20 Real And Legal Ways To Make Money: Creative Ideas To Earn Cash Fast Online From Home

What are some legal ways to make money from home? Here’s a list of appropriate money-making strategies for everyone to make extra cash.

Through digitalisation and online education, learning how to make money for beginners or workers to earn extra income while at home has become easy. One can effortlessly use your own knowledge and experience to build a business on your own instead.

There are no limits to business building, and you can sell whatever you want. The more determination you have, the more money you’ll make online. It’s that simple. 

Gone are the days of low-paying cash-back credit cards and stressful stock trading. If you want to make a lot of money from home, you’ll want to start a small business that pays you dividends over time. 

In this article, TheVibely has compiled new online business ideas you can turn into an exciting, profitable venture that’ll pay more than one dollar per survey. 

Creative ways to make money on the side from home

  • Create an Online Course for download.
  • Online Tutoring.
  • Personal Training.
  • Sell custom products.
  • Create a print-on-demand business.
  • Start a Dropshipping business.
  • Creating Content on Youtube.
  • Blogging.
  • Become an Affiliate Marketer.
  • Write and Publish an E-Book.
  • Become a freelancer.
  • Become a virtual assistant.
  • Start a food business.
  • Sell on marketplaces.
  • Selling your Art and Designs online.
  • Babysit.
  • Walking Dogs.
  • Car Washing and Auto Detailing.
  • Offer child care.
  • Flipping Cars.

Here’s a list of 20 real ways to make money from home for free:

1. Create an Online Course for download

If you know how to bake the best chocolate cake, build a stellar website, or knit the perfect scarf, consider creating an online course teaching people how to do it.

Creating an audio or video course, then kicking back while cash rolls in from the sale of your product are some of the popular strategies for passive income. Courses can be distributed and sold through sites such as  Udemy, Skillshare, and Coursera. Instructors on sites like Udemy can charge between $20 and $200 per course, and Udemy takes various cuts, from 3% to 75%, depending on how students find you. 

Alternatively, you might consider a “freemium model” – building up a following with free content and then charging for more detailed information or for those who want to know more. For example, language teachers and stock-picking advice may use this model. The free content acts as a demonstration of your expertise and may attract those looking to go to the next level.

Opportunity: A course can deliver an excellent income stream because you make money easily after the initial outlay of time.

Risk: “It takes a massive amount of effort to create the product,” Tresidder says. “And to make good money from it, it has to be great. There’s no room for trash out there.”

Tresidder says you must build a strong platform, market your products and plan for more products if you want to be successful.

“One product is not a business unless you get really lucky,” Tresidder says. “The best way to sell an existing product is to create more excellent products.”

Once you master the business model, you can generate a good income stream, he says.

2. Online Tutoring

Are you an expert in math, art, or another subject? You can make money from home by doing online tutoring. A prerequisite for most tutoring gigs is a bachelor’s degree in your subject, depending on where you apply for the job. You can find tutoring clients on websites like Skooli and Tutor.com.

Only teach subjects that you have demonstrated expertise in. You’ll want to share skills and practical knowledge to create good learning experiences for your students. You can provide pre-recorded lectures and templates, plus meet students through Zoom. Tutoring is also inexpensive to start (if you already have that degree) and can easily earn you extra money. 

The biggest advantage of online tutoring is the convenience involved. For instance, you set the timing and frequency of the tutoring sessions. You can also have as many or as few sessions as you want. This makes it a great and easy side project to transition into.

Students of all nationalities and age groups can be potential customers. And you can organize tutoring sessions for a variety of topics, such as:

  • Traditional subjects like math or science
  • Playing musical instruments
  • Religious education
  • Foreign languages to English-speaking students and English to ESL students

Online tutors working on their own are typically paid around $100 per hour once they establish themselves.

If you don’t have students of your own, you can always sign up with an online platform to book candidates such as Chelsea International EducationWyzant, or Varsity Tutors and get paid $20-$80+/hour, depending on how you price your services.

20 Real And Legal Ways To Make Money: Creative Ideas To Earn Cash Fast Online From Home

3. Personal Training

Are you a fitness enthusiast? Do you know your way around weight resistance training? Do you have a wealth of knowledge about nutrition and exercise?

