Side hustle ideas: What is the easiest side hustle? Here are 30 ways to make money on the side with or without a full-time job.
Dictionary.com defines a side hustle as a means of making money alongside one’s main form of employment or income.
Side hustles are simply jobs that you can take up on top of your full-time job. They usually involve something that you love and are passionate about.
The term side hustle is currently usually rendered as an open compound word, though some dictionaries list it with a hyphen, as in side-hustle. The word is a combination of the word side meaning, not the main thing, and hustle meaning hurry, press ahead, to pursue something energetically.
According to a 2019 Bankrate survey, around 45% of working Americans have a side hustle outside of their main job.
As many as 48% of side hustlers use their side hustle money for extra spending, and as many as 27% use it to pay for monthly bills, according to a May 2020 DollarSprout survey of 698 U.S. adults.
However they end up using the money, many Americans are looking for ways to bring in more monthly cash either outside of or instead of, a traditional 9-to-5 job.
If you’re entrepreneurial or like a more flexible schedule, there are plenty of side hustles to dive into as well. Some jobs and side hustles may only be open to older teens, though: “Most side hustle platforms require freelancers to be 18, mainly because that’s how old you need to be to sign a legal contract,” says Kathy Kristof of Sidehusl.com. And even younger teens have options.
TheVibely has gathered the top 30+ gigs ranging from the lower end of what you can earn to the higher end. Before we dive into the points, below are the importance of side hustles and other information about them.
Benefits of Side Hustles
There are many reasons you would want to take up a side hustle:
- It gets you extra income to reduce your financial stress.
- It allows you to pursue a passion or skill that you wouldn’t otherwise explore in your main job.
- It provides an opportunity for you to explore a different field.
- It polishes your skills, especially if you have a creative outlet.
- It pumps value into your resume, especially if you have an employment or skill gap.
How to Start a Side Hustle for beginners
So, you have decided that a side hustle from home is the best way for you to make money online, but you don’t know where to start. Look no further, we have a list of steps to follow for you to start a side hustle today!
1. Make a list of what you’re interested in.
You need to love what you are doing as a side hustle for it to be successful for you. This job will be done on your own time and outside office hours if you have a day job, so it will take a lot of energy and motivation to make it stick. Only something that you are passionate about will drive you this much. Brainstorm side hustle ideas around your interests and skills to discover the best ventures to start or see if you can turn a hobby into a business.
2. Decide early if you will invest money.
Side hustles shouldn’t cost too much money, but they may require some investment up front for things like hosting branding and tools. You may decide that you want to do social media marketing to get your first sale. Whatever your growth and expansion plan is for your side hustle, you need to be aware of your spending before it happens. Plan your spending accordingly, and measure your success to know whether you should continue.
3. Make sure there are no conflicts of interest.
If you have a day job or have connections that could lead to a conflict of interest with your side hustle, then it is not a good idea to continue with it. Sometimes, the best advice is to try something else or to shelf your idea for another time so that you don’t end up doing something you regret. Starting a side hustle with a conflict of interest could lead to costly lessons learned.
4. Schedule time for your side hustle.
A side hustle takes time out of your schedule daily, so ensure everything is going right. It is not possible to set up your website, schedule your content, and forget about everything until next month. Set aside time in your calendar regularly for your side hustle, and outline actionable goals for this time to ensure what you are doing is valuable. If you have a day job, aim to give three to four evenings a week and perhaps some hours on the weekend to your side hustle, depending on what it is.
5. Don’t forget about your day job.
If you are setting up a side hustle while also having a day job, remember to put 100 percent of your energy into your day job when you are there. A side hustle will give you some money, but you rely on a check from your day job that you need to pay the bills. Don’t try to juggle your day job and side hustle within your 9 to 5 hours, as this is a recipe for disaster.
The highest-paying side hustles that you can earn extra income
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 one 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. 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.
3. 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.
4. Sponsored posts on social media
Do you have a strong following on social media such as Instagram or TikTok? Get growing consumer brands to pay you to post about their product or otherwise feature it in your feed.
You’ll need to keep filling your profile with content that draws in your audience, though. And that means continuing to create posts that grow your reach and engage your followers on social media.
Opportunity: Leveraging your social media presence is an attractive business model. Draw eyeballs and clicks to your profile with strong content and then monetize that content by setting up sponsored posts from brands that appeal to your followers.
