50 Stupid Simple Side Hustle Ideas (& How to Make Them Work in 2022)
Chances are if you’re reading this you’re looking for some side hustle ideas to help you make more money.
Unless you have been living under a rock (It’s ok if you like living under rocks) the word side hustle just might be the equivalent to the word YOLO in 2011.
While this isn’t an SAT question, (SAT tutoring is a great side hustle idea which happens to be #4 on the list below) having a side hustle in the digital age is almost a must for most.
Essentially, a “Side Hustle” is a way to make extra money outside of your full-time career or obligations. Typically, side hustles allow flexibility as you can pick and choose when you do them.
Hence the name SIDE hustle.
Choosing a side hustle can be fun compared to getting a part-time jobbecause they allow you to pursue what you’re actually interested in, like perhaps fitness or writing, while providing you flexibility!
Below you will find a list of over 50 side hustle ideas to start helping you make more money to save, travel, invest, or pay off debt!
But before you pick a side hustle idea (or two) here are a few reasons why you should seriously consider making extra money leveraging the hustle!
Why you need a Side Hustle:
Before picking the right side hustle for you, read over this list of questions and see which resonate with you the most:
- What do you need extra money for? Savings? Student Loans?
- Do you have only yourself to worry about (no kids, family, etc)?
- With 78% of adult Americans living paycheck to paycheck, are you one of them?
- Do you have a hobby you could monetize?
- Since most side hustles are flexible, when do you have time to pursue one?
- How much debt do you have?
- How big is your savings account?
- Are you currently investing?
- Can a side hustle actually propel a business of your own?
All of the above are common causes of concern for people with regards to money OR big reasons as to why they hustle on the side of their full-time career.
Just a simple side hustle idea that nets $500 per month take home on the side is equivalent to getting a 12% raise at work on a $50,000 salary!
A $1,000 side hustle per month is equivalent to a 20% raise if you’re someone who makes $60,000 in their career. The extra money comes in handy in many ways, which is why knowing what you will do with it first is vital to making it happen!
Now that you’re more aware of what you could possibly get out of a new side hustle idea- be it padding your savings or paying off those nasty school loans – here is a list of all the different side hustle ideas you can start pursuing…
1. Do Some Yard Work
Did he really just say go outside and do some yard work? Yes, you read that correctly.
Go back to one of the original side hustles you did when you were ten years old and mow some grass!
Whether you own a house or not, you can land a few mowing clients and make an extra $20 to $50 per cut – depending on the size of the yard!
Simply follow these steps:
- Pass out flyers where you live (add a scan code to them to text you)
- Talk to your neighbors
- Invest in a few things at Home Depot (Shovel, rake, trimmers)
- Even consider getting an LLC if you start raking it in!
Yard work side hustle ideas include:
- Mowing grass weekly or bi-weekly ($20-$50)
- Fertilizing 4x annually ($200+ annually)
- Trimming bushes & ornamentals 2x per year ($5 per bush or tree)
- Aerating spring and fall ($25 and up)
- Up charging aerating with overseeding ($15 and up)
- Cleanout, edging and mulching spring and fall ($125 and up)
- Shoveling snow ($20 and up)
Personal Update (2021): I used to help operate a landscaping business with my brother and this is a lucrative side hustle idea that gets you outside/can be pretty fun. I recently needed this tool (Manual aerator for my yard):
I am going to use it for my yard then ask my neighbors if they want me to aerate their yard and overseed it for them for $35 a yard. These are townhomes so I estimate it will take about 10 minutes per yard.
Do the Math: 12 Yards x 10 Minutes = 2 hours and $420. Estimated expenses = $50 for seed and the tool! Side hustle profit = $370!!!
2. Blogging as a Side Hustle Idea.
Yes, you can make money blogging.
I will never forget the first time a company reached out and offered me $50 to include their brand in an article. A few months later I was offered $200, then $300, and so on!
With affiliates, sponsored posts and ad’s you can blog as a side hustle, or even make a substantial income blogging. I am not saying you will be the next Arianna Huffington, but you can make some money (I made $5,000+ my first year)!
Note: The biggest factor to keep in mind when blogging is that blogging is a long term side hustle. Blogging will not generate income overnight, but it can be lucrative!
3. Social Media Management
Looking to make an extra $50 a week all the way up to $1,000 per month depending on the amount of work you want to commit to?
You can make some quick and steady money when you manage social media accounts for small businesses. Simply leverage all the unproductive social media time you have and manage small business owners’ social media for them!
Social media is a must nowadays for all companies as they fight to remain relevant and add a personal touch. Facebook, Instagram, and sometimes others like Twitter are super vital to a companies growth.
