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I'm able to start investing the money for my future, and I cut my tax bill by around $3,500. This included a federal tax bill of around $9,700 and a New York state tax bill of around $3,300. Freelance income often fluctuates year to year, so this type of retirement account is great for meeting that need. All in all, my new tax bill was around $9,400 — with a $7,200 federal bill and a $2,200 New York state bill. If you're a freelancer looking for last-minute ways to reduce your taxes, consider opening up a SEP IRA account before the deadline.

☆ I took a 6-month 'sabbatical' after months of cheap living while traveling. The best thing about the digital-nomad lifestyle is having options.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She worked for two years in a remote job, while living in Greece, Portugal, Germany, and Argentina. I quit my job with no planI quit my job in July 2019 with nothing lined up. I got a remote job as the head of marketing for a recruitment-tech startup. I had savings from working in my marketing job. I quit my remote job in August 2021 and left Madeira.

☆ 10 in-demand side hustles you can do from home—some can pay as much as $100 an hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Remote job opportunities might be dwindling, but there are dozens of side hustles you can do to earn some extra cash without leaving the comfort of your home — some of which can pay as much as $100 an hour. These jobs have dozens of active listings and offer remote, part-time opportunities. If you're interested in starting a remote side hustle, consider monetizing your creative skills: The most in-demand remote, part-time gigs employers are hiring for are in writing, editing and design, according to new research from FlexJobs. Other remote side hustles can pay upwards of $100 per hour, depending on your level of skill and the project. Some remote side hustles, like bookkeeping or graphic design, have more flexible hours than others, Gardner says.

☆ 33-year-old who brought in $2 million making PowerPoints shares her best tips: 'Reduce the content'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

PowerPoint presentations are a powerful tool for your work life. In fact, their use is so popular "presentation design" is one of the most in-demand freelancer skills for 2023, according to work marketplace Upwork. Courtney Allen has been designing PowerPoints professionally since 2013. She knew there was a future in designing them; now she's made more than 1,000 and brought in $2 million creating them on Upwork. It's less about "your personal design preferences and more designing to who you're talking to."

☆ 5 apps that can help you start real estate, resale, or other online side hustles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Inflation, layoffs, and a looming recession will likely lead to a spike in side hustles this year. With online tools and apps, it's easier than ever to start your own side hustle. Today, it's easier than ever to start your own business or side hustle because all the tools you need are online. Several apps streamline the process of getting started and help you find customers so that you can focus on delivering your product or service. Here are five popular side-hustle apps that allow you to make money online, listed in alphabetical order, and advice from entrepreneurs who've built lucrative businesses.

☆ Want to start a side hustle and earn extra money? Here's how to launch a lucrative business and bring in six figures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Like many people during the pandemic, Davis reallocated the time she'd typically spent commuting home to building her side hustle. Davis' handbag company netted $14,000 in sales in its first four months in business, which Insider verified with documentation. Another entrepreneur, Lisa Andrea, regularly books $8,000 in revenue a month from her side hustle, The Financial Cookbook, which Insider also verified with documentation. Andrea started The Financial Cookbook, an online financial-coaching company, to earn extra income and try entrepreneurship part time before taking the plunge. Leveraging expertise, as Andrea did with financial coaching, is one way entrepreneurs can start a side hustle and balance risk versus reward.

☆ How a college student uses TikTok to scale her photography side hustle with passive income and find clients she's excited about
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cheung booked five figures in revenue last year, some of which came from passive income streams. She explains how she leveraged TikTok to find clients and earns passive income from her side hustle. TikTok changed my business trajectoryThe majority of my clients found me on TikTok. It's also been great for generating customers in other creative fields because many of them use TikTok for work, too. CheungI expanded my services to include passive income streamsEarlier in the pandemic, I also developed my own "presets."

☆ This 39-year-old makes $160,000 a month in passive income: '3 businesses you can start today for $0'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Graham Cochrane | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Today, I work just five hours a week and make about $160,000 a month running my blog and business coaching company. Here are three types of businesses you can start today for $0:1. Explain how your skills and experiences can help solve their problems. Don't say "To Whom It May Concern" or write like you're applying to a traditional job. Explain how your skills and experiences can help solve their problems.

☆ I traveled to 79 countries as a digital nomad. I'm not tied to one place and I find work on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Katie Macleod has traveled to 79 countries as a digital nomad. The 28-year-old graphic designer wants to visit 100 countries before turning 30. I was in Sri Lanka when the pandemic struck, making my goal of visiting 100 countries before turning 30 a bit more of a challenge. Traveling gives me freedom and being a digital nomad means adapting your surroundings to suit you. I've also found that networking online and within digital nomad hotspots is also beneficial.