You can use your knowledge, experience, and skills to provide personalized training to people, either in person or through online lessons. You can also use your phone to broadcast lessons for a group of clients if you prefer online lessons.

Many people are happy to pay for a personal trainer. On average, personal trainers earn around $70 per hour.

If you already have a home gym, then you likely won’t even need to make any additional investments.

Getting a nutritionist certificate can also help you provide better dietary and fitness advice for your clients.

4. Sell custom products

Product development isn’t the easiest route, but it’s often the most rewarding, and it may not be as hard as you expect. Making custom products is popular amongst jewelry brands, fashion brands, and home decor brands, yet it expands through virtually any industry where you make stuff from scratch. 

We recently turned to shoppers to ask about their post-pandemic shopping plans: What are they planning to buy once the pandemic is under control? The infographic below shows how they answered. Use these items to inspire your own custom product to sell online and make extra money. 

Some evergreen categories you could sell in are:

  • Apparel and clothing. Clothing is one of those categories that seems to always be trendy. People look for clothes and accessories that match their style and personality, which can make fashion a fun and profitable space to sell in. The market is expected to rise above $3 trillion by 2030. 
  • Home decor. Home decor is another popular sales category. People want to add personal touches to their space to make it feel cozy and enjoyable. You can sell home decor online to anyone, anywhere, at any time, while keeping overhead at a minimum. The home decor market is forecasted to reach $202 billion in 2024.
  • Health and beauty. The beauty and personal care industry is set to reach $716 billion by 2025. You have many options in this category: you can sell skin care, cosmetics, hair care, fragrances, vegan products, and more. Grand View Research identified growing demand for men’s grooming products and anti-aging products that are expected to drive the market over the coming years. 
  • Arts and entertainment. While movie box office revenue took a -66% dive last year, some interesting areas show impressive growth in this multitrillion-dollar industry. Digital newspaper revenue saw a 10% increase, video game revenue saw a 6.9% lift in sales, and consumer books saw a 3.8% increase. The esports industry continues to see healthy growth in this segment, forecasted to reach $37 billion by 2024. In short, there are a lot of innovative and exciting products you could sell in the arts and entertainment industry. 
  • Food and beverages. The food and beverage industry will never die. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the segment is projected to grow at a rate of 8.21% per year, reaching $379 billion by 2025. It’s also poised for an ecommerce breakout, with up to 20% of food and beverage industry sales to be made online by 2025, a 10 times increase from 2016. 

Evaluating market demand and following trends is a great place to start when finding popular things to make and sell. Once you have a product, you’ll want to start your business and set up a Shopify store with a free trial. And just like that, you’re ready to start selling! 

5. Create a print-on-demand business

Print on-demand refers to working with a supplier to customize white-label products with your own designs, then selling them underneath your own brand. Businesses can create products like hats, t-shirts, tote bags, and more. 

The best part? You don’t have to pay for any products until after you make a sale. 

When you work with a print-on-demand company, everything from printing the item to shipping is handled by the supplier. Once you set up an online store with your designs, it takes a few minutes to fulfill an order after the customer checks out. 

Creating a print-on-demand business is a great way to make money from home because:

  • You can create products fast. After you design a product, you can put it up for sale on your website in minutes.
  • You don’t have to worry about shipping. Your supplier will handle the fulfillment process. You’re just responsible for providing good customer service after the sale.
  • It’s low risk, low investment. It’s easy to add new products to your store and test ideas since you don’t hold any inventory. Your upfront business costs are minimal because you only need an online store to start. 

A print-on-demand business also gives creators many opportunities to connect with fans through nice products, especially products sought out for their aesthetic design. Take Boba Love, for example. 

For all its products, the retailer focuses on one theme: bubble tea (also referred to as “boba”), a drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. Bubble tea has become extremely popular around the world and has a dedicated fan base.

Boba Love sells shirts, totes, blankets, hats, and stickers around the idea of the drink. When a shopper orders a product from the store, the supplier creates and ships it to the customer. 

6. Start a Dropshipping business

Dropshipping is one of the best side hustle job ideas. It allows you to sell a product directly to the customer without having to buy any inventory. You don’t need to have a big startup costs budget, keeping your risk low.

