I’m 41 and my side hustle brings in £100k a year – and cost me nothing to start and anyone with a computer can do it
A WOMAN has shared how she has a very lucrative side hustle that brings in £100,000 a year and didn’t cost anything to start.
Becky Powell, 41, from the US, is a nursery school teacher and makes digital worksheets for her fellow teachers.
She spends 10 hours a week working on her side hustle and it enables her to pay off her bills and loans.
Becky produces worksheet booklets, which are aimed to help teach literacy to young kids, and puts them on an online marketplace site called Teachers Pay Teachers.
Her shop, Sight Word Activities, has 427 items for sale, which currently bring in £99,041 ($125,500) per year, according to CNBC.
These range from free downloads to 20 booklet noodles that cost £23 ($30).
Becky started her side hustle in 2015 as a way to pay off her monthly car insurance bill of £47 ($60).
In just three months she had covered this and her and her husband Jerome’s monthly student loan payments.
The best part of the money-making avenue is that you don’t need any money to get started as Teachers Pay Teachers has both free and paid tiers for sellers.
However, sellers who don’t pay a fee only keep 55 per cent of sales, while “premium sellers” keep 80 per cent of sales but have to pay £47 ($59.95) in annual fees.
Becky said: “I majored in education, so I’ve never had a business or sales mindset at all. It’s not my realm. Jerome helped me understand SEO, marketing and how to step into your consumers’ shoes. That’s why it’s been such an amazing balance.”
Becky’s husband, who works as a full-time computer engineer, now also has his own shop, called Editable Activities, which brings in £40,000 a year.
Her side hustle has been so successful that she’s helped eight friends and coworkers get started with their own shops.
She added: “I never charge them, and never would — I get a thrill when those I mentor experience their own success.”
Speaking of her success, Becky shared: “My husband always told me, ‘The riches are found in niches.’ Find that one area you can do really well with and hone in on it.”