As more and more people begin to branch out from typical 8-5 jobs, or find the need to acquire an extra income, a side hustle becomes the perfect option. Side hustles take up less time than a full-time job, and can provide an extra pocket of income that can become a safety net for more challenging weeks.
As prices increase with soaring inflation, jobs are harder to find, and growing older means that some jobs aren’t as easy, finding remote work may become necessary. Side hustles often offer the opportunity to become main sources of income, if you can put forth the time and effort to grow your side hustle into more than just an extra profit stream.
With 31 different side hustles to choose from, you can take some time to test out your favorites and find the right one for you. It may take time to turn a side hustle into something more, but the rewards are worth it.
The great thing about most of these options is that they offer flexibility. In most cases, you can work whatever hours you want to, and put in as many or as few hours as works for your schedule.
Even the rates you charge can be flexible. You might start off charging less until you learn the ropes and gain some feedback or testimonials, but you can increase your earnings by leveling up in rates soon after.
Even if you’re currently making ends meet, look to the future and consider whether the rising cost of food, gas, rent and more will put a strain on your budget. If the answer is yes, consider launching a side hustle to shore up your emergency fund for a rainy day.
Side Hustle #1: Get Hired to Handle Tasks for Others
Becoming a virtual assistant is just like being an assistant or secretary for a client at an office, except your office is now your home. As more jobs are becoming remote, assistants are needed.
Businesses and even solo entrepreneurs still need someone to answer calls, plan out schedules, and do the more common tasks that they don’t always have time for. You may find yourself doing tasks like answering emails with a script, double-checking stored information, and processing simple data.
Some virtual assistants will focus primarily on the social media aspect of a brand. This includes creating and posting blog posts, TikToks, editing YouTube videos, and creating content that will help promote the brand or client you are working with.
One of the best aspects of virtual assisting is the ability to work with your client in order to set your own hours and wages. Being a virtual assistant can become a full-time job, but it all depends on who you end up working for, and what they need from you.
Side Hustle #2: Narrate for Audiobooks
Some avid readers don’t have the time to sit down and read a book. So many turn to audiobooks so that they can multitask and enjoy content while getting their work done. As audiobooks continue to grow in popularity, more and more self-published authors are searching to find the perfect voice for their books.
If you enjoy acting and speaking, narrating is a great path to take. All you need is a quiet studio to work in, which you can create in your own home. Once you have a solid setup, you can begin recording some samples to put in your portfolio.
These could be simple recordings of you reading pages from some of your favorite books. Try to include different genres so that you can show your range of emotion and inflection.
To create a home studio, you just need a quiet spot with lots of items to deflect the bounce of sound and prevent echoes. There are even tabletop acoustic foam sets you can use to absorb the echo and help your narration come out sounding polished to perfection!
Side Hustle #3: Learn How to Recruit Affiliates
An affiliate manager is tasked with handling promotions for memberships, classes, products, and information. They have to know how to network with the competition and bring in a flow of traffic by leveraging other peoples’ lists, especially during product launches.
It’s up to the affiliate manager to create successful promotions while handling all of the technical details of any type of release. Many entrepreneurs will try to handle this type of work on their own.
But once their brand grows to a certain point, they will no longer have time for it. If they choose to trust you with such an important aspect of their business, it is essential that you already know what you are doing and can ease the burden for them.
You’ll approach the top affiliates in the niche and open a discussion with them to see if they’d be interested in promoting. You’ll be the point person answering questions and sending them any and all materials they need to make an informed decision.
Side Hustle #4: Become a Ghostwriter
There are plenty of opportunities for anyone who wants to become a ghostwriter. As a ghostwriter, you are simply given the job of writing the content that other people either don’t want to do or don’t have the time to write.
You will be given a task with an outline or summary that gives you an idea of what you have to write. And then it is up to you to fulfill your client’s vision. There are many different types of content available for ghostwriters.
You could be writing content for emails, websites, blog posts, eBooks, social media posts, press releases, and more. Brands trust you to write in a professional voice, since your writing will reflect on the brand.
Try writing a few samples so that you don’t have an empty portfolio. These can be basic ideas, as long as they show off how you write in terms of quality and style. Once you have a few things in your portfolio, you can sign up for some freelance platforms.
Upwork and Fiverr are typically the most popular options for ghostwriters. Make sure to include as much information as you can on your profile. This should include how much you want to be paid, what types of ghostwriting jobs you are searching for, and your experience and education.