With drop shipping, you have a site that offers certain manufacturers’ products and when someone orders something through your site, your system simply sends the order to the relevant manufacturer.

The manufacturer not only carries the inventory but also ships it directly to the customer for you. Your main focus should be marketing and customer service – the lifeline of the business. If you have a strong marketing background and want a side hustle that plays to your strength, this is it. It’s one of the rare side jobs that allows you to scratch a true entrepreneurial itch. You get to be the owner of your very own business.

With drop shipping, you can start a business within any of your favorite passions. Do you love stocking your kitchen? You can sell kitchen equipment on the internet. Maybe you’ve found this unique solar-powered, smartphone-cooling accessory.

You can start your own one-product store and implement these storage ideas. If you love doing your makeup? You can sell beauty products and build an audience that follows along with your makeup tutorials. Almost any niche can be pursued with dropshipping. Plus, if you’re a creative type, you can run wild with unusual business ideas.

After all, as the owner of your own business, you’ll always have the final say, which makes this a great side hustle to start out. Canada’s Shopify is most people’s go-to platform for creating online stores that offer drop shipping.

How much money can a drop shipper make? That depends on how much effort you put into your business and marketing. You can make an extra couple thousand dollars or more.

7. Creating Content on Youtube

Similar to blogging, Youtube is one of the top-paying side hustles that you can start today to invest time and effort into. All you need to do is consistently create valuable and enjoyable content. Indeed, your earnings will grow with your viewership. 

There are many ways to earn from Youtube. For instance, you can monetize your account with AdSense. In addition to that, you can do sponsored videos for companies.

Moreover, you can earn via affiliate marketing. There’s a variety of ways to earn through your YouTube channel. One great benefit of monetizing your account is that old, monetized videos can easily become a recurring income from your videos. 

Perhaps the best part of this side project is that you can make content for whatever you are passionate about. 

  • Do you love doing makeup and creating looks? Then you can review products and share makeup tutorials.
  • Do you like fitness exercises? Then you can make content on fitness exercises and show your passion for physical fitness.
  • Do you love cars? Then you can share maintenance tips.
  • Do you love unboxing? Then you can make videos where you are unboxing mystery boxes.
  • Do you enjoy celebrity gossip? Then you can talk about celebrities and share updates from their lives.
20 Real And Legal Ways To Make Money: Creative Ideas To Earn Cash Fast Online From Home

8. Blogging

If your blog delivers valuable content to an audience, you could earn a generous amount of income from it in the long run. In their first year, bloggers usually make around $500-$2000 per month if they consistently post valuable content. 

The good thing about blogging is that you don’t have to work on it every day. You need a few hours a week to research, develop, and deliver great content. Once you have a consistent posting schedule, you’re good to go. 

Some of the ways to make money via blogging on WordPress include: 

  • Blog content monetization: Affiliate marketing, Google AdSense, or sell sponsored blog posts. 
  • Paid membership website: Limit valuable information for members only.
  • Paid webinars and online courses: Make money while teaching something you’re passionate and knowledgeable about. 
  • E-Commerce business via WooCommerce: Add a plugin to your WordPress and set up a new store in minutes. The sky’s the limit in terms of what you can sell.

The best thing about blogging is that anyone can do it

All you need is a strong fluency in English. And if you want to learn the technical details, there are hundreds of free tutorials available online. There is a very small knowledge barrier for starting this side hustle. 

9. Become an Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing is one of those side jobs that pay well over the long term. However, you’ll need to go through a learning curve before you can start making money with affiliate marketing. It’s not just about finding the right product to sell, but also finding the right brand to partner with. . If you chose to be an affiliate marketer for eCommerce stores, your commission will likely be a lot lower than if you were to just dropship them yourself. However, there are tech companies that will pay a hefty price tag to affiliates who bring them, new customers.

How much money can this side hustle make? It depends on what product you’re selling and what affiliate network you use. For example, if you were an affiliate marketer for a tech company like Shopify, you could potentially make an extra $58 for every merchant you refer. That means you could make over $500 with just 10 referrals. Sweet! 

Affiliate Marketing Tip: Ask the affiliate program or content creator for assets you can use to help you market their product. For example, there may be a lead magnet or free tool you can use to incentivize people to purchase the product. Oftentimes, a piece of content can help ease a potential customer from a cold lead into a warm one, giving you a better chance of succeeding with this side hustle.

