工作之余如何赚外快？试试这7种思路

经济形势不好，银行存款不给力，是否让你觉得心塞？美国心理学协会发布的一份调查报告显示，资金压力正在影响全美民众的健康。这项研究还表明，饱受金钱压力困扰的不仅是低收入家庭，富人同样无法幸免。

即便你拥有一份全职工作，额外的收入也可以减轻你的资金压力。《我老婆辞去了工作》(MyWifeQuitHerJob)博主史蒂夫·周就以从事全日制工作的同时，成功创立两家带来六位数收入的公司而闻名。

无论你是在寻找创业启动资金，还是想进行新投资，或是希望爬出堆积如山的债务，每个月几百到几千美元的外快都能改变你的生活。在起步阶段，你或许可以进行这样的尝试：

1. 开展服务业务

开展服务业务不需要太大的人际关系网，很强的网络影响力或大笔日常开支。最简单的方法，就是告诉你现有关系网中的人们，你正在提供什么服务，并请他们帮忙传播。

AppSumo公司的诺亚·卡根正是这一理念的鲜活例证。他想看看自己能否从零开始，在24小时内挣到1000美元。最后，他创立了一个成功的牛肉干订购公司，并把它交给他的一个学生来经营。

你可以借鉴他的想法，提供送餐、自由写作或在线营销等服务。首先撰写一份吸引人的宣传邮件，给自己打出招牌，并在几日内开始试营业。

2. 投资房地产

对于那些已经资金紧缺的全职员工来说，当房东并不总是具有可操作性。不过你可以在另一个国家买个小套间或小房子，作为度假旅行用的短租房。它们的价格往往更便宜，即便你不在当地的时候得雇佣房地产中介来管理房客。

投资商业地产也十分赚钱，甚至不需要大额预支出，也能带来一笔可观的被动收入。在 Realty Mogul这类网站，仅需5000美元，你就能投资商业地产。这里的交易都会经过审查，非常可靠，你还能发现在其他地方找不到的高端房屋。

3. 提供网络资源

你可以发布在线电子书或网络课程，分享你的专业知识来帮助他人，并同时获得被动收入。我自己的电子书《100天的成长》（100 Days of Growth）最后带来的收入比我的日常工作更多。这需要做大量的前期工作，不过一旦完成，几乎不费什么工夫，你就能维持销量。

如果你不擅长写电子书，也可以发布视频课程或是开设培训项目。我不止写书，还在ContentMarketer.io上开设了一个训练营，帮助我的客户在10周内掌握内容营销的技巧。

4. 业余时间开网店

开设自己的网店，建立客户群体，这个目标值得赞扬，但你得身兼多职。你需要研究产品，寻找生产商，做好营销工作，想好如何完成订单。另外，也别忘了还有客户服务和退货退款等着你处理。

与其如此，你不如直接在亚马逊销售产品，打响名声，而不必扮演这么多角色。一些卖家的产品甚至直接从亚马逊的物流中心发出，都不必自己经手。

5. 加入共享经济

通过共享经济，每月入账几百到几千美元并不难。你不仅可以在Airbnb上出租空余的卧室或地下室。还可以在Turo上出租你的汽车，自己骑车上班或与人拼车；也可以在Cameralends出租你放在家里的摄影器材；或是在Spinlister上出租滑雪板和自行车，在Sailo上出租帆船，等等。

如果你打算利用Airbnb出租，不如考虑出租整套房子，这样带来的收入会高得多。利用这个机会，你可以去看望家人，或者出去度假。

6. 举办独家活动

举办活动也可以挣钱。不一定是那种数千名观众、供应商和大牌嘉宾齐聚一堂的大活动。相反，根据你擅长的话题，比如黑客式营销（growth hacking），建立一个免费的MeetUp小组，举办免费的活动。

在拥有了一批忠实的受众后，你就可以邀请著名嘉宾出席活动，收取入场费用了。在附近的宾馆租一个高档的小型会议室，举办一场广受欢迎的独家活动，为精彩的活动内容收费，借机吸纳新的小组成员。

7. 凭借业余爱好获得报酬

看看你在空闲时间都做些什么。跳伞爱好者（像我一样！）可以获得培训资质，并在周末跳伞。你可以做你喜欢的事情，同时挣到外快。问问当地的酒吧，看你是否能帮他们组织机智问答活动，或是每周当几晚的招待，顺便消遣或与有趣的人聊聊天。

即使你不想在网上做太多事情，只想放松下来网上冲浪，也可以通过在UserTesting等网站上测试网页、提出建议来获得收入。

所以，出发吧。展开你的想象力，大家一起挣外快！（财富中文网）

译者：严匡正

审校：任文科

Is your dwindling bank account impacting your health? The American Psychological Association(APA) released a survey showing that money stress impacts Americans’ health nationwide. And, as it turns out, the wealthy are also stressed about money—not just those in lower-income households.