However, managing social media can almost be a full-time job for business owners, and it is just one more thing for them to have to worry about! That is where you come in! Help business owners out by offering the following services:
- Social media management
- Automatic posting (Use Buffer, Smartque, etc)
- Graphic design (Use Canva)
- Respond to comments
- Send monthly analytics and reports
In about one hour per week, per client, you can manage 1-2 social media accounts, design the posts, and make adjustments. You can charge anywhere from $50-$100 per hour for starters and as you get better, you can charge more!
There are tricks to the trade like automatically scheduling posts, billing (Stipe or Paypal are great) and you have to get acclimated to a client “Brand.” But once you get the ball rolling, this is a simple side hustle to make some good money!
4. Tutoring as a Side Hustle
There are countless teachers and college students who have made $20 an hour (net) with an online tutoring gig using a tutoring platform such as Wyzant, VIPKid, or Yup.
Online tutoring is a growing niche with more parents wanting their kids to be successful, go to college, or become proficient in English (Tutoring foreign language learners).
Also, when COVID-19 hit in early 2020, more parents turned to online tutoring platforms to help their kids with the new digital learning environment.
This is where you come in. As a teacher (this is a great side hustle idea for teachers) or even someone in college, there are countless places to become an online tutor.
Simply check out my review here of the best online tutoring gigs and see which fits you the best.
Tutoring was once something teachers did on the side, but it has become a very common side hustle with the presence of the internet. Students need support, especially in the math and science fields. You can also tutor English language learners in China with VIPKID and others!
| Pros of Tutoring | Cons of Tutoring |
| – Flexible – Get to help students – Easy to find work – Pays well | – Can be stressful at times – Online tutoring doesn’t pay as well as traditional tutoring – Hands-on approach, not passive |
5. Use Online Surveys to Make Money!
Fact:You will not get rich completing online surveys.
But $50 is $50 and when websites like Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, Earning Station, and InboxDollars will pay you to take surveys, well now you got something going for you!
Here is a quick list of my favorite online survey companies:
I created a Survey Junkie account to see how it worked and made $3.60 in about 10 minutes, in addition to the $10 sign-up bonus they offer.
Most online survey companies have cash-out minimums that pay using PayPal or in gift cards. Like I said earlier, you will not get rich… but if you can make an extra $50 a month doing surveys while bored at work, that is $50 when invested properly that is now growing for you!
You can even spice it up and say you do “Market Research” as a side hustle!
6. Real Estate Wholesaling
Everyone talks about real estate, but very few actually do anything with it.
One reason is that real estate is a great idea for side hustling, but it takes a lot of hustle or a great deal of capital. One way to leverage real estate is to use what is called “Real estate wholesaling.”
Have you ever seen those signs on the road that say “We buy homes for cash?”
Believe it or not, they’re real. In Austin, Texas one entrepreneur (Nick Perry) turned his side hustle – real estate wholesaling – into a career.
Nick started want to sell now as a side hustle but is now financially independent. Here is what he had to say about real estate wholesaling,
“The premise revolves around the idea of being the middleman for the end buyer. We find distressed properties and gets them under contract for 70 cents on the dollar. “
As the middle man, the end buyer closes and Nick keeps the spread, without ever pulling a loan or sitting down at the table. He often sells to house flippers for 80-90 cents on the dollar. His services are in high demand because of the energy, time and hassle he commits to finding properties.
7. Referee Sports
A high school referee can make some serious change, like $1,500-$3,000+ per season depending on the sport.
The pros – it is seasonal and on your time.
The cons – it involves nights, weekends and lots of heckling parents.
As a former wrestling referee, I could make $300 on a Saturday when I was in college. This money went a long way when it came to paying rent and going out. If you played sports in college, refereeing is easy to pick up.
Steps to become a referee:
- Just hop on your computer and look into being a ref in your area.
- Type in “Referee Sport Name Near Me”
- Find a highschool referee association
- Most websites have a “Become a Referee” tab
- Reach out to the chair member
- Go through the education & certification process
- Start making $50 and up per game!
Schools are constantly short on refs and coaches (See #8) and will gladly train you! Refereeing is a great way to give back and make some extra money in the process.
If you want to become a referee but don’t know where to start, look into volleyball – it is the simplest to ref and doesn’t require playing expierence!
8. Side Hustle with Instacart
You have probably heard of Instacart, but did you know that you can make some serious extra money when you become a shopper for Instacart?
The average Instacart shopper makes $10-$15 per hour and can make even more with tips. Depending on where you live, here is how you make the Instacart side hustle yours:
- Visit their website instacart.com
- Enter your zip code
- Complete your profile
- Go through a training
- Make money shopping for people’s groceries
I won’t lie, I can’t stand going to the grocery store, by my wife loves it. So if you’re someone who likes shopping for groceries, Instacart could be the best side hustle for you!
