If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t have any special skills that can help me make extra money,” it’s time to change that. You already have everything you need to start making extra money; you simply need to realize how valuable what you already know is.
Chris Guillebeau explains in both The $100 Startup and Side Hustle how regular people turned their everyday skills into steady income, often with little or no initial cost. They didn’t wait till they were specialists. They didn’t go back to school. They used what they already knew and used it to help someone else with a problem.
This post will show you how to find your current skills, turn them into a service or product, and start a side business that makes money and fits into your life.
Why Your Skills Are More Important Than You Think
We often don’t cherish things that come easily to us. But what comes easily to you could be hard or perhaps too much for someone else.
For instance:
- You might be very good at organizing files, and someone else might pay you to do it.
- You might be good at creating resumes because some individuals are having trouble with them right now.
- You might be great at putting up electronic devices, and people would be happy to employ you to do it.
You can start a business when you find someone who needs what you have and you have what they need.
The $100 Startup stresses that successful micro-businesses are built on skills people already have and a clear demand in the market. You aren’t coming up with something new. You’re putting a new spin on what you already do so that people would pay for it.
Step 1: Find Out What Skills You Can Use in Other Jobs
You don’t need a fancy degree or an official accreditation. Start by making a list of useful, transferable skills—things you can do that could help someone else.
Here are several examples:
- Writing and editing
- Customer service
- Managing spreadsheets
- Taking pictures
- Tutoring or teaching
- Making food or cooking
- Planning events
- Cleaning and putting things in order
- Speaking in front of people
- Managing social media
- Graphic design (even just knowing how to use Canva)
- Translating languages
Don’t think too hard about it. It counts even if you’ve simply done it for friends, family, or yourself.
Look at your present or prior jobs if you’re not sure where to start. What are some things you do well? What have your friends or coworkers asked you to do?
Step 2: Link Your Skills to Problems in the Real World
It’s time to find problems that people are prepared to pay you to solve now that you’ve written down your skills.
For example:
- If you know how to organize: Provide digital or home organization help
- If you write well: Offer to write blog posts or give LinkedIn profiles a makeover
- If you know two languages: Help local companies with translation or interpretation
- If you like working out: Make personalized fitness plans for beginners
- If you like kids: Give students virtual tutoring or unique lesson plans
Guillebeau says in Side Hustle that you should think about value exchange: What can you do to help someone get what they want? People don’t pay you for your expertise; they pay you for what that skill can do for them.
Step 3: Make a Simple Offer (You Don’t Need a Fancy Website)
You don’t have to make a brand or a website before you can sell something. Actually, the easiest approach to start is to rapidly test your offer.
A simple offer has:
- Who it’s for
- What it fixes
- What the outcome will be
- How much it costs
For example:
“I help small business owners make Instagram posts that look professional using Canva. This way, they can stay active online without having to spend hours designing.”
Keep it short and to the point. You can put it on your own Facebook page, send folks a message, or list it on sites like Fiverr, TaskRabbit, Craigslist, or Nextdoor, depending on the service.
The $100 Startup shows how many successful hustlers made their first sale before they ever set up a firm. Your first goal is to get a “yes,” and then you may get better as you go.
Step 4: Test and Get Paid While You Learn
You don’t have to be perfect to start; you just need to give value.
Even if you have to charge less, start with one or two clients. At this point, your goal is to:
- Show that your idea works
- Get reviews or testimonials
- Get your confidence up
- Improve your service
For example: one person from The $100 Startup started charging friends $20 to look over their resumes. Referrals started flooding in after a few weeks. They were charging $150 or more for each resume after a few months and had a full schedule of clients.
The company plan didn’t help them grow; they just started small and got results.
Step 5: Get Better When You’re Ready
Once you’ve shown that people would pay for your skill, you can slowly increase your hustle:
- Make packages, like three social media designs a week
- Raise your rates as more people want them
- Make a simple landing page or website
- Get recommendations and share comments from clients
- Make some portions of the process automatic, like templates, booking, and payments
You may even go farther and turn your skill into a product by making digital items like eBooks, templates, or mini-courses. You can make money even when you’re not working.
Your Skills Can Set You Free
You don’t need to chase viral ideas, make a convoluted brand, or wait until you feel “ready.” You are already ready since you already know how to do things.
You don’t need anyone’s permission to make something modest and important, as Chris Guillebeau explains in Side Hustle. You only need to be willing to do something.
So think about this:
- What skills do I already have?
- Who could need this right now?
- What easy thing can I do today to give it?
Once you get going, things start to move. You get more sure of yourself. And that extra money? It turns into more than simply a side job; it becomes a way to gain financial freedom and personal power.