How to Side Hustle $1k in Six Weeks

Having an extra $1000 can make a world of difference for your finances. It could help you to start an emergency fund or pay down debt quickly. If you need an extra $1k but aren’t looking to side hustle year round, you can make that amount easily in as little as six weeks. Here is how to side hustle $1k in six weeks.

Have the Right Mindset to Side Hustle $1k

Yes, you have to do the work, but having the right mindset can really help. This means stepping away from a scarcity mindset. Nick True of Mapped out Money also recommends focusing on your core strengths.

For Nick, that meant being laser focused on the type of freelance writing work he pursued. “For my first freelance writing gig, I searched the job postings on pro-blogger for something specific that suited me. I needed to make a few thousand dollars fast, so I skipped all the postings wanting generic personal finance articles.”

While you may not always find just the right gig, it’s always possible to find something up your alley. Nick, “Eventually found a job listing that was looking for someone to write 8-12 highly detailed articles around why most financial advisors take advantage of their clients. I thrive when writing long-form detailed content and I’m personally very skeptical of the traditional financial advisory industry. So this job was just perfect. I spent a week emailing back and for with the potential client and then met via skype to discuss the project. After a couple weeks of talking and planning, we eventually signed a contract for a $4,500 project with 20% payment immediately. The total project took probably 10 weeks to complete but could’ve been done faster if my client needed.”

Become a Freelance Writer

Learn more about how to get started with freelance writing. I started really pursuing freelance writing in April/May 2016 and am now self-employed. In my opinion, it’s one of the best side hustles out there because it can lead to so many other things.

Break it Down into Manageable Amounts

You can do a lot with $1k so it may seem like a lot to side hustle in just six weeks. Millennial Money Expert Stefanie O’Connell points out, “If you charge $20/hour, it’s just 50 hours to get to 1k. Over 6 weeks, it’s a little over 8 hours of extra hustle per week. So 1 extra hour per day (plus one), or 4 hours Saturday and Sunday, or 8 hours on your day off. What can you do in that time? Bartend? Babysit? Be a personal assistant? Anything really. Breaking down the numbers makes it all a lot more tangible.”

Ideas to Earn $20 per Hour

• Drive for Lyft or Uber (my first few months, I averaged $17 per hour, though I didn’t drive during peak hours much) Learn more about becoming a Lyft driver.
• Drive for Amazon Flex
• Still looking for driving options? You can drive for Postmates or Uber Eats or some other delivery service
• Dogsit or house sit using Rover or DogVacay (you can set your own rates, $20 per day would be pretty low)
• Babysit (admittedly I haven’t done this side hustle since I was 13 but it’s still good money)

If you want to side hustle $1k but it seems like a lot, break it down to something that doesn’t seem as scary. Maybe look at a rate per gig or a goal to earn each weekend through a combination of side hustles.

Find a Decent Paying Gig

One great gig to earn above minimum wage is working as a brand ambassador. Melanie Lockhart of Dear Debt worked as a brand ambassador and had this to say about the experience, “I worked concerts, sporting events, and trade shows. One long weekend of work would mean several hundred dollars. It was my primary side hustle for a long time and can be a lot of fun if you like to talk to people. I got started on Craigslist, then signed up for marketing agencies, and joined brand ambassador Facebook groups.”

Doug Norman at The-Military-Guide.com charged “$25/hr for handyman repairs with the neighbors. That’s 40 hours spread across 30 workdays or less than 1.5 hours per day. (Since it’s a side hustle, I guess we could add weekends back into that schedule.) I’d start with a neighborhood doorstep flyer listing the services: from drain cleanouts and appliance troubleshooting to screen repairs to picture hanging and even painting.” If you want to learn more about making home repairs and monetizing the skill, check out Doug’s post on DIY home improvement.

Decent Paying Gig Ideas:

• Work as a Brand Ambassador
• Clean Houses
• Be a Handyman/woman
• Work running races (I once earned $75 working for 3 hours, directing racer traffic at the end of the race)

Start a New Side Hustle

If finding a side hustle isn’t your style, create your own. John Rampton creator of Due, “went on Craigslist and looked for people looking for marketing help. I told them I would prove my worth, I wouldn’t charge them till they saw results. I then got results and got my first $1k a month client. This took me 5 weeks of work. I’ve successfully done this several times since.”

One of my favorite create your own side hustle stories is from Nick Loper. It’s actually how I stumbled onto his site Side Hustle Nation. Nick was able to side hustle $1k or close to ($920) it in just 5 days! He did it through Fiverr by auditing people’s websites. He wrote an amazing post breaking it all down for you.

There are tons of other ways to build your own side hustle. If you are artistic you could do portraits at a party or be a photographer for family photos. With technology like Fiverr or Etsy, it’s never been easier to launch your own side hustle with little to no costs. So you can side hustle $1k in six weeks, no sweat. These tools also make it easier to walk away from that hustle if you don’t want to keep it up long term.

Start a Side Hustle Tools & Ideas

• Sell services on Fiverr
• Sell crafts on Etsy
• If you are an artist, sell your artwork prints on Redbubble
• Sell t-shirts with TeeSpring (Amazon Merch is another great option but there is a waiting list for the program)

Wrapping it Up with a Bow on Top

There are tons of ways to make an extra $1k in six weeks. When you do the math, it’s just under $167 per week. You could find a freelance job each week that pays at least $167. Or break it down into 8 hours a week, earning $20 an hour.

If you want gigs worth more money or at least offering you more control you can come up with your own side hustle or just do different high paying gigs over the course of the six weeks. No matter what, if you have the right mindset and the willingness to hustle, you can easily side hustle $1k in six weeks.