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This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
This told essay is based on a conversation with Grace Liu, a 23-year-old content creator based in Houston. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I quit my technology job in March 2023 to explore other sources of income. Since he was spending a lot of time working 9 to 5 jobs, he wanted to focus on ways to make money while he was sleeping and traveling.
Pursuing different sources of income suits my personality and fulfills my desire to explore and experiment as much as possible. If you get bored with one area, you can shift your focus to another area. Also, if one stream doesn’t give you much profit, you can resort to other streams.
Below is a breakdown of my eight sources of income, along with income, difficulty, and time spent each week.
1. Luxurious picnic business
Quick rating: 9/10
Favorable rating: 7/10
I run a luxury picnic business with my best friend and boyfriend. We initially advertised the product on Facebook Marketplace and on school flyers, promoted it, and it paid for itself within the first week.
We reinvested all of that money into expanding our business model, including purchasing additional equipment for group picnics. Since then, we’ve worked with companies like Kendra Scott, local hotels, and Texas A&M University.
Our team is 6 people, so we no longer do physical setup and takedown, and we only spend an hour a week doing it. Starting in March, he can take home up to $3,000 a month in May, October and November (peak picnic season).
It’s easy and affordable to get started and doesn’t require many skills other than an aesthetic sense. It is also advantageous because it has very high profit margins as there are little or no variable costs.
2. Influencer brand sale
Quick rating: 8/10
Favorable rating: 10/10
I’m a micro-influencer and have a TikTok account where I post about my life, sources of income, and product promotions.
Brands will contact you and ask you to post a dedicated or integrated TikTok video. I used to create content for brands for free, but now I charge at least $1,000 per post.
I spend about an hour a week on brand sales. At first, I had to get used to the software and apps, and creating and editing content was difficult. He’s been doing this for two years, so he knows exactly what clips to add and how to do the narration, so he gets better at it very quickly.
It takes time to build a following on the platform, but once you get there, it’s very easy to work with brands for sponsorships. For each post, he earns between $1,000 and $2,000 for about an hour of work.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Quick rating: 7/10
Favorable rating: 9/10
I started affiliate marketing through Amazon’s influencer program and earned anywhere from $500 to $2,000 a month.
My TikToks feature and link to work-from-home essentials from Amazon. Then, when people visit my storefront and purchase items through the link, I receive a commission.
Applying for the program takes about 5 minutes and requires a social media profile to promote your content.
If you don’t post anything, you may be rejected. I have a friend who only has a few hundred followers, but he was hired because he was making unboxing videos.
Affiliate marketing is easy enough for anyone to start, but profits are not guaranteed. On any social media platform, it takes a lot of time and patience for your posts to go viral and lead to sales. Once that happens, the money will come in quickly over a few months and it will all be passive income.
4. User-generated content
Quick rating: 4/10
Favorable rating: 8/10
User-generated content (UGC) is different from sponsorship because it is content that is used directly by a brand. I used to work for an eyelash company and was paid to make TikToks, but I didn’t post that content to my account.
I have several retainer clients, so they are paid a recurring monthly fee in exchange for a certain amount of content.
I make about $6,000 to $8,000 a month from UGC. It takes about eight hours a week and can be more demanding than other sources of income. You’ll need extra brainpower because you’ll need to create videos that will lead to sales.
5. Pet sitter
Quick rating: 10/10
Favorable rating: 10/10
I started working as a pet sitter on the side while working in technology. I started using Rover, an app that connects pet owners with sitters. It’s easy to set up a profile and pass a background check, and you can start earning as soon as you get booked.
Ideal for remote workers like me. While it’s great to get paid to play with cute animals, you can also manage other tasks such as checking on picnic work, answering emails, and writing content.
In January 2024, I worked as a pet sitter almost every day, and I really enjoyed it because it was a very relaxing job. The only downside was that I couldn’t travel much because I had to stay with my pet.
It’s a very easy side job if you understand pet care and behavior. Pets are very easy to handle, unless they are puppies. Puppies require more work.
6. Airbnb Arbitrage
Quick rating: 2/10
Favorable rating: 4/10
Airbnb arbitrage is my least favorite source of income. The Airbnb market isn’t as hot as it was a few years ago, so you might end up letting go soon.
The way it works is, for example, I rent a property from a landlord for $1,700, my business partner and I get permission to use it as a short-term or medium-term rental, and then I list the property on a platform like Airbnb. And VRBO. Although we are tenants, we act as property managers and make money from these properties.
After splitting the revenue with business partners, the net income is approximately $600 per month. We mainly focus on mid-term stays and have low turnover, so my partner and I typically spend about 5-6 hours a month on maintenance and cleaning at the end of each stay.
It’s my least favorite side job because it has the highest financial risk, you have to cater to guests’ needs, and it’s not fun to work on. Considering my monthly expenses, I don’t think the payment is enough to justify the effort.
7. Sales of digital products
Quick rating: 10/10
Favorable rating: 4/10
I created a content creation e-book because so many people on social media asked me for coaching. Whenever people ask me about content creation, I direct them to my link so they can purchase my e-book.
I sell it for $20 and earn $60 to $80 a month. I only have it as a resource when people ask about it, so I don’t advertise it much.
It is easy to create an e-book or digital product as anyone with sufficient knowledge about a particular topic can do so. However, increasing sales takes time and effort.
8. Nanning
Quick rating: 8/10
Favorable rating: 9/10
I nanny for a family who flies me from Houston to New York three or four times a year. They stay for two to three weeks and are paid $1,200 a week.
My day is very simple. You can drop the girls off at school in the morning, come back and create content or go out and explore the city. When the girls come home, I eat them, play with them, and put them to bed.
The family I babysit for in Houston and the family I nanny for in New York are all wonderful people to me and compensate me generously, making my job fun and easy. It has become a thing. The most difficult thing is when children get sick. Because I need to be more practical. That aside, once you get used to their routine, it’s very calming.
I wish I had diversified my income sooner.
It took a lot of upfront effort to build a source of income, but I wish I had started sooner. I went from making $8 an hour working a labor-intensive job as a ranch hand to now making over $100,000 a year while only working about 40 hours a month.
If you are looking to create more sources of income, don’t be reckless or stingy with your spending. Have the courage to invest in yourself, your business idea, or others. If your dream isn’t even a little scary, it might not be big enough.
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