Risk: Getting started here can be a Catch-22: You need a large audience to get meaningful sponsored posts, but you’re not an attractive option until you get a meaningful audience. So you’ll have to focus a lot of time first on growing your audience with no guarantee that you’ll be successful. You can end up spending tons of time following the trends and building content, in the hopes that you eventually get the sponsorship that you’re aiming for.
Even when you’ve got the sponsored posts you’re looking for, you’ll need to keep posting to draw in your audience and remain an attractive option for advertisers. That means committing to more time and monetary investment, even if you do have a lot of autonomy on exactly when to do it.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Selling Products on E-Commerce Websites
Using platforms like eBay, Big Cartel, Etsy, or Amazon, you can establish an online business where you’re selling your products around the world.
For example, you can make and sell…
- wedding cards
- hand-dyed yarn
- dolls.
- charms, stickers, and even clothing
About half of Amazon sellers make $1,000-$25,000 per month.
The best part of this business model is that almost all operations can be outsourced. For instance, manufacturing and transportation, etc.
For example, you can hire a company to print your designs on a cap or t-shirt. These companies might even help you with shipping. There is no shortage of companies with who you can collaborate to bring your dream products to life.
There is no skill you cannot translate into a profitable product. Once you’ve picked a skill, define a price point, and set up shop.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Rent out useful household items
Here’s a variation on renting out an idle car: Start even smaller with other household items that people may need but that may be collecting dust in your garage. Lawnmowers? Power tools? Mechanics tools and toolbox? Tents or large coolers? Look for high-value items that people need for a short period of time and where it might not make sense for someone to own the item. Then put together a way for clients to discover your inventory and a way for them to pay for it.
Opportunity: You can start small here, and then scale up if there’s interest in a particular area. Do people suddenly want a tent for weekend camping when the weather gets warmer or cooler? Figure out where the demand is, and then you could even go buy the item, rather than having it right on hand. In some cases, you might be able to recoup the value of the item after a few uses.
Risk: There’s always the possibility that your property is damaged or stolen, but you can mitigate this risk with contracts that allow you to replace the item at the client’s expense. If you start small here, you’re not exposed to many risks, especially if you already have the item and you’re not likely to need it in the near future. Pay particular attention to liability issues, especially if you’re renting out equipment that has the potential to be dangerous (e.g., power tools.)
12. 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.
13. Car Washing and Auto Detailing or Renting out your car
Car washing and auto detailing are one of the most lucrative and top-paying sides hustle 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.
14. Renting Out Your Spare Room on Airbnb
If you have a spare room in your house, you can consider renting it out through Airbnb. In addition to generating a good amount of income, the two biggest benefits of renting your spare room on Airbnb include:
- Zero dollars spent on marketing because Airbnb will add your location to its home page itself whenever someone searches for a place near your area.
- You don’t have to sell anything.
Airbnb hosts make an average of $924 per month. But that income can vary dramatically depending on where you’re based, the quality of your house, and the services you provide.
In the US, San Diego and Miami are known to be the top-earning cities on Airbnb, with an average two-bedroom house grossing over $53k in AirBnB income a year. This makes using Airbnb an incredibly lucrative earning opportunity.
15. 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.com, Sittercity, 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.”
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. Become a Virtual Assistant
The top side hustles have one big thing in common: There’s a high demand for them. A virtual assistant is an assistant who works in a remote location, as opposed to a company’s office. They can help with tasks such as administration, social media, bookkeeping, and more. There’s been a growing demand for virtual assistants from business owners who need help on various projects. As a virtual assistant, you can specialize in countless areas. In the past, I’ve hired virtual assistants for social media and customer service. And there are countless other businesses around the world that rely on virtual assistants to grow and maintain their brands.
How much money can you make as a virtual assistant? Most virtual assistants trade their time for money, so you might get capped based on the number of hours of work you can do each week. You can choose to set a total monthly earning or get paid by the hour. Some make minimum wage while others might make $35 an hour depending on their skills and experience.
Becoming a Virtual Assistant Tip: When starting this side hustle job, you can find clients on popular websites like Upwork. However, you could start to see better results when you branch out on your own as an independent contractor. Starting up might be a bit harder, as you need to find clients, but you could earn more money this way. You can join popular Facebook groups for businesses or online retailers to offer your services.
