Whether you are looking to make some extra money in your free time, or plan to start a part time business while being on full time job, weekend is the best time to test run. Moreover, starting and running a small scale part time business over the weekend gives you the flexibility of keeping job and business separate till the time you are ready to fully concentrate on the business.
I am going to discuss a few business ideas that one can do easily in their free time and particularly during the weekends. The weekend test run of a business is highly useful, especially, if you desire to one day quit your day job and and become a full time entrepreneur; starting a no-cost or low-cost business on the weekend is a great way to test your entrepreneurial potential as well.
Let’s see what side businesses can be done over the weekend:
1- Freelancing on Fiverr:
If you are a software programmer, content writer, digital marketer, design professional, video maker, or photography geek, Fiverr is probably the best place to start your micro business without any setup costs. Though, there are several other freelancing platforms, but Fiverr is the best option because you sell your expertise here, rather than wasting time on bidding for projects. Moreover, you can set your own delivery time, which makes it perfectly flexible.
The key to success is to have an awesome gig, i.e. something highly valuable for a lower price, i.e. $5 logo design, $5 article writing, $5 linkbuilding etc. Fiverr itself promotes your gig to the most relevant buyers, but you can promote your gig as well for an additional exposure.
As you can set your own delivery time; if you keep a delivery time 7 days, you can deliver a bunch of orders at once over the weekend. But one thing which you must make sure is to be highly responsive, because Fiverr heavily promotes the gigs where seller responds to the buyers’ queries faster. You can create some reply templates, get the Fiverr app, and reply faster while on the go.
2- Rideshare Driver:
If you are at least 21 years old, have no criminal record, have a car with valid insurance, and have at least one year of driving experience with a valid driving license, becoming a rideshare driver is an easy and comfortable way to have an additional legitimate source of income. You may signup with Uber, Lyft, Careem and many other local rideshare companies. The requirements and the approval process may vary state to state and country to country based on local laws and regulations.
Signup with as many services as you can get approved with and don’t worry about the time management. It is as easy as one two three, i.e. you can turn your status available to a particular company only when you are available.
Rideshare drivers earn $15 to $25 per hour on an average and you can work anytime you want to. However, the weekend is the best time, because the demand is high over the weekend and you should also be avalaible for more time, so you can really make a handsome amount while working part time for these two days.
3- Music/Dance Classes:
If you are music or dance enthusiast and can teach the skills to others, you can surely make a handsome amount over the weekend. Yes, you do need a dedicated room; if you have one at your home, it’s great, but alternatively you can hire one on rent for the weekends. You can even start as a Youtuber and gradually expand your business.
You may also partner up with a music/dance school or else offer group classes at one of the student’s place.
If this sounds a difficult option, you may also consider video tutorials of your skill via Youtube, Facebook and other online mediums. You can always monetize your channel on a later stage.
Related Reading:
5 Things to Consider When Starting up a Dance Studio
Music Review Website; a Hot Business Opportunity for Music Lovers
4- Blogging:
Whether you are great at playing with words, taking photographs, making videos or just curating the content from across the internet, blogging is the easy way to give a direction to your talent and monetize it. Since, it’s one of the most flexible work options, you may dedicate your weekend only and make it a profitable venture.
You may start with a free Blogger or WordPress blog, but a better way is to have your own domain. This guide will explain the blog setup process in detail. And, there are tons of ways to monetize a blog. Some of them include:
Related Readings:
6 Ways to Build a Successful Revenue Model for Your Travel Blog
How to Build a Product Review Blog Using WordPress
5- Photography:
If you’re the DSLR guy on Facebook and Instagram, converting your passion into a profitable side business could be the right choice. Though, you can be doing photography any day, weekend is the best time to do it with peace of mind.
Here is all what you should know about turning your photography skills into a profitable side business:
How to Start a Photography Business with No Money
How to Name Your Photography Business
How to Get More Clients for Photography Business
6- Packers & Movers:
If you have a pickup, you are already set to start a packers and movers business, but starting it full time might not be a great idea. Rather, start small over the weekend, and initially offer weekend service only, because mostly people prefer shifting over the weekend.
You can always turn it into a full time business on a later stage when you know the job well and have enough contacts to get new clients on regular basis.
7- Babysitting:
Though the working couples in the big cities want to spend more time with kids over the weekend, they do want to go for a movie night or even shopping. So, there’s always a great demand for babysitters over the weekend.
If you are someone with no special skills or training to start any of the above businesses, babysitting should be ideal job, because it doesn’t require any special skills. All you have to do is to take care of the kids. Once you have enough experience of dealing with kids, you may think of starting a day care center.
The Bottom Line:
I am sure at least one of the above business ideas should be suitable for you if you want to start a business that you can run during weekends only. You may not need to invest any money, but yes, you do need to invest little more than your time and in some time you will know if owning a business full time is the right choice for you.
