The days of holding just one job is over. The cost of living has risen more within the past year and more people are having a hard time making ends meet. Recently, I made a post about how to save money and like others we are always talking about ways to save. One of my friends called me one day to ask why I always talk about saving money and not making money. He had a point. I understand everyone cannot be an entrepreneur but everyone should have a side hustle.
The reasons many people begin side hustles are obvious, they are seeking to stop living check to check, want extra income for their wants, or increase their salary to save for a financial goal, money is the clear reasoning behind a majority of side hustles.
If you spend majority of your day at your 9-5 job, and then proceed to go home and sulk in your misery because you still don't have enough money to do what you want than this is for you.
Baking
Do you have a knack for baking? Do people love your desserts? Maybe you could provide cake, cookies, or cupcakes to some corporate event in town. A friend of ours is booked and busy.
Virtual Assistant Service
Virtual assistants provide administrative support to clients from their home office, and generally charge $15 and $30 per hour for executive assistant services and $40-$75 per hour for higher level marketing or financial tasks.
If that sounds like a fun side hustle you can get started or jump on board with an established VA company like Workerbee.
Delivery Service
With services like UberEats, Instacart, and DoorDash, you can earn money (generally $10-25 an hour) on your own schedule delivering groceries and take-out orders in your town. Ditch the worries of not having a spotless car and having to pick up passengers. Want to learn how to get started check out my personal experience.
Notary
You can obtain your notary certification from your state and the cost is generally $2 per signature. However, once you’re certified, you can charge your own fee to notarize documents, or become a loan signing agent like I did and make $1500-2000 a month overseeing mortgage signings in your spare time.
To learn more check out some of the resources at National Notary Association to learn more.
Book Flipping
Use the free Bookscouter app to scan barcodes and see what old books are worth. You can do this both for the ones collecting dust on your shelf and for the ones at garage sales or the library book store.
One Side Hustle Show guest reported earning up to $4000 a month flipping books!
Amazon Mechanical Turk
Mechanical Turk is a service provided by Amazon to help companies complete micro-jobs that sometimes only pay pennies for each one. While this would not be a get rich quick gig it will give you the ability to earn a modest side hustle income in your spare time from home.
Travel Agent Service
Do you have a gift in finding the best deals and experiences? Are you a seasoned traveler? Been around the work and aye yi yi? Despite C-19 travel information is still in high demand both for insider travel knowledge and the hands-off experience of letting an expert handle the booking.
Vehicle Advertising
photo credits: Courtney Hill
You can earn up to $500 a month by putting an advertising “wrap” on your car. Check out the top 5 car advertising companies that will pay you to advertise on your car. Carvertise, Free Car Media, ReferralCars, Wrapify, and StickerRide. They also offer the ability to become a certified wrapper.
Snuggling
photo credits: Pablo Heimplatz
Yes, this is a real thing, and it has a number of health benefits. So, naturally there’s a business angle.
Look at Sam Varnerin of Boston, her snuggling side hustle has turned into a pretty lucrative business. She told Student Loan Hero, “I work around 18 hours a week, charging between $80 and $100 an hour, and make between $3-4k a month.”
Sam started part-time through the SnuggleBuddies.com agency, which allowed her to earn $40 an hour on her own schedule, before striking out on her own.
RentaFriend
Another site that facilitates (strictly platonic) paid companionship is RentaFriend.com.
Friends report earning $20-50 an hour to hang out with strangers. Yeah, this sounds a little creepy and weird but I guess if you’re lonely and you’ve got the money…
Personal Training
photo credits: Pablo Heimplatz
People are always looking to get in shape and if you have a passion for fitness, this could be the perfect side hustle.
Used Baby Gear
Do you have baby equipment you no longer need? Thinking about selling on Facebook marketplace? Ever thought about renting your baby gear? Check out BabyQuip.com This platform connects parents with traveling families or grandparents who live in town and need a crib and a stroller for a few days. This was an awesome strategy I used when traveling to Orlando a few weeks ago with the kids. I didn't want to carry a stroller and a car seat, so I rented it.
The average BabyQuip Quality Provider makes $650 a month part-time.
