Extra freelance earnings over the summer

What happens to your freelance earnings in the holidays?

Today’s guest post looks at a few ways of boosting freelance earnings if summer is a quiet time for you:

For many freelancers, summer time is a mixed blessing. The weather may have improved but earnings can drop as clients’ orders slow down over the holiday period. Here we look at five different ways you can supplement your freelance earnings over this quieter time:

Childcare
Parents are often looking for support with childcare over the holiday season, and, with childcare paying over £15 an hour, if you have plenty of energy and patience this can be a real opportunity for extra freelance earnings. Sometimes people offer their services for just a few hours babysitting, for others it’s a more regular arrangement.

It’s important to remember that if you look after children for more than 2 hours a day in your home you do need to register with Ofsted. This is important as there are penalties for unregistered minders. However, it’s a pretty simple process that includes criminal and home safety checks.

Pet Walking / Minding
If you prefer four-legged company, pet minding or walking can be a very pleasant way to boost freelance earnings in the summer months. With over 50% of British families owning a pet there is a huge potential market for those prepared to offer doggy daycare. On average, dog walkers can earn up to £15 an hour per dog, and with a bit of practice you can be walking 2 or 3 dogs at a time.

You can also increase your freelance earnings potential by offering to look after pets when owners are away on holidays, either having them in your own home or by checking in on them in their owners’ home a couple of times a day. For a pet minding service average prices start from around £6 per visit, so if you get three or four clients this can quickly start to add up.

Online Selling
If you have a crafty talent for making items such as cards and jewellery you can sell them for a profit online. It’s easy to set up online stores using platforms such as Etsy, meaning you don’t have to build an entire website to sell your goods. To make the most out of this opportunity spend some time researching what sells well and keep an eye on your material costs to ensure your profit isn’t whittled away.

Spring/Summer Cleaning
Use any spare time over the summer to go through your shed, garage or your home and look out for items you haven’t been using for the last year. You’ll be surprised by how much you find: from clothing, forgotten gifts and jewellery to books you have read or music albums you haven’t listened to. Anything you want to sell can go through Ebay or at local car-boot sales, which will both unclutter your home and give you some extra money.

Rent out Your Rooms
Sites such as Air BnB let you rent out rooms in your house for people who are looking for somewhere to stay on their holiday. Rates will depend on the level of demand for accommodation in your part of the country. In London single rooms can go from £60 a night, whereas in Manchester it’s closer to £30.

You can choose to charge more if you offer extras such as meals, and you get paid the day after the guest arrives at your home. You do not have to pay to list your property on the site but Air BnB will take a fee of 3% of any successful bookings.

Article written by Agnese Geka, Editor at SurveyCompare – which is one of the UK’s leading online surveys specialists, working to break myths about working from home and offer advice about making money by working for yourself.