Ideas for Side Gigs (Update in Comments)

[sadlebred]

As ya'll know by now, I have no job. No more paychecks. I'm looking to do a side gig or two maybe 10-12 hours/week to bring in cash (preferably paid in cash). This is to supplement what I have, not as a salary replacement. Basically pay for food, gas, and maybe a utility or two. I need to still have time to look for a full time IT job.

So far I've come up with:

--House sitting over the holidays (bring in the mail, turn on lights, water the plants, make sure cats are alive-feed/change litter)

--Waiting at a house for the cable guy/electrician/whatever

--Selling a body part on ebay

--Selling stuff on Marketplace, Ebay, etc. I need to go through some things and gets this rolling.

I can't dog walk right now as I had double hand surgery in August. My hand therapist said mountain biking is bad enough--but as a cyclist herself she knows I'll do it once every other week. No pulling, etc. I also am not supposed to lift really heavy things right now, so doing anything with horses is out for now. I realllly hate babysitting, too. My car is older and higher mileage, so I'd like to avoid Doordash, etc.

Non-cash ideas:

1. Remote customer service for the holidays. Seems lots of people are hiring.

2. Virtual assistant.

I already have a side gig that will help me pay for bike races the rest of the year. That is one expense I won't have, and I'll get to enjoy them, hang out with my friends, and get my competitiveness out.

Any ideas?

[lust2hart]

Not sure if you’d be able to do this w your hands, but some department stores hire people to gift wrap during the holiday season.

[lust2hart]

Also, my county clerk just sent out emails to those who have worked as election judges, asking if we have availability to help them prep for the election - stuffing mail ballots, prepping day-of ballots, packing all the kits that go out to the voting locations, etc. Perhaps your county could use some extra help right now?

[jinkies]

I'd go to indeed and search the word "temporary". When I did that for my area, there were paid jobs to do political canvassing, and also seasonal help at various stores that hire on for the holidays.

Banquet servers also usually pay well if you are willing to work Friday/ Saturday nights, but not sure if the trays would be too heavy given your restrictions.

[livinitup]

Would you consider substitute teaching? I have not done it myself but my teacher friends said there is a real shortage and I think you may be able to say “yes or no” on any given day. No teaching certifications required.

[underwaterrhymes]

I don’t have any suggestions, but wanted to say selling a body part on eBay made me laugh.

[sadlebred]

Thank ya'll. I prefer to stay away from crowded spaces with my heart problems. I did think about being a poll worker. They are hiring IT people, but it's a nearly 16-18 hour day with driving between polling places. I just can't do that. Plus, the pay isn't great.

Repetitive things are out with my hands. That's how I got into this mess in the first place. I was a cashier at a grocery store in HS and college. I had carpal tunnel back then...it faded over the years until after my heart surgery in Jan. For some unknown reason it came back worse than ever. So, CT Release surgery in Aug. on both hands.

[katfco]

We pay out cat sitter $20 a day to feed and spend a little time with our cat. One lady who’s done it for us is a professional cat sitter.

[sent]

There's a woman in my area who is in a similar situation and one of the things she does is offer local rides. So not as intense as a Doordash type of gig, basically just driving neighbors around since we're a small-ish town. She posted she could drive people to the airport which is less than 30 minutes away which was how I find out about it. I asked her to take us somewhere even closer; it worked with her schedule and she was happy to do it.

[Deleted]

Sept 24, 2024 20:26:02 GMT -5 sent said:

There's a woman in my area who is in a similar situation and one of the things she does is offer local rides. So not as intense as a Doordash type of gig, basically just driving neighbors around since we're a small-ish town. She posted she could drive people to the airport which is less than 30 minutes away which was how I find out about it. I asked her to take us somewhere even closer; it worked with her schedule and she was happy to do it.

We live about 35 minutes from a major airport, and a handful of people in our neighborhood offer rides to the airport. We’re rural enough that finding an Uber could be tricky, and there are a lot of people who just want someone reliable.

There are also a lot of families looking to hire someone who can pick up and drop off kids before and after school (usually pick up after school and drop off at an activity, so not necessarily doing much child care).

