Choosing the path of entrepreneurship is without a doubt riskier than being content with a 9-to-5 job and requires way more sacrifice. However, once you’re reaping the lifestyle benefits of being your own boss and hustling your way into making significantly more money through side business ideas, can make the hard work worthwhile.
The question I’m asked the most (by far) when I meet and speak with fellow entrepreneurs is, “How do I know which business I should start?” This one is always quickly followed by, “How do I start this side business while I’m still working my full-time job?”
Here are my picks for the best business ideas you can start right now while you’re still working full-time.
While having a formal background in graphic design is absolutely going to be helpful, it’s also relatively easy to learn the foundations of graphic design on your own. An increasingly easy-to-use Adobe Illustrator and websites like Canva and Visme are making it so that just about anyone with two opposable thumbs, a bit of creativity, and motivation can get paid to create or alter images.
Web designers are incredibly valuable for technology companies. Web design is all about mastering the art of creating a beautiful, value-driven experience for the people using a website or app. There are always new websites popping up in need of professional web design, and companies like Skillcrush, CareerFoundry, and General Assembly have proven online programs that’ll get you up to speed quickly with this career path. CreativeLive also has a phenomenal class that regularly plays for free, teaching the foundations of modern web design.
As a web developer, you’ll build incredibly valuable skills that are in extremely high demand. You can get up to speed on building websites in as little as a few months with inexpensive or free online education programs like Treehouse, the Web Developer Bootcamp on Udemy, and Codecademy. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, here’s a list of the 45 best places you can learn to code for free. Once you have knowledge of HTML, Ruby, Python, Javascript, or CSS, you can start a freelance business on the side to build your portfolio while you still hold your full-time job.
It’s not the sort of job that’s covered in glory, but someone needs to make sure all the numbers add up at the end of the year. Every business and most individuals need someone with domain expertise to help prepare tax returns, especially time or resource-strapped small business owners. The Income Tax School provides an array of training programs that’ll certify you with tax prep in as little as 10 weeks, and once tax season rolls around you’ll be able to charge an average of $229 per return as a freelance tax preparer, reports CNBC.
If you have a knack for connecting with people and the willingness to take on some risk, a commission-based freelance sales role could be a great fit for you. Many startups seek part-time and commission-only salespeople, especially when they’re just getting started, which means you’ll often be able to make this a home-based business. Sell for nothing but commission and negotiate yourself a good chunk of equity, and you could profit big time if the startup succeeds. Check out Angel List and see if an opportunity aligns with your interests.
If you’re an expert at something, there’s likely an audience of people online who would be willing to pay to become experts in your field – just like you. Lewis Howes shares his strategy for creating and launching successful online courses in this post on his blog, right here.
Packaging your skills and knowledge into a downloadable eBook that delivers value to those seeking to learn a skill, advance in their careers, or start their own businesses, makes for a strong value proposition if you target the right audience. Check out Leslie Samuel’s great guide to selling eBooks online and start building your strategy. This class with Tara Gentile on CreativeLive will show you how to use your existing body of work to write an eBook within the next week.
Build up a following on your Instagram account and you could quickly be approached by major brands, gear companies, and other relevant businesses that sell products or services related to the type of content you share on Instagram. If you have hundreds of thousands of followers, you can easily charge anywhere between $500 to $5,000 per post or more. Check out this fashion Instagrammer on ThePennyHoarder, making a significant income from brand sponsorships.
If you have something you’re skilled at and very passionate about, you can turn that winning combination into offering your services with one-on-one online coaching. Just be sure to implement your own opportunity management system so you don’t get caught up working with clients that you can’t measurably help. Regina Anaejionu will give you a step-by-step plan for putting your skills and experience to work by developing an online coaching business. Check out her content for a jump start on this career.
If you can create a regular audience for your podcast on a specific topic, this is a great way to get sponsors. At CreativeLive, I regularly pay $50-$250 (or more depending on audience size) per episode for a 30-second advertisement on relevant podcasts like The Tim Ferriss Show, the #1 business podcast right now. The podcast has even helped Tim secure his own TV show.
Naturally, it helps if you already have an online audience you can tap for listening to your regular podcast, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of people from building successful businesses on the back of podcasting. Check out this class about how to make money podcasting, which broadcasts for free every month on CreativeLive.
Anyone can sell goods on Amazon, provided you have products to sell. If you’re the type to hit all the local garage sales each weekend, there are all sorts of valuable things that can be resold online. If you want to step your Amazon selling game up, check out this detailed guide to Amazon Clearance Arbitrage on SideHustleNation featuring an interview from Travis Scott of StuffParentsLike.com who’s turned this home-based business idea into a lucrative money-maker.
