Top Five Side-Hustles in New Brunswick
Introduction to Side-Hustling
Side-Hustles are small, part-time, and generally complementary activities that you do to make extra money. In recent years the term gained a lot of popularity, especially with the rise of companies like Uber and Lyft.
Unfortunately, New Brunswick has not made it a priority to help people supplement their income by allowing apps like Uber and Lyft to break up the regulatory control that Cab companies have. As a result, only recently have apps like DoorDash gained traction.
So as a New Brunswicker, what can you do to make some extra cash, pay for a vacation or save up for a Big-ticket item? Well, I’m here to plant some ideas. Some require no startup costs, and some will only work if you already have some shared resources.
I hope these inspire some of you to get after it.
RV Rental/AirBnB
With borders still challenging to cross and the airline industry attempting to get its ducks in a row, shorter, low-key vacations have risen in popularity.
With no Airports, hotels and the ability to travel around various unknown gems in New Brunswick like Fundy and Kouchebouguac, RVs and Campers have skyrocketed in popularity. And like everything else, there is a severe shortage available in the market.
This is my number one suggestion: if you are anything like me, you or your grandparents, or your parents likely already have an RV or Trailer. They may even have a highly coveted spot in one of New Brunswick’s unique campgrounds. And if you are anything like me, more often than not, you only use your trailer or RV about 50% of the time. Thus utilizing platforms like Airbnb.com or Rvezy.com could make that other 50% of the summer a profitable one for you.
The best part about these rentals is that they provide the opportunity for compound interest. Do a good job of getting reviews and spending a bit on advertising and “promoted rentals.” You can afford another RV where the rentals pay the balance of the payments, and your side income snowballs, balancing the reasonable cleaning costs and additional insurance. (The insurance burden, especially for motorhomes, can be placed upon the renter with a few steps)
Sell Digital Things (Not NFTs)
There are some fantastic artists in Atlantic Canada. But unfortunately, the market isn’t that big, especially for niche drawings, artwork, tattoo designs or anything else you love to produce. Still, the people of your small rural New Brunswick community “don’t get.”
Online communities like Patreon, Thrive, and others allow you to design and control access to your designs, photography, and cross-stitch patterns and charge people access to the library. It is tough to get going, but connecting with interested parties worldwide is a great way. Take care of your members, connect with them, and showcase how they chose to use your digital drawing of Homer Simpson eating a Lobster Roll. This side-hustle could quickly generate an extra $1-$10,000/month for something you already enjoy doing.
Be A Guide
Do you enjoy spending your weekends hiking, bicycling, kayaking and all that other stuff you’d never catch me doing? Well, then you may have stumbled into one of the most underserved markets in New Brunswick.
New Brunswick is enjoying a bit of a renaissance in its tourism sector due mainly to the fact that the entire province is either forests and rivers or coastlines. However, the big money is in full-service nature adventures. Glamping domes and cabins have popped up all over the place, and people with disposable income flock to them like mad. However, there is a lack of guided experiences for those who find themselves in the Acadian Peninsula, unaware that there is over 300km of paved bike paths, or in Campbellton not understanding how to hike Sugarloaf or Mt. Carleton.
Clients are willing to pay a couple hundred a day to experience our province safely and comfortably. So, for the cost of outfitting and a few lobster rolls and bottles of water, you could find yourself leading posh people down the Restigouche River.
Host / Organize Farmer's Markets
This one is the least resource-dependent, despite what you may think initially. Because I am not telling you to sell at a Farmer’s Market, I suggest you run them.
There are a great many small artisans, farmers, knitters, and jam makers who routinely frequent farmer’s markets in their communities or permanent downtown booths in larger cities like Moncton. However, there is still a large gap, especially for niche markets. Want to go all local produce? There is a huge demand. Want to go art and crafts? Well, these kinds of shows are always well attended.
Two tricks make this side-hustle potentially very lucrative. One: In all likelihood, you can get the venue for little or no cost. Small villages and towns in New Brunswick mostly all have town halls, rec-centres or legions that can serve as a venue, and in smaller communities, they will be so happy to have you. So you’ll likely get this venue for free.
The other trick is to make money twice. First, charge a small fee of $2-$5/head at the door, and then charge a vendor fee for a booth. The vendor fees shouldn’t be too high to discourage vendors from attending, but if you advertise and have tables and infrastructure ready for them, there has to be a reasonable rate of return on your effort.
Notice the busiest vendors. Let them know that you are moving this around the province or your region. And that you could help them increase their market reach. It’s a win-win. You’ll gain an anchor vendor, and the bean lady will get more people telling people to order string beans from her farm.
Become a Networker
It’s like being an Influencer but not nearly as annoying.
Suppose you are good at organizing impromptu events. If you were the person who led the pub crawl and if you have a knack for wrangling cats, this could be a great side hustle for you.
New Brunswick is not at a shortage of bars or restaurants that need patrons, especially on non-weekend evenings. Much like affiliate marketing, where internet personalities get a kick-back on sales driven by their content, Networkers can arrange to have a percentage or flat fee for organizing a small event and ensuring that the bar, restaurant, or venue does well on a night that it wouldn’t necessarily even break even.
Events can be simple, especially if you are considered an expert in a particular field. For the investment of a PA/Speaker combo and a microphone, you can host 5-7s, Lunch & Learns, and all sorts of other professional events that participants can write off as business expenses and local bar and restaurant owners can provide a set (profitable) menu for and then reap the benefits of potential new regulars.
The real trick is to be so good at it and have the events be so well received that nobody sees the side-hustle of it. Of course, you can also charge a cover fee if you get perfect.
But in a province with lots of challenges to be discussed, rivalled only by the amount of beer we produce per capita, this is an excellent idea… In fact, forget this idea; it’s mine.
I hope you got something out of these ideas. And, as always, if you ever want to chat about these or any ideas that you might have for your side or main hustle, please feel free to book a free discovery chat.
Wishing you all the best,
Sandenn