10. Write and Publish an E-Book

Writing an e-book can be a good opportunity to take advantage of the low cost of publishing and even leverage the worldwide distribution of Amazon to get your book seen by potentially millions of would-be buyers. E-books can be relatively short, perhaps 30-50 pages, and can be relatively cheap to create, since they rely on your own expertise.

You’ll need to be an expert on a specific topic, but the topic could be niche and use some special skills or abilities that very few offer but that many readers need. You can quickly design the book on an online platform and then even test-market different titles and price points.

But just like with designing a course, a lot of the value comes when you add more e-books to the mix, drawing in more customers to your content.

E.L. James wrote and self-published a piece of fan fiction that took the world by storm and led to two sequels and a movie. The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy earned her $95 million just in 2013. Being a published author can earn you royalties, with Amazon paying every month.

Opportunity: An e-book can function not only to deliver good information and value to readers but also as a way to drive traffic to your other offerings, including audio or video courses, other e-books, a website, or potentially higher-value seminars.

Risk: Your e-book has to be very strong to build up a following and then it helps if you have some way to market it, too, such as an existing website, promotion on other relevant websites, appearances in the media, podcasts, or something else. So you could put in a lot of work upfront and get very little back for your efforts, especially at first.

And while an e-book is nice, it will help if you write more and then even build a business around the book or make the book just one part of your business that strengthens the other parts. So your biggest risk is probably that you waste your time with little reward.

11. Become a freelancer

One home business idea becoming more popular is offering freelance services to clients online. Almost any role a business would hire for is reasonable as a freelance service:

  • Writing 
  • Graphic design
  • Marketing
  • Data entry
  • Illustration
  • Transcription 
  • Online tutoring
  • Shopify store setup

Most of these services are best positioned toward business clients. Why? Because online businesses are the ones who are willing to spend. Freelancers can charge based on the outcome of their work versus the deliverable, which gives them leverage when it comes to pricing their services. 

“Every freelancer eventually learns that there are desired business outcomes tied to their work,” explains Elise Dopson, co-founder of Peak Freelance. “Freelance writers, for example, are not just blogging for a company. They are creating content that increases traffic, leads, and customers for a business. The sooner you learn that, and can deliver on it, the more money you’ll make freelancing from home.”

Elise has worked with brands such as ConversionXL, HubSpot, Privy, and other leading B2B software-as-a-service companies to produce incredible content that gets results, which is how she broke the six-figure-income ceiling by the age of 21

As more companies become completely remote, the opportunities to earn money from home freelancing will only become more abundant. It just takes a little know-how and determination to make it happen. 

12. Become a virtual assistant

With so many businesses moving online, the demand for virtual assistants is growing. Virtual assistants (VAs) are contracted workers who work with businesses and individuals on the jobs that you give them. 

Virtual assistants work from home and help with tasks such as:

  • Time management and administrative tasks, like responding to emails
  • Financial tasks, like bookkeeping and client invoicing 
  • Team management tasks, like following up on deliverables, organizing training sessions, and creating task templates
  • Social media and digital marketing tasks, like publishing and managing content
  • Personal tasks, like managing investment properties, paying bills, and planning trips 
  • Content tasks, like video or podcast editing

Each VA has their own speciality. I myself have worked with VAs for years in my writing business, many of whom make a full-time living as virtual assistants. 

Alexandra Froese, a VA specializing in systems and strategizes, works with clients to streamline redundant tasks and work more efficiently in their businesses. 

Alexandra helps entrepreneurs by doing the tasks herself or by developing workflows that make a client’s business run smoother. 

You can make good money with a small number of clients, but once you stop working, the cash flow stops coming. VAs can start a blog, sell digital products, or coach other VAs to create new revenue streams and make more money from home. 

13. Start a food business

Everyone’s got to eat, you can’t argue with that. Which is why starting a food business is a great idea if you want to make money from home. 

Outside of restaurants, there are endless high-profit-margin businesses you can run with low overhead and startup costs. The trick is cooking food you are passionate and curious about, regardless of your experience level. 

