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Before I was a full-time entrepreneur, I worked for startups and big companies, always eager for a promotion or raise. I wanted to take on more responsibilities, new job titles, and, of course, a higher salary that would allow me to meet more of my financial goals. When I started to see that my employers weren’t offering or funding any professional-development programs that would help me advance, though, I took my development into my own hands.
I decided to start doing my own side hustles that would help me improve or learn new skills, and also get paid in the meantime. After a year of working these after-work gigs, I showed my boss an updated portfolio of what I had been working on and was able to get a small promotion that generated a raise.
If you want to get paid more at your full-time job, consider one of these side hustles that can help you nurture or develop new skills.
One of the first side hustles I ever started was easy to do. I was working full-time as a copywriter and decided to become a freelance writer in hopes of being able to work on different types of projects and broaden the scope of what I was capable of working on as a writer.
At my job, I was focused on writing scripts for video ads, but through freelance work, I was able to work on blog posts for B2B companies, social media content, and website copy. All of this allowed me to improve as a writer and show my boss a portfolio of updated work, which gave me the opportunity to take on a bigger role in the company as a copywriter.
After you determine a skill or two that you’re currently doing well but want to expand, create a profile on a freelancing website like Fiverr, Upwork, or Toptal to offer your services to other brands or companies that need temporary help. Before you take this step, check your employment agreement to make sure you can do freelance work on the side.
Once you’ve taken on new projects, you can present your boss with an updated portfolio to showcase how you’ve taken your skill set and grown it in your off-work time.
If you’re looking to learn a new skill, starting your own online business is a solid side hustle to try out. You can learn things like managing inventory, pricing products, dealing with customer service, and marketing.
If you don’t get a chance to do any of that in your current role, selling products that you already own on websites like Poshmark or OfferUp, or creating a new product and selling it on a marketplace like Etsy or Amazon, can help you gain that experience pretty quickly.
That way, if you decide to go after a new role or take on more responsibility at your job centered around sales, marketing, or business development, you can showcase the experience you gained by running your own ecommerce business.
One skill that can always use developing, no matter what you do at your job, is communication. If you can get better at public speaking, breaking down complex ideas, or just being able to teach and manage others, your value at a company can rise significantly.
A side hustle that helps you get better at this skillset is tutoring. Even if you tutor in a topic that has nothing to do with what you do at your job, you’ll still find yourself having to work with another person to explain a topic to them in great detail, make sure they understand it, and do it in a way that’s engaging and entertaining. You can begin tutoring by creating a profile on a website like Tutor.com or Tutorme.com.
Not only will your communication skills start to improve gradually over time, but you might find yourself more confident when it comes to saying yes to more speaking roles at work (like presenting to executives or pitching new business) which could lead to a promotion or raise.
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