Side Hustles That Build Professional Skills

I have spent $25k on failed 'side hustles'. I don't regret a cent of it. This year I will earn 2x more than I have ever previously earned. It is all because of these skills I learned on those failed side hustles. 1️⃣ Building websites I have built a directory and multiple marketing sites. Now thanks to Relume and Webflow I can build a semi-decent marketing site that converts. 2️⃣ Automating workflows Zapier is the glue that holds my life together. What would have previously felt beyond me technically now feels like second nature. 3️⃣ Writing contracts Get a template, use GPT, use Docusign. I remember the first time someone signed and paid me on a homemade contract. I sat there in shock. But in the early days we don't have the $ for lawyers. 4️⃣ Hiring / Firing Hiring someone off your own dime is different. When they 10x your expectations it feels like magic. When they suck, learn to get them out of the door asap. 5️⃣ Cold outbound There is no colder outbound than alone for a product no one has ever heard of. Learn to get hung up on, sworn at and insulted. Only the yeses matter. 6️⃣ Paid marketing When it is your own money you A/B test a lot and monitor ROI like a hawk. I have a good sense of average costs and what makes sense where now. 7️⃣ SEO It is becoming less important but after years stuck in the mud I now know the tools, how to find the low hanging fruit and where SEO does/doesn't matter. 8️⃣ Setting up / dissolving a company It isn't as hard as it sounds (as long as you aren't in France or Germany). 9️⃣ Low code development I'm no dev but I can Bubble to a decent extend and have learned to connect a database to a front end. Most valuable part of this is learning to build an MVP and in your day job understanding the devs (at least a bit). 🔟 JUST FIGURING IT OUT If you don't do it no one else will. Side hustles taught me to get over the fear and find a ways through.

Here are 3 side hustles I’m a big fan of. These are businesses you can build on the side that serve other businesses on a monthly retainer basis. 1) Leadership & Training Programs. 🗣 Almost every company knows they should be doing more for the training and development of their people. If you can help them upskill their leaders and key players, the value here is massive. confession: I’m biased on this one as it was the business I left my day job to scale 5 years ago, and I still love serving my B2B clients in this way today. 2) Social Media Marketing. 📲 Yes, in 2024 … there are still SO many small to mid-sized businesses in desperate need of help when it comes to their social presence. If you’re competent in social and can put together a consistent posting strategy that makes a good impression for customers, partners, and future team members, you can charge $500-$2000 per month per client depending on your package. Stack 3-5 clients, utilize posting schedule platforms and maybe even outsource graphics production to batch create 1 month of content in advance … and this can be a very profitable side biz. 3) Bookkeeping. 👨🏻🏫 If you already know or can learn Quickbooks, this service is ALWAYS in demand from small businesses who don’t have the skills or interest to run the books in house. 3-5 clients can make you an extra 5K per month in about 15 extra hours of work per week. What do you think about these? What other side hustles you've seen people succeed with? — Follow Blake Bozarth, CFA 📈 for more stuff like this 👋🏼

Layoffs are looming. Fear is spreading. But there's an overlooked silver lining. We're living in an era of tremendous opportunity, where side hustles can bloom into full-fledged businesses. How? By leveraging technology and personal skills. Take personalized video services, for example. It's a market ripe for exploration. There's a growing demand for custom-made videos in sales and medical sectors. And the best part? You don't need a Hollywood-level budget to start. Just imagine - Your creativity. Your unique touch. Your video platform. And what about virtual sales? With businesses moving online faster than ever, the need for virtual sales specialists is skyrocketing. It's a role that combines communication, negotiation, and tech-savvy. Put it all together, and you've got a powerful side hustle (or two) that can weather layoffs and economic downturns. What's the first step? Start today. Learn the ropes. Develop your skills. Experiment with different tools. Don't let layoffs dictate your future. Command your own path. Your next venture is waiting. Will you seize the opportunity?