I did something very out of character recently. I booked a trip to Las Vegas knowing full well I don’t have the funds to pay for it. Not only that but (since I was clearly already having some kind of existential crisis) I decided to extend the trip by another week and pop in to visit my friend Lindsay in LA too.
In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose!
Now I’d like to point out that I’m usually a regular Scrooge McDuck. I count my pennies, I stick to a strict budget…heck, I share my spending pie charts every month on YouTube! The point is, that booking a big trip like this when I don’t have the money set aside to pay for it is terrifying.
Like…how am I going to pay for this?
Enter my side hustle challenge!
What is the side hustle challenge?
It seems like every man and his dog is out there making thousands each month from online side hustles. And don’t get me wrong, I think a lot of that is smoke and mirrors and there are plenty of scams afoot. But there are real people making real money online through their side hustles.
So why not me?
I’ve set myself the challenge to side hustle my way to Vegas by October. Big yikes because that really isn’t that long away and I really have no clue what I’m doing.
I added up all the expenses for my flights, hotel stay, luggage, Carrie Underwood tickets (because hello, that’s the whole reason I’m going!), spending money, and everything else I could think of.
The total came to £2949!
I know, I know. Even bigger yikes!
How the heck am I going to make that kind of money with online side hustles? Good question.
My Chosen Side Hustles
I’m hurling myself into this challenge with nothing but a vague idea of what I’m doing and a great deal of enthusiasm. I’m sure as I experiment and learn more along the way, I’ll make some adjustments, but for now, here are the side hustles I’m focussing on.
Digital Products
Luckily, I have a back catalogue of digital products that I’ve created over the last couple of years. My sales for the last few months have been virtually non-existent because I haven’t been promoting them but hopefully, by advertising them more on TikTok and YouTube, I’ll be able to change that.
I’ve got a wide variety of digital products on offer, from my This Time Next Year Success Blueprint course to the Ultimate Cosmetics Inventory, my Less Junk, More Joy Ebook, to my Consistency Calayst Masterclass, there’s a big range for people to choose from. And, since most of them are sold and distributed through my email marketing provider, Convertkit, I don’t have to pay any additional fees to host my products and the sales are seamless. If you’re planning on selling digital products, I definitely recommend finding an all-in-one service like Convertkit to make life easier and avoid paying twice as many fees as necessary.
I have certainly lived and learned from that mistake in the past!
Affiliate Marketing
I’ve never really delved into affiliate marketing before but I guess now is the time. I’m a member of the Amazon Associates programme and I signed up for the affiliate programmes linked with some of my favourite products that I always find myself recommending (namely Dermatica and Coplenty).
I mean, if I’m going to recommend the products anyway, I might as well earn a few pennies in the progress, right? (And, to be clear, with Amazon Associates specifically, it literally is a few pennies!)
UGC Work
This one might just be a pipe dream because I haven’t heard back from a single agency I’ve applied for, but I’m still holding out some hope.
The vast majority of my brand collaborations take place on my YouTube channel. Brands sponsor my videos, I post the videos with a little ad for the brand, and everyone’s happy.
UGC works differently. Instead of posting to my YouTube channel or social media account, I’d be making content for brands to share on their platforms. It’s a bit like being paid to script, film, and star in an advert and then you sell the rights to the brand.
This can be extremely lucrative. Unfortunately, everyone else has also realised that and the competition is fierce!
Print On Demand
Having had a very rocky relationship with print on demand over the years, I’ve decided to give it another shot. There was a time in 2021-2022 when I was making a consistent income from my print on demand t-shirt shop on Etsy. In fact, it was pretty lucrative for a spell. But, as the cost of living increased, prices kept creeping up and my profit margins got smaller and smaller.
Now I’m giving it another go to see if running a print on demand shop can actually be profitable in 2024. I’m using Printify, which is simple to use and has links with good-quality print on demand manufacturers all over the world. It’s also easy to integrate Printify with a variety of e-commerce providers including Etsy, TikTok Shop, eBay, and Woo Commerce.
Printed Products
And finally, I’ll be trying to sell more of my printed products AKA Just As I Am and my This Time Next Year Life Planner. Again, just like with my digital products, I really don’t do a great job of marketing these. In fact, I think it’s time for me to brush up on my sales skills in general. If I’m being completely honest, I couldn’t a life raft to a drowning man. This is something I desperately need to work on if I want to side hustle my way to Vegas!
With just three months to go and almost £2,500 to scrape together, I’m not going to lie, I am feeling the pressure! But it’s also kind of exciting to have such a huge goal to work towards.
So wish me luck. Let’s see how this side hustle challenge pans out…
Heads up - this post contains some affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase based on my recommendation, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
