Tag: gig economy

By now, you probably know that you don’t have to leave home to make money. After all, many companies sent employees home to work during the pandemic. But even if you aren’t a salaried employee, you can still make a living from the comfort of your own home.

All you need is a computer, a phone and a solid foundation of internet know-how. Some jobs are straightforward, like working for a call center from your home. But not all jobs have to be dreary and bereft of fun.

For instance, you can work as a professional dog groomer or even an artist who creates items from home. Apps like Etsy, Rover, Dolly and more have sprung up to empower you to become your own boss and work flexible hours. Here are 15 money-making opportunities that put you in the driver’s seat of your work life — sometimes literally!

Bolster your bank account

A few names get the most headlines when it comes to the gig economy. There’s Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash.

Good news if you don’t want to drive around the city, carting strangers and their food. There are many ways to make extra cash without surrendering to the 9-to-5 corporate world.

We collected some exciting ways to put extra bucks in your bank account. Save yourself some research time and check out our favorite resources:

1. Sell your skills: Whether you like writing, drawing, dancing, voice acting or doing celebrity impressions, you can do anything on Fiverr. Some people will even throw a message in a bottle or speak with other people’s pets telepathically … or so they say!
2. Pet sit dogs from your own home: Want to pet sit but don’t want to leave the house? Rover pays you to take care of strangers’ pets while they’re away.
3. Transcribe audio: Put your ears to work by typing down the words from audio recordings at waywithwords.net.
4. Be a mystery shopper: Check out BestMark and SecretShopper to start.
5. Rent your car: If you aren’t using your car right now, rent it out through Turo.
6. Decorate your car: Companies like Stickr.co and Wrapify give you decals with advertisements. Drive around with them to make sure people see the ads.
7. Watch TV: If you love sitting in front of the silver screen, good news: there are sites that pay you for watching.
8. Sell your friendship: Tons of people are lonely since the pandemic drove us home for a year and a half. Rent-A-Friend lets you connect with others for cash.
9. Test products: Do you love free stuff? Sites like Toluna, Nielson and Johnson & Johnson will pay you to test products.
10. Listen to music: Audiophiles can head to Slicethepie to make a few cents for every song they listen to and rate.
11. Test medicines: If you want to be a part of medicinal progress, join clinical trials.
12. Rent your swimming pool: Swimply lets you sell access to your pool by the hour.
13. Rent out extra rooms in your house: We aren’t talking about roommates. Some folks just want cheap storage space. If you have rooms, rent them out through storeatmyhouse.com or neighbor.com.
14. Sell your hair: If you have luscious locks, let it grow out to at least eight inches in length and chop it off. Sites like HairSellOn, OnlineHairAffair and  WorldofWigs will be happy to take it off of your hands.
15. Cook for your neighbors: Here’s a way to turn your love of cooking into cash…without working in the hectic environment of a restaurant kitchen. EatWith is a meal-sharing app that lets you host, cook dishes for people and even sell baked goods.

While many of these jobs are fun, you’ll probably have to put in a lot of hours and hard work to make a significant chunk of cash.

If you want to widen your net to find as many job opportunities as possible, we recommend heading to our sponsor, LinkedIn. It’s the No. 1 social media site for job seekers, employers and more.

You can find a ton of great gigs on LinkedIn

On the flip side, if you’re hiring, there’s no better place to put a job listing than on LinkedIn.

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COVID-19’s effects on the job market cannot be understated. In the last few months, more than 40 million unemployment claims were filed, and if you include workers in the gig economy, the number of unemployed Americans is probably even higher.

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