19. Begin Freelancing
Does your 9 to 5 job pay fluctuate? If you don’t have a predictable income, you might need more money for some months and a little fewer others. If this sounds like you, you might choose to take up freelance gigs. These could be gigs that you create on Fiverr or the occasional freelance project on Upwork. You might create T-shirt mockups for a client one week and help someone build their social media following the next. The type of projects you work on could vary drastically. But if you love the variety and switching things up, this side hustle could be perfect for you.
How much money can you make with this side hustle job? You could make anywhere from $50 to $2,000 a month depending on the side gigs you take on and the platform you use. For example, if you’re looking to hit, say an extra $1,000 a month, freelance writing is a side hustle that can allow you to reach your second income goal. The secret to succeeding as a freelancer is to charge clients based on the value you’ll bring. Most freelance workers undercharge, which results in fast burnout with little payoff.
Freelancing Tip: The best freelance work opportunities are onWeWorkRemotely and Remote. co. Thousands of side job seekers visit these websites daily to find and apply to openings. However, if you’re just starting out, you might want to focus on building your portfolio and skillset on Fiverr, Craigslist, or Upwork first, as it’s easier to land your first few clients on those websites.
20. Launch a Print on Demand Store
If you like to make custom graphics and artwork in your free time, running a print-on-demand store could be a great side hustle for you.
Print on demand (or POD) allows you to sell your custom artwork on products like t-shirts, bags, phone cases, mugs, and more. The best part about it is that you can create and sell products under your own brand. Also, you can completely automate the logistics of the business by choosing to drop ship your print-on-demand products. This is where you design products, add them to your store, promote them, and take orders from your customers. The orders are fulfilled by the print-on-demand company that prints your designs onto the products, then ships the items directly to the customer.
How much money can you make selling POD products? That depends on how much people like your designs and the effort you put into marketing your range. With a bit of work, it’s possible to make an extra couple thousand dollars each month. If you’re ready to jump in, check out this guide on how to start an online t-shirt business.
Print on Demand tip: Try to sell a profitable print-on-demand item like retail-quality custom tees. People are often willing to pay higher for retail quality shirts featuring their favorite designs. Find out the subjects and themes that your audience is interested in and then make custom designs based on those trends. Then find a t-shirt printing company that will print the designs onto retail-quality shirts. You could charge between $40-$150 apiece for these shirts (standard graphic tees sell for $20-$25 apiece, so the margin is pretty good).
21. Online Tutoring
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 Education, Wyzant, or Varsity Tutors and get paid $20-$80+/hour, depending on how you price your services.
22. 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.
23. Party Planning
If you enjoy planning events, are highly organized, enjoy working with people, and are great at following tight deadlines, you should consider becoming an event planner.
Becoming a part-time events planner can help you make a lot of money, especially if these events are planned for weekends. A social planner can make anywhere from $12 to $75 per hour, plus vendor commissions.
You can start by volunteering to plan and organize a birthday party, a housewarming party, or a bridal shower party. This is an easy way to build your reputation and portfolio.
The best thing about this side project is that it requires no initial investment. All you need is a can-do attitude and a detail-oriented mindset.
24. Driving for Uber
One of the top-paying sides hustles you can start today is driving for Uber. The requirements to become an Uber driver are extremely simple. If you have a smartphone with high-speed internet, a driver’s license, and a car in good working shape, you can become an Uber driver.
The average rate for Uber drivers in the US is $19.43 per hour.
Below are some tips to keep in mind to become a great Uber driver:
- First, get familiar with the Uber app and understand how to operate it well.
- Second, have a positive attitude. Greet your riders with a smile. If the rider seems friendly, talk to them about their day. But if the rider doesn’t show interest in speaking with you, it’s better to stay quiet.
- Third, accessorize your Uber with an aux cord, a charging cable, and any other accessory that can make the ride comfortable and enjoyable for the rider.
Good customer service is the basis of achieving a 5-star rating; the higher your rating, the more you’ll get chosen for rides.
24. Sell photography online
Selling photography online might not be the most obvious place to set up a passive business, but it could allow you to scale your efforts, especially if you can sell the same photos over and over again. To do that, you might work with an organization such as Getty Images, Shutterstock, or Alamy.
