates, and more!
Blogging
This is where I plan on building my own six-figure business. I love, love, love blogging. I started this blog in 2014 and am now making over $2,000 per month blogging. Growing a blog and earning a full-time income from it takes serious time, but it can be extremely lucrative for those that work hard and keep at. If you love writing, I highly encourage you to start your own blog. If you do so through my Bluehost link, you’ll receive an exclusive discount, a free domain name, and I’ll give you a copy of my book – The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – for free!
Have an idea for a blog name?! You can check available domain names here:
And, if you’re not sure how to make money blogging, I created a very specific course on how you can make money as a web hosting affiliate. I use and love Bluehost, so that’s what I recommend to readers looking to start a blog. When they make a purchase, I get a kickback at no extra cost to them.
My course – How to Make Money as a Web Hosting Affiliate – will show you exactly how you can make thousands per month helping other people start a blog! It’s super fun and has been very lucrative for my family and I.
Publishing
Nowadays, you can write and self-publish your own books on platforms like Amazon Kindle or Gumroad. I used Gumroad for my book, but have heard wonderful things about Amazon Kindle. Writing and uploading is the easy part; it’s the marketing and promoting of your book(s) that will take time. However, if you’re a good author and you know how to market yourself, you could easily make six figures per year from book sales.
Don’t believe you can really make that much self-publishing your books? Check out this story in Forbes featuring a writer who made $450,000 from Amazon publishing in one year.
Buy, Refurbish, Sell
Do you love garage sale-ing, shopping for antiques or fixing up older appliances/furniture and making it like new? If so, why not start a business doing what you love? An old boss of mine made $800 per month re-selling items she found at garage sales. She spent roughly 15-20 hours per month finding old items and then listing them on eBay for a profit. By scaling the business and investing more time into it, one could reach the six-figure income level in no time.
The same goes for refurbishing furniture. I repainted a dresser I bought off of Craigslist for $15 and could have sold it for $200. I’ve also repainted our $100 Craigslist kitchen table and am about to start on a heavy-duty dresser for my daughter’s room that we got for free. Between Craigslist and Goodwill, there are gobs of stuff people are looking to get rid of for little to no money. Make it your job to fancy it up and sell it for a profit!
Make Money Doing What You Love
We all have different passions and hobbies. If you want to make big money, you have to figure out a way to leverage your talents so you can earn a six-figure income. My husband, for example, works in construction. He loves fixing up houses and making them custom. There are many routes that he could go – he could flip properties, manage his own rental properties, be a licensed contractor and hire subcontractors to do the labor, start a blog on renovating homes and make money via advertising and affiliates, or a combination of the above.
Or, perhaps you like doing a bunch of different things but don’t want to be tied down to one field. You could freelance write and bring in $2,500 per month, create and sell items on Etsy for $1,000 a month, run your own blog for $3,000 a month, manage rentals for $1,000 a month, walk your neighbors dog during the day for $500 a month, and refurbish furniture for $1,500 per month. Before you know it, you’re making six figures a year by doing what you love. (I know all of this would require a decent amount of time on your part and that everyone’s circumstances vary; these are merely ideas.)
Do you run a six figure business? If not, what type of business would you start?!