Learning new skills is essential in the current environment if you want to be financially independent. By developing our talents, we may launch a side business to get extra cash. If you’ve ever wondered how to retire early or escape your 9-5, then keep reading as we will lay out step-by-step how to accomplish this.
We all understand the need to diversify our investment portfolio, but did you realize that we should do the same with our income streams? It is crucial to build a portfolio career, where you have multiple revenue streams even with a full-time job.
Gaining new skills will allow you to invest in yourself and create fulfilling possibilities in your life. This will allow you to earn with your mind, rather than your time.
What Entrepreneurs Say About Having a Side Gig
Successful entrepreneur, Jon Acuff, author of Do Over states:
“For four years, while working a full-time job, I was also a 10% Entrepreneur (or having a side gig while working full-time). I didn’t know the phrase then, I just knew I had more money, more fun, and more opportunities than I’d ever had in my life.”
If any of these sound like things you want more of, then try a side gig.
Table of Contents
1. Why Learn New Skills?
There is an Entrepreneurship movement happening around us. Individuals who have full-time corporate jobs are beginning to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations of launching their own small enterprises or side gigs.
People are embracing diversifying their income streams, from celebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Ashton Kutcher to entrepreneurs like Warren Buffet, Marc Cuban, and Sara Blakely. Due to their wealth and influence, celebrities and well-known entrepreneurs do have a competitive edge. However, we may also begin in the path of diversifying our sources of income and achieving financial independence.
So how do we get started on this path? The answer is to gain new skills, which along with your existing skills and domain knowledge will give you the ability to launch your own small enterprise or side gig. You need to monetize your expertise.
Don’t allow fear to stop you. Take action now that you will be grateful for down the road. In actuality, fear kills more dreams than failure ever will. Don’t let this happen to you.
2. Learn New Skills That Are In Demand
Here are the top skills in demand currently:
| Copywriting | Video Editing | Digital Marketing |
| Social Media Marketing | Content Marketing | Affiliate Marketing |
| Email Marketing | Graphic Design | SEO or Search Engine Optimization |
| Web Development | Web Design | App Development |
| Software Development | Coding | UX Design |
| Project Management | Sales | Cybersecurity |
| Data Analysis | Artificial Intelligence | Cloud Computing |
| Blockchain | Web Content Writer | Blogging |
If you acquire these highly sought-after skills and combine them with your current skill set, you can accelerate your career growth and unlock exciting new opportunities. Pursuing a side job can take you on a thrilling journey that can enrich and add flavor to your life.
With each opportunity you pursue, you will acquire skills that will allow you to bring renewed focus and vigor to your day job.
3. Practical Examples of Turning New Skills Into a Successful Business Venture
If you combine some of these skills, it will open up new exciting opportunities for you. For instance, if you learn a little bit of Web Development, video editing, and marketing and sales, you can turn it into a business. You don’t have to be an expert in these skills. You can practice your skills to improve. If you get stuck, google the answer.
One path to how this can be put into action could be this. Start by creating a website using your Web Development skills. There are free videos on YouTube that walk you through the process. On your website, you can offer consulting, freelance services, digital products, digital courses, etc. You can create videos on Social Media sites, such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc to make your offerings popular.
Each person’s side gig path will be different as we’re all unique with our strengths and weaknesses. You will be the best judge of what skillsets make sense for you with your existing domain knowledge.
Choosing topics of interest and curiosity is crucial when choosing your areas of growth. If you learn the subjects that you are passionate about, then you can turn them into a successful venture. In that case, your side gig will seem like play to you but will seem like work to others.
Here are some ideas that you can reference from CNBC Make It.
4. How to Learn New Skills
You may have wondered how do I learn these new skills. Below are some of the free and low-cost resources that can be used.
Resources You Can Use for Free to Learn New Skills
There are free resources that can be leveraged to learn new skills. Here are some recommendations:
- Public Library: Books, eBooks, and Audiobooks. The public library also has free apps, such as Libby (libbyapp.com) and Hoopla (hoopla.com), where one can borrow books, e-books, and Audiobooks.
