Unemployed in 2024? 10 Ways to Make Money From Home

Did you get laid off, or did your contract end, and you are starting 2024 unemployed? If you are wondering what you can do to replace your lost income, working from home could be a good option. 

There are multiple ways to earn money as you look for permanent employment. Some are short-term gigs you can take to stay afloat, while others can turn into full-time jobs and businesses. It all depends on your hard work and preferences. 

As the economic climate keeps worsening, more people are losing their jobs. If that has happened to you, then you know how finding a replacement can be challenging. The best you can do is take unconventional paths and think outside the box. When you do that, you'll quickly realise there are multiple ways to make money from home.

This article will explore ten practical ways you can easily make money from home in 2024. Read on.

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Baby/Pet Sitting for your Neighbours

If you love caring for pets and babies, you can make money from home doing precisely that. You will likely find that your neighbours and loved ones could be happy to hire someone they can trust to look after their pets or kids whenever they're busy. And if they don't need your service, they can refer you to their networks.

Offering this type of service is not only lucrative but also easy to start. You can earn as much as Ksh1,000 per hour pet sitting with little to no starting capital. 

You can start by pitching to neighbours and loved ones who might need your services and asking friends to refer you to their circles. The next step is to build your online presence. Create social media accounts and post content that might attract customers to your business. 

If those strategies don't work, you can enlist with agencies offering those services. Additionally, you should check job boards where such gigs are often advertised and search for related jobs like house sitting.

Read Also: 15 Ways Jobless Kenyans Made Money in 2022 

Offer Cleaning Services

Cleaning service is always in demand. People are always outsourcing this work because they’re too busy to do it themselves or are not good at it. This might be a good business to venture into if you can offer high-quality cleaning services that leaves your clients' space spotless. Furthermore, you can turn it into a full-time job as the business has the potential to grow.

The first thing you need to do is decide the type of cleaning service you want to offer. Your expertise and your starting capital will dictate this. Offering simple cleaning services like washing clients' clothes or general housekeeping will require no initial investment. But if you want to provide commercial cleaning, like starting a laundromat, carwash, or office cleaning, you will need to buy equipment that can cost Ksh20,000 to upwards of Ksh100,000.

You can start offering your services to neighbours and people within your community. If you do a good job, they will likely recommend you to friends and family, and your clientele will grow. You should also advertise your services on social media to attract more clients. 

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Create and Sell handmade crafts and products

Demand for handmade crafts and products has grown significantly in the past few years. People want personalised stuff they can gift their loved ones or make their space more personal. Others prefer homemade products because they align with their values, want originality, or to spend money wisely and support small businesses.

If you are a creative person who can create unique designs or bring your clients' design ideas to life, this is an excellent way to make money while unemployed. To get started, you first need to find a niche. Some best-selling handcraft products include handmade jewelry, home decor, beauty products, pet products, candles, etc. 

In the beginning, you can experiment with different products until you find one that attracts the most customers. Natural beauty products, earrings, and beads jewellery will sell better if you reside in urban areas. In rural areas, homemade detergents and furniture will attract more customers.

If you don't have the skills to create handmade products but know how to market them, you can outsource the labour to local artisans. Once you have your crafts, you can sell them at places such as the Maasai market, supply to gift shops, and online.

Read Also: 7 Life Lessons From a Man Who Became Jobless in His 30s

Offer Transcription or Translation Services

Can you speak two or more languages fluently? If you can, you can make money working as a translator. And no, it doesn't need to be an exotic language. Kiswahili, English, and your mother tongue are enough. 

Every year Kenya welcomes millions of tourists, international businesses, and Non-governmental organisations. Some tourists and NGOs often go deep into the country and need someone to help them communicate with locals. Before they start their explorations, they usually hire translators.

If this is something you want to try, you can put in your application at travel and tourist agencies. To increase your chances of being considered, you should double as a tour guide. And that is not all; you can also offer translation services online on freelance sites. This is incredibly lucrative if you can speak different foreign languages like French or German.

Apart from translation, you can also offer transcription services. Transcribing involves converting data (e.g., audio or video) into written content. You will usually find transcription jobs online at freelance marketplaces. Other places include courthouses and legal firms. Offering different types of services alongside transcription, such as minute writing, will also increase your chances of getting hired.

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Sell Homemade Food 

If you are a good cook or have a passion for cooking, you can start a business from home selling homemade food to neighbours and local businesses in your area. People always prefer homemade food to takeouts and hotels. If you can come up with a reasonable and affordable menu, you can make good money from home.

The first thing you need to do before starting your business is to perform some market research. Pitch to your potential customers, find what is missing from the market, and what new value you could add. This will help you determine how you will structure and run your business.

