If you are someone who desires flexibility in your work and wants to be your own boss, there are plenty of self-employed jobs you can choose from. Indeed, there is something satisfying about self-employment: the opportunity to try your own ideas; you have the freedom to set your own hours.
Self-employment also means that you’ll be able to spend more time with your family and loved ones. Also, it’s a job you can do full-time, part-time, or remotely. Finding the best self-employed jobs, though, can be harder than it really needs to be.
So, in this article, we will take you through some of the best jobs for those who desire to work for themselves.
Check out: 10 Best Online Jobs for Teens to Earn Extra Cash
Industries With The Best Self-Employed Jobs
There are several jobs ideas out there if you want to become self-employed. However, the industries with the best self-employment opportunities are the real estate industry and the construction industry.
Those in these two industries also have the most potential to earn lots of money. So, real estate brokers, construction managers, real estate agents, property managers rank really high in terms of annual income and jobs availability, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those in the financial industry also do pretty well.
The Best 13 Self-Employed Jobs:
1. Independent financial advisors
The job of a financial advisor is to set up a plan for people tailored to their specific financial situation. As a financial advisor you help with retirement planning, investment strategies, budgeting, taxation, risk management, etc.
Being an independent financial advisor is not easy. It requires a bachelor degree typically in accountant, finance or business. You also have to be experienced, certified and complete continuing education every year.
Because of that, the money is lucrative. In fact, being a financial advisor is one self-employment idea where the sky is the limit on how much money you can make. You can charge per hour usually between $100 to $500.
If your client is looking for a comprehensive plan, you can charge you a flat rate anywhere between $1000 to $3000. If you manage your client’s investment, you can charge a percentage-based fee annually usually between 1% to 2% of their investment portfolio.
For example, if your client has $250,000 to invest and you charge 1% to manage their investment, the fee is $2500 per year. And that’s just one client.
2. Real Estate Brokers
Real estate brokers are self-employed. Though some can work for a real estate brokerage firm. But the majority work for themselves. So this should not be confused with a real estate agent, where they work under the supervision of a real estate broker.
As a real estate broker, you will handle real estate listing and transactions. Real estate brokers are compensated when a sale is made. And because the commissions earned on the sale of a property can be great, you can make a lot of money.
The average salary for a real estate broker in Illinois for example is $103,430.00. Though, the national broker salary is $78,940.00 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. Become a blogger
Becoming a blogger is not only one of the easiest ways to make money, but it is also one of the best self-employment opportunities where you can earn passive income. To become a blogger, you need to focus on a niche that has the potential to make money.
Bloggers who blog on topics such as personal finance, food, health and fitness have been successful at making money online.
Second, you need to choose a good hosting provider. Why? Well, to be successful at this self-employment opportunity, you need a reputable hosting company that is not only fast, but also cheap and has great customer service.
Bluehost is one of the best hosting companies out there. You can start your blog with Bluehost for as low as $3.95 a month. The regular price is $7.99 a month, but you get it for $3.95, which is 50% off the regular price.
Third, to make money fast, you need to generate tons of traffic. You simply won’t do well if people don’t see your blog. Fourth, monetize your blog. Once your blog becomes popular, it gives you the platform and audience to generate multiple streams of revenue by monetizing your blog.
In order to make money fast, you need to monetize your blog. You can monetize your blog in at least 2 ways: (1) Affiliate marketing, (2) Ads. Affiliate marketing can be a great way to make passive income because when people click on the affiliate links, you receive a commission at no cost to them when they product or service.
The second way you can make money by starting your own blog is from advertisements that you put on your blog. A good example is Google Adsense or Commission Junction. When someone clicks on your ads, you get a commission.
4. Business consultant
If you have skills and experience in one particular area, you should become a business consultant for companies. Companies rely on business consultants to improve their performance.
Areas where you can thrive include human resources, marketing, management, etc. The average salary is $65,892 annually. However, to make that much money, you should be highly skilled and experiences in the field you’re providing expertise in.
5. Website developers
Among the top self-employed job ideas is a developer. Indeed, a developer makes on average $89,582 annually. As a developer, you use coding languages to design, install and test software systems, websites and other applications.
6. Tutors
Are you good at a particular subject or fluent in a foreign language like Spanish or French? There are a lot of opportunities out there for self-employed tutors and these jobs pay well depending on your experience level and subject matter.
At FlexJobs, Tutor.com and Wyzant, you can find these self-employment opportunities that pay anywhere from $10 to $50. The average tutor pay at Self-Employed is $27.50.
7. Personal Trainers
People are always looking for ways to be healthy. Whether they want to lose weight or gain muscle, you could make a good salary if you’re a personal trainer. You could use a site like FitnessTrainer to advertise your services. The average salary for the self-employed personal trainer is $61,802.
8. Graphic Designers
Graphic designers are professionals who use design software programs to create customized websites, advertisements for companies and other individuals. They help them with their logos and other branding designs.
Some graphic designers sell or advertise their work on Fiverr or 99designs.com. The average salary for a self-employed graphic designer is around $18.23 per hour.
9. Being a nanny
The average salary for nannies is $13.03 per hour. A nanny provides child care at a client’s home. Your job duties and responsibilities as a self-employed include helping with schoolwork, bathing and feeding the child, engaging in extracurricular activities with the child. You can also help assisting with household chores. Companies like Care.com connect parents with nannies or babysitters.
10. Dog walkers
If you have free time, why not earn some quick cash pet sitting and dog walking. Rover.com is one of the nation’s largest networks of pet sitters and dog walkers.
11. Drivers
If you’re looking for freedom and flexibility in your job, why not drive for Lyft or Uber. You won’t get rich doing this, but you will certainly make extra money to cover some of your expenses. You can easily make a few hundred or a few thousand dollars extra per month.
Drivers pick up passengers from one location to another. You must be a good driver with a clean driving record. The average salary for this self-employment opportunity is $14.43.
12. Social media specialists
One of the ways to make money is to manage social media accounts for businesses. As a social media specialist, you manage your clients’ platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube.
To become a social media manager, you might need a Bachelors degree in marketing or something. You also need to have a good knowledge of marketing. The average salary for this job is $13.92 per hour.
13. Housecleaners
If you’re looking for easy ways to make money, then housecleaning is good place to start, because it is in high demand. Busy people always need some extra help around the house. There are several platforms where you can advertise your services like Amazon’s home services. Or you could create your own website or blog to advertise.
In conclusion, this list of self-employed job ideas is just a few, there are several more opportunities out there. So, if you want to set your own hours, self-employed jobs give you the opportunity to work as much or as little as you want. But the best benefit of self-employment is that you will be your own boss.
Speak with the Right Financial Advisor
You can talk to a financial advisor who can review your finances and help you reach your goals (whether it is making more money, paying off debt, investing, buying a house, planning for retirement, saving, etc). Find one who meets your needs with SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching service. You answer a few questions and they match you with up to three financial advisors in your area. So, if you want help developing a plan to reach your financial goals, get started now.