9. Dog Walking Side Hustle
Imagine making $15 for a 15-minute walk?
Depending on how close your walks are, you can make $60 an hour if you walk dogs on your own without the help of an app like Rover.
Now, imagine just doing that 2x a week or 8x a month. That is an extra $500 a month just walking a few neighborhood dogs! When it comes to walking dogs there are few ways to go about it:
- Similar to landscaping, walk a few dogs here and there
- Use Apps like Wag or Rover
- Start your own dog walking company and gain clientele (My dog walker has quite a few dogs from just word of mouth)
We pay our dog walker $10 a walk for 10 minutes. She does about 10 walks starting around lunchtime. Not a bad gig!!! The average dog walker makes $13.13 an hour.
10. Drive People & Deliver Food
By now this is nothing new, but companies like Uber, Lyft, and Uber Eats allow you to turn your car into an income-producing machine (Well sorta, just keep reading).
Whether it is deliveries with Amazon Flex or Uber Eats and Postmates, there are plenty of ways to use your car (or bike) to make money fast.
The flexibility that all the different delivery side hustles provide is undeniable and with more food companies wanting to offer to delivery, the demand should increase. Popular rideshare companies you can drive with to deliver people or food include:
However, driving is not as lucrative as it once was. The average driver for Uber after costs was only making $8.80-$11 per hour according to a study you can find here.
Disclaimer: Be sure to always weigh the pros and cons of ride-sharing with Uber or Lyft. Driving others might work to make a quick $100 in a time of need, but as a long term side hustle – it’s not worth the time or wear and tear on your car.
Most drivers do not account for all the hidden costs such as:
- Gas
- Commercial insurance (Sometimes required)
- Car issues
- Oil Changes
- New tires
- Milage
- Depreciation of car value
- Time spent
- Saturation of drivers
- Tolls
At the very least, if you do drive and ride-share, consider wrapping your car for money!
Consider Car Wrap Advertising for Passive Income!
If you do happen to drive for Uber, Lyft, Postmtes, DoorDash, or if you just have a long commute, consider doing car wrap advertising!
Not kidding, this is a real thing and it’s super passive. Simply check out some of the best car wrap advertising companies here. Once you fill out a profile you can wrap your car or add decals and get paid anywhere from $50 to $450 per month!
There are stipulations based on your driving habits!
11. Build Decorative Walls
Restoring furniture is a great side hustle idea, but what about building those decorative walls everyone wants in their home?
From installing custom entertainment centers to making shiplap walls in a bathroom or bedroom, if you can work with wood you can make some money when you build custom walls!
While this might take time to learn and you will want to know what you’re doing, the photos above are walls I have personally completed with the following tools:
- Drill and screws
- Hammer and trim nails
- Level and tape measure
- Miter box and a handsaw
- Paint supplies
While these projects are personal projects, I have a co-worker who has started his own business doing custom designs like the above in living rooms, kitchens, and nuseries.
He started small and as he progressed he took on more and more work while growing his portfolio and acquiring more equipment. If this sound like something you would want to do as a side hustle, consider doing it for free for a friend then using that to land your next client!
12. Side Hustle Idea = IT & SEO Consulting
Obviously, consulting for IT companies needs to fall within your niche, but if you have a strong IT background, you can make an average of $75 an hour.
Whether you pick up contract work, over time, or work for another company, there is plenty of work to go around in the IT sector. Consider using Upwork or Fivver to land your first consulting gig.
As you establish yourself use word of mouth marketing to land another gig and so on! This is exactly what I did as an SEO manager for small businesses.
How I learned SEO: It took 6 months of blogging to understand a basic level of SEO (search engine optimization) to be able to offer others my service. After that, I was able to start making $1,000 a month doing so. I would recommend taking an SEO class if this something you are considering.
13. Sell stuff on Etsy Side Hustle
When you’re getting married and you’re looking for bridal party gifts and wedding decorations, the first place you go after Pinterest is Etsy.
Etsy is an online marketplace platform where people who like to make things can sell things they make. Whether it is canvas art, t-shirts, jewelry, woodwork, and so on – you can make money selling your cottage industry products on Etsy!
Income varies from a little to A LOT (some people make 6 figures). However, with more and more selling things online, your products will need to stand out. Here is a list of the top-selling Etsy items.
Other places you can sell things online include:
- Facebook Market Place
- Offer Up
- Mercari
- Poshmark
- eBay
14. Power Washing Delivery Trucks
A Money Life Wax reader said when he was paying off debt, his go-to side hustle was power washing trucks at night for FedEx.