If you’ve developed valuable skill sets or certifications within your industry over the years, consider putting your skills to use in your free time by offering your consulting services to local business owners. Whether you’re an expert marketer, business strategist, or manufacturing aficionado, there’s likely a local business owner who’s willing to pay you to help them solve an issue with their company. Start with this 18-step checklist to become a local business consultant from Karyn Greenstreet.
There’s a huge growing market for mobile phone accessories, and plenty of handmade sellers are raking in 6 and sometimes 7 figures from their phone case businesses. With turnkey solutions like Case Escape readily available, you can now get ready to go kits that’ll give you everything you need to start your own phone case business. Once you’re up and running, you can sell cases on Etsy, Amazon Handmade, and Fancy. I know one seller who clears around $60,000/yr through Etsy alone.
If you already have a website that’s driving in targeted traffic, a great way to make passive income from the content you’re already creating is through affiliate marketing. Clickbank, Skimlinks, and Rakuten are all great affiliate marketing tools and networks that can help you make money from the content you already produce. Check out this extensive list by Justine Grey, covering the 59 Best Affiliate Programs for Business Bloggers.
Have a knack for staying organized? If you’re a jack of all trades, you should consider working as a virtual assistant. You can find great gigs on Elance, Indeed, or Upwork. It can be an awesome way to rub shoulders with some very important people, and build up your professional network, and you’ll have the added perk of being able to start this as a home-based business idea.
Teaching and tutoring English as a second language is a great way to make a solid side income, not to mention opening doors for you to travel the world if you’d like. While full ESL (English as a Second Language) accreditation is recommended, as long as you’re a native speaker, there are people in countries such as Hong Kong or the UAE who are willing to pay upwards of $25/hr for you to teach them English via Skype.
Indeed, Learn4Good and Remote.co often have remote English tutoring jobs posted, check back frequently.
If you had a knack for standardized tests and had no trouble acing the SAT, ACT or other college exams, why not start tutoring high schoolers on the side? Parents of all economic backgrounds are more than willing to shell out upwards of $100/hr to the right tutor, if it means their son or daughter will get admitted to the college or university of their choice.
See this quick checklist for starting an SAT tutoring business from the Work At Home Mom. Whitney over at Rookiemoms also has a cool story to share about a stay-at-home mom making $40/hr helping kids out with homework.
We’re all guilty of spending too much time on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest sometimes, so why not get paid to put your expertise to work? Lots of companies, especially startups or those in retail or travel, have heavy social media presences and are constantly in need of people to help build their brands online. You can find these types of opportunities on sites like Flexjobs and CareerBuilder.
If you know a thing or two about paid internet marketing and are comfortable with Google, a great way to make some extra income on the side is to manage a company’s Google Ad Campaigns, and gradually start bringing on more clients as your consulting business grows.
Think blogging is no longer a viable source of income? Think again. Tens of thousands of bloggers, creating content on topics as diverse as scrapbooking, home cooking, travel, film, lifestyle, and more are launching self-employed careers thanks to a combination of blog subscribers, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and other revenue streams.
Your first step is sharpening your writing abilities, understanding what your audience craves and learning how to write a blog post that drives traffic and brings you readers on a regular basis. Once you can write within your topic area with confidence, move on to Amy Andrews’ ultimate free Guide to Making Money Blogging. If you want to speed up the process of building your blog, I recommend hiring a talented freelance designer or developer on a high quality marketplace like Crew.
Yes, even the lowly PowerPoint requires outside consulting every now and then. I know I would happily outsource the visual layout of my presentation decks for work meetings, investor pitches, and lectures. Adam Noar from Presentation Panda is living proof that you can turn your passion for slideshow presentation design into a legit side business.
If you love to travel and find yourself randomly searching for airfare sales or browsing Lonely Planet, why not carve out a niche for yourself as a private travel agent? Take my friend, Mark Jackson’s lead with what he’s doing to build a travel consulting business. Start with word of mouth recommendations from friends who know they can count on you for the cheapest flights, and don’t forget to set up an account with Plansify to start getting paid for your travel expertise in your free time.
If you have a way with words and know how to make the keyword-friendly, beautifully designed, SEO-optimized landing pages, why not charge other companies for your services? Even a short landing page is worth a couple hundred bucks in most cases. Just check out what Freelance Copywriter Mike is up to for some inspiration.
