Looking to become self-employed? Good for you! To help you with your journey towards working for your own self, we have curated a list of the top 5 methods to become self-employed in 2023.
So, don’t let the daunting process of figuring it out hold you back, and read on to explore different ways you can utilize the internet to work on your own terms and be your own boss.
With the unprecedented popularisation of start-up culture, entrepreneurship, and online freelancing platforms, being self-employed is perhaps the most common ambition among people looking for earning opportunities today.
It is the preferred way of making a living for a lot of people today for different types of reasons from being your own boss to the 9-5 burnout. Some of the most common benefits of self-employment are:
In addition, with so many great opportunities to make money online today and so, it is no longer an uncommon for students to drop out with grand self-employment ideas in their heads.
Allowing ads to appear on your social media videos can be a great way to monetize your social media presence if you're looking to be self-employed.
In addition to enabling you to be self-employed, it is also a great stream of passive income as once you create and upload your videos, you can earn money from ad revenue without actively working on them.
YouTube, Facebook, and Tiktok are probably the best platforms to become self-employed through ad revenue.
On YouTube, you can earn money through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). To be eligible to join the program, your channel needs to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within the past 12 months.
Your channel also needs to follow YouTube's community guidelines, terms of service, and copyright policies.
If you meet these criteria, you can apply for the YouTube Partner Program by following these steps:
Once your application is reviewed and approved, you can monetize your videos through ads that are placed by Google AdSense. You just need to set up your AdSense account and link it to your YouTube channel. Once you're approved, YouTube will automatically place ads in your videos.
The amount of money you earn mainly depends on the number of views your videos get, the engagement of your viewers, and the demographic of your audience.
However, your earnings also depend on other factors that are not in your control like the performance of the ad that appears on your videos, the advertiser’s bid, and the format of the ads like display ads, overlay ads, skippable video ads, non-skippable video ads, and bumper ads.
With Facebook, you can earn ad revenue by allowing either in-stream ads to run on your videos or by using Ad Breaks. To be eligible for Ad Breaks, you need to have a Facebook page that meets Facebook's guidelines, at least 10,000 followers, and videos that meet Facebook's content guidelines.
If you meet these eligibility criteria, just follow these steps to have ads run on your Facebook videos:
And then, Facebook will start placing ads in your videos, and you'll earn a share of the revenue generated by those ads. In-Stream ads work in more or less the same way, however, here are some important differences :
To learn more about in-stream ads and other ways to make money on Facebook, refer to our article ‘’ How To Make Money On Facebook Without Any Investment’’.
On TikTok, you can earn money through the TikTok Creator Fund. This program allows eligible creators to earn money through ads that are placed in their videos.
To be eligible, you need to have at least 100,000 followers, have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days, be 18 years or older, and meet TikTok's community guidelines.
Once you're eligible, you can apply for the Creator Fund by going to the TikTok app and navigating to the "Creator Fund" page. You'll need to enter some basic information about yourself and your account, and then TikTok will review your application.
Once you're accepted into the Creator Fund, you can enable monetization by going to your settings and turning on "Monetization". This will allow TikTok to place ads on your videos.
No irony intended, but helping others get a job can be a really good way to be self-employed. The Synkdup Headhunter Program, for instance, allows you greater flexibility and freedom than most self-employment options and all you need to do is give visibility to job openings on your social media handles.
It is a novel recruitment marketing program that involves the following simple steps:
As a headhunter, you work on your own time and schedule, when you where you want and how much you want. And the really great part is that you are self-employed in a noble pursuit.
There are many other share-and-earn methods of making money online but they all involve making people buy stuff. But with the Synkdup Headhunter Program, rather than pushing people to spend money, you are bringing job opportunities to them.
To make the most of this program, you can make a page on your Facebook/Insta where you regularly post job links that show up on your Dashboard. And then, all you need to do is post a link to this page in the captions and description of your normal social media posts including reels, feed posts, stories, live streaming, etc.
This way you can have job applicants landing on your collection of job openings and earn handsome payouts without needing to modify the kind of stuff you post on your social in any way. You could even include a link to the page in the caption of a post a mirror selfie or a picture of your food!
The list of self-employment ideas with Headhunter links is endless depending on your assets/skills and requirements. For instance, if you can write and want a passive stream of income, Blogging is a very practicable idea.
If you have got a passion for writing, you can use it to become self-employed by starting a blog. It can be a rewarding and lucrative way to be self-employed, provided you are willing to put in the time and effort to establish and maintain a successful blog.
There are many free blogging platforms out there today that you can build your blog on without having to pay for a domain name and hosting. Here are our top picks from them:
It is important to read up on a platform thoroughly before deciding on one. Once you have selected a platform that aligns with your style and preferences, you should consider these ways to monetize your blog:
If your blog establishes you as an expert in your niche, you can also use your writing skills to offer freelance writing services to other bloggers or businesses.
Instagram is a great platform to sell things that photograph well and if you are particularly Instagram savvy, advertising such products and selling them by dropshipping is a great idea to be self-employed.
Dropshipping is a business model where you sell products without actually handling or storing inventory. Instead, you work with a supplier who ships the products directly to your customers. Follow these steps to start a dropshipping business on Instagram:
Check out our article ‘’ How to Make Money on Instagram’’ to read in more detail about dropshipping on Instagram and other ways to be self-employed through Instagram.
Virtual tutoring has got really popular in recent years, especially after the pandemic. And with the rise of virtual classrooms and so many e-learning platforms available today, it's easier than ever to connect with students from all over the world.
Depending on the platform and the subject matter, you can earn anywhere from $10 to $50 per hour as an online tutor. And if you are an experienced teacher with impressive credentials, you could even demand more.
There are a variety of online tutoring platforms out there, some of the most popular among which are:
To apply to online tutoring platforms, you'll need to create an account and fill out a registration form. Many platforms also require tutors to complete a subject test or an interview to assess their qualifications and teaching skills.
Once your application is approved, you can start accepting tutoring requests and earning money. Most platforms offer flexible scheduling, so you can work as much or as little as you like and reap the benefits of being self-employed.