Movie / TV Extra
This is a fun one. I have done several gigs an was paid hundreds of dollars to be an extra in movies like stomp the yard 2 and etc...If you live in Atlanta, LA, or New York,you may have a better chance of being called, but there are local shoots nearby.
Check out Central Casting or Auditions Free to see if there are any movie extra jobs near you. If you can get your Screen Actors Guild credentials or IMDB credits that could be a plus!
Junk Hauling Service
This is an especially feasible side hustle business if you already have access to a large truck or van. Bonus points if you can re-sell some of the junk!
Learn how Brian Scudamore, the founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, took his business from a summer gig to doing around $1 million a day in revenue.
Mobile Mechanic
If you have what it takes to fix automobiles or motorcycles from your garage this is a good gig and could be a great way to earn extra money by filming your repairs and putting the videos online.
Handyman Service
I have a interest in fixing things for myself but trying to do it as a side hustle I am out, but I’m positive someone else with the right skills can make it work.
A great start to create a profile on Thumbtack or TaskRabbit (where I have had the opportunity to gain clients new for services I offer).
Graphic Design Service
There are so many opportunities that allow you to sell your skills. The most popular design-focused site is 99designs, but you can check out Crowdspring, DesignCrowd, or any of the freelance marketplaces as well. If you suck at designing, you can use this site to find designers to make your ideas come to life.
Drop Shipping
This was my first business in college. I had a virtual storefront way before it was every popular and it was awesome. Drop shippers set up their own storefront and process sales, but never touch the actual product. Instead, the items are shipped directly to the customer from the manufacturer or wholesaler.
Estate Sale Service
My first piece of furniture I bought was from an estate sale. Estate sales are often managed by a third-party company, who takes a percentage of the proceeds in exchange for handling the event. If you have the time this may be the way for you.
Craigslist Gigs
When I started my business, I would go to the gigs section at the bottom right corner of Craigslist to find people who needed my services. This is also a good source to place your ads for services you offer. A bit has changed with the platform but it is still a legit way to pick up business or solicit your business.
Check it out and see what kind of gigs you might be able to find nearby or online.
Small Business Marketing Service
There are many small companies that don’t have the staff or know-how to do all their marketing themselves, especially when it comes to putting their best foot forward online and on social media.
You can help them with that, much like our partner here.
Computer Tutoring
Some of the computer skills we take for granted are still lacking for portions of the population.
If you can find them and sell them on the necessity of technical skills for their careers, there might be a business opportunity here.
Computer Repair Service
This will always be a go to if you have a way with electronics, this is a gig for you. There are more computers in this country (including tablets and smartphones) than there are people. The repair market is very fragmented which means there is opportunity for solo-operators to break in.
Go-Teks Technology offers monthly IT support and maintenance contracts for local businesses, calling it one of their “for-profit hobbies.”
Residential or Commercial Cleaning Service
It may not be glamorous, but it’s something nearly every business spends money on and usually gets done in the after-work hours.
Sports Coaching
School teams are sometimes in need of coaching help and this can be a fun and active side hustle. Schools will be opening up soon, check with your local school.
Selling on Fiverr
Fiverr is one of the greatest sites in the world. It originally started with services offered at around $5. Over the years, they’ve gradually moved beyond that $5 starting point, but Fiverr remains an interesting freelance marketplace.
I’ve used Fiverr as a buyer and seller offering services for graphic design, book covers, and website optimization.
Print on Demand T-Shirts
Do you have some interesting ideas that would look great on a shirt? Teespring is a print-on-demand t-shirt platform, where you can custom-design your own shirts and sell them through the site.
Another platform to check out is Printful, which has tons of print-on-demand products and lets you syndicate your listings to Etsy and other stores.
I have gotten into this myself lately, but after signing up with the Merch by Amazon program. I am sold!
Your Own E-commerce Store
If you have your own website, Facebook, or Social media site you can sell products online through your own store or through Amazon or eBay. I have heard that Shopify is also a good place to start.
Ghostwriting
With millions of websites all competing for attention, writing is a service that’s constantly in demand. Someone’s got to create all that content, right?
Gabe Arnold even turned his ghostwriting side hustle into a full-blown agency!
I hope this helps you. Let me know in the comments which one you like the most or will start today.
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