My 1 year of self- employment has been a roller coaster ride of fun and not so fun times. But I have learned the art of hustlin’ – in a healthy way of course. I’m going to give you the insiders’ secrets to surviving and thriving for the first year of self- employment.

Tips from A Self- Employment Expert:

1. Do an inventory of your talents and skills– know how to sew, know how to do accounting, taxes, clean, fold clothes, carry babies, mow lawns, play violin, speak Arabic? Guess what, there are people on this earth who needs YOU.

2. POST on Craigslist – Craig is an amazing guy, he will help you reach the clients you need to reach, the people who want your drawers and beds, the people who need babysitters and musicians.

3. Sell stuff on Ebay– Things I’ve sold before: Clothes, shoes, jewelry, old cameras, toys. Guess what? It’s as easy as snapping pictures and posting. You get 50 free listings per month, so no fees up front. Other great sites to post books on are amazon.com and half.com. They let you post it and you don’t need to renew it.

4. Broadcast your services and skills- Social media sites I have used are: Facebook, Twitter, Hipswap,  Craigslist, Texting. If you have a service, CREATE a fanpage on Facebook. If you have items, pin-interest it, twitter it, use free applications on Ebay, Twitter that will automatically update FOR YOU. I do believe in conserving time and doing less.

5. Have a yard sale– The last 2 weeks I had 2 yard sales, I gained some muscle masses in my biceps and made a few bills. Not too bad for sitting out in the sun, drinking soda, and chatting with neighbors and potential clients. Not bad for networking.

6. Need cash fast? Sell to consigment stores or to high end thrift stores– For most girls, we have massive amounts of clothes and accessories. My choices of stores to sell to are Wasteland, Crossroads and Buffalo Exchange. They will select the trendiest items from you and give you 35% of their selling price. If you are a savvy shopper, you can actually make a profit even though you wore that old t-shirt for 20 years…BTW Wasteland loves vintage, so if you have a really old t-shirt they might just pay you $5 for it.

7. Build a Business– after you realize that you’ll never want to sit in an office again, get serious about your business. Whatever it is. I started selling old clothes and then started importing jewelry so I didn’t have to upload 10,000 original pictures. The more you work at something, the bigger your ideas will get. I started teaching cello and piano when I was 14, but everyone quit because of the economy. So I started teaching Mandarin because China is booming economically. Start thinking outside the box- what are services and needs that have not been met yet by other businesses?

8. Become an extra– If you live in LA and NY, you can sign up for Central Casting, which is one of the biggest extra casting agencies in the US. To be an extra, you basically sit or stand around until the film crew needs you.

In closing, I would like to say that there are so many more ways to make a living while you are discovering your life passion….or the more things you try, the more you realize what you hate and what you love. Go for what you love.