Back in 1976, Steve Jobs hadn’t yet become the Steve Jobs. To his boss and his coworkers, he was just “Steve who works the night shift at Atari”.
And while his boss thought that he had found a clever way to manage a valuable yet socially challenged employee, Steve Jobs was recruiting his friend, Steve Wozniak, to help him build the side hustle that literally changed the world: The aptly-named, Apple I.
Fortunately, great side hustle ideas don’t have to require wizard-like programming skills or access to spare computer parts. All it takes is a little know-how and creativity.
Without further ado, here’s a list of 25 awesome gigs that people are using right now to generate hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of dollars in cold, hard cash every month.
Keep reading to find out more.
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketers are basically the commission-only salespeople of the internet. In exchange for driving traffic and selling products, these folks receive a percentage of the sale.
By 2022, affiliate marketing is expected to become an $8 billion industry. If you have mad digital marketing skills but no time or patience for creating your own products, this gig could be the side hustle you’ve been waiting for.
we suggest you read this article : Affiliate Marketing VS Dropshipping
2. Babysitting
For every doting parent who can’t stop cooing over their little bundle of joy, there are probably a few dozen folks in your social circle who love their kids but are dying for some alone time.
Are you good at keeping kids entertained? Do you have a sixth sense that sounds the alarm when a kid is about to get into trouble?
If you answered either of those questions with an enthusiastic “Yes!”, then a babysitting service could be a great way to make a few hundred dollars every month or so. What’s nice about this business model is that parents don’t want every kid-free night out to also involve vetting new babysitters. With this gig, you have a good chance of getting repeat business.
3. Sell Used Books on Amazon
What a lot of people don’t realize is that you don’t have to be a professional seller or a huge corporation to sell items on Amazon.
Books, especially if you can get your hands on textbooks, are a solid item to consider selling.
First, you don’t have to work too hard to market the item because people are already looking for it. And second, if you keep your eyes open for garage sales or if you make a point of browsing Facebook Marketplace, you might be surprised at how many perfectly sellable books are being sold at rock bottom prices.
This is your chance to cash in!
4. Learn How to Trade the Stock Market
In 2015, The Wall Street Journal covered the incredible story of Ronald Read, a janitor who quietly made $8 million on what was undoubtedly a fairly modest salary.
How did he do it?
He invested in stocks. And with a portfolio that included names like Proctor & Gamble and Wells Fargo in it, it’s no surprise that he managed to do very well for himself.
The moral of the story is that if a regular, salt of the earth guy like Ronald Read could teach himself how to invest in winners, there’s no doubt that you can too.
5. Flip Items on eBay or Craigslist
Here’s a side hustle that can be done relatively easily.
All you have to do is scour Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, both of which have sections where people give stuff away for free, and then sell those items for a profit on eBay.
What’s nice about this gig is that you can get into it for free and you can make money very quickly. Cha-ching!
6. Self-Publish eBooks
It used to be the case that you needed to have an agent or a publisher in order to become a paid author. And even then, your royalties would ultimately depend on how well your book sold after costs.
Thanks to the internet, anyone with a good story can put their stuff up on Amazon, Smashwords, or Chapters, among other places, and start seeing the sales roll in. As far as side hustle money goes, you’ve got nothing to lose by trying this out.
7. Create a Course
Are you the friend who always lands the interview even if you’re not qualified for the job? Are you so gifted at organizing that Marie Kondo would want to be your best friend?
With the global e-learning market expected to reach $325 billion by 2025, now is as good a time as any to get your piece of the pie. If you have a unique experience or skill that people can learn from, why not turn it into a course?
8. Start a Blog
9. Start an Ecommerce Business
We’ve mentioned elsewhere that in 2020, 33% of holiday shopping is expected to be done online.
If the ongoing success of Amazon has taught us anything, it’s that people are getting more and more comfortable with the idea of buying things through the internet. As far as good side hustles go, a successful e-commerce business has the potential to build you an insanely profitable income stream.
10. Sell Arts and Crafts
If you’re an artsy sort of person, Etsy is an excellent place to sell your creations to buyers who love handmade and independently produced items.
With people increasingly going to the marketplace for items that range from skincare to seeds, plants, and even digital prints, this has the potential to be a relatively low maintenance way of generating some cash.
11. Mow Lawns or Shovel Snow
There are a lot of homeowners who won’t hire a snow removal or lawn mowing company but will answer the question, “Can I shovel your driveway for $10?” with the words, “Please do!”
What’s nice about this hustle is that the money comes in fast. The turnaround time from door knocking to collecting your cash can be as short as an hour or two.
12. Become a Transcriptionist
Do your fingers practically fly over the keyboard when you’re typing?
Transcription is an in-demand skill that you could use to make a few hundred dollars a month or maybe even more. And with more and more companies looking to hire remote transcribers, you can even set your own hours. It really doesn’t get much better than that.
13. Rent Out a Spare Room on Airbnb
What kind of side hustle requires no special skills, no upfront costs, and no marketing on your part?
Renting out a spare room or apartment to short-term travelers who want that cheaper-than-a-hotel, but a-step-above-camping feel to their stay in your city.
Throw a trusted name like Airbnb into the mix and suddenly that guest room you never use is now putting money into your account every month.
Boom. Side hustle found.