Whether it is UPS, USPS, or something else, see if local delivery groups need someone to powerwash their trucks at night!
Not sure what the market is like these days, but Chad a reader said he got $25 a truck. If you can manage to do 16 trucks a month and that is an extra $400 per month! Here is a list of truck washing gigs I found on Indeed.Start a Pressure Washing Company? It is not easy to start a company, but if you like being outdoors and using a pressure washer, you can consider starting your very own pressure washing company. This is a great side hustle idea that allows you to use free weekends and summer evenings to make extra money- learn here how to start a power washing company.
15. Become a Master Craigslist or eBay Flipper
Campers, cell phones, old furniture and much more can be sold on websites like Craigslist and eBay.
In fact, if you’re serious about learning how to flip things to sell online, there is an awesome webinar this couple put together that teaches how they make six figures “Flipping” things to sell online.
If you’re someone who has some niche skills like fixing cell phones or flipping campers, then you have yourself a great side hustle idea!
My roommate from college bought a camper, restored it, drove it around the country, and then sold it in California for-profit (He flipped it for a van for his roofing company).
Another common item people flip is cell phones. Here is a great link to a blog post about a guy who flips smartphones and how he does it. As you progress as a flipper, you will know how to barter and price your items!
Depending on what you decide to flip, there are different platforms to sell on that work best:
- Craigslist = Furniture, Services, Campers, Cars
- OfferUp = Electronics, Decorations
- Etsy = Decorations, Homemade things
- eBay = everything
I just sold a table on Craigslist for $50 and an old broken Apple Watch on OfferUp for $26. Once again, not rich, but it is $76 I didn’t have before.
16. Group Fitness Instructor
Workout, make money and get a free membership ~ all at the same time!
Spin, body pump, personal training, aquatics instructor – you name it – are all great side hustle ideas involving fitness. If you’re someone who likes to workout, see about getting a part-time gig at a local gym or rec-center.
Here is how you can land a workout side hustle:
- Apply online to gyms near you!
- Go to YMCA’s and Recreation centers and offer a class or work parttime.
- Visit local clubhouses and promote classes on community bulletin boards. See if you can be an instructor.
- Visit schools and PTSO groups and offer yoga or group training classes and charge $5-$10 per person each time!
17. YouTube Channels
Ever thought about creating your own YouTube channel?
Once you have 1,000 subscribers you can monetize your YouTube channel and start making money off of ads (Similar to blogging).
Videos like 100 Days of Rejection or the iconic “Charlie bit me,” have helped make overnight celebrities… and fortunes.
However, don’t misinterpret becoming a YouTube channel star as something that comes easy. There is a small chance you will have the next viral video on a whim, you will need to work hard!,
But if you have a passion worth sharing and you like editing/making a video, creating a Youtube channel isn’t a bad idea!
Post updates and new videos often and encourage friends to share as you start! Ask friends and family to subscribe and be sure to always go with quality over quantity!
18. Freelance Writing
Blogging is not the only way to side hustle online as a writer. Sometimes running a blog is more than just writing (20% is writing, 80% is everything else!)
You can freelance write for individual bloggers as a ghost or staff writer, or you can find gigs on websites like:
If you got talent and enjoy writing, you can make a substantial part-time (or even full-time) income by writing articles.
19. Air BnB Host
Whether you own a rental property or perhaps you just want to rent out a room, consider being an Air BnB host!
You will need to own a house or be open to buying an investment property to make it work, but one of the best forms of passive income is rentals. While this isn’t the side hustle most are looking to jump into – there are many moving parts – it can be lucrative.
For starters, you will need some working capital and you will want to do your due diligence with regards to buying real estate. This is riskier than say walking dogs, but more lucrative then filling out surveys.
20. Rent your car with Turro
If you don’t need your car all the time, you have an extra car, or you live by a large travel/tourist area you can rent your car with Turro and make passive income in the process.
Turro is similar to AirBnB in that you can rent out your car to others using the Turro app. You can set the rate based on the type of car you own and go from there. My wife and I use Turro when we travel and most cars cost $50-$75 per day!
If you rent your car out for 20 days, that is $1,000 to $1,500 per month. Talk about a great side hustle!
21. Use Cash Back Apps
Perhaps using cashback apps isn’t viewed as a “Side Hustle Idea” per se, but any time you make money on the side, in my opinion, it can be classified as a side hustle.
So when it comes to shopping, simply turning on your app and/or scanning some receipts isn’t a a bad way to make a few extra bucks each month. You were going to do the shopping anyway!
Best Cash Back Apps:
With just normal shopping and using 2-3 cashback apps to make money, some users can make around $25 per month. Most pay in the form of a gift card or PayPal!
