A side hustle is an increasingly popular way of making money among millennials. By utilising your digital skills, running a side hustle allows you to gain additional income on the side of your primary employment or studies. And this kind of work can help make some serious income – according to one expert, side hustles in Dubai could generate a monthly income of between AED 3000 and 6000 per month. If you are interested in starting a side hustle in Dubai, this guide will provide you with plenty of inspiration.
We’ve compiled examples of seven ways for millennials to start side hustles in Dubai, including:
- Running digital ads for small businesses
- Starting a blog
- Selling printable items on Etsy
- Working as a freelance writer
- Being a virtual assistant in Dubai
- Creating a small digital course
- Starting a YouTube channel in Dubai
There are so many possible sides hustles in Dubai that you could start. Here are just seven examples.
7 Ideas For Side Hustles In Dubai
If you are thinking of starting a side hustle in Dubai, the best place to start is to think about the skills you already have and try to figure out how you can monetise them. As the examples below show, with little knowledge about digital technology, reading, and research, virtually everyone has a side hustle.
1. Running Digital Ads For Small Businesses
There are thousands of small businesses in Dubai that need help with advertising. But unfortunately, many of these small companies have neither the time nor the skills to learn how to create digital ads and monitor them. And this is where you come in.
Running digital ads on search or social media sites is often relatively straightforward. As long as you know how to use keywords to target your ads to the right customers, you can provide an invaluable service to all small businesses. Running a side hustle managing digital ads for small businesses in Dubai will involve the following types of tasks:
- Market research to decide the best platform to run ads on
- Choosing appropriate keywords
- Writing ad copy
- Monitoring ads spend
- Demonstrating results
After initially setting ad campaigns up, the actual work involved in this Dubai side hustle is relatively simple – it will rarely require more than a couple of hours of work per week per customer.
2. Starting a blog
Blogs are one of the most popular ways of making money online. However, to generate cash through an online blog in Dubai, you will need a decent-sized audience. You can then use several methods to monetise them – especially display ads and affiliate links.
To set up your blog in Dubai, you must first find a subject to write about. Next, choose a topic you are passionate about and an area where you have expertise. After that, it is simply a case of regularly producing content your audience wants to read. As your audience grows, you can then contact businesses that might wish to advertise through your website.
Apply For A Social Media License In Dubai
3. Sell Printable Items On Etsy
A printable is any template people pay to download and use, and Etsy is one of the best places to sell them. You need to set up your store on the website and produce printable items for which you think there is a market. You can produce printable items for practically any purpose or occasion, but some of the more common printable ideas include things like:
- Wedding invitations
- Meal planners
- Personal budgets
- Any financial planning sheets
- Birthday party invitations
- And much more besides
Printable items are usually reasonably inexpensive to produce and sell. Still, suppose you find an idea that is popular and solves a problem for many people. In that case, the printable could be downloaded thousands of times per month – making this a potentially very profitable side hustle in Dubai.
4. Work As A Freelance Writer
Being a freelance writer in Dubai is one of the most popular side hustles. If you have a decent knowledge of writing engaging content, there is almost unlimited demand for your skills. In addition, working as a freelance writer alongside your main job provides a highly flexible way of earning extra money. The side hustle involves providing writing services to all manner of clients while also offering additional services such as editing and proofreading.
To start a freelance writing side hustle in Dubai, there are several things you can do to begin getting your first piece of paid work, including:
- Pitching feature and opinion article ideas to newspapers and magazines
- Promoting your services on social media
- Contacting various companies directly and offering them your freelance writing services
- Joining side hustle websites like Upwork where you can apply for freelance writing gigs.
*Meydan Free Zone does not offer freelance license or freelance visa options.
5. Working As A Virtual Assistant
Becoming a virtual assistant is a fantastic side hustle in Dubai – as long as you have good administration skills. Many entrepreneurs around the world need virtual assistants to do things like:
- Managing their diary and inbox
- Running their websites
- Bookkeeping
- Preparing reports
- Doing pieces of ad hoc research
- Answering client questions
- And much more
You can provide virtual assistant services to clients anywhere in the world from Dubai.
6. Create A Small Online Course
Creating a small online course is a fantastic side hustle in Dubai. Assuming you have expert knowledge about one topic or another, you can create a complete online course which you then publish to websites like Udemy or Skillshare. Customers can then pay to view your content and learn from you.
One of the most attractive things about this Dubai side hustle is that after the initial work of creating a complete course, it will generate a truly passive income. So long as there is enough interest in your course, people may continue paying for your content for years to come!
7. Start A Youtube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is a fantastic Dubai side hustle business idea. Like running a blog, you need to find a niche that you are passionate about and for which there is a suitably large market. You will also need to produce videos on one topic or another regularly. But once you start getting subscribers, you can get a cut of YouTube’s advertising revenue while also generating income through affiliate marketing.
Discover how to become an influencer in Dubai
Why Meydan Free Zone?
Meydan Free Zone is the ideal place to launch your side hustle in Dubai. As leading experts in business setup in Dubai, our free zone consultants can support you with every step of launching your side hustle company. Moreover, our free zone is a melting pot of digital entrepreneurs – meaning you can build relationships with peers working in similar fields.
Contact Meydan Free Zone Today And Start Making Money
To support you on your journey to running a successful side hustle in Dubai, Meydan Free Zone provides you with all the solutions you need. For instance, Meydan Pay provides you with essential financial tools to make and receive payments from your customers. Meydan Commerce, meanwhile, is our unique service for helping you sell products on various eCommerce platforms. And with our Easy Payment Plans, you have the flexibility you need to launch your side hustle business successfully. So, contact Meydan Free Zone today if you’re ready to begin your side hustle in Dubai.