Once your profile is set up, you can start applying for different jobs that are listed that fit your interests and skills. You can also launch your own ghostwriting website to get direct jobs so the platforms don’t take a cut, and you’ll begin getting jobs as positive word of mouth spreads about your quality.
Side Hustle #5: Participate in Focus Groups
There is always new research to be done when it comes to marketing and understanding the way a human’s mind works. Companies will create surveys and other methods for businesses so that they can sell their research to businesses and brands looking for marketing research.
These companies are always looking for people who are willing to participate in focus groups. You can apply to join and if accepted, you can get paid either per project or per hour.
Make sure to only sign up for paid focus groups. It is important to make sure you are qualified for the focus group you want to join. Some of this research will target certain demographics, so make sure to read the requirements ahead of time.
Sometimes, they will have you fill out a pre-survey so that you will know for sure whether or not you qualify. They may even interview you beforehand to see if you’re a good fit and that may include asking you things like how old you are, what race or political affiliation you belong to, and so on.
Side Hustle #6: Manage a Brand or Influencer’s Social Media
In order to make the most of one’s influence and following, creators should start posting on every social media app possible, so that they can optimize their reach. This is especially important when an influencer may want to create merchandise or go on tour.
Managing every social media post and creating all of that content can take up a lot of time and energy. That’s where you come in. As a social media manager, you help influencers create exciting and engaging content for all of their social media pages.
You can help with profile changes, managing what content should go out and when it should be posted, designing fun Instagram stories, and just assisting your client with any social media needs.
Side Hustle #7: Edit YouTube and TikTok Videos
Video content has grown more popular recently, which is mainly due to TikTok’s rise in popularity. A lot of creators gain their influence by frequently posting on YouTube and TikTok.
Video content allows influencers to show more emotion and passion, while also showcasing different niches, like fashion or DIYs. Once your client has pressed record and created some videos that can go together nicely, it is up to you to edit and polish them so that each video is appealing and runs smoothly.
You may have to edit out pauses in your client’s talking, and any other noises that may interrupt things. You may need to find good background music and add aesthetic text to go with each video, depending on what your client wants.
There are plenty of video editing tools that you can choose to download, and some are even free. Before you start applying for these jobs, you may want to consider messing around on the apps you use so that you are fully experienced and prepared.
If your customer allows it, you may even be able to provide contact information for your services at the end of a video, or in its description. This is a great way to show off your work and gain potential customers.
Side Hustle #8: Become a Freelance Graphic Designer
Visuals are a major part of any marketing. How a brand is designed can have a great effect on whether or not potential customers become confirmed buyers. People will need graphic designers for logos, website design, posts, headers and banners, advertisements, and even covers for their eBooks.
Some businesses will require some type of college degree when hiring, but many do not – and you can put up gigs as a freelancer where you’re not working for anyone else but yourself.
As long as you can show examples of your work to prospective clients and understand the project, you can make quite the business for yourself. Before applying for graphic designing gigs, make sure to have a full portfolio.
In this portfolio, you may want to include some logo designs, random illustrations, and creative social media templates. Having a wide variety of creations in your portfolio will help potential customers get an idea of your creativity and artistic style.
Side Hustle #9: Create an Online Thrift Shop
Thrifting has become a popular trend for many ages. As more people are beginning to express their personalized fashion sense online, they are looking for unique finds that will help them stand out.
You can go thrifting to find amazing vintage pieces for a small amount of money. Goodwill, Savers, and the Salvation Army are some of the more trusted thrift stores. You can even go searching for garage sales to find unique pieces for very low prices.
Once you know what to look for, you can turn those pieces into profit by selling them online. You can sell these clothing items on sites like Facebook marketplace, Depop, Poshmark, and eBay.
You can even take some of these items and flip them with your own creativity. If you know how to sew, or even embroider, you can add small touches to make them special or personalized.
Side Hustle #10: Become a Freelance Editor
If grammar and punctuation comes easily to you, becoming a freelance editor is a great way to make some extra money on the side. Many entrepreneurs can write out their own thoughts and ideas, but don’t always know how to make things grammatically correct.
Some writers even struggle with making their writing more exciting by using a wider variety of words. You can apply for editing jobs on freelance sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
Many self-publishing authors just want to hire an editor to go over their work before they publish their eBooks. It may seem like tedious work, but you can earn a solid payout if your editing becomes reputable.
Side Hustle #11: List Anything Online Before Donating
If you find yourself doing some cleaning up and end up with a pile of things to get rid of, consider listing those items online before you drop them off at your local Goodwill. You may not expect most of it to sell, but you can be surprised by the things people are willing to buy second hand.
