Let’s face it – there is a lot going on in the world right now. Inflation is on the rise. Shelter and food prices are up the most. Many people find that their regular paychecks aren’t enough to make ends meet. They don’t have enough cash left over to buy groceries, let alone travel or have fun on the weekends.
Also, 9-5 job satisfaction is down. According to CNBC, "46% of professionals are considering quitting in the year ahead."
This is why side hustles are increasingly becoming the most popular route to take. If you need extra cash, want to quit your job or simply pursue a passion, you can start a side hustle easier and faster than you might expect.
We found 30 of the easiest side hustles you can do from home, starting today.
Most popular side hustles to start from home
There are tons of ways to make money on the side that require only a minimum of infrastructure and effort. These are some of the most popular ways to make extra cash since they don’t require a ton of initial investment on your part, nor do they necessarily require a major investment from someone else.
1 - Drive for Uber, Lyft and other rideshare services
Rideshare drivers, like drivers for Uber or Lyft, can certainly make bank if they drive in the right areas and at the right times! As a rideshare driver, you’ll download an app, then use your personal vehicle to ferry people from place to place.
Rideshare driving is a great side hustle since you can fit it into your daily schedule whenever you like. You also have very low startup costs presuming you already have a car.
However, keep in mind that you won’t make good money as a rideshare driver unless you can fit in some cabbie time during the busiest hours of the day. Usually, this is in the evening when people need to get to dates or other engagements and require transportation.
2 - Drive for Doordash, Instacart, Uber Eats & more
You can earn extra cash on your off days or spare time after work as a food and grocery delivery person. These options also use apps where you sign up, create a profile, and technically enter the employment of overseeing organizations.
However, you are still working as a freelancer. You receive orders from people who want their groceries picked up and delivered, then buy those groceries according to client specifications. Once the groceries are wrapped up, you can take them to a client’s door and get paid.
Like rideshare services, you can earn a reputation as a skilled food and grocery delivery person or a subpar one. With this side hustle, you probably won’t make tons of cash, but it might be enough to pay for your weekend adventures for just a few hours of work.
3 - Start a car rental service
If you have a car but don’t use it frequently, you can sometimes make extra cash by renting it out to others. There are plenty of car rental apps like Getaround and Turo that connect you with people who need rental vehicles quickly.
You do have to pay a small fee for using the platforms above, but you get to keep the lion’s share of the cash. That’s all that matters for this easy side hustle opportunity! Just remember that there’s always the risk of renting your car to someone less than responsible!
4 - Proofreading
Proofreading is something we all do whenever we write a letter or an email. But you can take this effort and turn it into money if you proofread for others! Freelancing platforms like Upwork often have available proofreading jobs where you can review the writing of others and make corrections or grammatical suggestions as you go along.
This side hustle idea is best for those who already like reading and writing. You should also remember that it’s not the most profitable unless you work for a major agency. Still, few ways to make extra money are as easy as proofreading for strangers online.
5 - Rent your parking space
If you have an extra parking space instead of an extra car, you can rent out that parking space using online apps. This side hustle is much more profitable in crowded cities with really packed streets and not a lot of available parking, like Boston.
Furthermore, if your parking space is especially desirable – for example, it’s in a garage or underneath some protective cover – you can charge more for it per hour. Regardless, this is one of the best side hustle examples of using all available resources you have to earn extra cash.
6 - Become an AirBnB Host
Renting out an extra room in your home (or an extra property) is one of the easiest ways to make money on the side. Airbnb and similar home rental apps are perfect for vacationers and tourists looking for something homey and more comfortable than a typical hotel.
As with the above parking space idea, if your property is in a desirable location, you can charge more for it than in an average area. Airbnb has also recently announced improvements to its app and operations for homeowners like you. Now, if people decide to cancel a reservation you’ve painstakingly prepared for, they’ll have to pay you some fees.
Most profitable side hustles from home
Although the gigs mentioned above are good side hustles, you might consider opting for a more profitable side job opportunity. Many of these work-from-home options could eventually replace your day job if you play your cards right or build a sustainable business out of your initial successes.