[scout8]

Sept 24, 2024 20:26:02 GMT -5 sent said:

There's a woman in my area who is in a similar situation and one of the things she does is offer local rides. So not as intense as a Doordash type of gig, basically just driving neighbors around since we're a small-ish town. She posted she could drive people to the airport which is less than 30 minutes away which was how I find out about it. I asked her to take us somewhere even closer; it worked with her schedule and she was happy to do it.

I wouldn't recommend doing this without talking to your insurance agent first. You probably need a different policy/coverage for this type of driving.

[sent]

Sept 24, 2024 20:43:27 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Sept 24, 2024 20:26:02 GMT -5 sent said:

There's a woman in my area who is in a similar situation and one of the things she does is offer local rides. So not as intense as a Doordash type of gig, basically just driving neighbors around since we're a small-ish town. She posted she could drive people to the airport which is less than 30 minutes away which was how I find out about it. I asked her to take us somewhere even closer; it worked with her schedule and she was happy to do it.

I wouldn't recommend doing this without talking to your insurance agent first. You probably need a different policy/coverage for this type of driving.

Every cash gig carries some kind of risk. 

[thejen626]

I’m a cat sitter. It’s so incredibly easy. There are various apps like “Meowtel” that I use. I get between $25-45 per day. I set my own prices and my own driving distances. I love cats so it’s fun for me, and just enough to keep me busy. Feed, scoop litter box, maybe pet for a few minutes.

[HRH Queen Dick I]

Only Fans.

[kate1482]

Around here it’s $25 an hour for date night babysitting.

ETA sorry! I missed the part where you didn’t want to babysit. Maybe editing papers for college students?

[sadlebred]

Sept 24, 2024 22:44:10 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I said:

Only Fans.

No one wants to see this middle aged body and the bad cycling tan lines!

[macmars45]

Tutoring for reading in the late afternoon/evening

Substitute para or teacher

[heygrey]

Is there a market for helping people with their home IT needs? I'm thinking basic stuff like helping elderly people set up an Ipad or connect a printer. (I realize there is a lot more to IT than just this, but all of my friends who work in IT are tech savvy and regularly get called upon to help family with this sort of stuff.)

I think you've said previously that you run a blog/website for your cycling hobby? Are there social media things you could do related to that pay a bit like managing an instagram account?

This might be a stretch, but there are a few breweries in my area that do "Bike and Brew" nights where cyclists go for a ride together then end at the brewery for a beer. The brewery hires a host for these events who advertises and acts as an event manager. The host welcomes cyclists as they arrive, coordinates with the ride leader, gets everyone heading out at the right time, welcomes everyone back, acts as an MC if they are doing giveaways (local cycling stores will often donate merchandise like socks or a $25 giftcard). The brewery is willing to pay the host because it brings a lot of business in on those nights. My friend does this for several different events.

[ellipses84]

I think the house sitting / cat sitting is a great one and make sure to offer for other random pets like bunnies, guinea pigs, fish, etc. Some people just need someone cheap to do the bare minimum, stop by and keep them alive but other people may want you to be there 24/7, sending regular photo updates and you can offer different pricing packages to reflect that. There are various apps you can do this through.

I know you said you don’t like babysitting and that can be rough physically with younger kids, but a lot of parents need carpooling school / sports help which could be limited to certain mornings, afternoons or weekend days. Hospice is an app for that, I think. Late night/ overnight babysitting for older kids who sleep through the night and are pretty self sufficient isn’t too bad either. Some parents have jobs with schedules that cause periodic gaps where they need someone for a few hours once every couple weeks when both are working and daycare or school isn’t open, or they have to go into work before they can drop kids off.

If you can get some references or have neighbors spread the word, I think word of mouth (even via neighborhood fb groups) is the best way to get clients.

Do you have any spare space in your place, either a room for a short term rental, or storage space in your garage you could offer someone? It may not be ideal and you’d want it to be a good situation for you, but I feel like there’s always people looking for short term solutions in my HCOL area with small SF houses. Like, my in-laws are visiting for a month and we want them to stay close by in the neighborhood but we don’t have room for them does anyone have a room for rent? Or, I’m moving in with my roommates but there’s not enough room for my furniture until the other roommates move out and storage units are expensive and want a huge deposit, anyone willing to rent out their garage?