Someone out there is remodeling their kitchen and needs to know which shade of granite will match best with mahogany flooring. That someone will often be happy to pay you for your advice, especially if you’re the kind of person that subscribes to websites like Contemporist.
It’s not exactly a way to make consistent great money, but housesitting—exactly what it sounds like—is a fantastic way to live in exotic locales around the world without paying a dime in rent. Did I mention it’s a way to travel and live rent free? Here’s a list of four great websites from the legendary Nomadic Matt, to start your housesitting search.
No, babysitting isn’t just for teenagers and college students. Quite on the contrary, if you call yourself an Au Pair instead, you can make some pretty good side money working nights and weekends.
Know someone who rents out property to others? Perhaps they could use a hand managing their property. If so, you can make a decent amount of money on the side with relatively little work on your part. From collecting rental checks, to managing repairs and improvements, or simply being on call for emergencies, a property manager is essential for most real estate investors.
Have a talent for crafting or creating other handmade goods? From bracelets to phone cases, rings, furniture, and more, Etsy is one of the world’s largest independent marketplaces that’s perfect for anyone who is creative and willing to sell their handmade creations. As long as you have the space, this can make for one of the best home business ideas that can be started with a very limited investment. Consider these 5 steps to starting an Etsy store, from Handmadeology.
Similar to selling on Amazon, eBay is a place to make money selling just about anything you can think of, with the added excitement of using the auction selling model to sometimes get way more than you expected for that antique baseball card you picked up at a local street fair.
Fiverr is a great place for first-time freelancers who might not have tons of experience and want to build up a portfolio of their work. You’ll be able to complete simple tasks ranging from logo design, to creating animations, or even drawing a company logo on your forehead.
If editing and advising college students on how to write compelling 500 word essays on topics such as “You were just invited to speak at the White House. Write your speech,” seems like a compelling way to spend your free time, trust me – tons of parents will pay you to edit admissions essays and offer constructive feedback for their children.
If you own a camera, starting a freelance portrait photography business could be a very natural way to make a side income. Start with doing free shoots for friends and family to build up a strong online portfolio, then you’ll be able to get paid for photographing professional head shots and celebratory family moments. Check out this men’s portrait photography class on CreativeLive.
Wedding photographers command premium rates – after all, you are capturing one of a couple’s most important life moments. Many professional wedding photographers charge between $2,500 – $10,000 (or more) to shoot a wedding. Check out The Wedding School and the Complete Wedding Photography Experience to get up to speed on everything you need to launch a successful wedding photography business.
Believe it or not, some people have such a difficult time at dating, that they can’t even handle the online component of it. If you’re a smooth talker, why not leverage that skill into a paid matchmaker? People are paying.
Werewolves, stepbrothers, and tentacles—the demand is high. As odd as it may sound, if you’ve got the imagination (and a clever pseudonym), you can make upwards of $5,000 a month writing erotic fiction.
Fancy yourself a poet? You can earn $300 for every poem you write that this greeting card company publishes.
Countless small businesses start out their web presence using a WordPress hosted website before needing to upgrade to other solutions for various reasons. Many of them will pay several hundreds of dollars for someone to get them set up online. If you have the patience to learn how to do it yourself, it’s an extremely valuable skill.
Driving for one of the two globally expanding app-centric taxi alternative services,Uber or Lyft can be a very lucrative way to earn money on nights and weekends – working only when you want.
If you own a car but barely use it, you can make some easy cash on the side by renting it out on Turo. Before you freak out, know that there’s a $1 Million insurance policy on all cars, plus drivers are prescreened, so you can have peace of mind.
Not to be confused with hoarding, this one takes a lot of time, patience, and passion. If you have an eye for good art, it’s easy to get in on the ground level by visiting the studio department at your local university. Many art students are more than happy to sell their work for a bargain, and in as little as a few years, there’s a chance that piece you bought for a couple hundred bucks may be worth well into the thousands.
EatWith is a great way to test the waters as a chef, and if you have enough rave reviews you might be able to turn your knife skills into a full-time business.
Sometimes it seems like there’s an app for everything. Yet somehow, new ones keep popping up and selling for lots of money, all the time. If you spot a niche that hasn’t been filled to its potential just yet, and you can learn the coding skills (or know someone who already has them), you could be on to something. Today, it’s even possible to build an app without any coding skills whatsoever. Just make sure you validate your app idea before jumping too far in.
You don’t need to have a degree in journalism to be a reporter these days, and there are many news websites that can always use a bit of help on getting local coverage. Some of them, such as The Examiner or HuffPost, will compensate contributors based on ad revenue generated per article written – a great incentive to provide compelling content.