If you already have quality cooking appliances, you won’t need much money to start your business. You will need to buy supplies and delivery containers. To minimise losses when starting, you should only cook on orders. Join community forums and market your business to get more customers and orders. Most estates and locations usually have WhatsApp and Facebook groups.

Finally, you should get your licence and permits. You can get away without having them when running a homemade food business, but you shouldn’t. Getting your papers in order can help you build credibility and gain prospects' trust.

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Rent out Personal Properties 

Renting out your stuff is one of the easiest ways to make money from home. You don’t need any money to get started. You just need to find ways to capitalise on your possessions.

Take the story of Lillian, for example. She lives in a two-bedroom house near the University of Nairobi, but she only needs one bedroom. For the past three years, Lillian rented her spare bedroom for a good price to students from the university. This helped pay her rent and, most importantly, stay near her workplace.

But there are other things you can rent than an extra room. You probably have a lot of stuff you can lease and earn money. From your car, suits, bicycle, books, parking space, and electronics like camera gears, etc. All you need to do is find someone willing to rent them. However, you should be careful with who you entrust your properties with. Ideally, it should be someone you know and trust.

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Offer Coaching and Consulting Services 

As much as you are currently unemployed, do you consider yourself an expert in your field? You can make money from home mentoring, coaching, and advising people and businesses. While it might take time and a lot of effort to make it as a coach or consultant, it can be a lucrative field once you establish yourself.

To get started, you will first need to find your first client. The easiest way is to fall back on your network and professional peers. Let them know you are available to offer expert opinions and help them achieve their goals. Another way is to look for fresh graduates and offer to coach them.

As a coach or consultant, you will market your services through your networks, or you can leverage the internet. You can create a blog to share your knowledge, build a following, and later develop online courses to sell to your followers. You can also charge customers for one-on-one services and organise events.

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Became a Digital Marketer 

Digital marketing is one of the most in-demand skills in Kenya today. Many companies are taking their business online and need help generating leads and connecting with customers. If you are a savvy marketer and know how to use the internet and social media to grow a business, you should become a digital marketer.

All you need to do is create an agency and register it. You can approach businesses and offer to handle their digital marketing or social media pages. You will buy ads, find their target clients and engage their audience by replying to their queries and creating content. And you can work with multiple businesses at once.

To get started, you will need to take a short course. You can find many free ones online, including one from Google. The next step is creating a portfolio to show your prospects you can handle their projects. Once you have perfected your skills, you can search for gigs online or approach businesses in your area.

Read Also: 7 Online Jobs That Pay Per Hour in Kenya

Become a Virtual Assistant 

A virtual assistant is someone who offers business and individual support remotely. Virtual assistants are remote administrators or secretaries. They help their employers reduce their workload so they can focus on growing their business.

To become a virtual assistant, you will need digital skills such as data entry, customer care, social media, graphic design, etc. Depending on your skill set and experience, you can help your clients with everything from managing calendars to handling their accounting and finances.

To get started, you first need to find a niche. If you are good with excel, data entry might be a good start. You will need to build those skills by taking short courses and getting the right tools. Once you are all set, you can start looking for work online on freelancer platforms and if you know busy people, ask them if they need extra hands.

Read Also: How to Thrive As A Freelancer

Create and Monetise Content

Many Kenyans rise to stardom every year and completely change their lives through content creation. The demand for quality content is at an all-time high. And it is not just comedic skits. 

You just need to find something you are passionate about or knowledgeable about and create content around it. For example, if you enjoy exercising, you can make content teaching people how to build muscle or loss weight. You can do this on the medium you are most comfortable with and you will find an audience. If you like writing, you can start a blog, and if you want to talk about it in depth, you can create a podcast or YouTube channel. 

Once you have decided on the type of content you want to create, the next step will be buying equipment. You will need a laptop, camera, and some audio equipment. The first few days and months will likely be hard and slow, but you can build a community and fanbase with consistency. Once you have done that, you can find ways to monetise your audience by selling them products and services. 

Read Also: 6 Money-Making Online Businesses 

WRAPPING UP

There are countless ways to make money online in this internet age, from taking part in the gig economy through freelancing to starting your own business. It will all depend on what excites you the most and how committed you are to making money. 

Before you start on any projects, ensure you do enough research. Many fake companies and fraudsters are looking to con you by promising you high returns for doing nothing. They usually call their services network marketing or multilevel marketing. Once you invest, you will be tasked with bringing in more people. These get-quick-rich schemes can waste your time and lead to momentary loss. 

Finally, if you are not unemployed by choice, you should take steps also to get back in the job market. Revamp your CV, update your LinkedIn profiles, network, and browse job boards online. You can also use your time to learn new skills and volunteer. This can help you forge new connections and prevent you from being idle.