[fernweh]

Sign up for Task Rabbit? You could pick and choice what you are able to do.

[shauni27]

I really loved subbing when I was out of work; it was fun and I was paid pretty quickly; like a check that day, maybe? But perhaps that is too risky with your heart.

I agree with finding a company that does banquets or events to help. Even catering. I do that and pick and choose which events I work and it is great extra cash. However, it does involve carrying plates and dishes and such, so that might also be a no-go for you.

What about house cleaning? I know a few people who have done this and it gets them a few hundred dollars extra. Although again, might be tough with your limited mobility of your hands.

[mrspez07]

Check out some of the temp agencies. You can customize what you’re looking for, your skills would be highly needed in IT and they may lead to FT work.Or you can use them for temp receptionist type positions too.
I’ve used Express and Job Store

[brooklyn]

Do you have room in your garage/driveway to rent out parking space? A family member pays me a decent amount to store their car all winter.

[formerlyak]

Have you thought about offering your services to small local businesses to help them with their IT needs? I run a nonprofit and we often have needs such as when we moved setting up our new Internet, routers, mesh. We’ve had issues where we need to update security on our website and other online systems. My colleague and I both have husbands with these skills, but I know many business owners don’t. You could let local commercial property owners know that you are available for their tenants.

Also, with your IT background, do you know any programming languages? I know some IT is more network architecture and hardware, but if you know programming languages, could you tutor high school CS students?

[scout8]

Sept 24, 2024 21:00:26 GMT -5 sent said:

Sept 24, 2024 20:43:27 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I wouldn't recommend doing this without talking to your insurance agent first. You probably need a different policy/coverage for this type of driving.

Every cash gig carries some kind of risk. 

Of course, but I don't think most people want this kind of risk. If you aren't insured for this type of driving and are in an accident, your insurance is most likely going to deny coverage. If someone doesn't have any assets, it might not be a big deal, but I don't think most people want to drive others around when they are in reality uninsured. 

Signed, retired attorney who used to handle insurance defense and coverage claims. 

[wildrice]

How do you feel about cats and other pets? I know dogs are out, but people need other types of pet sitting too! There are also some people with yards who probably don't walk their dogs (I seem to have plenty of neighbors with mystery dogs that I've never seen being walked) so you could potentially do house sitting for them, too, if you are upfront that walking is a no-go.

[ellipses84]

Sept 25, 2024 8:59:28 GMT -5 wildrice said:

How do you feel about cats and other pets? I know dogs are out, but people need other types of pet sitting too! There are also some people with yards who probably don't walk their dogs (I seem to have plenty of neighbors with mystery dogs that I've never seen being walked) so you could potentially do house sitting for them, too, if you are upfront that walking is a no-go.

I have a neighbor that basically made her backyard into a dog park. IDK if she charges for it, or if she does doggy daycare type services, or what any insurance/ liability implications are but if you have a yard and are home, you could offer daytime pet sitting in your home, in lieu of a neighbor taking their dog to daycare.

[HRH Queen Dick I]

Sept 24, 2024 23:07:17 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Sept 24, 2024 22:44:10 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I said:

Only Fans.

No one wants to see this middle aged body and the bad cycling tan lines!

Oh yes they do my friend. Go on Reddit, there are Gone Wild subs for ages well north of 40, and a large number of posters have OF, it is through Reddit that they build their audience.

[thebreakfastclub]

Sept 24, 2024 21:00:26 GMT -5 sent said:

Sept 24, 2024 20:43:27 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I wouldn't recommend doing this without talking to your insurance agent first. You probably need a different policy/coverage for this type of driving.

Every cash gig carries some kind of risk. 

Does that mean to not be properly insured, take a chance, and expose yourself to financial risk? Does not compute.

[kadams767]

Kind of a blend of a few suggestions here along the lines of Task Rabbit and offering IT services to local companies or individuals, have you looked into UpWork? You could probably find some one-off or recurring IT work through there that you could do on your own timeline.