Kia Silverbrock has been granted over 4,665 US Patents in his lifetime (so far). You don’t have to invent the wheel to make good money from your patented concepts – just make sure that your idea can be produced affordably, or it will never stand up against a lawsuit in the future.
Domain name trading has been around for the last couple decades, and while the slam-dunk names have long been sold off (Insure.com went for $16 Million in 2009) there’s still plenty of others that you can get your hands on for relatively cheap. But beware: some experts doubt the long-term viability of this business so you shouldn’t quit your day job just to put all your effort into this one without some successes already in the bag.
To get you started, here are some tips from GoDaddy, arguably the world’s largest and most famous repository of domain names. Imagine owning desirable domain names for the next decade’s worth of innovative companies.
While the barriers to entry for a retail shop can be very high, one way to keep costs down and limit your time investment while you keep your full-time job, is to set up a weekend popup shop. More of whatever it is you’re selling—donuts, clothing, antique baseball cards, or anything else—will stay in your pockets instead of going to pay for operating expenses such as rent or utilities. This guide from Shopify will give you a step-by-step process for getting your popup shop off the ground.
Like drinking beer? Why not try making it yourself? With patience and skill you might end up brewing something that others are willing to pay to drink. Pick up an easy-to-use starter kit from Mr. Beer online.
As long as there is still the written word, there will always be editors. Freelance editing and proofreading not only pays a decent hourly wage, it also gives you the chance to read about potentially interesting topics too. What’s more, freelance writing & editing can afford you a lifestyle that let’s you travel the world as a digital nomad. You can find lots of job postings from companies and individuals in need of writing, proofreading, and editing services on Upwork.
Many people give up on their faulty laptops, mobile phones, or cameras without even looking into the cause of their malfunctions. If you have the skills to fix them, consider starting a side business refurbishing and reselling used electronics.
Got a thing for numbers? Plenty of companies need to hire someone who’s good at data analysis. Upwork and Digiserved are but a two of many websites that are great for freelancers with an analytical prowess, looking for extra work.
There is a treasure trove of valuable items being thrown away by big box stores around the world. Electronics stores toss out everything from printer cartridges to tablets, and if you’ve got the stomach for rummaging around in dumpsters you can easily make money rummaging than you ever thought possible.
Every website owner (including myself) hires copywriters to write content for things like about pages, FAQ’s, or blog posts. Hourly wages for novice copywriters are not very high, but with experience and a great portfolio, you can start charging more than you make at your normal job. Pick up my free downloadable Freelance Proposal Template and get started today.
It doesn’t happen overnight, but licensing a foreign product for sale domestically, can lead to a big payoff down the road. Invest intelligently, sell a product you believe in, and you can reap the rewards for years to come.
It’s not very engaging, or mentally stimulating, but online surveys do pay out, believe it or not.
Not only is Airbnb a great way to make money by renting out your spare bedroom or living room couch, but you also have the benefit of meeting new people and making new friends.
If you’re a fitness buff and have the right combination of charisma and business sense, working as a part-time personal trainer can be both physically and financially rewarding. Once you build up a reputation and client base for yourself, it could easily turn into a full-time endeavor for you.
Check out these tips to a successful personal training business by the American Fitness Professionals and this interview with several fitness blog owners who are making a living online, from MonetizePros. Check out this resource if you want to get started with a business plan for your personal fitness trainer business.
Yoga is getting ever more popular, which means yoga instructors are more in demand than ever. Pursue emotional and physical balance with others, during your free time while helping your bank balance, too.
If you can create value-driven, entertaining video content and grow your subscriber base to a few thousand subscribers, your videos can start generating pretty substantial income from all the ads being displayed on your videos. Many YouTube users make well into the millions each year.
If your mastery of another language is good enough to have the grammar and spelling down, translating is a great side business to set up for yourself and can be done remotely. Flexjobs has literally hundreds of freelance, remote translator jobs available right now.
Live in a destination where travelers frequently visit? If you love meeting new people from around the world and also love the city you live in, starting your own local tour business will give you both of those perks. Take a unique spin on your local tour business like Erik from Vantigo. He was starting his VW van tour business in San Francisco while he was still working a full-time job, and grew it to being a sustainable source of full-time income before quitting – now he’s running a multiple van tour business for himself.
Do you play a musical instrument well enough to teach it to others? Private music instructors charge upwards of $20-100/hr, and you don’t necessarily have to do them in person, either.