You can eliminate some of that financial stress by earning extra income, even if you have a full-time job. Steve Chou of MyWifeQuitHerJob famously started two six-figure businesses while continuing to work at his day job.

Whether you’re looking for cash to launch your startup or make new investments with, or dig out from mounting debt, a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month can change your life. Here’s how to get started.

1. Start a service business.

Launching a service business can be done without a large network, an online presence or much overhead. The easiest way to start is by telling people in your existing network what you’re offering and asking them to spread the word.

Noah Kagan from AppSumo nailed this concept. He decided to see if he could earn $1,000 in 24 hours, starting from scratch. He ended up founding asuccessful beef jerky subscription business that he gave to one of his students to run.

You can steal his concept, with a business like dinner catering, freelance writing or online marketing. Start by crafting a killer outreach email to get yourself up and running in just a few days.

2. Invest in real estate.

Becoming a landlord isn’t always practical for those who are employed full-time and already strapped for cash. But you can look at buying a condo or small property in another country as a vacation getaway instead. The price tag is typically cheaper, even when you hire a local property management group to manage renters while you’re away.

Commercial real estate can also be a lucrative way to invest and earn passive income, even without a large down payment. Get started with a site like Realty Mogul, and invest in commercial real estate for as little as $5,000. You’ll get vetted deals and access to high-end listings you wouldn’t otherwise find.

3. Launch an online resource.

Share your expertise by launching an online ebook or course to help others while you earn passive income. My own ebook, 100 Days of Growth, ended upgenerating more income than my day job. It was a ton of up-front work, but once it was ready to go, it took minimal effort to maintain and to keep up with sales.

If writing ebooks isn’t your strong suit, launch a video course or bootcamp instead. I didn’t stop at books — I also launched a content marketing bootcamp throughContentMarketer.io to help my clients master content-marketing abilities in 10 weeks.

4. Leverage the power of Amazon.

It’s always an admirable goal to launch your own online store and build a customer base, but you’re also talking about wearing many different hats. You need to research products, find a manufacturer, market your site and figure out how to fulfill orders. Don’t forget about customer service and refund requests.

Instead, you could sell a product and develop a presence directly on Amazon AMZN -0.61% without the need to take on so many roles. Some sellers even have their products shipped directly to Amazon’s fulfillment center and never touch the product itself.

5. Join the sharing economy.

It’s not hard to nail down a few hundred to thousands of dollars a month by leveraging the sharing economy. But it’s not just about renting out your spare bedroom or basement on Airbnb. Rent out your car on Turo and bike to work or carpool instead. Rent out your camera equipment lying around your house on Cameralends, your snowboard or bike on Spinlister or your sailboat on Sailo.

And if you are going to rent on Airbnb, consider helping your revenue skyrocket by renting out your entire house instead, and using the opportunity to visit family or go on vacation.

6. Host an event.

You can make money hosting events without aiming for thousands of sign-ups, vendors and high-profile guest speakers. Instead, form a free MeetUp group on a topic you’re knowledgeable about, like growth hacking, and run free events.

After you secure a loyal following, charge for an eventwith a reputable guest speaker. Rent out a small, upscale conference room at a nearby hotel, and grow your new MeetUp by hosting exclusive, sought-after events that charge a premium for fantastic content.

7. Get paid to do what you’re already doing

Take inventory of what you’re doing in your free time. People who love skydiving (like me!) can get certified to teach and do jumps on the weekend. You get to do what you love while earning extra money at the same time. Ask your local bar if you can help run its trivia night, or bartend a few nights a week while hanging out and getting to talk to interesting people.

Even if you’re not interested in doing much but relaxing and surfing online, you can earn money by testing websites and recording your opinion with a site like UserTesting.

So, get out there. Use your imagination to start a flow of extra income today.