22. Create Facebook Ads
Targeted lead generation is vital for all companies (big & small) and you can manage Facebook ads for small businesses and make some solid money.
In fact, you can charge $1,000 per month for advertisement clients once you get the ball rolling! Most people are truly unaware of the business side of Facebook.
Facebook ads go way beyond “Boosting” a post and all the data people provide on social media is used to target advertisements.
If this seems a little complicated, start with #3 above which is managing social media accounts! From there, you will want to take a course to learn how to manage ads the best way and get results!
23. Direct Sales & Network Marketing
Ok, I said it.
Yes, we have all logged onto Facebook and seen leggings, candles and maybe some belly wraps for sale. But direct sales get a bad wrap (ha get it).
Direct selling businesses have been credited with allowing mothers to stay at home and still earn an income and the industry as increased with the growing presence of online shopping since 2011, whether you like it or not.
There are also some tax deductions that can be very beneficial when you own home-based business. Often times, most direct sales companies teach a form of entrepreneurship and have low start-up costs, but they’re not always considered a side hustle idea, more of a business idea.
| Pros of Direct Sales | Cons of Direct Sales |
| -Low capital investments -Part-time hours -Can be lucrative with a large network -Teach leadership & communication skills -Help others learn about business ownership | – Will need to develop/possess strong communication skills – Takes time to develop stable ongoing income – Can be tough to find willing participants to join the team – The negative perception of MLM’s -Most underestimate the effort to be successful with network marketing |
24. Become a Secret Shopper
Looking to help promote shopping standards or are you cool with scanning products in stores?
Whether you like to act like your under 21 or scan products at retail stores, becoming a secret shopper has it’s upside – it pays pretty well! Most “Secret Shoppers” are able to average about $15 per hour and have the flexibility to shop on their own time.
Most secret shoppers are either conducting competitive market research or making sure companies follow consumer norms (like ID someone for alcohol).
Just searching “Become a Secret Shopper” pulled up tons of results and the first to come up was Market Force.
25. Proof Reader
While this might not be my cup of tea considering I can’t spell or use grammar correctly half the time I write, editing articles and books as a proofreader isn’t a bad side hustle idea for someone like an English teacher.
You can offer your services to bloggers like myself, or on Fivver as a freelancer.
Depending on your credentials, you can even tap into your network if you know people who need things edited (writers, professors, bloggers, small businesses who write proposals).
Most free lance editors charge an hourly wager or price per item fee!
26. Write an Ebook
If you couldn’t tell, quite a few of these side hustle ideas involve writing. Like I always tell my students – you can make lots of money writing.
Well, why not use those writing skills to write an ebook and sell it on Amazon as a self-published author?
Not only does writing an ebook that sells count as a side hustle, but it’s also about as passive as money can go once you have a final product. However, writing a high-quality ebook doesn’t just happen overnight.
- Come up with a book idea
- Decide if you want to write fiction or nonfiction
- Do your research
- Create an outline
- Start writing
- Write 1,000 words a day for 50 days
- Edit, edit, and edit
- Design a cover
- Self-publish your ebook!
27. Substitute Teacher
Let’s say you’re currently a student or perhaps you’re even in between jobs (Or don’t want a full-time job at all). Either way, there is a flexible and in-demand side hustle idea for you – become a substitute teacher!
School districts all over the country are constantly looking for substitute teachers. While you don’t have to have a degree to become a substitute teacher, you can get paid more in some school districts.
And just how much does the average substitute teacher make?
Easily over $100 a day. According to Zip Recruiter, the average substitute teacher who works full time in the field can make between $21,000-$38,000 per year!
However, as a side hustle, just making an extra $400 per month working four days a month isn’t bad!
28. Donate Poop
In an article about creative ways to pay off student loans, one idea is to donate your poop.
This is also known as “Becoming a fecal donor,” and similar to donating blood plasma, fecal donors donate poop to a good cause. Without getting into all the details, fecal transplants save lives.
If you want to see if you can sell your poop for money, start here.
29. Sell Your Old Stuff
Chances are, you’re not a minimalist with 100 things or less in your possession.
Actually, you probably have 100 things in your kitchen junk drawer alone, some of which you might even be able to sell online or Craigslist. So why not purge each spring and fall and have an annual yardsale?
Platforms to sell stuff include:
- Online markets: Facebook, Etsy, Offerup, Craigslist, Amazon
- Yardsales
- Flee Markets
- Classified sections
Selling things online is one of the most profitable side hustle ideas out there. In fact, “Flippers” are those who buy and sell things for a profit. Here is a side hustle idea, check out “Couch Flipping.” The niche is pretty profitable, check it out here!
