words Alexa Wang
For as long as you can remember, you have loved music. You were the little kid who banged on your mom’s pots and pans, sang along with all of the commercials and wrote angsty songs as a teenager.
Now that you are older, you are as passionate about music as ever, and you are thrilled that some opportunities have come up to make real money by doing what you love.
While ideally, you would be able to pay all of your bills with the money you are making from your budding music career, the reality is that you are not making tons of cash—at least not right now. In order to pursue your dream of being a musician, you will have to take on some side hustles along with your regular gigs and concerts. Fortunately, with a good amount of grit and determination, it is more than possible to find work that you can do on off hours at home as well as on the road; for instance, check out the following musician-friendly side jobs:
Be a Music Teacher
A talented musician like you can definitely make some extra money by working as a music teacher. You can offer voice, piano, guitar and/or composition lessons—whatever you feel the most comfortable teaching to others. You can either focus on offering lessons to kids only or adults or a combo of the two, and you can take on as many students as you have the time for. You can also offer the lessons in your home, or travel to your students’ homes. As you can see, this option is brimming with possibilities—as a major bonus, as your music career starts to take off and you are on the road more often, you can still earn extra money by teaching music through an online music lesson site like TakeLessons.com. An alternate option is to find your own students and teach via standard VoIP services which may allow you more control over how you teach.
Launch Your Own Company
Another effective way to make money on the side is by getting into direct sales. As an Independent Business Owner with Amway, you can sell health and beauty products in person or online, all on your own schedule. If you have an outgoing personality, are organized and are interested in sales, you can make money with Amway by selling products, mentoring other salespeople, and meeting quarterly goals. You may also find that this sales gig gives you great practice at selling yourself — something you’ll continue to do as you promote yourself as a musician.
Become a Wedding DJ
If you like a variety of music and have a soft spot in your heart for weddings, moonlighting as a wedding DJ is another great way to bring in some extra cash. Basic DJ gear is not that expensive these days; you could look for local DJs who are selling their equipment by following online ads like Craigslist, and as a devoted musician, you can bring a level of professionalism and knowledge to this type of work. Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to only weddings; you can also DJ at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, all types of parties, baby and wedding showers, local events and more.
Congratulations on your Budding Music Career
It is reassuring to know that you don’t have to give up on your dreams of being a musician because the pay tends to be low at first. By taking on a side job or two that is flexible and can be done from your home town or the road, you can definitely pursue your goal of working in the music industry while still having enough to pay your bills.