If you have any family members or friends who are also getting rid of random things, consider asking them to drop them off at your house instead. You can create your own miniature store with different items.
You can try to sell these items on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and even Craigslist. These include things like clothes, shoes, electronics, books, fitness gear and more.
Side Hustle #12: Sell Printables on Etsy
Printables are very common on Etsy, due to the wide variety of possible printable niches to create with. When you can find your target audience and learn about the kind of content they want to purchase, you will be able to get creative with making as many different printables as possible for the audience.
You can create templates for planners, calendars, checklists, weight loss trackers, worksheets, bridal shower games, questionnaires, and itineraries. You can create individual listings for each template you make, so that customers can purchase a downloadable digital file of your work.
This takes out the shipping step, so that you don’t have as much to do when someone makes a purchase. You can even bundle some of your printables in order to bring in higher sales.
Side Hustle #13: Become a Stock Photographer
Whenever a blogger, brand, or entrepreneur is creating content, they will usually go to a stock photo site for photos, rather than hiring a personal photographer. These stock photo sites are constantly looking for photographers to buy photos from.
If you have an eye for good photos, you can sell your images to these sites and collect a payout every time someone downloads your image on their site. You can do this on sites like iStockPhoto, Pexels, and Shutterstock.
Once you submit a photo and it is accepted, it will be published publicly for commercial use. It is important to make sure that your photos qualify with the submission guidelines and rules.
When you are taking photos, try to keep in mind what the public wants. Find a niche and take many photos for that niche, so that there is a wide selection. For example, if you want to provide photos for a fitness blog or brand, take photos of someone tying their shoes, or unbranded dumbbells sitting on a table, or an exercise ball sitting on a yoga mat.
Side Hustle #14: Create Online Courses for a Specific Niche
Holding information can be more powerful than many people know. If you are well-informed on any niche topic, you can use that knowledge to your advantage. People are always looking to learn more and improve their interests and skills.
You can share your knowledge to the world and make a profit off of it by offering paid online courses, eBooks, and training sessions. It will take time, and you have to make sure your content looks professional and is accurate, but you can generate revenue with the information that is already in your brain.
You can create books and courses on many different topics. For example, if you love fitness, you could record videos that include your favorite exercise routines. You could also offer training sessions over Zoom with a smaller crowd of people to encourage a community.
You can build a loyal community of followers that views you as a trustworthy teacher, which means that they will have no problem recommending you to people they know and buying your future products as they’re released.
Side Hustle #15: Become an Online Tutor for Children
Parents are some of the busiest people in the world. If their kids are struggling with grades, they may not be available to give them proper help and guidance. Paying for a tutor to come to the house every night may also be too costly.
You can offer your tutoring services online, for any specific topics that you feel most confident in. Many websites require some kind of degree or credentials, but some will let you take a few classes in order to be certified.
You can also freelance and post service offers on other freelance sites. You can help with many different subjects and grade levels – from reading for an elementary school child to calculus for a high school student.
Side Hustle #16: Become a Product Blogger
Creating your own blog gives you the freedom to write about anything that interests you. Passionate writing draws in an audience because people will believe that you are sincere with your work and recommendations.
In order to have a successful blog, you have to be willing to post frequently, and spend time making your posts informative and helpful for readers. Recommending products means that you have to fully believe that the product you are writing about is a quality item.
You can then link to Amazon and other platforms every time you talk about a product, so that you can become an affiliate blogger and bring in revenue. If your blog becomes successful, you can even allow ads and make extra money off of that option as well.
Affiliate blogging can be done for both digital and tangible products. So if you go into a niche like Survival Prepping, you might promote info product courses on ClickBank as well as survival gear on Amazon.
Side Hustle #17: Get Paid for Your Online Presence
If you are an interesting person, have interesting stories, have passion for a specific niche, or have a talent to show off, you can build a name for yourself just by posting online.
Social media plays a hand in the careers of most people who thrive off of a loyal audience. Becoming popular on social media allows you to influence a large group of people.
This means that brands and businesses will be willing to pay you money to show off their products. Brand deals can bring in a solid amount of money, and all you have to do is talk about their products.
You can become a social media influencer regardless of what your original topic is known for. All it takes is the ability to gain followers and get engagement and a variety of brands will approach you in an effort to get exposure to your following.