7 - Be a blogger
Online blogging has taken the world by storm. You can potentially start and run several blogs simultaneously that direct traffic between them. When you do this, you can also set up display ads and have advertisers pay you money for the impressions you generate or based on the clicks you generate from your audience.
Starting a blog is easy, but it takes a while to become truly profitable. If you have entertaining or informative articles on your blogs for a niche audience, you’ll likely have more success than with a more generalized blog network.
8 - Become a Real Estate Investor
You can also earn your real estate license online and start investing in properties from afar. This is even easier without a license if you use crowdfunding companies that allow people to invest in rental properties jointly.
While this type of side hustle may not start off making tons of cash, it has the potential to earn you many thousands of dollars over the years.
9 - Start a wholesale business
Wholesale businesses are similar to dropshipping businesses (more on those below.) In a nutshell, a wholesale business merges online business practices with hands-on activities.
With a wholesale business, you buy a bunch of products in bulk at lower average prices. Then you sell those products at higher retail prices to your customers. The responsibilities of wholesale business owners are many. You need to:
- Keep a very close eye on customers, product quality, and manufacturers
- Handle all the packing and shipping of products to your final consumers
- Determine which products to purchase and at what price points, etc.
For example, you could start a wholesale business selling T-shirts or other apparel in bulk. You purchase the T-shirts from the manufacturer in China (or elsewhere), then repackage the shirts and sell them to American customers with good packaging, a slick and streamlined website, and so on.
Naturally, this business idea requires you to spend some time creating an excellent website that brings people to your products. You’ll also need to do plenty of market research to determine what products best suit the wholesale business model. But if you focus your efforts correctly, you could have a thriving wholesale business running out of your garage in a matter of months.
Who knows? You might eventually make enough money to replace your day job! If you do that, though, remember to look into insurance expenses and your credit score to ensure you’re financially stable enough to make the transition.
10 - Publish a book (series)
Have an idea you want to share with the world? Or are you a subject expert with much to say in your niche? In that case, you should write an e-book!
The right e-book can elevate your brand, attract an audience to your online store, or earn you lots of money over time. Even better, e-books continue to earn you money as you publish more of them. If you write a series, for instance, and someone reads one of your later books, they might also go back and purchase your earlier e-books, netting you more cash overall.
11 - Start a consulting business
Specialists and subject matter experts can further enjoy lots of extra income from a side hustle if they start consulting businesses. A consulting business can usually be run 100% from home if you videoconference or remotely communicate with your clients and customers.
You can have a consulting business for:
- Business analytics
- Life coaching
- Art like drawing, painting, or writing
- Coding, etc.
The bigger your business gets, the more money you’ll make. You can even potentially get big corporate clients if your name becomes well-known enough!
12 - Buy and sell domain names or flip websites
Some of the most desirable domain names are also very profitable. If you can predict and understand this market, you can buy domain names while they are still cheap, hold them until they are more desirable, and sell them for a profit.
Some domain names go for many thousands of dollars; don’t discount the potential profitability of this side hustle idea!
Our top online-first side hustles ideas
Many of the best side hustles are exclusively online. Online side hustles are advantageous since they don’t require you to spend time traveling to or from your workplace. Many people experimented with online side hustles over the pandemic and found them more profitable than imagined!
13 - Technical freelancing
You can strike out on your own doing freelance writing or as a programmer, designer, developer, or something else entirely. There are so many freelance job boards and platforms that finding work is easier than ever. Just make sure to build up a portfolio and have a good website so clients can find you and get familiar with your work beforehand. Then, set up a business checking account to keep track of your finances!
14 - Be an online tutor
Alternatively, you might decide to offer your services as an online tutor. You can use platforms like Teachable to teach students worldwide and offer remote classes or connect with students through video conferencing software to provide personalized tutoring sessions. If you speak and write English well, you might make plenty of money by teaching English as a second language to international students around the globe.
