15 side hustles that can help you make easy money as a Nigerian creative

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Side hustle, or side gig is defined by the cambridge dictionary as a piece of work or a job that you get paid for doing in addition to doing your main job.

At the moment the Nigerian economy is not smiling on anyone, with inflation standing at 20.77% and underemployment standing tall at 33%. I think now is the right time of starting a side business because it never hurts to have multiple income streams, especially when you’re building a business. 

Having a side business (or two) can be an excellent way to keep money coming in, easing your anxiety and lessening some financial burdens.  

Here are 15 ideas of side hustles you can run as a creative. 
  • Run Instagram Or Tiktok Ads For Other Businesses

If you’re a world-class marketer, you can make a lot of extra money by marketing for other brands that aren’t so savvy in reaching the Gen-Z audience. Work your network to uncover business owners you know who need this service. You can make $1,000 a month or more without taking up too much of your time.

  • Start A Youtube Channel

There’s a lot of ad money to be made on YouTube. For example, my wife is a registered nurse here in Los Angeles. During her days off, she shares her healthcare and personal experiences of pregnancy and parenting an infant on her YouTube channel. It’s a creative outlet for her that helps others broaden their knowledge while also earning some ad revenue.

Photography as a Side hustle
  • Photographer

If photography is your medium, providing photography services at weddings can be a lucrative business. The profitability of running a photo studio business cannot be overstretched. Owning a photo studio automatically makes you a boss of yourself. Employing people to work in your studio makes you a job creator in society. Photography services are demanded almost hourly by almost everyone.

Read Also: How to Turn Your Hustle Into a Proper Business in Nigeria

  • Clothing Designer

You could also design clothing items from scratch and then work to get your line featured in stores or boutiques or even start your own.

  • Personal Stylist

If you don’t necessarily want to design the clothes but you still have a passion for fashion, you can build a business working as a personal stylist to help clients shop and put together outfits.

Side hustles as Makeup artists
  • Makeup Artist

Makeup is another area that requires a lot of creativity. You can start a salon type of business or even just travel to work with clients at their location as a side hustle.

  • Sell An Online Course

Teach others how to become a master of your craft with online courses. Once the initial setup is complete, this is an excellent way to earn passive income. There are plenty of platforms that allow creatives make money from online courses as a side hustle, some of them include ThinkificTeachable and Kajabi.

  • Get Paid For Your Advice

Consultants are in high demand. Even better, being a consultant is entirely flexible. You can consult for as many or as few hours as you want in a given month. Register as an expert on Clarity and charge $10 a minute or more for your time.

People can schedule calls with you to hear your advice and discuss their ideas, and you get paid for talking about your experiences. It’s a win-win situation and a great side hustle option.

  • Write A Book

You have a unique story. Write it down, then sell it on Amazon. Use Amazon’s self-publishing service to have your book distributed on Kindle or paperback. Be sure to work with an editor before publishing to ensure that your book is polished and professional.

Once it’s online, you’ll get paid as people buy it. In addition to earning some extra income, you’ll build your reputation and increase your digital profile. This can be very helpful as you launch your new side hustle.

Read Also: Want to be a digital nomad? Here are 5 African countries to consider

  • Graphic Design

We live in a digital world, which means digital art is equally important. Starting a graphic design business is a great way to flex your creative muscles while also providing a valuable service to businesses. It is a great side hustle to provide extra income.

You can work on branding campaigns by creating logos or social media graphics for businesses, helping design products, refreshing websites, or selling design templates you create. From super fun and creative projects to B2B focused sales materials, there is no shortage of work for graphic designers to apply their creativity to, especially as a side hustle.

  • Calligraphy

Beautiful penmanship is one thing, but calligraphy is a next-level skill that not many people have bragging rights to. Calligraphy is used in many art forms, as well as products such as wedding invitations and place cards. Both consumers and businesses alike need beautiful calligraphy services, so consider starting a freelance calligraphy business to serve these various needs as a side hustle.

  • Branding Consultant

Every business needs strong branding if it wants to send a clear and memorable message to its customers. While many larger businesses have branding experts in-house, smaller businesses may need a little help in the branding department.

Like many creative business ideas, branding consulting can combine design, photography, and copy skills—so this is the perfect career for someone who likes to work on the complete picture of a creative project. By helping businesses make a name for themselves, you can make a lucrative career in the arts as a side hustle.

  • Art Teacher

If you have any of the creative skills mentioned previously in this list, then you can also consider spreading your knowledge by teaching them to others.

Whether that be hosting a still life painting class with 30 pupils or tutoring students one-on-one in the art of calligraphy. You could offer digital art classes or create educational social media content. You may also create courses that other teachers can use in their classes. Find the teaching method that works for you and spread the word about your new side hustle..

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  • Tattoo Artist

Did you know that the tattoo industry brings in $3 billion dollars a year? Tattoos continue to gain popularity and people are willing to spend a good chunk of change for a high-quality tattoo. Of course, being a tattoo artist requires some major skills and a very steady hand—it’s an art form through and through. So, if you have the skills and want to create artwork that will stay with a person for their entire lives, this may just be the art business idea for you as a side hustle.

  • Art Director

The title art director can encompass a variety of jobs. Some art directors help create films, others design magazine layouts, some plan massive marketing campaigns, and others oversee the entire branding of a company.

These are just a few of many examples of jobs that art directors do, but what most have in common is they plan the overall design for a project, whatever that may look like. If you have a passion for styling, photography, graphic design, and typography, then being an art director may just help you combine all of your creative interests as a side hustle.

This article was contributed by Kenneth Horsfall. Kenneth is the creative director and founder of K.S. Kennysoft Studios Production Ltd fondly called Kennysoft STUDIOs.

Kennysoft STUDIOs is a Nigerian Video and Animation Production Studio. And also, the founder and lead instructor at Kennysoft Film Academy. Kenneth can be reached via [email protected]


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