Side Hustle #18: Stake Claim to Social Media Creator Funds
If you make content for social media that generates heavy traffic and engagement, there could be money waiting for you in each social site’s creator fund. Some sites that offer a creator fund include TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Every time you post a short form video on these sites, you will gain a certain number of views in the first few days. If you are generating one thousand views or more per video, you can get paid just for gaining views.
Creator funds do not give you very much in the beginning, but it can be a nice profit to have and keep in mind as you post more content. You will be able to gain the most by staying consistent with your content creation.
Side Hustle #19: Notarize Important Documents for Others
Becoming a notary public and only doing online work allows you to work from the comfort of your home, all while choosing your own active hours. Before putting your name out there, you will have to apply to become a notary, which involves paying some state fees.
This job will involve many files being shared back and forth so that you can verify your client’s identity. Once you have all of the information you need, you will need to have some sort of video call of you signing the right files, so that they can witness your signature for legal purposes.
Then you can send the necessary files back to your client and receive your pay. Utilizing freelance websites may be the safest way to set up contracts with your clients to avoid any issues.
Side Hustle #20: Stream on Twitch with Engaging Content
Going live on Twitch is a great way to build an audience. People get to experience what you are experiencing with you, in that exact moment. Viewers can also interact with you, making the experience much more personal.
Gaming is the most popular niche on Twitch. You can stream and play, allowing viewers to tag along on your different gaming adventures. If you have a good sense of humor, your content is likely to do well.
Playing online multiplayer games also allows you to play with other Twitch streamers, and interact with people while others watch. It may be easier to create lively and exciting content that way.
You can make money by building a fan base, and then selling merch, receiving donations, selling subscriptions, and receiving brand deals. Gaming isn’t the only niche using Twitch, either.
You can find people doing cooking shows, arts and crafts, delivering food in New York City on a bike, playing music, and more. Many people just like to follow a channel that offers the same things they enjoy doing.
Side Hustle #21: Sell Domains to Interested Parties
Some domains have been sitting unused for years – or have recently expired and the owner forgot to renew its registration. If you can buy up those domains and resell it for a profit, you’ll be able to build your own domain flipping business.
For some domains, you can take the time to design the website, so that it is visually appealing to any potential buyers. You can even work to push your domains to rank highly on search engines so that customers will be incentivized to purchase that domain.
You can set a flat price on the domain name or put it up for auction to see how high the bids will go. You can also bundle up a set of domains to brands who may want to maximize their reach using a variety of keywords.
Side Hustle #22: Create Audio Content for a Specific Niche
You can gain influence in the social media world (and get paid for it) without ever showing your face. The important thing is what you have to say, and how you say it. You can create a podcast focusing on a popular niche that you can talk about for a significant amount of time – about 20 minutes or more in one sitting.
You can post podcasts online for free on sites like Buzzsprout, Spreaker, and Podbean. Then, you can get paid for including ads on your podcast episodes, depending on the amount of listeners you get.
Some brands will reach out to you personally to work out an agreement and sponsor your podcast. Some of the more professional podcasts will have expensive microphones and equipment.
If you are starting on a lower budget, you can just use your phone to record, as long as you are in a quiet space. As you continue to grow, you can upgrade your equipment in increments.
Side Hustle #23: Become a Product Tester
When every product is being created, it has to be tested by a group of people before it is made public, so that the business can ensure that there are no issues with the product.
You can provide an outsider’s opinion and test the quality of a company’s product. There are several product testing job sites available after one simple search. You may have to fill out a survey or take a test to see if you qualify for their target demographic.
Once you are accepted, they will ship the product to you so that you can test and review it. You’re a paid participant, but you have to commit to the entirety of the testing opportunity.
Side Hustle #24: Launch Your Own Online Store
If you are good at noticing product trends, and you can usually guess what will sell, you may want to consider launching your own eCommerce site. You can invest in different products, build up a stock, and sell various products from your own shop.
If you include popular trending products in your store, and reach an online audience, you can send them right to your site, where they find other products to purchase as well.
You can buy a large amount of these products for a discount from wholesalers, so that you gain a profit when you sell the products for a higher price.
Look for programs like Amazon’s FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) system. You’ll find products and have them shipped directly to their warehouse, so that when and if they sell, Amazon can pack it up and ship it straight to your customer on your behalf.
Side Hustle #25: Create a Dropshipping Store
If you know how to draw in an audience and drive traffic to a storefront, this is a great side hustle to try. The idea focuses on you being the messenger that connects consumers to products.
You can create posts on social media about a product, and promote it to your viewers. Once they go to your storefront and make a purchase, you then forward the orders to the business or brand you are working for.
