The fact is that the trucking industry fluctuates often and, because of that, many truck drivers and trucking businesses feel insecure about their future.
Smart truck drivers don't waste their time and always look for side hustle opportunities to make money as truck drivers.
The thing with OTR truck drivers is that they are on the road for several days or even weeks. So, a side hustle for them should be something that doesn't require a scheduled time period during the day. A perfect side hustle for OTR truck drivers is when they can do it whenever they have time.
Let me share with you below the 6 side hustle options for OTR truck drivers.
1. Referrals
If you work for a trucking company and you are really happy with it, you may get paid by referring someone to work for it.
Almost all trucking companies have a Referral Program.
Depending on what the Referral Program within the company states, when a driver comes to the company and tells your name as a referral, you may get a referral fee for that.
As a referral, you can earn, on average, between $1000 and $3000 per month.A good recruiter, who has a good flow of referrals, talks to drivers everywhere. He talks to them at the truck stop, in trucking schools, on Facebook groups, on Twitter, on Youtube, etc.
In other words, talk to people.
Let them know about your experience with your trucking company. Tell them how they treat you.
Many truckers might not be treated as well in their trucking companies. And they might be looking to leave but they just don't know where to go. So, that's when you come in.
2. Youtube
Starting a Youtube channel is easy.
Many truck drivers make extra money on Youtube by documenting their everyday life while being on the road. Some of the most popular Youtube truckers pull in hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year from their channels.
When you garner enough views, you can earn such amounts through ads.
By building your Youtube channel, you create a media platform of your own where you can promote your stuff, such as your e-book, your referral program, your Amazon FBA page, etc.
The more video content you have, the more people subscribe to your Youtube channel, and the more money your make.
3. Rent it out
If you are a single OTR truck driver, I suppose that your home sits empty and unused most of the time.
Why not rent it out and make extra income off of it?
This extra money can pay your mortgage or pay your bills.
Airbnb allows you to rent out your unoccupied home for those who are traveling while you are on the road.
All you have to do is communicate with your guests and ensure that the place is taken well-cared.
Another renting out option is to rent out your car.So, during the week your car could be rented out and on weekends you may get your car back.
Turo is an app where you can rent your car.
Again, when renting out, you want to make sure that you are renting your property to someone responsible.
4. Affiliate marketing
Let's say that you don't have a physical product of your own such as an e-book or a course. You can still sell someone else's products and earn a commission of the product's price.
That means that you don't have to deal with the creation of the product or with its packaging or its shipping.
All you have to know is how to attract more eyeballs to those third-party links.
5. Amazon FBA
FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon.
While affiliate marketing allows you to sell someone else's products to earn a commission off them, Amazon FBA allows you to sell your products and to earn its full price.
The good thing is that after you bring your products into the Amazon warehouses, Amazon takes care of packaging them and shipping them to the customer.
It is worth investing in making your listings stand out from the rest. That means writing the best possible product descriptions and perhaps investing money in some high-quality photography.
6. Write an e-book and sell it Amazon Kindle
After driving all day, you might want to share some of your knowledge with the general public.
If you have any skills or talents or you want to write a novel, you can publish and sell an e-book on Amazon Kindle.
For example, you might want to share your experience in a certain trucking industry topic that can help truck drivers ease their lifestyle.Make sure your book is a very helpful tool for truckers. Especially for new truckers who are very ambitious and want to learn everything about this industry. Depending on the amount of effort you put into creating the e-book, you can set your selling price.
