The side hustle has become a popular source to earn some extra income both for the people who are still pursuing their main jobs and education. This is especially true for Gen Z that lies in the age group of 18 to 23. According to a survey of LendingTree 2020, 46% of Gen Z are engaged in some form of side-hustle. The opportunities of side hustle have come to Gen Z because they have the competitive advantage of being digital natives who can use technology to engage in their passion. In addition to that, opportunities have opened up in the form of content creation and social media platforms. Another factor that has pushed Gen Z towards side-hustle is the fact that their education was put on hold because of the pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gen Z was introduced to the problems of economic disruption. At a very young age, Generation Z saw the impact of the financial crisis on their parents and now they are experiencing the same themselves which have encouraged Gen Z to pursue side hustles. This has also contributed to the growth of online marketplaces like Fiverr, Etsy and Depop that have made it easier to join the side hustle culture.
5 Side Hustles That Are Amongst Gen Z
1. Creative Writing
Anyone with great writing skills can become a freelance content writer or a creative writer. The different side hustle options available for writers include writing on Medium, freelance writing, self-publishing, creation of online courses, newsletter writing, creation of niche blogs and academic writing. To pursue a side-hustle in writing, it is important to have a good vocabulary that can be learned in a fun way by playing games like Scrabble Word Finder and Word Unscrambler. In addition to this, one can pursue different online courses to improve their writing skills which can then be used to upgrade the income.
2. Creating Niche Pages On Instagram
Social media platforms have opened plenty of doors to anyone who wants to engage in side-hustle. Creating a niche page is one of the easiest ways to pursue a side-hustle. If you are a reader, you can create a niche page on Instagram for books, similarly, if you love technology, you can create a niche page on the same. Once you gain more than 10,000 followers, it becomes easy to monetize these pages. Further, one can start earning way before a certain set of followers too. For instance, you can start charging for reviewing books and publishing the same on the platform.
3. Creating Digital Products
This is the perfect side-hustle for creative souls. For creating digital products, all you need is a laptop or computer and an internet correction. The different digital products that can be created include art, ebooks, planners, templates and even fonts. Platforms like Etsy and Shopify can then be used to sell digital products and of course, the option of selling digital products on your very own online store is available too.
4. Stock Photos
Someone who is into photography can start selling stock photos on platforms like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. This side-hustle has proven to be very lucrative to visually creative people. The process of selling stock photos is as simple as uploading an image on any social media platform. It is always a good idea to research first on the demand of the image type in the market to gain more audience.
5. Virtual Assistant
With many online businesses coming on, the world is filled with many entrepreneurs. Not all entrepreneurs have the time and energy to look into the fine details of the daily operation and therefore, they prefer to have a virtual assistant. The demand for virtual assistants has become huge after the pandemic. Many entrepreneurs prefer Gen Z as virtual assistants for their familiarity with the technology and this gig is quite popular amongst Gen Z.
A report by Upwork survey has suggested that the impact of Covid was less terrible amongst the freelancers in comparison to non-freelancers. Side-hustle in the form of freelancing in a profession of your choice can improve well-being, lifestyle, mental health and economic well-being. Having a side-hustle has allowed Gen Z to showcase their creativity while earning money and building a portfolio at the same time without much pressure.
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