- Prime Reading: If you are an existing Amazon Prime member, then you can access free books using Prime Reading.
- Google Books: You can search and read various books for free on Google Books. Here is the url.
- YouTube: YouTube is a great resource with a variety of videos, lectures, TED talks, and tutorials on various topics.
- CodeAcademy: CodeAcademy is an online learning platform that provides free coding classes in 12 different programming languages including Python, Java, Go, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, C++, C#, and Swift, as well as markup languages HTML and CSS. Additionally, CodeAcademy also has free courses in AI, Web Development, Web design, Data Science, Computer Science, Mobile Development, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, and more. You may access CodeAcademy here.
- HubSpot Academy: This is an online learning platform that provides free online courses on marketing, sales, and customer service. Some of the popular course offerings are: Artificial Intelligence, SEO, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing,Digital Marketing, Digital Advertising, Business Analytics etc. You may access here..
- Your Workplace’s Learning and Development Program: To help its staff members improve their current abilities, acquire new ones, and advance their careers, most businesses provide learning and development services. Don’t pass up your employer’s learning and development initiative if you want to pick up new skills.
These are typically well-rounded courses that include both soft and hard skills, such as presenting, negotiating, emotional intelligence, and cross-cultural intelligence, in addition to professional skills like project management, time management, leadership, etc. Some organizations go so far as to provide their staff members scholarships to learn new skills, professional development conferences, and one-on-one coaching services.
Low-Cost Resources You Can Use To Learn New Skills
If you want to learn skills not covered in any free resources, then it may be time to invest in other resources. One of the best resources are:
Online Learning Platforms: Online learning platforms like Udemy, Coursera, edX.org, Udacity, FutureLearn, Skillshare, etc provide low-cost courses that you can use to learn new skills. The benefits of these platforms are that the courses are bite-sized, flexible, and affordable way.
5. Invest in Yourself By Learning New Skills and Starting a Side Hustle
Continuous education is essential to keep yourself marketable and open new opportunities in your career and a side business. By learning new skills, you can continue to upskill yourself and start living your dream of starting a side hustle.
Success in entrepreneurship demands a wide range of abilities, including financial management, marketing and sales, leadership, and negotiating, to mention a few. Acquiring these abilities may determine whether you have a profitable side gig or not.
Invest time and effort in learning new skills and you will be rewarded with a brighter future.
Entrepreneur and Investor Naval Ravikant states:
You’re not going to get rich renting out your time. You must own equity – a piece of a business – to gain your financial freedom.
The internet has massively broadened the possibility of careers. Most people haven’t figured this out yet.
Learn to sell. Learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable.
6. Acquire Real-World Experience in Monetizing Your Skills
Before offering consulting or other services on your website, you may want to gain experience in applying the new skills you have learned. There are freelance websites such as Fiverr, Upwork, Flexjobs, Freelancer, etc. where you can gain invaluable experience by offering your services.
Gig work is a great way to work on projects for a variety of clients. With successful projects, you can earn repeat work and gather positive reviews from your clients. These positive reviews can then be listed on your website and marketing materials to win clients for your consulting or other services and products.
7. Turn Your Hobbies into a Side Hustle
This is probably our favorite tip. A good way to pin down which side hustle to focus on is by going on the freelancing websites and seeing which freelance gigs interest you. You can also try to see if you can utilize some of your passions. There may be things you loved to do at one point but gave up when you started working.