You get to keep a portion of the profit for yourself, which is where you generate an income. This process works similarly to affiliate marketing with an Amazon storefront. The only difference is that you will be working with different businesses and brands.
Choose a specific niche so that all of your products will have something in common, and be of interest to potential customers. For example, you might have a wedding storefront or a beauty niche dropshipping business.
Side Hustle #26: Become a Remote English Educator
There are many people around the world who don’t have access to an in-person English speaking teacher. When people are preparing to travel, they often go online to learn the language of the place they are traveling to.
You can find sites that will connect you to potential students looking for English teachers. You can then become a tutor online, teaching English to those who have yet to learn the language.
You might work one on one with a student, or in a group setting. You’ll be helping them master the English language with lesson plans and homework. If you know a second language such as French, Chinese or another language so you can communicate with the students, that’s even better!
Side Hustle #27: Create Your Own Private Label Rights Enterprise
You can use private label rights as a way to create content that holds its own unique place in the marketplace. You can also bundle your content, and sell the private label rights to anyone willing to buy in bulk.
There are many different types of content you can sell as private label rights. This includes blog posts, email articles, images, social media content, product ratings and reviews, and even complete eBooks.
You can continue to make a profit off of this content as it sells online, so you aren’t just selling one batch and making that one sale. Your gain can be continuous, passively. You can even outsource the creation of the content to a ghostwriter to free up more time for yourself.
Side Hustle #28: Become an Independent Author
There is an endless amount of avid readers out in the world, always looking for new books to digest. If you like to write, you can turn it into a career by starting out publishing just one book.
You can write your own book in any genre and publish it independently. Whatever platform you use may take a percentage of each sale. If you choose a popular niche to write your book about, it will be much easier to gain sales and make an actual profit.
Some people write non-fiction books, such as how to survive in the wilderness. Others prefer to write fiction novels about romance, sci-fi, mystery and more. You can do a combination of these as well and just use separate pen names!
Side Hustle #29: Design and Sell Printed Products
You can sell print on demand products that you’ve designed as a side hustle. You can create designs and have bigger companies print them out as you sell your designs to consumers.
These creations can be placed on shirts, hoodies, stickers, coffee mugs, and patches. You can come up with many different logos, quotes, and other designs that will be aesthetically pleasing to any possible customers.
Side Hustle #30: Design a Useful App
If you can think of an app that has yet to be created (or one that can be improved), you stand to potentially make a lot of money. You can draw out the plans and ideas for the app, and you may even want to consider simply selling your app idea to a buyer who wants to own it.
You can also choose to follow through with the creation of the app and work with others (or use free or paid app building tools) to build your idea. Once you launch the app, you can bring in a profit from advertisements placed on your app, and other in-app purchases.
Side Hustle #31: Rent Out Something You Own
If you have something someone else needs to use, you can now find ways to be a landlord of sorts. Even if it’s not property that you’re renting out, you can start a side hustle where you rent things by the hour, day, or weeks.
People are using apps and sites to rent out their belongings. For example, if your home has a swimming pool, you can charge by the hour for people to rent it. Some people may want to have a get together in your backyard or just relax in private without being at a public pool.
If you don’t mind people coming inside, you can also rent out your kitchen. There are many people who host cooking classes in larger kitchens or who even rent your dining room along with it for an elegant meal cooked by a chef.
There are other things you can rent out, too – such as your car or boat. This is big business in many areas, and the nicer your car or boat, the more you can charge for people to rent it.
You can even rent out gadgets like lawn equipment. Lawnmowers are expensive and require upkeep, so many find themselves in a pinch and needing to mow their lawn before they receive a citation.
You can rent out camping gear and even chicken coops if you want to! These are perfect side hustles for those who aren’t using their belongings very often and who want to make money on the side from what they own.
You’ll still be in total control over the situation, specifying the rate and how for people are allowed to take the item. You get paid directly from the app as soon as your rental is returned to you.
People will even rent garden space from you. If you have a backyard with soil, sun and shade, consider letting people grow their vegetables and herbs in it. This can be a situation where you receive fresh produce as payment, taking the pressure of affording food during inflation off of you.
You can also rent your backyard out to dog owners who need to let their four legged friend run around, but who don’t want to go to a public dog park and risk their pet getting attacked or catching a disease.
There’s no end to the many side hustles you can choose from. New apps and strategies are being discussed and released all the time. All you have to do it give it a test run to see how well it performs for you and how much you enjoyed it!
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