14. Become a Dog Walker
Almost every day, dog owners who don’t work from home have to wrestle with the question “How do I ensure that my doggo is getting enough exercise?”
Think about it.
These folks are on limited lunch breaks where weaving in and out of traffic doesn’t really allow for much time. And after a brutal day at work, for some people, taking the dog around the block is a difficult task.
A good dog walker, that’s you, with multiple clients can make very respectable money while also getting a bit of exercise in at the same time.
15. Drive for Uber or Lyft
To hear some people tell it, Uber is one of the Founding Fathers of the gig economy as we know it. And if you have a car, a solid driving record, and the ability to have a conversation on cue, driving for Uber or Lyft is a legitimate opportunity to get in one of the most famous side hustles of all time.
With the ability to set your own hours and pick up passengers who are heading in your general direction, this is a gig that lets you work as much or as little as you need to.
16. Become a Site Tester
You know the phrase, “You are the expert in your own experience.”? This is a side hustle that allows you to literally and figuratively cash in on your own experience.
According to The Next Web, many of us spend over a quarter of our lives online. On a serious note, any time you spend that many hours interacting with and using something, you start to quickly develop a sense for what works and what doesn’t. And companies and marketing teams are willing to pay for that expertise.
So yes, you can get paid to click through websites and tell people what you think. Just become a site tester and let the money come to you.
17. Become a Social Media Influencer
Back in the day, you used to need a combination of endless resources, irreplaceable talent, and luck to get famous. But in the age of social media?
Building a platform has never been easier for regular folks. And once you have that active group of followers, brands will be willing to pay you to post about their products and services.
This one may take some time and effort to get going, but once you pull it off, it’s smooth sailing.
18. Teach English Online
In a world where movies, Ivy league education, and business are often done in English, lazy students don’t have the luxury of saying things like, “When will I ever use this in my life?” about learning to speak the language.
Are you a stickler for grammar? Do you have a talent for breaking things down for people? If so, teaching English part-time could be right up your alley.
19. Clean Houses
Are you the type of person that surgeons wish they could hire to clean their operation tables? Are you the friend who knows exactly how to get a ketchup stain off of a white carpet?
A lot of people can clean up spills and keep their living areas relatively presentable, but deeper cleaning is just beyond them. If you’ve got a few hours a week to spend cleaning houses, this can a great way to generate extra income without having to work too hard to find customers.
20. Make YouTube Videos
Don’t be fooled by the videos with millions of views and the media darlings who get lucky enough to go viral.
There are plenty of people out there who are quietly making passive part-time income simply by getting in front of the camera and talking about what they know.
When they buy YouTube ads, companies are just trying to get their information in front of relevant audiences. They don’t care about your subscribers or the size of your following. If you do your research and you spend some time learning how to optimize for search engines, you can start shooting a couple of videos on your phone and begin uploading.
21. Become a Freelancer
One of the fastest ways to make money, online or offline, is to freelance for other people.
Are you a bookkeeping wizard? Is your writing good enough to make an experienced editor weep?
If you have a skill that businesses need, you can start making money within days.
22. Sell T-Shirts and Merch
Given a choice, pretty much everyone wants to look cool. So much so that people follow Instagram influencers and Pinterest accounts purely out of “Oh my goodness I want to dress like this person!” feelings.
Look.
You’re a human being with eyes. If you know how to spot a wearable design or if you have a gift for finding the type of knock-em-dead quotes that make merch sell like hotcakes, you’ve got all the foundation you need to break into the t-shirt and custom merch side hustle.
23. Offer Social Media Marketing to Small Businesses
When you’re running a small business, you have to wear a lot of hats. One day you’re managing office inventory, the next you’re delivering your products or services.
Most business owners know that they should be on social media. They know that they can find more clients on Facebook and Google and that more traffic brings in more money. But many simply don’t have the time to post on a regular basis.
If you know your way around Twitter or Facebook, then you can help businesses with their social media and get paid very well for it.
24. Work in Customer Service
No matter what industry a business operates in, chances are they’re going to have customers with questions. And while there used to be a time when customer service representatives and call centers were based in-house, more and more companies have begun hiring their customer service specialists remotely.
If you’ve got reliable internet access, a computer, a working phone, and a top-notch bedside manner, this could be the part-time side hustle that you’ve been waiting for.
25. Dropshipping
Last but not certainly not least, we have the side hustle idea that could potentially replace your day job.
Dropshipping.
With this gig, you get all the advantages of e-commerce like marketing, full ownership of your site, and big money. But at the same time, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of designing your products and then finding manufacturers and suppliers.
All you have to do is sell people on your product. Anyone can do it and it’s a side hustle that could get you full-time results in record time!
The Best Side Hustle Ideas For 2021 and Beyond
With 45% of working Americans holding down part-time gigs outside of their day jobs, it’s clear that side hustles aren’t just a passing fad.
They’re a trend that’s here to stay.
Out of the 25 side hustles that we’ve just given you, however, there’s one that offers a tantalizing combination of big-time results without the hassle and logistics work that goes into building and distributing your own product: Dropshipping.
If you’re particularly interested in working different side hustles from home, this is one that could have you making money really quickly.
And best of all, we have all the tools and advice that you need to build a successful dropshipping business.
Find out more about our US-based dropshipping solutions today!
