Side Hustles Make Sense
As more people begin to move on from traditional 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 so many 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 for side hustles 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 starting your side hustles as a business.
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: 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 #2: 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 #3: 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 #4: 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. I was a Notary Public for many years, as it was helpful while I was working in real estate. And it paid well!
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 #5: 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 merchandise, 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 hustles are amazing, don’t you agree?
Side Hustle #6: 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 as part of your side hustles.
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 #7: 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. Listen to my podcast to get some ideas.
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 #8: 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 #9: 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 #10: 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 #11: 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 for your side hustles!
Side Hustle #12: 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 #13: Become an Independent (Indie) 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! Take a look at my book titles here, and know that authorship pays very well!
Side Hustle #14: 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 #15: 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 hustles can bring out your creativity!
Side Hustle #16: 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!
I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and my goal is to connect with you if you have more than just a passing interest in getting started with an online business. Please take a close look at Jim Edward’s “How to Write, Publish & Sell Your Own Outrageously Profitable eBook in As Little As 7 Days” and get started on the journey to entrepreneurial success.