Some food business ideas to start include:

  1. Food truck
  2. Catering business 
  3. Cooking classes
  4. Meal kits 
  5. Sauces
  6. Pre-packaged snacks
  7. Homemade jams and jellies
  8. Wine, beer, and spirits

Want to see examples of other food businesses in action? Check out Selling Like Hotcakes: 13 Profitable Food Business Ideas for 2021 on the Shopify blog. 

14. Sell on marketplaces

Sell products on online marketplaces—but beware! Selling sites can be a great launchpad for many businesses, but the current marketplaces come with a Faustian bargain: you get access to customers if you build your business on someone else’s land. Their land, their rules, and they’ll change them at any time. 

Popular marketplaces include: 

  • Etsy
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • Handshake
  • Mercado Libre
  • Rakuten
  • Facebook Marketplace 
  • VarageSale 

Eventually, you’ll want to diversify your business by building your own site—you don’t have to choose one or the other. The big advantage is that the profit is yours: there are no fees to pay on sales and no rules to abide by but your own. 

Resources:

15. Selling your Art and Designs online

These days, you can sell pretty much anything online, from used sneakers to portraits of grandma from the early ’70s. Go through items in your room or house and see what you want to get rid of, and then consider selling them on sites like eBay, Mercari, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark (for clothes and shoes), or Decluttr (for electronics).

If you have design skills, you may be able to turn them into a money-maker by selling items with your printed designs on them. Businesses such as CafePress and Zazzle allow you to sell items such as T-shirts, hats, mugs, and more with your own designs.

There are many online platforms where you can sell art (digital and traditional) such as Amazon or Storenvy.

Moreover, it is very easy to set up a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to showcase your work.

Making paintings on demand is also turning out to be a fairly big business all over the world. Many artists charge around $2000-$5000 for a single piece. You can earn a similar amount of money if you invest time and effort in building your artist brand.

Side hustle expert Daniella Flores has made $750 to $3,000 in a month selling used guitars on eBay.

Most successful artists have their own websites where they share their own artwork. Setting up your online portfolio using Squarespace is very easy. They also use several platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, to engage with followers.

Opportunity: You can start with your own designs and see what the market is interested in, and expand from there. You may be able to capitalize on the surging interest in a current event and design a shirt that captures the spirit of the times or at least a snarky take on it. And you can also set up your own web storefront through a site such as Shopify to market your goodies.

Risk: Printing partners allow you to ship items without directly investing in the merchandise yourself, avoiding one of the biggest risks of tying up your capital. But you may be able to get better pricing if you invest in some of the inventory yourself. Another big risk here is that you could invest a lot of time with little payoff, but this avenue might be interesting if you’re already doing the design work for another purpose, such as personal interest.

16. Babysit

With many schools electing to go remote again this fall, parents working full time need someone to help take care of their kids throughout the day. Sitters nationwide can make anywhere from around $14 to $20 per hour, according to Care.com. Sign up to be a babysitter on sites like Care.comSittercity, and UrbanSitter.

“There’s gonna have to be a certain degree of vetting that goes on,” Dr. David Hirschwerk, infectious diseases doctor at the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, told Grow about anyone interested in this side gig. “I would want to know, in the household, has anybody recently been ill? And I think you’d want to know to what degree is that household practicing social distancing.”

17. Walking Dogs

If you love dogs, this might be one of the best side hustles for you. You can take a break from your busy routine, get out of the house, and exercise, all while being around dogs.

Dog-walking can pay $16 per hour

Here are some tips to mastering the dog walk:

  • Get a front-clip harness or leash. It will pull the dog from the front and the dog won’t fight against it.
  • Make sure that you clean up after your pet. For this purpose, always bring a poop bag along.
  • Bring a water bottle so that your dog doesn’t feel dehydrated. You can also bring a toy for your dog that you can throw for them so they can run around for a bit.

Click here to find out ways to promote your dog walking service and get clients.

18. Car Washing and Auto Detailing

Car washing and auto detailing are some of the most lucrative and top-paying side hustles that you can start today.

Here’s why it’s lucrative:

  • The barrier to entry to auto detailing is lower than other side projects. This means you can start earning profits pretty quickly.
  • It is easy to retain clients if they like your work. You can quickly build a loyal customer base that can grow due to positive word-of-mouth. 
  • Average car wash hourly pay ranges from approximately $8.75 to $20.21 per hour.

