Marie Owens
- Jul 27, 2021
- 3 min read

Creative People: Use These Side-Gigs to Supplement Your Income

Updated: Aug 9, 2021

They don’t call it “starving artist” for nothing. If you are creative, you’ve likely consumed your share of instant noodles in your time. Of course, when you decide to pursue the arts, you typically know the risks going into it—hunger and all. However, being an artist, poet, or other creative person in today’s world is more difficult than ever. Costs of living are rapidly increasing. A dollar doesn’t go as far as it once did, so it is very likely that your average creative soul could use more of them.

When creativity is your passion, MariesArtEST2017 knows you can’t just give it up for a life pursuing capitalist income. The solution: A lucrative side gig allows you to make extra money that helps ends meet without sacrificing your time to create.

RideShare Driver

If you are lucky enough to have a reliable car, driving for a rideshare service is one of the easiest ways to make money. All you need is a smartphone to access a rideshare app that connects you as a driver to riders. Uber and Lyft are the heavy hitters in most areas, but your city might have its own alternatives.

Deliver Packages

Do you ever wonder how two-day shipping gets packages to your doorstep—even on Sundays? There are hardworking people behind those deliveries, and if you are so inclined, you could join them. GeekWire points out you can make as much as $25 an hour delivering packages for companies like Amazon, but some companies—including UPS—also hire part-time workers for deliveries.

Walk Dogs and Pet Sit

According to a survey cited by Spots.com, two out of three American households own a pet. All those people with pets need help when it comes to caring for their fur babies, so why not help them out? Dog walking is a flexible part-time gig that also provides you with a bit of light exercise—something we all really need. In addition to dog walking services, consider providing pet sitting for people who feel wary when it comes to the idea of boarding.

Sell Your Work

If you are an artist and you are not taking advantage of the internet to gain exposure and sell your art, you are missing out. E-commerce is easier to use than ever thanks to platforms like Etsy, Big Cartel, and Shopify. You can also make passive income uploading your paintings, prints, and drawings to sites like Society6, where shoppers go to find unique household items, decor, and accessories. All you have to do is connect your PayPal account, pay the $1 verification fee, and upload your work. The website makes and distributes all purchases and you pick up a 10 percent commission on every sale that features your work.

Poets have options, too, of course. As TCK Publishing notes, there are several venues for poetry, such as magazines, speaking engagements, self-published books, and poetry readings in places like cafes, bars and restaurants. While you might not be able to quit your day job, there are opportunities out there to make money with your passion, and you just never know where that could lead. And if you would be satisfied indulging your love for words in a different way, you could make a living as a content writer.

If you’re starting a new business, do keep a couple of things in mind. It’s important to protect your personal assets by setting up an LLC. There are affordable LLC formation services that use automation tools to expedite the process of launching your business. Also, check into local restrictions on running a business from home. There can be problems if you’re boarding dogs, watching kids, using chemicals, receiving customers, need a parking area or that sort of thing. Sometimes a special permit is needed to run business operations out of your house, so make sure you’ll be covered before going too far.

If you are a creative person and you need some extra work to help make ends meet, there are plenty of flexible side gigs you can pick up to supplement your income without sacrificing your creative time. And all creative people should attempt to make passive income by selling their work online. Doing what you love will make all the difference, even if it’s just part-time.

Looking for more info here are some links:

rapidly increasing - https://mic.com/articles/188498/average-cost-of-living-increase-us-2018-calculator-best-cities-health-care-ed

Amazon - https://www.geekwire.com/2017/amazon-delivery-driver-like-work-tech-giants-citizen-package-brigade/

two out of three - https://spots.com/pet-ownership-statistics/

Society6 - https://xopixel.com/my-society6-review-how-i-made-extra-money/

several venues - https://www.tckpublishing.com/make-money-selling-poetry/

content writer - https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-writing-development-tips-semrushchat/

LLC formation services - https://www.zenbusiness.com/

restrictions - https://www.designblendz.com/blog/how-to-make-sure-youre-following-zoning-laws

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Website: https://www.mariesartest2017.com