30. Do Tasks on TaskRabbit
Ever put together a grill or TV entertainment stand and realized you’re pretty good at it?
I used to have a roommate who couldn’t put together anything to save his life… but I could. Which got me thinking, why not complete little tasks like this for others?
Then I created TaskRabbit…just kidding.
But in all seriousness, becoming a tasker for TaskRabbit is an excellent side hustle idea if you like to complete household tasks on your own time.
Similar to how ridesharing apps and dog-walking apps let you decide when you want to work, taskers can do daily household tasks for others on their own time and get paid!
31. Use Funnels & Drop Shipping
I don’t know enough to begin to explain how to make money drop shipping or using sales funnels, but it works as a side hustle.
In fact, some have made so much money doing it, it’s no longer a side hustle – it’s their full-time income only a few hours each week (Thank you automation!)
32. Cook for others
Real quick, can you answer “yes” to any of these questions:
- Do you like cooking?
- Are you good at preparing meals?
- Do you like cooking in the morning?
- Would you want to cook for others?
If you answered yes, chances are you like cooking way more than I do, and perhaps your love for cooking could be your next side hustle!
33. Start a Cleaning Side Hustle!
Who said doing your chores at a young age couldn’t pay you big as an adult?
All the hard work you did as a kid can finally pay you more then $5 a week, in fact, more like $500 a week if you land a few monthly or bi-weekly cleaning clients!
Cleaning houses, especially if you like cleaning, is something you can do in your spare time or on weekends and make some quick cash (that is usually under the table).
Obviously, landing clients is the first step followed by doing a good job. However, as you grow your business you can start a website and even hire employees to scale your operation!
34. Babysit & Nanny
The online world has made everything easier to find gigs, and just like dog-walking gigs, babysitting and nannying can be done just using an online app!
It’s a bit weird to think of hiring a babysitter using an app, but apps like:
- Care.com
- UrbanSitter
- Bambino
- Sitter
- Sittercity
Have all emerged as go-to ways for people to find a babysitter or even nanny in a pinch! This is where you come in!
If you’re someone who likes caring for kids, apply to work for one of the above and once you pass some preliminary background checks, you can start to develop a solid reputation as a babysitter!
From there you can make extra money, plus tips!
35. Graphic Design with 99Design
Every now and then I need some graphics designed. Typically I turn my attention to Fivver or 99Design. It is there I am able to find a graphic designer, see their work and get something designed in a matter of days.
So if you’re looking for a side hustle idea and you’re someone who happens to be an experienced graphic designer, consider becoming a designer for 99Design.
36. Build Custom Websites
Do you have a web design background?
If you do great, if you don’t – well that is fine too.
I had no clue how to build a website but I taught myself messing around with my blog. Since then I have created over 10 custom websites and was able to increase my price each time!
Between 2019 and 2020 alone, I made over $10,000 building websites and in 2018 I had my kitchen renovation completed in exchange for a website. Don’t think you have to have everything figured out, what works best is just starting your own website first and learning.
From there, build a website for a friend of family member for FREE! After that, use the two websites you.
37. Virtual Assistant
Want to make $25 an hour and have endless amounts of work? Become a virtual assistant and you will have yourself a lucrative side hustle!
For the last year I have paid a virtual assistant at times to help me with just about anything, ranging from:
- Social media posts
- Designing photos for pins, social media, blog posts
- Scheduling Pinterest pins
- Writing/Editing
- Other marketing tasks
38. Detail Cars
For those who want a new side hustle idea that doesn’t involve a smartphone, what better way to get tan and make money then detailing some cars for $50 all the way up to $250?
Detailing cars can be a very lucrative side hustle (or business idea) that constitutes a variety of things from washing a car to fixing paint chips. For high end cars, the price for detailing goes up.
Also, dealerships sometimes sub out car detailing work, so it’s a great way to get steady work if you have a connection with dealership.
39. Affiliate Marketing on Instagram
If you are someone who enjoys Instagram, you like designing photos, and you have a niche to develop Instagram followers… well use Instagram to become an affiliate marketer.
Let’s say you are really into mommy stuff or fitness. What you can do is start an IG handle and begin to attract followers. As your follow-ship grows, you gain more authority.
More authority means you can offer products or affiliate links to followers that follow you niche.
For example, a fitness handle might have a link to supplements or a mommy handle might link to baby food or product. This is also a great idea for passive income.
Currently, I am growing the Money Life Wax handle.
40. Restore and Flip Furniture
With Pinterest and Facebook, furniture restoration is no longer limited to just antique shops.
Ton’s of people, especially stay at home moms, have taken a hobby like furniture restoration and enjoyed the work while making some money.