If you have a fondness for taking pictures of smiling families or laughing children blowing bubbles, consider becoming a stock photographer and selling your images to a stock photo company like ShutterStock and iStockPhoto. You’ll get royalties every time someone licenses an image you’ve submitted. To really be successful, build your own photography website to be able to showcase your portfolio and start getting private corporate work.
Ghostwriting pays pretty well, and if you’re talented at researching and creating great content within a certain subject domain, you can quickly build a roster of high-paying clientele. Writers like Jeff Haden have created very lucrative careers for themselves by writing for business executives and CEO’s.
Once you’ve established yourself in any number of freelance verticals online, subcontracting your jobs out to other freelancers can help you significantly grow your client list, and revenue-generating possibilities.
Take the time to develop your skills at either making your own music, or becoming a pro at mixing, and your side business of dj-ing local events could turn into a much bigger business.
Fashion, style, and grooming continue to be a lucrative side business. If you know how to mend clothes, then you have a growing market of budget-conscious and/or personalization-obsessed customers. Entrepreneur says you need around two thousand dollars to start a decent business in this niche but there’s no harm in starting smaller and growing from there, as long as you can make magic with needle and thread.
Nothing beats teaching more novice learners about your passion, hobby, or craft. Explore dozens of DIY portals (such as DIY.org, DIY Network, Instructables and Mahalo) to get ideas on how to earn a healthy side income just by showing others how to do the things you love. You can also sift through the countless ad-supported YouTube channels that teach just about anything from guitar strumming to 3D printing.
It’s funny how much baking can relate to making money. Start bringing in some side income by kneading flour, mastering the oven, and appeasing everyone’s sweet tooth. While some experts have already turned baking into their sole “bread and butter,” you need not leave your day job just yet. Depending on your experience, you can start by doing something simple on the side like Grandma’s nostalgic cookies before heading on to offer exquisite artisanal fare.
If you don’t mind doing other people’s chores, then TaskRabbit may be the right side business for you. Earn money doing odd jobs like walking your neighbor’s dog or mowing Mr. Smith’s lawn. Running errands not your style? Tell that to the top taskers on the portal who reportedly earn as much as $7000 a month.
From personal experience as a freelance content marketer, I can vouch for the profitability in this industry – if you have the right skills and experience to back it up. With startups, established brands, and even notable influencers needing to build credibility and grow their brands, professionals who can serve up compelling content enjoy a huge demand for their services. And, since brands will always need high-quality content to bring in new customers, your skills will always remain an asset to invest in.
If you’ve always wanted to publish your own book, there isn’t a better time than now to do so. That’s because access to self-publishing tools and marketplaces has never been easier and more affordable. This eBook writer currently earns up to a couple of thousand bucks each month from six ebooks she published; while you can reportedly demand around $1000 per eBook project serving as a ghostwriter.
My good friend, Caroline Beaton used freelance writing as a side business to eventually go from secretary to self-employed, while focusing on her own personal development and looking inward to discover what she’s truly passionate about.
If you keep your money hidden in the attic or earning close to nothing in a savings account, you might want to consider putting it to better use through smart investing. Sure, there are plenty dangers to look out for, but most personal finance experts will advise you to start learning about the stock market if you want to grow your wealth.
Incidentally, helping others grow their wealth is also a good way to grow your own financial worth on the side. If you have stock market and finance credentials, then you can earn freelance commissions or consulting fees advising clients on how to get the best returns for their investments.
Many small companies and startups now outsource jobs that aren’t part of their core business (such as HR, admin, and accounting). Because companies always need to track their cash flow, freelance accountants and bookkeepers can really benefit from the increasing demand for part-time help.
Find an audience for your passion or hobby and you’re all set to monetize something you love via a niche website. That of course, is easier said than done, something not intended for the faint of heart. Prepare to invest a lot of your time, but if you can hurdle the steep challenges and positively answer a few key questions on whether the website idea you’re thinking about is profitable, then you can begin building it.
A lot of car owners simply don’t have time to personally care for their vehicles, much less make them sparkle. With simple equipment such as car shampoo, polishing wax, tire black, sponges, a pail and a sturdy hose, you can start earning a decent side income by making cars look fresh in your free time after work and on weekends.
Providing care for the elderly often requires a broader set of credentials. These may include licenses, training certificates, business permits, and tax forms depending on which state you wish to operate, the level of care you intend to provide, and whether you plan on running a formal business or just hiring yourself out as an independent worker.
If you’re already giving unpaid care to an elderly relative or friend, you may want to review Medicaid provisions for some compensation. In all cases, you need genuine affection for the elderly, a lot of common sense, and good knowledge of first aid, CPR, and elderly care basics and you can get these training at Coast to Coast First Aid courses in Waterloo.
