Architects possess a variety of skills that extend beyond the confines of traditional architectural practice. While your day job as an architect may allow you to unleash your creativity, there are a number of side hustle opportunities where you can utilize your expertise to create additional income streams. Here are three ways you can utilize the skills you already have as an Architect to produce income streams outside of your day job.

1. Selling Your Designs on Etsy:

Before I dig in I want to make it clear that you should only be selling your own intellectual property and not those of others. We spend countless hours crafting intricate floor plans and designs for our bosses and clients. You can utilize these skills you have to create your own designs and profit off of them. Etsy is a great platform to sell your floor plans and designs as digital downloads. One of the biggest pros about this side hustle is that there is little to no overhead. Whether you’re selling a full drawing set or renderings, you can package your designs as printable PDFs and showcase them in your Etsy shop. With the right marketing and high-quality designs, you can attract customers looking for unique and well-designed buildings. Read more on how to generate design ideas.

2. Creating an Architecture YouTube Channel:

YouTube has become a powerful social media platform known for sharing knowledge and connecting with a global audience. As an Architect, you can leverage this medium to share your knowledge, showcase your design skills, and engage with a community of designers and enthusiasts. There are countless subjects to cover when it comes to Architecture. Select a topic you are most passionate about and start creating the content. You can share tutorials, tips on designing, architectural history and theory, or even document your own architectural journey. Engaging content and consistent uploads will sharpen your skills and attract a loyal following generating revenue through ad monetization, sponsorships, and even merchandise sales.

3. Selling Revit Families + Templates:

Revit Families: Many Architects use Revit for drafting every day and we utilize websites like BimObjects or Modlar for their vast library of generic Revit families. These families represent various objects used in building design and drafting. As an Architect, you can capitalize on your skills in creating unique and high-quality Revit families to sell online. Consider offering a range of architectural elements such as custom doors, windows, furniture, and lighting fixtures. Market your Revit families on platforms like Etsy, Gumroad or your own website, targeting other architects, interior designers, or even students who are seeking ready-to-use components for their school projects.

Revit Templates: We all know how time consuming organization is when it comes to putting a drawing set together. You can profit off of the countless hours you put into creating your beautiful project templates by selling them online. Your target audience will be other Architects who have not yet gone through that process and want to save time in doing so. Creating your own project templates with custom line weights and graphic settings can help people save time and there is nothing more valuable than our own time.

Unfortunately we aren’t taught how to make money in Architecture school. Side hustles offer Architects and designers an opportunity to explore their skills beyond traditional architectural practice and diversify their income streams. Selling floor plans on Etsy, creating an architecture YouTube channel, or selling Revit families and templates are just a few examples of how you can leverage your skills as architects and designers to generate additional revenue. Remember to combine your skills with effective marketing strategies and consistent output to maximize the success of your side hustle.