Your guide to odd jobs and side hustles

It’s been a running joke among my friends that I’ve always got some sort of side hustle going on. Odd jobs just seem to find me somehow; I’ve hopscotched between many random side quests over the past few years, ranging from dog walking to briefly running social media accounts for a tech startup. 

Summer camp counselor

My first job was technically at a summer camp that my mom and I created in our backyard. My mother always assumed the role of the entertainer, setting up an infinite supply of crafts for my friends and me to do during playdates. One day, this turned into a business, and “BFF Camp” was born. 

Every summer, my mom and I would host young girls at our house and entertain them with a variety of crafts, dancing and activities. One week, we had 40 campers running around our backyard and five of my friends additionally working as staff. My mom paid us to help out with the kids and instruct lessons for part of the day, granting me the invaluable lesson that hard work pays off.

From this early experience, I’ve always felt some sort of entrepreneurial knack as I search out the potential in anything. This has led me to seek out unique experiences to avoid restlessness while also making some extra cash. There are an infinite number of opportunities out there — especially for college kids — so I thought I’d share some of the experiences I’ve racked up over the past few years. 

Fruit stand worker

In my most recent endeavor this past summer, I found myself working at a strawberry stand on the side of the road. That’s right; while you were interning at a consulting firm (still cool, I guess), I was packing up fruits and vegetables and doing manual labor in an un-air-conditioned roadside shack. 

While on a run at the beginning of the summer, I was lured in by the “help wanted” sign outside of Louie’s Strawberries, the small organic fruit and vegetable shack on the main street of my hometown. Before I knew it, that very next day was my first on the job, and I quickly learned how to set up displays of stone fruits, check for rotten areas on produce and package up berries to sell to customers. 

It turned out to be a surprisingly fun and enriching summer job. I got acquainted with so many people within my neighborhood, as they would regularly come in to shop for their produce. I also learned a lot about local produce and where our food comes from. An awesome perk was that on Sundays, I was able to take home a huge bin of the juiciest peaches, nectarines and sweet white summer corn, leftovers from the week’s sales. I always looked forward to bringing fresh fruit to my friends when I’d see them next. 

Secret shopper

Another interesting gig I’ve had is being a secret shopper. While I hope this doesn’t expose myself too much, I have to say that this job was extra fun because you get to make up a fake persona. I’d mostly look at apartment buildings, and I kept myself entertained by making up different characters and personalities that were interested in the buildings. 

After going through a series of quick questions for the workers, I’d submit an assessment of their performance, and my job was done! Being a secret shopper is definitely the move for a quick buck; it’s noncommittal, meaning that you usually just do one or two different visits and then your contract is completed.

Babysitting

Something I also found myself doing is babysitting, which I’m sure most of us have done at some point in time. What was different in my case was that the family’s first language was French; the young family had just moved to America with their two young boys and were still navigating the linguistic and cultural transition. 

I’d pick up the kids from school and take them to a nearby park for a few hours to play. The kids were absolutely adorable — it was especially cute when they would forget a word in English and try to explain what it means to me in French. We had so much fun running around playing tag in the park, and I’ll never forget how mesmerized they were when I taught them how to draw a star on a piece of paper. In the end, their parents had to hire a nanny to help them with English and she took over my pick up duties, but I still miss them and cherish our time together. 

I believe side hustles build character. In each of these experiences, I started out knowing virtually nothing and threw myself into the job because I wanted to try something new or had some free time on my hands. You can check out Craigslist, sell your old clothes online or just get creative with it. From one side hustler to the next, the world can be your oyster — put yourself out there and make some money!