This takes time and if you’re serious about selling restored furniture or flipping things on eBay, there is a great webinar and class you can check out here with Flea Market Flippers!
41. Copy Writer
Ok, I have to admit this – but I thought this meant checking for copywriting issues.
However, I found out that a copywriter is someone who writes “Copy” or text for marketing and advertisement purposes. According to The Balance Careers, copywriting can include:
- Writing social media content: Copywriters must produce content that shows or reflects the client’s brand or voice.
- Collaborating: Copywriters work with many people from PR, marketing, and customer service to help their clients.
- Produce error-free content: Copy content must be high-quality and meet the brand of your client
- Manage multiple projects: Juggle multiple projects, typically with short deadlines.
- Email Marketing: Create and design copy for email marketing campaigns that is relational and authentic!
While you can certainly make a career out of copywriting, you can use it as a side hustle idea too! You can read here how a teacher named Christook his copywriting side hustle and made it a full-time business!
42. Interior Decorating
Whether you went to school for it or not, there are some people who just have “It” when it comes to interior decorating.
On the other hand, there are some people (Like me and most guys) who don’t even come close to knowing what textures and paints match the floors.
That’s when your interior decorating skills come in!
43. Make T-Shirts
Do you know how to screen print t-shirts?
If so, you can make shirts on the side for sports teams, small businesses and community events, all while making a nice side income!
The key to making shirts is big orders to make it worth your time, however, once you pay for your equipment and get your pricing down, making shirts is a great way to make money with a simple side hustle idea.
Pro tip for making t-shirts is to sell them on Merch by Amazon. Once accepted by Merch you can let them handle everything – you just design!
44. Become a Real Estate Agent
Not only is being a real estate agent a lucrative way to make money, but it is also something many are doing on the side of their full-time jobs!
Now, don’t assume that you just become a real estate agent and make money (Like turning on your rideshare app), you will need to get licensed, market yourself and land clients!
45. Organizing & Closet Design Services
Whether you want to organize kitchens or completely redesign closets, your Type “A” personality finally can pay you!
Use your type “A” personality to organize the type “B” people’s lives, you can take this side hustle idea to make money. With all the craze surrounding the Netflix series “Home Edit,” more people want an organized home.
That means you can come in and help them if you’re a super organized person. Remember, this is just one of many side hustle ideas, and going about this can start with organizing your own home.
From there take photos, share it with your network and land a few clients. Use client testimonies to land more jobs and grow from there!
46. Rent Out Your Spare Room
Perhaps the easiest and most passive form of side hustling (aside from now living with someone else) is renting a spare bedroom in your home or apartment.
Ways to rent rooms in your home include:
- Room rental with utilities equally divided
- Flat fee rental for room and utilities
- Month to month, 6 month or 12-month contracts
While sometimes finding the best roommate and then sharing living quarters with someone else can become complicated, renting a spare room is lucrative.
Just imagine charging $600 per month for a room, that equates to $7,200 per year. Do that for five years and you have created $36,000!!!
Always make sure expectations and contracts are understood by both parties and be sure to discuss payments before agreeing to anything if you decide to use this side hustle idea!
Personal Note on Renting: From July 2010 to early 2018 I rented 1-2 rooms in my townhome ranging from $400-$625 per month. This money helped pay off student loan debt and cars early and was passive in nature! I had good renters for the most part and besides a few carpet stains, my home is still in great condition!
47. Become a Bouncer
If you like working out but you dislike training people (Who don’t like working out) use those muscles and put them to work!
According to Career Trend, a bouncer is typically paid hourly and their hourly rate can range from $8.50 all the way to $25 per hour. Some night clubs and restaurants offer tip outs to bouncers, which is always a nice bonus.
The ideal bouncer profile should include:
- Muscles
- Tanned arms if possible
- Willingness to look at endless potential fake IDs
- Must be OK with taking out the trash (Figuratively and literally)
While I make light of bouncer duties, it is a great job for college students looking to earn some cash or for those looking to make money after work on the weekends!
48. Bartend, Cater or Serve
Along the same lines of bouncing, but typically more lucrative, bartending and serving tables is a great side hustle idea!
The food and drink service industry is a great way to make money in your spare time and you can choose how often to participate. While the COVID-19 Pandemic certainly put a dent in the industry, it will bounce back.
49. House Sit
Sort of like when you were 14 and you watched your neighbor’s kids, house sitting is like the adult version of babysitting.
Charge someone $50 night to stay at their house and you can make an extra $100 over a weekend! Why do people usually look for house sitters?
