How to Make Money while Traveling
If you’re a natural born business wiz, you probably have some side projects already. Whether you’re a seasoned side hustler or you’re new to the game, I’m here to help. Let’s dive in to the ways to make some money on the go (or wherever you’re at).
Spoiler alert: you will not get rich quick by reading this. Fair warning though, you might get a little inspired.
Break it down
Let’s start with the basics. What do you know how to do? And what are you good at? What is your background in? By using what you’ve already got, you can take the path of least resistance to where you want to be. Make a list if you need here. Write down your qualities, skills, hobbies, and anything else you like to do (this is going to be the root of your hustle). My list looks something like this:
1) Marketing degree/background in digital marketing
2) Native English speaker/speaks Spanish
3) Website builder
4) Interest in photography/video production and editing
5) Drone pilot
6) Yoga Teacher
7) Jewelry maker
8) Low Key Poet
9) Entrepreneur
Take your list and start brainstorming some ideas of what you can do with your skills. Start with the basics and leave no stone unturned. Are you a great talker? Do you tell great stories? Are you an artist? How can you turn what you have naturally into a hustle? What can you offer people and where might you find people in need of your skills?
Turn your list into a tree and grow that shit out as much as your can. For example: #1- marketing. I can offer my services to local businesses. I can go around and use skill #2 to communicate in 2 languages and offer my social media/content creation/website skills to those in need. Combine your list and start finding some niche ideas. Another example, I could combine #4 and #6 and make some edits of yoga sequences or classes and post them online (more on monetizing your online presence later).
Come back to this list and keep growing your fundamental tree. Remember – this is the root of your hustle.
Now that you have a few ideas of your interests/skills/abilities, let’s channel that energy into some money making ideas.
Workaway
If you’ve read this post then you know that workaway is one of my secrets for traveling cheap. I started traveling through workaway when I was 18, moving to the Virgin Islands. Not only do hosts provide room and board, some hosts offer payment in exchange for your work. My workaway experience in Tulum offered just that. I lived rent free in a studio for 6 months and made a weekly rate on top of that. It wasn’t a ton, but food in Tulum is dirt cheap so it was plenty to supplement my needs.
The work varies from host to host. You can search for specifics like graphic design or animal care or whatever you’d like! My current workaway in Ecuador where I teach yoga is in exchange for accommodation only, so I have to turn to my other side projects to keep the cash flowing.
Online Freelance Platforms
One place I’ve found freelance work is Upwork. It’s a freelance platform to search jobs across the world. You definitely have to put in the time applying for jobs and have a cover letter/resume and go-getter attitude to find some success. It took me awhile to land my first freelance writing gig. You can set your own hourly rate but the platform does take a 20%.
Depending on your skills, you may find jobs posted on Malakye or LinkedIn, but Upwork is more of a freelance/work from a computer type platform.
Teach English
Lucky you if you grew up learning English as your first language. Did you include languages on your list of skills? Because you should. People all across the world are eager to learn English. Workaway alone has thousands of hosts (lots in Asia) eager to get a native English speaker around. Bonus if you nanny/babysit, families everywhere are looking to expose their kids to English.
There are also platforms where you can offer your English skills for pay. italki and upwork are some examples. Some places require teacher certificates like TEFL/TESOL. Some only require your basic english conversation skills. (I just signed up this week on italki so updates to come on that later). This is also a great way to travel if you want to legit move to another country. Likely requires a teacher cert of some kind and a big chunk of commitment. But know that there are platforms of all kinds to teach from the comfort of your own home (or roam).
Transcribe
Certainly not a get rich quick idea (is there really such a thing?) is to sign up to transcribe audio. This requires a computer, some typing skills, and a level of patience. You’ll get assigned audio clips of varying lengths and must type out the audio while following some guidelines set by the company. They pay anywhere from $15-40 per audio hour on TranscribeMe, which is not as great as it sounds. My first few clips were 2 minutes long and it took me 20 MINUTES to type each one out. Practice makes better and I’ve certainly heard of some success stories with this type of work.
YouTube
If you’ve got anything to share, an art, a story, a recipe, a life hack, a dance move, then you’ve got a reason to jump on YouTube. This platform can be monetized once you hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. If you’ve got the content and build the audience, YouTube certainly can become a source of revenue. Speaking of which, check out my channel for some travel edits and drone footage! Yay thanks.
Social Media
It’s no secret that people are selling their souls – erm I mean selling products through social media. Affiliate programs are everywhere! If you’ve got the followers and don’t mind being a spokesperson for these brands, it might be worth a go. Some affiliate programs offer discounts on products and commission from sales generated from your posts. I’m not doing this on my own IG/FB but again there is a whole instaworld out there capitalizing on this.
Blog
Or as I loving refer to it – blarg! Blogging is nothing new, but with the right setup you can start bringing in passive income. Sleeping + making money = dreamy. This requires a blog (duh) and a few tricks that you can learn. Hint: everything is learnable.
Get your own blog started using Bluehost, where you can get a domain name and wordpress site set up. If you want to skip this step and have your blog magically appear for you, let’s talk! I’d be happy to build a blog or website for you.
If you already have a blog and want to get some kickback for your work, try AvantLink. This a free tool to get started with market affiliation. The best thing about this is you can pick and choose the companies you represent on your blog. You can choose the style of ad and put it wherever you want on your page. There is some method to this madness as well. Say you’re writing reviews of outdoor gear you like to use. You can pick a few outdoor companies to feature throughout your blog to target your specific outdoorsy audience.
Invest
Check out this post on investing if you already have some spare cash that you want to put to work for you. You’re never too young or old to start investing. It’s also a great way to feel like a total boss (even if you have no clue what you’re doing).
Market Yourself
Using your list of skills, maybe you’ve found something specific you want to do. Maybe you’re combining your love of dogs and your graphic design skills to make posters advertising your new dog walking business. You can create a facebook page showcasing the underwater basket weaving skills you’ve acquired. Whatever you choose, whatever you have, market that shit. Get the word out that you’re here, you’re available, and you’re hustlin! Don’t let fear that your blog isn’t good enough or your art isn’t perfect or your youtube videos aren’t interesting. Take that belief and burn it. You are so completely capable of living an amazing life. Take that chance on yourself and get out there!
Network
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. The older I get, the more I see the truth to this. I found a job in Tulum while riding my bike down the street. I made another job connection in the bathroom line at a club in Montañita. Right place, right person, right time. No amount of experience can replace being in the right place for networking. Carry business cards. Get people’s numbers. Remember names. Follow up. Get that hustle tree growing. You never know when one of your branches will start to bear fruit!
There are so many ways to get creative with your money. Hope you’re feeling hella inspired to get your hustle going! Don’t be a slave to the 9 to 5. Get your money and mind to work for you!