☆ How a TikTok and Instagram influencer bundles her rates to earn more from brand deals, and uses online forums to connect with brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When Paulina Perez created her media kit in April 2021, she wasn't sure if she should list rates. She now offers various bundles ranging from $150 to $1,750, which has attracted all kinds of brands. Perez also explains why creators who are starting out should apply for online forums like Intern Queen. When Paulina Perez first went viral on TikTok in April 2021, she knew what she had to do. Since then, the 21-year-old's two-page media kit has helped her secure more than 20 paid deals with global brands like Sephora, Princess Polly, Oral-B, Skims, Pottery Barn, and others.

☆ This creative skill for freelancers is in ‘giant’ demand—and can pay as much as $145 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As far as creative skills go, graphic design is in high demand. Topping the list of in-demand creative skills was graphic design. Here's what graphic design entails and how much freelancers and side hustlers stand to make. Many graphic designers have a bachelor's degree in the field but if you're keen to dive in, you won't necessarily need one. These can be tailored to specific needs, like user experience design, or more general courses which cover the basics of design software.

☆ Fiverr or Upwork: When freelancers should use one over the other
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Alexandra York | Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While their expertise may vary, many freelancers rely on the platforms Fiverr and Upwork to advertise their services, find clients, and grow their businesses. In his experience, Upwork clients are CEOs, startup founders, and established companies, while Fiverr clients tend to be smaller business owners or general individuals. That means freelancers who use Upwork can pursue fewer projects at a time while Fiverr freelancers typically complete more shorter-term gigs to earn the same amount of income. Payment terms and protection vary between platformsFisher's biggest gripe about Fiverr is that it pays freelancers in up to 14 days while Upwork pays freelancers in up to 10 days. "Whether it's Fiverr, Upwork, or any of the other platforms out there, you need to build your profile," she said.

☆ 8 in-demand creative skills for freelancers―many can pay more than $100 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Demand for 3D animation grew 44% year over year on freelancer platform Upwork, for example, according to a recent report. Graphic designGraphic designers work on visuals for client brochures, websites, social media posts and so on. 3D animators on Upwork charge as much as $110 per hour. These designers charge as much as $125 per hour. Cartoonists on Upwork charge as much as $70 per hour.

☆ I quit my job as a nurse to house-sit — and I've now lived rent-free in LA, Portugal, Costa Rica, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Costa Rica and Mexico were the top two. We booked a trip to Costa Rica, but in March 2020, the pandemic hit and all our travel plans were put on hold. We checked out the site, and we typed in "Costa Rica" when it asked "Where do you want to go?" So far, we've stayed in 10 homes in landscapes as varied as the desert of Palm Springs and the jungle of Costa Rica. Our first house-sit was at a jungle casita in Costa Rica, where we looked after a little rescue dogIt proved to be one of our favorites.

☆ An employer says she caught a job seeker applying for a role with a ChatGPT cover letter, but it lacked personal information and cost them the job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mandy Tang said that a candidate applied for a role with an AI-generated cover letter. Tang said she isn't against the tech, but was shocked at the letter's lack of personal information. Although she hadn't requested a cover letter, the job seeker sent her one. She asked the chatbot to write her a cover letter based on the job description, and the results were "word-for-word the same." ChatGPT has proved popular with job seekers for its ability to write cover letters, with many users demonstrating the results on TikTok.

☆ I made $1.7 million in revenue on Fiverr in under 2 years. Freelancers can thrive in a dicey economy — here's what's worked for me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Georgia Austin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Austin made $20,000 a month by herself on Fiverr before hiring freelancers to help meet the demand. I started freelancing on Fiverr right before the pandemic hit and made $1.7 million in revenue over the following 17 months. Freelancers who see increasingly sophisticated AI content as an opportunity, not a threat, will come out on top this year. We're still unsure whether Google will rank or penalize AI content — something that will ultimately define its success. But, as with any quickly developing industry shift, freelancers must stay agile and informed to react, adapt, and take advantage of the unfolding changes.

☆ 'Prompt engineering' is one of the hottest jobs in generative AI. Here's how it works.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Knowing how to talk to chatbots may get you hired as a prompt engineer for generative AI. Prompt engineers are experts in asking AI chatbots — which run on large language models — questions that can produce desired responses. Unlike traditional computer engineers who code, prompt engineers write prose to test AI systems for quirks; experts in generative AI told The Washington Post that this is required to develop and improve human-machine interaction models. Prompt engineering may not be 'the job of the future'Some academics question how effective prompt engineers really are in testing AI. Companies in a variety of industries are hiring prompt engineersThat isn't stopping companies across industries from hiring prompt engineers.