To get started, you’ll have to be approved by the platform, and then you license your photos to be used by whoever downloads them. The platform then pays you every time someone uses your photo.
You’ll need photos that appeal to a specific audience or that represent a certain scene, and you’ll need to tease out where the demand is. Photos could be shots with models, landscapes, creative scenarios, and more, or they could capture real events that might make the news.
Opportunity: Part of the value of selling or licensing your photos through a platform is that you have the potential to scale your efforts, especially if you can provide pictures that will be in demand. So you could potentially sell the same image hundreds or thousands of times or more.
Risk: You could add hundreds of photos to a platform such as Getty Images and not have any of them really generate meaningful sales. Only a few photos may drive all of your revenue, so you have to keep adding photos as you search for that needle in the haystack.
It may require substantial effort to go out and shoot photos, then process them and keep up with the events that may ultimately drive your revenue. And motivation could be hard to maintain: Every next photo might be your lottery ticket, though it almost certainly won’t be.
25. Be an online mock juror
Online mock juries are like focus groups for forthcoming trials, giving lawyers a sense of how jurors might vote on their cases
Sites like eJury estimate each case takes about 35 minutes and pay between $5 and $10, while Online Verdict estimates each case takes 20 to 60 minutes and pays $20 to $60. Sign up to be a virtual juror on Online Verdict, Virtual Jury, or eJury.
Jurors often have to be at least 18 years old and U.S. citizens.
26. Review books
Authors and publishers are keen to know what people think of their work. If you love reading books and find yourself having a lot of opinions about them, sites like OnlineBookClub pay $5 to $60 for reviews of a variety of book types. Sign up on the site to start receiving their bounty.
27. Tout a business
A new app called Drum enables “Drummers,” as they’re called, to share promotions on social media or via email or text by businesses selling mattresses to fruit. Drummers typically get a percentage of any sale that comes from their promoting efforts. Drum estimates an average commission for a referral that results in a purchase will be between $10 and $12.
28. Test websites
All companies need to test out their websites and apps before they go live, and sites like UserTesting pay people to do so. Users sign up on the site, filling in details like age and location, and can then take either 20-to-30-minute tests online or 45-minute tests live with a representative. Tests pay anywhere from $10 to $120 each.
29. Deliver groceries
Demand for grocery delivery has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, with grocery delivery apps like Instacart hiring hundreds of thousands of new shoppers. Sign up to make grocery deliveries on Instacart, where shoppers make an average of $13 per hour, according to Glassdoor, or Shipt, where shoppers make up to $22 per hour, according to the site.
Make sure to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) social distancing guidelines when you’re at the supermarket and ask your employer what kind of contactless delivery system is in place to mitigate your risks of contracting the virus.
30. Become a virtual assistant
Businesses small and large need someone to take care of basic logistics like calendar management and data entry, and many hire virtual assistants. The average rate of a virtual assistant is $19 per hour, according to ZipRecruiter. You can find job postings for virtual assistants on sites like Upwork, ZipRecruiter, and FlexJobs.
Kayla Sloan turned her side hustle as a virtual assistant into a $140,000 full-time business by capitalizing on her ability to organize efficiently and communicate effectively.
Bonus Points!
31. Do a celebrity impression
If you can do a spot-on celebrity impression, you’ll find there’s a market for your skill. Impersonators on Fiverr charge $20 for a Morgan Freeman impression to $15 for a cowboy video. Consider sharing your talents with the world and posting your skills on the site. Fiverr sellers keep 80% of revenue from each transaction.
32. Answer questions
If you’re an expert in motorcycle repair to antique appraisals, sites like JustAnswer offer users the chance to pose questions and get a response from an appropriate expert within minutes. The site’s wide range of experts gets paid anywhere from $18 to $50 per answer, depending on their field.
You must apply to become an expert; JustAnswer has an acceptance rate of 10% to 12% of all applicants.
Conclusion
Your side hustle can help you make money online and earn some extra cash each month. But it can also help you develop new skills, build your personal brand or portfolio, and achieve more freedom. So, have fun with it! Take a risk by starting a business or pursue a new hobby you’ve always been curious about. A side hustle is your best opportunity to live life on your own terms. And with some more money in your pocket, there’s nothing stopping you from making your dreams come true.
