5 Offline Side Hustles

I’ve talked about online side hustles; now it’s time to switch over to a few offline ones.

Not all side hustles need to be online. In fact, it’s better to have an offline venture or two going as well. Read through the list below and see if there’s one that fits your personality.

Disclaimer: Links within this post are either to my own products, or products I endorse. I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase through an affiliate link, at no extra cost to you. My blog is supported through commissions and sales of my products. Plus, if you like what you read you can show your support by pinning this post, sharing on social media, or buy me a coffee.  Thank you for your continued support.

  1. Farmer’s Market – Pre-COVID had people selling their wares at weekly Farmer’s Markets. Now that life is starting to get back to some sort of normal, communities are once again allowing the markets. With the holidays coming up it’s the perfect time to sell baking, homemade jams and jellies, handcrafted wood projects, knit/crocheted items, custom signs, paintings, and so much more. Contact your local Chamber of Commerce to see what events are happening in your community, including Craft markets.
  2. Bottle Picking – This may seem like a bottom-of-the-barrel hustle to some, but it can really be quite lucrative. With so much emphasis put on recycling and cleaning up our environment, there’s no shame in doing our part. I have friends who fund little projects with the money they earn just from taking their quads out along the highways and backroads. I myself find a few cans occasionally when going out for a walk. I know if I walked a different stretch of road each time I’d find a lot more. Just this week I picked up several cans between my house and my father-in-law’s farm, which is less than a quarter mile away.
  3. Pet Sitting – If you have a love for animals, this can be a great little side hustle for you. Pet owners spend thousands of dollars on their pets annually; and that’s not including the day-to-day necessities. Busy people are willing to pay you for spending time with their pet so they can go on vacation, or just be reassured their pets won’t be bored while they’re at work. A bored pet is a destructive pet.
  4. House Sitting – Similar to pet sitting, but not as tiring (unless of course there’s a snowstorm). When you go on vacation don’t you feel better when you have someone checking in on your home? You can provide the same service to friends and neighbours for a small fee. It may mean cleaning the sidewalks, watering the plants, and just making sure their home looks occupied while they’re away. An unoccupied home is an easy target for criminals.
  5. Snow Removal/Lawn Care – This is a side hustle you can do at any time of year. The tools you need will depend on the season, but chances are it’ll be either a shovel or a lawnmower. You don’t need anything fancy or expensive; just a strong back (especially when it comes to snow removal) and the desire to help others. Keep your rates competitive, do a good job, and you’ll have repeat customers no matter the season.

The 5 side hustles mentioned in this post are low-to-no-startup cost, and can easily bring in a few hundred dollars a month. Your biggest cost will be table rental with the first side hustle, as you will most likely have the tools needed for the others.

They are also not passive income earners; you will need to do the work in order to get paid. However, you’ll likely meet and make some friends along the way who will tell others about your services. And, once you have some firsthand experience you can write your own guide to doing what you do. That in turn will create some passive income for you, and you can hire a house sitter while you vacation in Hawaii.

Ebook to Guide Writing

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Change is Good

Sometimes we all need a little change in our lives.

Today I changed the look of my website. If you’re a regular reader of my posts, you may have thought you were on the wrong site for a moment.

Disclaimer: Links within this post are either to my own products, or products I endorse. I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase through an affiliate link, at no extra cost to you. My blog is supported through commissions and sales of my products. Plus, if you like what you read you can show your support by pinning this post, sharing on social media, or buy me a coffee.  Thank you for your continued support.

I designed the page header awhile back, and it’s the same style I use on my new Etsy Shop, TOLA50Printables. After some playing around with palettes, colours, and designs, I clued into the fact WordPress has a little button that says something to the effect of “match header colours”. If only I had known it was that easy. 😀

I like the new look. I think it’s much easier on the eyes, and the header isn’t distorted in any way. I think it’s a win-win.

I am into Week 2 of my Create 30 Products in 30 Days course and am loving it. I haven’t created more than a few products but that’s okay. I enjoy learning and creating because I can change the fonts, colours, and clipart to suit what I’m doing. And just because I start with a PLR template, it doesn’t mean I end up with a product that looks the same.

My latest creation from my 30 Products in 30 Days course.

Change is also coming for my family. My first grandbaby will be arriving in April, which is very exciting!

I’m going to have to wipe the dust off my sewing machine and make a couple of baby quilts through the winter. It’s going to be fun deciding on a pattern and colours that are suitable for either gender. My daughter doesn’t want to know until baby arrives, which, in my opinion, is the way it should be. As long as baby is healthy that’s the main thing.