Here’s what you need to do:

  • Purchase some basic equipment.
  • Educate yourself on standard car detailing techniques.
  • Build your skills by washing, polishing, and detailing your own car.
  • Advertise to your friends and family to start building a customer case.

Also, instead of letting your car sit unused while you’re working from home during the pandemic, consider renting it on sites like HyreCar or Turo. On HyreCar, car owners rent out vehicles for anywhere from $29 to $100 per day, according to the company’s senior vice president of strategic partnerships Brian Allan. On Turo, listings range from a 2009 Nissan Versa for $20 per day to a 2016 Tesla for $199 per day. Renters earn between 65% and 85% of the trip price, depending on the vehicle insurance plan they choose.

19. Offer child care

If you’re a stay-at-home parent or enjoy taking care of kids, you can easily start a child care business from home. You can offer all-day care (eight hours) for other parents while they are at work, or even just before and after school care (one to four hours). The choice is yours. 

Look at other daycare businesses in your area and see what they charge. Choose your rates wisely. Don’t undercharge just to get more business. Then you’ll be taking care of too many kids and won’t be able to provide proper care. Start with an income goal for a day, then decide how many kids you can realistically watch throughout the day. Divide those two numbers to see how much to charge per kid, per day. 

20. Flipping Cars

Car-flipping involves buying used cars at a relatively lower rate than the market and selling them for a profit. This side hustle can help you make significantly large profits, especially if you know a lot about cars. Cars between the range of $1,500-$4,000 can net a profit of $1,000-$2,000.

Make sure to check the laws for car flipping of the state you’re in to see how many cars you can sell in a year without a dealer’s license.

For instance, California residents can sell five cars per year without becoming a dealer.

Once you do the research, visit websites such as Craigslist or eBay Motors, find the best quality car at a low price, contact the private seller, and start flipping cars.

As long as the car is priced lower than the market rate and you can fix it up quickly, it should make a good flip.

Other creative side gigs ideas also include

  • Become a reseller 

Don’t want to worry about creating new products or about minimum purchase quantities? Not a problem. You don’t need a revolutionary product idea to make money from home. Instead, you can become a reseller.

A reseller is a person who buys products from manufacturers, liquidators, and other retailers then sell them to their own customers. A reseller permit lets your purchase certain products free of sales tax:

  • Products to sell at wholesale 
  • Products to sell at retail 
  • Components to manufacture products 

You can find suppliers to purchase items from through a number of ways:

  1. A dropshipping supplier like DSers or SaleHoo
  2. Vintage boutiques 
  3. Consignment shops
  4. Facebook Marketplace

COAL N TERRY is one retailer that sells a vintage collection in its online store. The brand sells classic clothing alongside its own proprietary brand of hoodies and other apparel, giving shoppers a variety of products to browse and buy. 

A reselling business can be profitable if you have niche expertise, like beauty or fashion. You can launch an eCommerce store fast when you don’t have to go through product development or build an audience from scratch. 

  • Advertise on your car

Many businesses will pay you for letting them put their advertisements on your car. While technically you’re not making money while you sleep, you are making money simply by driving around. That’s pretty easy, right?

You may be able to earn some extra money by simply driving your car around town. Contact a specialized advertising agency, which will evaluate your driving habits, including where you drive and how many miles. If you’re a match with one of their advertisers, the agency will “wrap” your car with the ads at no cost to you. Agencies are looking for newer cars, and drivers should have a clean driving record.

Opportunity: While you do have to get out and drive if you’re already putting in the mileage anyway, then this is a great way to earn hundreds per month with little or no extra cost. Drivers can be paid by the mile.

Risk: If this idea looks interesting, be extra careful to find a legitimate operation to partner with. Many fraudsters set up scams in this space to try and bilk you out of thousands.

  • Transcribe documents

If you’re an especially fast typist, companies and individuals that record conversations for interviews, research, documenting company meetings, and so on, could use your skills. Transcribers listen to and transcribe these recordings accurately and clearly for future use. The average hourly rate is $15 per hour, according to PayScale. Find transcribing jobs on sites like Upwork and FlexJobs. 

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