Did you know that 8% of students throughout the UK work for themselves whilst studying? The average student entrepreneur makes £253 a month, which isn’t bad for casual work! If you’re looking for part-time work that allows you to control your own schedule, it might be worth thinking about freelancing. We’ve got some options that you might want to consider:
Delivery Driver
Did you know the parcel delivers from Yodel, Hermes, DPD and all the others are usually self-employed? That’s right! If you have an insured car and valid driving license, then you may be able to take up additional work as a delivery driver. You’ll need to look after your own books, but the flexible hours mean that you can often work as much or as little as you want. That’s ideal for fitting around the student schedule.
Cleaner
Hiring a maid or cleaner is actually pretty common. Clients can range from students who just cannot be bothered, to the elderly or disabled who just cannot reach. A thorough and efficient approach, quality materials and understanding of trade compliance makes it easy to set up as a cleaner. You may find work increases through word-of-mouth, so if you do a good job, you’ll find the business growing in no time.
Extra/Commercial Actor
This may sound like a creative job, but in actual fact anyone can do it! TV shows in particular are always looking for people to be in the background of their production – filling cafés and battlegrounds. Sitting around a set all day may be pretty boring, but it usually pays over a hundred pounds a day.
Website Tester
There are companies such as usertesting.com that pay people to test websites on behalf of others. Through audio and screen capture they tend to see how you shop or browse online. Although often through a company, you should register as self-employed as you are not technically an employee. Website testers need to be comfortable talking out loud, explaining their thought patterns as they are searching, giving constructive criticism and following instructions.
Transcriber
If you have a keen ear, there is often plenty of work for transcribers – people who listen to a recording and write it out. The type of work can vary from research companies who need interviews transcribing, teachers who need a script for their students to follow, accessibility services who need subtitles for hard-of-hearing viewers.
Data Entry
A lot of monotonous but necessary jobs are given to freelance workers. If you’re looking for a bit of money without much concern for job satisfaction, data entry may be what you’re looking for. If you can maintain concentration and enter data with no errors, then you can find yourself working for scientists, sales departments, financial advisors and more.
Painter/Decorator
Painting houses, assembling furniture, plastering and pointing are all things that could come under DIY, but not everyone trusts themselves to do it properly. If you’re particularly handy, you may find that painting and decorating is a good way to make some extra cash.
Upcycler
If you’ve sat at home watching shows like The French Collection, then you’ve definitely thought “£200 for that slap-job? I can do better than that.” Well, there’s nothing stopping you. Upcycling furniture is a great hobby, but people are willing to pay more for the final product than your initial investment. There’s no reason you can’t make money from recycling furniture if you take care, use quality materials and sell in the right place.
Photographer
If you’ve got photographic know-how and the equipment to make your shots pop, then you could freelance as a photographer. Nightclubs and corporate events are often in need of a professional photographer, but you could also find yourself shooting weddings, proms, fashion shows, promotional material and baby photos.
Copywriter
If you have a way with words you could make money through your writing. Individuals and businesses look for many different types of writing from blog articles, books, web copy, email marketing campaigns, creative writing, script-writing journal writing, bid writing and more besides. It can be a competitive marketplace, so it is often better to specialise. There is often a higher demand for technical writers and scientific writers, so this may be a good one for STEM students.
Business Developer
Business development specialists are sales people who can create leads for a company and convert them into customers. Freelance Business Developers may focus on digital marketing, cold-calling through telesales, email, or even field work. There is a lot of pressure on Business Developers to provide results, but if you are personable, have a large network and know how sales work, you could render your services on a freelance basis.
Confectioner
Good at baking or making sweets? There’s been a huge rise in demand for professionally decorated cakes recently and if you have your food and hygiene certification you can work from home. Given that they are usually bought for special occasions, they are typically ordered for evenings or weekends, allowing you to work around your schedule. Although specialist cakes can be bought separately for an event, they can also come as part of a catering package, if you have the skills.
Virtual Assistant
‘Virtual Assistant’ covers a wide range of tasks, so can be quite hard to define. In some respects, they are similar to a PA, organising their employer’s calendar, taking phone calls, answering emails, conducting research, managing finances etc. If you know that you can handle administrative tasks and have initiative to turn a simple request into a fool-proof plan then it may be worth doing some more research into this role.
Tutor
Whether meeting local children and teenagers or teaching online, tutoring is a great way to earn some money whilst keeping your knowledge fresh. As long as you know what you’re talking about, you can tutor in any subject, although it may help your credibility if you can back it up with a qualification.
Social Media Specialist
You probably feel like you know the ins-and-outs of social media, so posting on behalf of a company sounds like easy work, right? Whereas it’s true that familiarity with different social networks is a benefit, social media specialists need to understand how to create ad campaigns and convert posts into sales. If you know how to target the right audience, create engaging content and interpret insights, then you could make a go as a Social Media Specialist.
Translator
If you’re multilingual you’ve probably already considered translation. There’s a huge demand for it and it can be quite easy to find clients – but it’s important to use the market rate. Price usually range anywhere between £0.02 – £0.15 per word reflecting how common the language is, but make sure you consider your own speed of translation. It’s no good translating Spanish for 2p a word if you can only translate 250 words an hour. Bonus tip: it’s also advisable to translate into your own language to maintain native clarity.
Web Designer
Although there are a lot of accessible website hosts, many people require a professionally finished and managed website for their business. If you know how to code and have a good eye for design, then you can approach companies, telling them how your website will bring them more customers. Each website you design acts as another page in your portfolio and will encourage word-of-mouth recommendations in the future.
Software Developer
Making an app seems to be a staple in the marketer’s toolkit right now and many companies are jumping on the idea. The thing is though, knowing what you want an app to do and building something that can do it are very different things. Most people don’t even know where to start. If you know what you’re doing you could make a killing off it.
Graphic Designer/Illustrator
Whether talking about logos, banners, posters, web content, merchandise or report templates, there are a lot of different promotional materials that companies use on a daily basis. Not everyone has an in-house designer who can realise their branding vision, so often graphic designers or illustrators find themselves taken on repeat clients rather than purely one-off pieces of work. Make sure your rate reflects how much work you have put in and never get paid in ‘exposure’ alone.
Market Researcher
If you’ve got a head for stats, know how to conduct a competitor analysis and use customer insights to recommend a course of action, then you could become a market researcher. After the initial market analysis, you may find yourself conducting your own primary research too – writing non-leading questionnaires, conducting depth-interviews and focus groups.
Let Us Help
Any of the above jobs take your fancy? If you don’t know where to start, the Propeller team can help point you in the right direction. Our mentors can show you how to set-up as a business, find clients and develop the skills you need to turn the odd side-job into a sustainable income. Get in touch to book an appointment with a mentor or go to our events page to sign-up to a workshop.
