Side Hustle Series – Deliver Newspapers

by | Nov 24, 2008

As hard as it is to believe, there are people who still subscribe to the local newspaper. The internet has taken quite a few former newspaper readers online, but there are some who are die-hard real newspaper fans. They expect their newspaper at their door step every morning like clock work. The postal service is not in the business of delivering papers so somebody has to do it so why not you.

Delivering newspapers is a great way to earn extra money on the side while working your regular job. Most of the time newspapers are delivered early in the morning, usually before sunrise between the hours of 4am-6am. Those early hours are great because you are making money early and easily.

This is one job that you can take your kids on. You can put them in your car and let them sleep while you drive. Take a small snack, a pillow, and blankets and do your rounds. You will fall into a great routine over time so your mornings will go buy effortlessly. Since you are already up you won’t have to struggle to get ready for work.

There is a downside to delivering newspapers though as with all things. You may encounter late delivery at your pick up station which will make you late delivering. Some customers may blame you for that. You have to pay for the wear and tear on your car and pay for your own gas.

The popularity of newspapers is going down because of Internet access to the news. So this may limit the number of newspaper delivery jobs right now. There are other types of delivery that can be done such as phonebook, community newspapers, free newspapers, and free magazine delivery to storefronts and other public gathering places.

Side Hustle Series – Bake Up Some Profits

by | Nov 19, 2008

With the holiday season ramping it now is the time to use your baking skills to earn some extra Christmas money. If you make exceptional cakes, cookies, and/or pies you are one of the few people that will be in demand. Not everyone can bake and the thousands of people around you with a sweet tooth will beat down your door once they find out that you can bake.

How do you get started? Make some samples and place them in the employee, teacher, or nurses’ lounge. Put your baked goods where people gather and leave a note letting people know how to get more. You could give out samples as an early holiday gift, sort of a holiday kickoff things. Attach your business card (make some up), brochure, or mini-flier to the package.

You will have to come up with a system to take orders and deliver your product. Another option is to bake up a batch of cookies, brownies, or other easy to bake and take item and sell them from you office desk or locker.

If you are daring place a classified ad on Craigslist.org, Backpage.com, or Kijiji.com. You can also sell your goodies (the baked ones) on eBay. They have a classified ad option for $10 that will remain on the site and searchable for 30 days. That’s not a bad value at all!

So there you have it. Another side hustle idea that you can run away with. Tweak it and make it yours. Let me know how it works out for you.