Here are some thoughts on some skills and how you can apply them:
| Skill | Profession |
| Writing | Blogger, writer, journalism, technical writer, editing, copywriting, marketing, publishing Kindle Books, book summarizer etc |
| Debate | Lawyer, paralegal, sports broadcaster, sales, writer, journalist, contract negotiator, legislative aid etc |
| Acting | Actor, attorney, coach, makeup artist, public relations specialist, real estate agent, sales representative, video editor, voice-over artist, teacher, drama teacher, process server etc. |
| Reading | Publisher, editor, copy editor, proofreading, librarian, literary agent, English teacher, lawyer, script reader etc. |
| Creativity/Imagination | Art director, chef, copywriter, editor, UX designer, Video game designer, photographer, graphic designer etc |
| Art and Design | Art Direction, Fashion designer, Interior designer, Special Effects Artists and Animators, Industrial Designers, Graphic Designers, Fine Artists etc |
| Music | Musicians, Singers, Dancers, Choreographers, Music Directors, Composers, Music teachers, Selling music or sounds on SoundCloud etc. |
| Comedy | Stand up comedian, Youtube/Tik Tok/Twitter content creator etc. |
| Sports | Athletes and Sports Competitors, Coaches and Scouts, Umpires, Referees, and other Sports Officials etc |
| Entertainment | Youtube Content Creator, Podcaster, Actors, Producers, Directors etc. |
| Coding | Computer Programmers, Systems Analysts, Web Developers, Digital Designers, Systems Administrators etc. |
| Cooking | Chef, pastrey chef, creating recipe blog, Youtube Cooking Channel, Food truck, Meal Service business, Packaged Cooking Products etc. |
| DIY Crafts | Creating and selling candles, bath bombs, body lotion, jewellery, soap, flower bouquets etc on Etsy or other online websites |
| Photography | Selling photos as stock photos or prints, creating Youtube content, travel blogger, wedding or event photographer, Instagram Influencer, selling desktop backgrounds on Gumroad etc. |
| Great at Notes Taking | Blogger with tips on note taking, sell your notes on Gumroad and advertize on Reddit channels or Facebook etc. |
Many of our hobbies can be turned into a source of income in today’s digital economy. However, it takes motivation, imagination, and will power to put these ideas into action. Freelance projects will allow you to test the waters and try out different opportunities until you find the niche that works best for you.
It’s important to remember not to give up halfway. Keep pushing yourself to turn your hobby into a profitable side hustle.
8. Future Proof Your Income
With the current economy, it is a wise decision to broaden your skillset and transform them into side hustles. When starting your business, it’s important to begin small and gradually expand as revenue increases. Additionally, consider outsourcing administrative tasks to streamline operations once the side business starts bringing in steady revenue.
By pursuing part-time entrepreneurship, you can protect yourself from unexpected career challenges while building your assets and generating active and passive income. This approach also provides growth opportunities and allows you to acquire critical skills that will make you a more complete professional, thereby having a greater impact on your day job.
9. Creating a Portfolio Career
A portfolio career is a compilation of different income streams that represent your diverse professional journey. It includes your unique combination of skills, experiences, and talents, rather than just a full-time job. You should consider every single skill you have acquired after high school, including fundraisers, chairing committees, organizing events, etc.
To create a portfolio career, think about the tasks that give you joy in your current job. If your current job doesn’t provide such opportunities, then consider activities that you enjoy and pursue them. That becomes your side gig.
Creating a portfolio career allows you to utilize and practice different skills, either in your existing job or a side hustle. This future-proofs your income by providing a variety of skill sets to lean on if your existing job becomes redundant.
TIP:
You can learn more about this concept in the book, The Portfolio Life by Christina Wallace. In Christina says:
“Portfolio Life….acknowledges that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket, and it knows that success comes from crafting a diverse mix of opportunities to address your current needs, while building in opportunity to adjust that mix when (yes, when, not if) your needs change. The Portfolio Life is built on the same ideas:
- You are more than any one role or opportunity.
- Diversification will help you navigate change and mitigate uncertainty.
- When your needs change, you can and should rebalance your portfolio.”
10. Conclusion
In today’s ever-changing world, it is essential to invest in a portfolio career now to reap rewards later on. Developing new skills and talents puts you in charge of your career, rather than your employer.
By turning skills into side hustles and diversifying income sources, you are future-proofing your income. Continue trying new things and honing your talents because you never know when one of your side projects will become a successful business venture.
You may also read my blog article on top 6 Entrepreneurship books to give you ideas.
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