15 - Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a unique business model in which you advertise the products or services of other businesses through blog articles and other content on your website. Each time someone purchases by clicking on a link to a product from your site (called affiliate links), you get a cut of the profits.
Like making money through blogging, affiliate marketing takes time to get up and running. But once your affiliate marketing network is ready, you could earn tons of passive income over time.
16 - Be an Instagram influencer
Do you like to advertise products or connect with fans online? Then the path of an Instagram influencer could be right for you! Keep in mind that this side hustle idea takes a little more effort than others on this list, and you’ll need to build up a sizable follower count before you get deals or money from companies.
17 - Sell your original photography
If you have an eye for photography and a great camera, you could earn plenty of money by selling your photographs online as art, to art galleries, personal clients, or even stock photo companies.
18 - Sell online courses
Teachable and similar platforms let you create and sell online courses, workshops, or classes for specific topics. You can teach people how to:
- Practice carpentry
- Draw
- Code in a specific language
- Overcome a business challenge
- Speak another language
- Or something else entirely – the sky’s the limit!
As your business grows, consider starting a net 30 account to build credit and qualify for larger business loans!
{{coursepricing-component="/blog-shortcodes/blog-popup"}}
Easy side hustles for moms who are empty nesters
Moms over 40 frequently have trouble finding things to fill their time. All your kids are out of the house, and you need something to do that fulfills you. Of course, if that something also brings in a little cash, that never hurts!
Fortunately, there are tons of easy side hustles from home that moms over 40 can leap into.
19 - Online surveys
Online survey companies pay a few pennies (or sometimes even less) for answering regular surveys on their platforms. While the pay is minimal, you can’t deny that the work is also very low effort! There are few better ways to whittle the time away than answering entertaining surveys and earning a bit of cash on the side.
20 - Babysitting or dogsitting
If you’re feeling a bit lonely, you can also engage in babysitting or dogsitting for people going on vacation. Babysitting and dogsitting rates can be higher than you think, especially if you advertise your services through known platforms like Rover.
21 - Product reselling or dropshipping
The dropshipping model is one of the most popular for side hustlers, and for a good reason. When you have a dropshipping business, you sell products directly to customers without buying inventory or paying for storage space for that inventory.
This is advantageous for freelancers and side hustlers for several reasons:
- You don’t need lots of money for startup costs, which means it’s a low-risk business model.
- You don’t have to handle carrying inventory; the manufacturer does that instead.
- You also don’t have to worry about shipping products to customers. The manufacturer does that as well once you connect the manufacturer and customer through your website.
- All you have to focus on is marketing and customer service.
This side hustle idea might be ideal if you already have a background in marketing or if you find this type of activity interesting.
As a dropshipping entrepreneur, you can start a business selling practically anything you like, including kitchen equipment, clothes, jewelry, etc.
Your goal as a dropshipper is to advertise products of different manufacturers on your website or through Google PPC ads. Once you receive an order from a customer, you then fulfill that order by directing it to the manufacturer. It’s easy, efficient, and excellent for everyone, including you!
Remember that, as a freelance dropshipper, you’ll be responsible for all your finances, including insurance. Do some financial research (and consider using a life insurance calculator) to determine when you should dedicate more time to your new business.
22 - Cleaning service
If you love to make things sparkle and shine, consider starting a cleaning service out of your home. You can work for clients in your local area by dusting, vacuuming, doing dishes, and handling the other day-to-day cleaning needs of their homes while they are away at work or on vacation.
23 - Become a virtual assistant
Virtual assistants organize timetables, forward messages, and answer consumer complaints for clients, all from the comfort of their homes. You can work as a virtual assistant for different companies worldwide or individual clients. It’s a great part-time or secondary career for former or current secretaries who want to earn extra cash.
24 - Print-on-demand store
A print-on-demand or POD store has you make custom artwork and graphics, then sell that artwork on things like T-shirts, mugs, bags, etc. It’s a good side hustle idea for aspiring or current artists. Just be aware that you’ll need to either create your own online store or use a store platform like Etsy.