Carpets make your home warm and cozy. But they also tend to gather dust, grime, stains, allergens and bugs over time. You can tap into this opportunity by launching a carpet cleaning business or serving as an independent contract cleaner in your free time. Either way, you’ll need to invest in proper equipment such as vacuum cleaners, carpet brushes, and cleaning chemicals.
Look into the possibility of renting equipment for a full weekend and lining up 5-10 clients to service, to offset your rental costs. If you turn a healthy profit, you’ll eventually be able to invest in owning your own equipment and increase your margins.
If you want to broaden your services and earn more, you can opt to make the entire house look neat and clean. House cleaning services cover carpets, floors, lawns, garages, windows, walls, and roofs, requiring a whole range of cleaning tools.
You can hire maids and janitors to do the actual cleaning while you handle administrative and customer service tasks. Or, you can start small by actually getting your hands dirty as a contractor, learning on the job before launching your own cleaning operations. Check out Cleaning Zoom’s ultimate guide to starting a cleaning business.
Many families with kids—including single parents—have very limited time resources, creating a demand for part-time childcare providers. If you love kids and have some spare time, you can earn plenty of side income by looking after children while their parents are away.
Just be sure to identify the particular age group you’re comfortable caring for and you’re all set after any necessary certifications. Establishing a home-based daycare center capable of servicing six or more kids is also a lucrative option.
Employed techies planning to earn extra money on the side can leverage their software and hardware skills by offering home-based computer repair services. If this rings a bell, you can start with a modest one-man tech team before envisioning a scaled-up operation as massive as Geek Squad. Remember, you can provide home service locally as well as offer remote support through online messaging and video calling services.
If you’ve got the attitude, there should be a product or service out there looking for the right model to promote their brand. You can sign up with a large agency, find a freelance agent, or look for your own modelling gigs as an independent talent.
Since modeling is a complex field, get all the advice you need before jumping right in and find a mentor who can guide you through some of the early challenges before establishing your brand. Depending on your preference, you can specialize in a single media format such as video or still images, to build a compelling portfolio.
Everyone (even kids and retirees) need to have some level of technical know-how to stay competitive and appreciate the marvels of the digital age. Just observe how learning sites like Codecademy, Treehouse, and Udacity continue to grow and you’ll understand the urgency of getting computer training for our generation.
If you’re a techie, you can cash in on this need by offering lessons and tutorials within your neighborhood or across cyberspace through portals like YouTube or Udemy. You can even set up your own tutorial site with an interface for online payments.
Some firms outsource their customer service operations and many of these companies accept home-based contractors. You can start by signing up on freelancing sites such as Upwork. If you’re already a CSR specialist with management skills, then you can form and lead a virtual team online and engage clients as a bona fide customer service company or, provide customer service training to such teams as well as individuals.
Dogs are amazing. But, owners aren’t always at home to take them for a walk. If you’re a canine fan like I hope you are, this great side business idea can net you a regular profit by just taking some adorable pups for a stroll around the park. With pet-crazed, yet busy Americans having more pooches around, dog walking services have become a thriving industry in some U.S. cities. In fact, there’s already an app called Wag that links up dog walkers and pet owners.
The real estate market is on the rebound (for today) and people are buying and selling properties in many locations across the U.S. That means a lot of opportunities for professionals who know how to navigate the legal, financial, and commercial aspect of real estate. If you consider yourself an expert in the subject, it won’t be a walk in the park (hehe), but you can earn significant additional income as a home-based consultant.
Turning your favorite craft or hobby into a revenue-generating business easily counts among the most fulfilling experiences anyone can have. With more and more people demanding a higher degree of personalization in just about anything they own or use, count yourself lucky if your craft happens to be the creation of custom furniture. Not only is the real estate sector regaining its footing, the number of style-conscious customers is also on the rise.
There are at least three teenage entrepreneurs who’ve already earned astonishing amounts of money by launching hand-made jewelry businesses: M3 Girl Designs’ Maddie Bradshaw, Bella Weems of Origami Owl, and the girl behind DesignedByLei. With the industry set to shine in the near term via a brisk annual growth rate of 5-6%, the market is ripe for new entrants who offer sparkling new ideas on how to craft appealing handmade goods.
Earning money on GigWalk is similar to working on Task Rabbit. You get to choose from an amusingly diverse range of jobs from taking snapshots of restaurant menus to counting the items arrayed on supermarket racks. It won’t make you rich though, with payouts tending to congregate in the lower half of their $3-to-$100 range. But, if you’re looking for some sustainable side income, it can’t hurt doing a strange but fun errand and getting a tip at the end.
