South Africa has a limited number of jobs but unlimited ways to make money. You can start your own business, be a freelancer or do some part-time admin work. Many methods exist to make money monthly, in fact, countless ways exist to make R 500 a day in South Africa.
To be successful in your R 500 a day mission, you will need to have a few tools. These usually are Internet access (data or Wi-Fi), a smartphone and time. You need time because some of the ways to make R 500 a day require time and patience.
In this article, we explore the many ways in which you can make R 500 (or more) a day in South Africa.
1. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is an independent worker who provides administrative services to clients. These clients can be large corporations, small businesses, and occasionally individuals. Virtual assistants usually work outside the client’s office.
This job offers you flexibility and allows you to fully use your existing skills. You can work as a social media manager, customer service agent or even as an e-mail marketing guru. To become a virtual assistant, you need to:
Find Your Strengths: This is where you will see which of your skills make for the best virtual assistant.
Build A Robust Profile: Build up a professional online presence which showcases your skills and level of experience. You can use your LinkedIn page as your profile.
Work Hard and Deliver: Once you get the job, you must work hard so that you build up a strong network. This network will help give you good referrals and get consistent jobs.
The average hourly pay for a virtual assistant in South Africa is R 144,92. So, for example, if your contract requires you to work 5 hours a day, you can make R 724,60 (R144,92 x 5) per day.
2. Data Entry
A data entry job is when you are contracted to input, update and maintain a range of data into a computer system or database. This job might seem basic, but it requires accuracy, speed and attention to detail.
To be successful in data entry, you need to ensure that:
- Ensure your typing skills are up to par. This will help you increase your typing speed and accuracy.
- Being able to proofread. This is crucial as you will be dealing with data, and you need to be accurate.
Remember, to do data entry you must be well efficient in technology and be able to understand basic applications like Microsoft Excel.
3. Online Surveys
Online surveys are a great way to make extra cash. This is the kind of side hustle that works for people who spend a lot of time online. Completing these surveys can take a lot of time, but once you finish them, you will receive your money.
When it comes to how much you earn, that is determined by the type or survey and the survey platform. Platforms such as Swagbucks are great for finding different types of surveys. The more surveys you do, the more money you make.
Note: Most surveys pay in US Dollars, so you might have to open a PayPal account to receive your funds.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is where you promote a brand and get paid each time someone buys the product you are promoting. You will be able to share a link which people can use to get the product, usually at a discounted rate.
Affiliate marketing works even better if you have a large following on social media. You can use your large following to generate income using your affiliate marketing link(s). To get into this side hustle, you must get in touch with brands with good reputations and competitive affiliate programmes.
5. Freelance Work
Being a freelancer means you take on contracts and create work for companies, but you are not a permanent employee. This is a great way to maximise your skills and earn some extra cash. You can freelance in anything including, content writing, photography, web development or graphic design.
The best thing about freelancing is that you set your own rates, so you determine how much you earn. For example, in South Africa freelance writers earn an average of R 152,60 per hour. If you stick to the average, you can earn more than R 700 per day for 5 hours of work.
These are just some of the ways you can make a quick R 500 per day in South Africa. Other ways include starting a YouTube channel, a podcast, or watching online videos.
Don’t hesitate, if you need that extra R 500, start your ‘side hustle’ today! You will find many articles and resources on SME South Africa to help you start and manage your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to get weekly insight.