Most unique side hustles to start from home
Then there are plenty of side hustles you can start from home with a unique element. If you want to do something fresh and exciting, consider these ideas before any others.
25 - Sell handmade items online
If you like to make art, jewelry, or other handmade items, you can sell them on customizable platforms such as Etsy, Amazon, and more. It’s a fantastic way to make some extra money if you are a crafty person already!
26 - Become a tour guide
Live in an interesting area, like a historical city? Why not offer your services as a tour guide to tourists and vacationers who come through! Reach out to local museums or preservation organizations and volunteer your services (for pay, of course).
27 - Mow lawns or be a handyman
Like to get your hands dirty and enjoy a hard day’s work? You could sell your labor as a handyman, lawnmower, painter, or something else. People are always looking for knowledgeable folks to fix things around their properties or take care of hard work like mowing the lawn, especially if the weather is less than ideal.
28 - Start a sewing business
Take your sewing skills to the next stage and start a sewing business from your home. With a sewing machine and some patience, you can repair clothes for people, come up with custom designs, or embroider fancy symbols or images on clothes depending on your preferences and skill level.
29 - Make worksheets and templates
That’s right; you can make money creating financial planning worksheets, study guides, and other worksheets and templates. Sell these on freelance platforms or from your online store to make a quick profit with a very minimal amount of effort on your part!
30 - Sell digital designs
If you have experience as a graphic designer, you can create digital products like printable art, resume designs, holiday card templates, and everything in between. Once your designs are ready, you can sell them online using platforms such as Etsy. Alternatively, you can work as a freelancer in this area as well.
How to get started with your new side hustle
Starting a side hustle is pretty easy!
- First, determine what kind of side hustle you might like. Do you like the idea of earning some extra money from the comfort of your home? Or do you want to work a more traditional side job where you leave your home for several hours at a time?
- Next, figure out how much money you want to earn over time. Some side hustle ideas are better for earning instant cash. Others, like affiliate marketing or online blogging, are better for earning more money over time or in the long run after putting in some effort first.
- Then come up with a plan to put your side hustle idea into action. Figure out how much money you need to invest in the idea (if any), then dedicate a little time each day to making it happen.
Ultimately, you need to figure out what kind of work you like and how much money you need or want from your side hustle before proceeding. Remember that some side hustles are definitely more profitable than others!
How to manage a side hustle while working full time
Side hustles can be great ways to earn extra money, but most Americans have to fit these ideas into their busy daily schedules. Say that you work a full-time job of 40 hours a week; can you really earn extra money from side hustles?
Yes! It all depends on how much free time you’re willing to give up and what type of side hustle you choose. For example, if you pick a side hustle you can do from home and on the computer, you can probably work on that business venture or idea in the evenings after work or in the mornings before you head out.
On the other hand, if your side hustle idea requires you to leave your home or apartment physically, you should dedicate some time on the weekends to that opportunity.
Bottom line:
- Figure out how much extra time you have in the week
- Determine when that extra time is
- Take a side hustle that best fits your schedule to earn extra income while working full-time
FAQs
How can I make an extra $2,000 a month?
You can make an extra $2,000 a month by taking advantage of one of the most profitable easy side hustles to make money discussed above. If that’s not enough, try combining several side hustle ideas to make as much money as possible.
What is the easiest side hustle?
The easiest side hustles are those that allow you to work from home and on your computer. Things like freelancing, social media marketing, answering surveys, and proofreading for other small businesses are pretty easy side jobs from home that can still turn a nice profit.
What side hustles pay the most?
The most profitable side hustles are those that usually take the most effort, at least when you start out. Some, like affiliate marketing, can be highly profitable, but they take time to build up enough momentum to reach high profit margins.
How can I make passive income?
You can make passive income by establishing a business that runs itself, like a blog network or affiliate marketing. These side hustle ideas usually take some time to get going and may not be profitable at first. But eventually, they might earn enough money that you never have to work again!
Tags:
