Photo by Cibittos!

Quite often, when we’re taking our first baby steps into the world of the nine to five, our meager salary is barely enough to sustain our existence – not to mention leading somewhat of a social life. And after a while, the idea of a finding a part-time job to help cover bills can start to seem like a necessity. Unfortunately for most people, that means waitressing or bartending on the weekends giving them no down time to relax at home – or with friends, for that matter.

Finding a marketable skill that you can capitalize on can not only help you earn some extra cash on the side without having to give up too much of your free time, but it can also open a door to new contacts, references and can increase your networking circle.

The first step in capitalizing on your skills is to figure out what skills you have that are in demand and marketable. Mine is typing. I have two clients that I provide basic typing and word processing for and it typically brings in between $300 and $400 a month. Be creative with what you have to offer. Below are 5 side gig ideas to help you get started.

1. Word Processing

I generally charge my clients around $2 a page for typing and $3 a page for more extensive page formatting. Each project has a minimum cost of $20, but most end up bringing in around $75 to $100 each.

Who to Target: Real Estate companies and Law firms – they have stacks of contracts and agreements that have to be typed and formatted. It’s a smart idea to target smaller law firms, as larger law firms usually have a sole department created for this purpose.

Estimated Monthly Income: If you can generate one 50-page contract per week, that’s an extra $400 per month.

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2. PowerPoint Presentations

Interestingly enough, lots of people are intimidated by PowerPoint and would rather have someone else take care of it. I have actually done this once, and charged per slide. Since it was a word processing client of mine, I charged her the same $2/page rate for a 30 slide presentation and netted a cool $60 for about an hour’s worth of work.

Who to Target: Real estate companies, small Investment companies and consulting companies. You’re basically trying to zero in on people who make small-scale presentations on a regular basis.

Estimated Monthly Income: Assuming that the average PowerPoint presentation is 20 slides, you’ll earn an extra $320 per month of you do two projects per week.

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3. Bookkeeping

If you know the ins and outs of Quickbooks, good for you. You’re going to be in demand. I know a few people that have made a nice career out of bookkeeping consulting. They generally take care of booking all receipts, running monthly P&L reports and running payroll. If you have a year or two of experience under your belt, you can usually command anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour for this work.

Who to Target: Small businesses who don’t have the budget or enough work to hire a full-time pay roll administrator or bookkeeper. These jobs normally require a 1-2 day per week commitment and, depending on the company, may have to take place on-site.

Estimated Monthly Income: We’ll estimate one client at $50/hour for five hours a week. That’s a cool $1,000 in your pocket each month.

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4. Logo/ Website/ Blog Design

I’m no designer, but I have hired young (READ: still in school or right out of) designers to create logos and web designs, and I’ve usually paid approximately $250 for a logo and about $400-$500 for web design. More experienced designers can command quite a bit more for their services, but for someone working on the side, you should be able to command at least this much.

Who to Target: Small businesses, non-profit organizations, writers, entertainers. Often, small businesses and non-profits will search sites like Craigslist to find talented people to do web/graphic design for them since they are usually working within a tight budget and it’s cheaper to go with an individual than a large, expensive company. Also, look for people who are actively trying to promote themselves: writers, singers, actors – people who use personal websites, but wouldn’t need anything too expensive and time-consuming.

Estimated Monthly Income: If you design on logo and website package per month, you can bring in around $750 a month.

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5. Organization Guru

I looked into doing this a few years ago since I am borderline anal about organization. I’m one of those people who gets giddy with excitement about a trip to Staples and I can spend a good hour scoping out desk organizers. People, namely overworked executives, will pay good money to have someone organize their lives, clean up their offices and apartment and sort through their mail. This is if they don’t already have a personal assistant.

Who to Target: Busy executives or business owners – preferably who work out of their home or in a small office. If they own a small business, there’s a good chance that they don’t have the funds available to hire a full-time personal assistant, as they can get real pricey real quick. They usually can, however, afford to hire a part-time organizer on a per-project basis or hourly for a few nights or weekends.

Estimated Monthly Income: Organizers start out at around $20/hour, but with a few client recommendations, can jack up their fees pretty quickly. $50/hour is not unheard of and if you’re only working 6-8 hours a week, it’s still affordable an employer. We’ll estimate charging $30/hour at 6 hours a week. That’s an extra $960 a month.

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