- Pets
- Waiting on a package
- Like the comfort of having someone at their house when gone for a period of time
50. Get Paid to Play Video Games
Not kidding, evidently you can get paid to play video games on your mobile device! For example, Mistplay –
Through the earning of points, users can participate in in-app games in the hopes that they will receive gift cards to various retailers such as Amazon, Google Play, and even virtual Visa gift cards.
Mistplay rewards Android users (don’t worry it’s coming to iPhones soon) for letting them track their phone use and for playing video games. If you want, you can check out Mistplay here to see how much you can make!
Read all about making money playing video games here!
51. Resume Writing Service
I actually have heard of people helping those who are less fortunate with their resumes for free. I have personally helped quite a few people with their resumes and making sure they know how to make themselves look good on a sheet of paper!
This is something that can make you money or you can volunteer your time to help others! If you want to maybe do one for free and do another for $25-$50, it’s a good service to offer.
Even better, if you are in HR or you hire professionals, you will know the current resume trends! 10 Resumes a month at $50 a pop is an extra $500! And you can make money from home when you do this!
52. Coach Sports
Similar to #7, if you have a passion for sports and perhaps you were a stellar athlete yourself, you can make some money coaching sports.
The pay from coaching will not make you rich (which is why it’s further down on our side hustle idea list), but coaching can be a great way to give back, have fun and earn a few dollars. Typically, coaching pays at these levels:
- High school coaching
- High-level AAU/Travel coaching
Coaching is not typically done for the money, but when compensated for doing something that you’re passionate about – well that is a win/win. Keep in mind coaching can require lots of time and energy and the in-season demands are not as flexible as say, dog walking is!
53. Start a Photo Booth Business!
Let me share with you my good friend (who started out as a reader) Tam who has successfully built a side hustle into a $20,000-$40,000 operation! Here is what he had to share if you’re considering starting a photo booth side hustle:
Looking for a fun and enjoyable side hustle idea to generate extra income?
Start a photo booth business! I started a photo booth business about 8 years ago by just by using other photo booths at parties. In normal years (not 2020), I was able to generate anywhere between $20k to $40k in sales, from this business.
The business is relatively low cost to start. You can start by purchasing a used photo booth on Craigslist, OfferUp, FB marketplace, etc. Keep your costs low, buy low cost, high quality used photo printers for $100 or so, and low cost aftermarket ink on Ebay / Amazon, purchase props from the dollar stores. Then start by advertising your services on Craigslist and create a Yelp page.
Make a FB and Instagram page for your clients to view your event pictures, a website is not even necessary if you don’t have the funds for that yet. Do research on Craigslist / Yelp, to see what your competitors are charging per hour in your local area. Start booking events for Weddings, Birthday parties, Bar-mitzvahs, corporate parties, etc. There will likely be a pent up demand in 2021 for parties and events, and you can be ready to serve them all the fun with you photo booth!
54. Donate Your Plasma
One of the simplest side hustles ever is to just donate your plasma weekly!
Make $30 per donation, donate 5-7x per month and you’re making $150+ per month just donating your blood plasma. If you’re like me and wonder what blood plasma is for, the plasma is used to develop medicines for blood diseases.
With the current economic conditions, it isn’t a bad idea to consider donating plasma is you’re looking for QUICK money.
My Take on Side Hustle Ideas:
A common debate I have at times with myself is the mindset there is a scarcity of income, or the ability to earn is limited.
However, when I see people making anywhere from $30,000 and up to $500,000 a year with their companies that once were just a side hustle idea in their head, I always remember that you can make extra money if you want to!
With 168 hours in a week, factoring out sleep and working, 68 hours is a lot of time to take a side hustle idea, run with it, and see what happens.
Maybe you make an extra $500 a month, or maybe you turn your side hustle (Like a blog) into a money-making machine!!
Either way, money is money, and the more you have the more you can use to pay off debt, save, and travel!
So instead of watching TV (Some say the average American gets in 5 hours per day) why not turn your unproductive time into earning time?
Hopefully, this list of side hustle ideas helps you make more money so you can have more choices! It will take effort and in some cases, to really scale your side hustle you will have to acquire clients/customers. Don’t let the intimate you, it is not that scary.
Just take one step at a time and it will all workout!
When I went to write this article, I saw these terms and questions over and over again:
- “How do I start a side hustle?”
- “What is the best side hustle?”
- “Where can I find a side hustle for me?”
- “What are some side hustle ideas I can try?”
- “Why do I need a side hustle?”
My answer to all of the above is simple, pick 2-3 and try them.
Don’t quit too soon, instead work through and navigate a few side hustle ideas you like and see which one takes off for you in 30-60 days. Keep in mind, the higher the monetary reward, the higher effort it may require.
A survey is always easier vs. starting a blog. That being said, knowing what your goal is with your side hustle is key too!