☆ I made $140,000 before getting laid off — now I earn almost $30,000 more than that as a freelancer on Upwork. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marcus Grimm, a 52-year-old marketing freelancer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I worked for 20 years in B2B marketing automation, which uses technology to automate marketing content at particular times. When I applied for client jobs, I'd use whichever profile was best suited for the job. My industry expertise was useful for attracting clientsIt took me three weeks to get my first Upwork client. I'd had a client in that industry before when I was working full time, and I'd actually worked in it years ago.

☆ I'm a pastor living in rural Arkansas, and I make up to $3,000 a week with my side hustle using ChatGPT to make pitch decks for startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He uses AI tools like ChatGPT and Tome to make pitch decks for businesses on the side. Now, I'm relying on AI tools like the new chatbot, ChatGPT, and the storytelling tool, Tome, for my creative work. AI tools have cut my turnaround time in halfLarry Lundstrom and his wife, Myra, in front of their home in Arkansas. Larry LundstromAfter years of designing everything from websites to college football logos, my creative work is now limited to freelancing. Before the dawn of AI tools it would probably take me a week — a full 40 hours — to put together a pitch deck from start to finish.

☆ A millennial went from living paycheck to paycheck to earning $100,000 last year helping people move through TaskRabbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Two years later, the 33-year-old earned $100,000 helping people move through TaskRabbit. And he did so working just 10 to 30 hours per week. Samuel does some furniture assembly and delivery tasks, but his typical job involves helping clients move. "I will work around 30 hours a week. "My favorite part of working through Taskrabbit is the travel and helping my clients," he said.

☆ This marketing skill is in high demand—and can pay as much as $125/hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

These include social media marketing, email marketing and lead generation. They also include search engine optimization, or SEO. Experts on Upwork offering this type of marketing charge as much as $125 per hour. 'Search engine optimization is paramount if you want to be found'Search engine optimization is the process of ensuring your website gets picked up in organic searches, say, if someone is looking for the kind of products you sell or the kind of content you cover. "Search engine optimization is paramount if you want to be found when people are doing online searches," says Yolanda Owens, career expert at The Muse, adding that it's "increasingly becoming more and more valuable."

☆ A 27-year-old freelance writer whose 'hourly earning potential' is $215 explains how to maximize earnings as a freelancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

To maximize earning potential as a freelancer, he only works with clients that pay competitive rates. Dong shared four strategies that have helped him maximize his earning potential as a freelancer. Instead of using Fiverr or Upwork, reach out to potential clients via email, LinkedIn, or other social platforms. After all, the slower your work, the more your hourly earning potential drops. Plus, he does other seemingly simple things like prioritizing sleep, eating well, and exercising consistently to get the most out of his work hours.

☆ 10 in-demand side hustles and jobs you can do from home—one can make almost $100,000 a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company's 2023 report on the "State of Remote, Freelance Jobs" includes a ranking of the 10 most in-demand job titles for remote, freelance work that companies on FlexJobs' platform hired for in 2022. Topping the list of job titles is "executive assistant," a role that often includes duties such as managing an executive's calendar and taking meeting minutes, according to FlexJobs. 3 despite an annual mean full-time wage of $39,070, according to BLS data. Of course, even though millions of Americans are already getting by as freelancers, leaving the stability of a full-time job to start a freelancing career is not without risks. If you usually have trouble making a solid financial plan and sticking to it, the "feast or famine cycle" of freelancing might not be for you, the FlexJobs report notes.

☆ People are using AI bots like ChatGPT to work side hustles and earn thousands of dollars — check out these 6 hot freelancing gigs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Making pitch decksLarry Lundstrom, a pastor based in Arkansas, makes two to three pitch decks a week, charging between $500 to $1000 for each. Pavel_R/Getty ImagesPitch decks are used to help startups convince investors to put money into their ideas. They often take the form of a series of slides that combine facts about a company with an overarching narrative. With technology like ChatGPT, OpenAI's text-generating chatbot, and Tome, an AI-powered storytelling tool, freelancers can churn out multiple pitch decks a week. Larry Lundstrom, a pastor based in Arkansas, told Insider he makes two to three pitch decks a week using generative AI tools and charges anywhere between $500 to $1,000 per deck.

☆ I've made $126,000 in sales so far in 2023 on Etsy. Here's how I set up this mostly passive income stream that takes 3 hours a week.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Emma Larocque set up her Etsy shop, Quartz Design Studio, to make a passive income on the side. I created a Printful account and linked to an Etsy shop I'd started in November 2021. Once an order is placed through Etsy, Printful automatically embroiders the sweatshirt with my design and sends it to the customer. My revenue for last year from the Etsy shop was about $71,000, after Etsy's 9.5% transaction and processing fee. I pay more to have my items made and shipped by Printful, but that's what keeps my shop passive.

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