BABY BOOMER SIDE GIGS

Dear fellow Baby Boomers, earning a portable income online was once pretty far-fetched, the wave of the future…but guess what? It is actually here! Now, for some years now, especially with the onset of the Internet that makes work-from-home or anywhere in the world, possible! It is a way to augment your retirement funds and nest eggs. In these uncertain times, you can actually create a side income with skills that you already have. It is open to everyone of all ages, background or technical proficiency.

On the lookout for an income supplement and to eventually replace my 9-to-5 job upon retirement, I turned to the Internet for ideas and inspiration. Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful every single day for my job but at my age now, I’m feeling the crunch.

More importantly, I want to “follow my dreams.” Someone asked me what that means. It means pursuing my actual interests that can give me the financial freedom I need and that I can do from anywhere in the world. Such a cliché but It’s true…how my heart longs for these “dreams.” And so onward I searched.

We have been seeing these coined terms more and more – “portable income” and “gig economy.” Due to the global pandemic, a lot of jobs are now done, can be done, at home. This pandemic certainly changed the landscape of how establishments conduct business, forever.

BTW, this is not a sponsored post. That said, let’s dive right in.

I found quite a ton of feasible portable side hustles to explore. I am currently dabbling in one of them, blogging. As well, I want to do travel writing and travel videos. Oh joy! If any of the following job routes pique your interest, please do your due diligence research first though. Like anything, these may require some time before you can start earning a decent living or even replace your current bread-and-butter. In other words, these are not get-rich-quick schemes. It will take time from actually starting, to learning the ropes and getting up to speed. However, the point is to start now!

Here are the first five side gigs. I will be going back to add to them as I continue to learn more about them. I will write a Part 2 with the rest of the side jobs I found.

 Caution: It’s so easy to want to do all these promising gigs. Beware the “shiny object syndrome.” Just concentrate on one or two at a time and do your research to see if “it fits, Cinderella.” LOL.

I. TUTORING. This is a fun way of earning portable income online teaching English and other subjects. You only need a laptop computer, Internet access and your specific skills. You can work part-time or full-time, as you wish. The beauty of these online gigs is that you don’t have to search for job postings as of yore. The platforms are specialized, specific to a set of skills. All you have to do is sign up with the platform that is right up your alley. One important consideration is the different time zones where your future students live in the world.

VIP Kid – Requires a 4-year university degree in any field or major and work authorization in U.S. and Canada. Recommends at least two years of experience in teaching, tutoring or mentoring. No minimum hour requirement. Earnings are based on the number of classes taught. Base pay rate is between $7-9 per class. Classes are 25-minutes each so you can earn the equivalent of $14-18 per hour plus incentives – the equivalent of $14-22 per hour. Here are some YouTube videos of people, who work with VIP Kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE6UIIe5R2w

Outschool – It’s a Marketplace, where you choose your curriculum, choose the number of children to teach (students are 3-18 years old), no degree required, you determine your pay and the school takes 30%. Requires U.S., Canada, Australia or New Zealand residency. Go here: www.outschool.com

My Tutor – Tutors one-on-one high school students or college bound. Requires Master’s degree or higher. Rates depend on number of students, starting at $100 for one student.

Q Kids – Online platform that connects English North American teachers with international students, aged 6 to 12. Pay rate is $16-$20 per hour. Bachelor’s degree and teaching license or English teaching certificate (TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, ESL) required. U.S. or Canada work authorization required as well. More information here: https://teacher.qkids.com/faq

Splash Learn – No degree required, 200 hours of online teaching experience, Math focus with growth plan for other subjects, one year teaching or tutoring experience in Math, teach during the day, able to cancel classes and pays $20-$25 per hour. Go here: splashlearn.com

iTutor Group – B.S. degree required, availability of 5 peak hours a week, teach children for 25 minutes one-on-one, teach adults in a small group for 45 minutes, pay is up to $37 per hour, fixed scheduled, booked automatically. Go here: www.itutorgroup.com

II. BLOGGING. Blogging can be a lucrative endeavor. There are tons of courses out there that show you the ropes. However, I found a Masterclass that is very comprehensive; click this link to get a discount – www.itsalovelylife.com. It was first started by a mother of three girls, Heather Reese, who was later joined by her husband, Pete Reese. Now the family travels together everywhere, vlogging, endorsing product brands, truly enjoying a lovely life.

To be a successful blogger, be specific with a niche that makes you unique. Offer something of value to the readers, e.g., solve a problem with your expertise or giving travel tips or hacks, thus, helping others. You can also write about your experiences/activities or show the specific location where you live. The sky’s the limit as long as you stick to the main parameter I mentioned – giving something of value that will earn you your loyal fans.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS TO MONETIZE YOUR BLOG:

• Affiliate Marketing
• Sponsored Content
• Advertise via AdSense
• Sell Your Own Products
• Content Creation                         

I will come back later to discuss each one as I learn more. Meantime, Google and YouTube are your best friends.

III. E-BOOKS. Nowadays, you can directly pitch your book idea to book publishers. Just create a free account at their websites and become self-publishing. There are lots of tools and websites that can help you cope with the administrative aspect, sales tracking and management of social media. There are even courses out there that help you create your e-books from inception, to management, logo designs, sales, etc. Consider Upwork.com, Fiverr.com and Etsy.com.

I had my own Lorie Treks website logo done by an Etsy vendor for $50.00. I gave her my design idea and she gave me 2-3 templates to choose from.

As an e-book publisher, you either get royalties from your net sales or you can pay a one-time payment for the online publishing rights.

IV. PHOTOGRAPHY: SELL YOUR PHOTOS. With the advent of smart phones, tablets and digital cameras, this side income has become within easy reach of people. Anyone can do this even without the special qualifications or background in photography.

A great advantage of stock photography websites is that you can sell your photos for any number of times, to different people. You can make money multiple times with just a single photo. It’s a passive income potential.

Here are three markets to sell your photos:

1. Online Stock Photography – iStock.com, Shutterstock.com, Bigstockphoto.com and Dreamstime.com are some of them.
2. Editorial Market – Research your local newspapers, online magazines, websites and tourism offices.
3. Fine Art Market – A fine art photo is purchased for decorative use. Submit photos of local places and landmarks where you live. Photograph local business, schools, streets, parks, art galleries, offices, libraries, coffee shops, anything and everything. Someone, somewhere has a use for those photos. Be creative.

V. VIDEOGRAPHY

As you travel locally or abroad, shoot short videos of the locations, your experiences, vacations, hotel stays, food trips, etc. I have tons of photos and videos I have yet to sift through. I’m sure these can be money makers for me. So can yours and you can get paid handsomely for them.

Today’s digital cameras, smartphones and tablets have high-quality video features. You can also buy a good but inexpensive handheld video camera. There are several free editing programs that you can download. There is the iMovie for the Mac and Movie Maker, Plex or Stream to Chromecast for Windows PC.

Thus, what is your advantage over professional videographers? You offer a much lower price, silly.  So what are you waiting for?

Also, you can create “How To” Videos, which you can monetize by charging a subscription fee. YouTube is the way to go. Once you’ve established your loyal following, you can start partnering with brands.

Let me know your gig ventures and share them here with us. As well, please watch out for Part 2 for more Baby Boomer Gigs and Sidelines. Talk soon!