When you’re bored or a little short on cash, you can access GigWalk anytime, anywhere via their mobile app. Meanwhile, all the jobs specifically vetted for you will be within reach (ideally, just a brisk walk away).
A real estate appraisal business can be operated from home, on a part-time basis. A perfect option if you want to keep your day job while earning extra on the side. You won’t need a college degree to start one, but you’ll need bankable appraiser credentials (including relevant training and professional licenses), strong knowledge of the sector, and a growing network of industry players including mortgage brokers, real estate agents, banks, and fellow appraisers that’ll want to utilize your services.
If you don’t mind parading yourself around in public places and enjoying a little attention, then working as a human billboard can pay a surprising amount of dividends. Renting out your beard, for example can earn you as much as $5 a day while having a brand logo tattooed on your shaven head for five years could pay as much as $7,000.
This is definitely not for the faint of heart, and is a little extreme for me, but none the less it’s been done. You can start by holding a placard or wearing a sandwich board. If you think this is a good business idea for yourself, you can go all the way and turn it into a full on home business.
Websites aren’t too dissimilar to stocks. Most are junk, but some can generate value for you. That’s why, like stocks, they are bought and sold all the time. You can buy and sell websites in the hope of generating future earnings based on their user traffic, current revenue intake, domain name, or some other factors that might be a hidden cash cow everyone else has overlooked. Interested? Check out marketplaces like Flippa and Flipping Enterprises to learn more.
We all wear clothes (at least some of the time). Which, of course, makes the business of cleaning soiled laundry a hit. In fact, the self-service laundromat industry in the US is worth more than $3 billion, with many related businesses such as a mobile app laundry service, a real rolling mobile laundry service, and home laundry pickup & delivery services springing up each year. Here’s one way you can cash in on the trend.
As the saying goes, one person’s trash is another’s treasure. Without people cleaning up everybody else’s junk, the world would be a lot messier than it already is. The job might not be glamorous, but you get to make the world a cleaner place while earning extra side income. To start, you’ll need a sturdy second-hand truck and standard equipment like shovels, wheelbarrows, sledgehammers, rakes, and garbage cans.
Public notaries primarily serve as validators of, and impartial witnesses in public legal documents, especially those related to affidavits, oaths, deeds, estates, special-powers-of-attorney, and business agreements. Depending on the state, a full-time notary public earns an average annual salary of $36,000, and it’s a great business to do on the side as you bring in money through other ways. If you want to get started, here are the requirements and steps you need to consider in the US.
Like birthdays, marriages happen all the time. Which means you can treat weddings as a recurring fountain of business opportunities: wedding dresses and coats, jewelers, food caterers, venue providers, photographers and videographers, performers, flower shops, travel agencies, souvenir crafts, and a host of other ventures.
Now imagine if you can form a networks of these service providers so you can offer engaged couples a range of hassle-free wedding packages. The process is certainly fun, and so is the pay.
Being a wedding specialist works well for top-notch players, but being a generalist also has its benefits. Event and party planners leverage their network of service providers to cover not only weddings, but also seminars, corporate events, birthdays, baptisms, concerts, conferences, holiday parties, and other events. Here are some tips if you want to run a part-time event planning business at home. And here’s an honest look into the upside and downside of the trade.
Busy schedules can stress people out. It can also disrupt family life to the point that busy parents and homework-laden kids barely have time to prepare decent dinners and weekend meals. Hence, the surprising demand for part-time family chefs. If cooking healthy and delicious meals is your thing, then this lucrative side business idea can supplement your regular income by helping feed busy homes.
The prevalence of unattended pets is another side effect of busy life, creating job opportunities for people with time, patience, and affection to spare. Just check out DogVacay and Rover to see what I mean. Would the payout be worth it if you try? One person in New York earns $3,300 a month just pet-sitting for busy animal lovers.
If that isn’t enough, you can expand your services to include pet grooming. To do that, you’ll need to have relevant training, an operating license depending on your location, and pet grooming equipment. According to PayScale, pet groomers have an average salary range of $17,600 to $48,500. Not bad as a side gig if you can find a way to get in most of your clients on the weekends.
Spending a leisurely afternoon in a swimming pool can be a lot of fun. But cleaning it can be a pain in the neck. Hence, most pool owners hire people to do the cleaning for them. If you need extra cash and don’t mind getting physical, then pool cleaning is a viable side business for you.