That also opens up a whole new line of printables to be created. Cards, schedules, lists, and so much more. I know from being a mom that babies have their own schedules, no matter what the “experts” say. As I’m working my way through my course I’ll be coming up with baby-themed printables, for not only new moms but also for recording the milestones of pregnancy.

Babies bring changes in so many ways. My daughter is a great furbaby parent, and I know she’ll be a wonderful parent to her little human when he/she arrives. Now if only I could convince her to open up her own Etsy Shop so she can work from home and raise her own babies.

As I close this post I ask you this: What is your sole reason for wanting to start a side hustle? Is it for extra cash, to support yourself and family, to go on vacation, or something else?

Comment below or if you prefer, answer via the contact form.

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How to Add to your Product Line Quickly

Fall is here. The leaves are turning quickly, and falling to the ground. It’s such a pretty time of year; both my favourite and least favourite. I’m not excited about winter at all. What I am excited about is learning how to create products quickly. Read on to find out more!

Disclaimer: Links within this post are either to my own products, or products I endorse. I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase through an affiliate link, at no extra cost to you. My blog is supported through commissions and sales of my products. Plus, if you like what you read you can show your support by pinning this post, sharing on social media, or buy me a coffee.  Thank you for your continued support.

I have spent the past couple of weeks getting some yard work done, enjoying the warm weather as much as possible, and working on designing new planners and printables for my new Etsy Shop. I am gradually moving some of the printables over from my first Etsy Shop, as they are mopre in tune with the new one.

Something I have learned recently is PowerPoint can be used to make planners and printables just as easily as Affinity Publisher or Canva. If you have Microsft 365 (or any MS product) you should have access to PowerPoint as well. I’m taking a course now on creating products over at Share Your Brilliance entitled Create 30 Products in 30 Days and it has me spending several hours in the evening at my computer. Between it and trying to finish up the computer side of our community history book, it’s a wonder I get any sleep at all.

I’m having so much fun with this one.

In the course mentioned above D’vorah shows students how to create colour palettes, streamline a filing system (so you can access your products quickly), and replicate the same planner in different themes. My first was a Thanksgiving Planner, which is now in my TOLA50Printables Etsy Shop. I’m happy with how it turned out, and since Canada and the US celebrate at different times I feel it has potential for this holiday season.

A little word of advice: follow the instructions for saving your files just how D’vorah instructs. I thought I could skip a step, and my file DID NOT save like I wanted it to. I now have a PDF but cannot edit the original because I didn’t save it the way I should have. I’m glad it’s done the way I want, and that I created a short video of it for my Etsy listing before I messed up.

The bonus to this course is you get a template to work with. It has so many options: dated, undated, one page per month, two pages per month, weekly pages (at least 3 if I recall correctly), and a small variety of daily layouts.

I personally prefer to create undated planners as they are evergreen (meaning they can be used year after year; simply print a new copy when you fill the old one). Plus, they don’t have to be constantly updated, so you can spend your time creating new products instead of updating old ones. To me that’s a win-win.

There will be times you want to use images, or use different pages than what is included in the templates with the course. Yes, you can find free stock images online but I prefer to pay for mine. I use Creative Market for the majority of my graphics. One of my recent purchases has been this Halloween Bundle which I have used to make a card for my Etsy Shop. With Halloween being just around the corner it’s a good time to get some cards and games listed.

As with any products you create planning ahead is beneficial, especially when it comes to holidays. Have you noticed the Halloween and Christmas items in the stores yet? It seems like summer is barely over before Christmas stock starts making an appearance. I don’t know about you, but I find it showing up earlier and earlier. By the time Christmas rolls around I’ve had enough. (I love Christmas but hearing nothing but Christmas music in every store from the beginning of November gets a little old.)

Okay, back to product creation. If you want to maximize your earnings, start planning and creating for the holidays at least 2 or 3 months ahead. It takes time for customers to notice your shop, especially if you’re not advertising. Create, list, and utilize Pinterest. If you have a newsletter be sure to mention the upcoming holidays and link to your products. I’m the first to admit I’m horrible at pinning, mainly because I get sucked into the Pinterest Rabbit Hole. It’s good karma to pin the content of others more than your own.

Time to go out and enjoy the warm weather for a little while, then get my butt back in my chair and do my “homework” from my 30 Products course. I think a walk is in order, and perhaps take some pictures for my autumn planners.

Have a wonderful day, and let me know what you’re working on.

If you like what you read you can show your support by pinning this post, sharing on social media, or buy me a coffee.


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