There’s More…
I’ve been getting so much feedback with great business ideas from my community and in the comments, so I frequently add to this post. If you have ideas you’d like to share, please add to them in the comments below!
Counted amongst the most valuable tech giants, Amazon is also a massive global market where virtually anyone can cash in on the rising tide of eCommerce. But, like everything else that involves money, you have to do quite a bit of work to earn it.
In this case, you need to do tons of research (looking for generic products such as clocks, key chains, and mugs to attach your brand to) as well as a sensible selling strategy to milk profits from your private label. Check out how digital marketer Neil Patel is doing this right now.
Do you love sports? Officiating non-professional games held at community parks and college sport fields can be an exciting way to earn extra income on nights and weekends.
T-shirts can be a viable path toward creating an automated side business that makes money for you while you sleep. Even Bloomberg and Forbes feature stories from entrepreneurs who’ve done just that. Want to learn how to make it happen? You can find TeeSpring selling walkthroughs here, here and here.
Software drives businesses today. This is a fact not lost on individuals and companies attempting to earn a profit, make a name for themselves, or simply get things done. As a result, the job outlook for software developers will be much sunnier than prospects for other occupations.
In fact, it won’t take you long to find a good-paying software development project on sites like Upwork, Guru.com, and Freelancer. LinkedIn also recently launched their brand new freelancing platform, ProFinder which has a dedicated section just for hiring talented software developers.
Nothing beats playing your favorite game. But getting paid for coaching a sports team and staying close to the action is the next best thing. Not only will you learn new skills, you’ll earn money getting your team into shape. The median pay for sports coaches clock in at $30,400 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expect to have only a slice of that if you’re signing up for part-time coaching only.
As I’ve already covered with TeeSpring, the T-shirt retailing business is worth millions of dollars. But what if you want to do the manufacturing side of things? Digital tee shirt printing turns out to be quite rewarding. This multi-billion dollar industry counts big corporate factories as well as home-based part-time entrepreneurs
Yes, you can turn your car into a money-maker by driving for Uber and Lyft, but there are other ways to convert mileage into money. One way is to do vehicle advertising, a potential side income source of anywhere between $100 to $600 per month. Whether you own a compact sedan or a full-sized bus, your vehicle’s exterior space is prime real estate for ads. Check Wrapify, carvertise, and similar sites for more details.
From the inside looking out, I want to see the world as clearly as possible. And so do a lot of homeowners and office managers. Now that creates a demand for window cleaners, especially for office buildings. If you want to try it out as a side business, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to start a window-washing business at home.
Mechanical Turk operates much like TaskRabbit and GigWalk: it’s a corner on cyberspace where Amazon gathers tasks to be done, people willing to do them, and people willing to pay for them. On Mechanical Turk, you get to do the oddest jobs you can imagine, made possible by a parallel online universe that runs on hits, visits, surveys, reviews, pins, likes, CPCs, reads, and other metrics.
But don’t get too ambitious. The small sums being paid out to human Mechanical Turk users rarely add up to anything substantial, even if you invest most of your spare time into it. It’s a better opportunity for internationally-based people with internet access and lower costs of living than in the US. Here’s one person’s account of his former life as a Mechanical Turk.
A large proportion of homeowners and small businesses have lawns to tend to. Many turn to independent providers of yard work services to take care of their lawn care woes. To start and sustain a yard work services side business, you need training, equipment, and a growing network of customers.
A full-time landscaping and groundskeeping worker earns a median wage of around $25,000, while those working on the side during evenings and weekends can expect to make substantially less.
If you have the gift of gab, public speaking is a worthwhile side business to pursue. Many authors, medical practitioners, scientists, artisans, politicians, and other subject matter experts earn extra income by delivering speeches, seminars, and presentations. Professional motivational speakers earn an average annual salary of around $90,000 with just that portion of their business.
College counselors come in all shapes and sizes. Their primary duty is to help guide students through an important period in their lives. Some counselors focus on admissions, career advice, financial aid, athletics, extracurricular activities, and other concerns. There are institutions looking out for part-time college counselors, or you can start your own practice and charge anywhere from $25-$100+ per hour for your consultative services if you’re well-versed on the subject.
Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Yuletide, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, 4th of July, Mother’s Day. There are a ton of traditional holidays that count as solid reasons to start a side business crafting and selling seasonal decorations. After all, people and businesses pay good money for them.
In fact, total sales of Christmas trees in the U.S. alone amounted to a whopping $1.04 billion in 2014. And you still have holiday lights, nativity scenes, crafted hangings, baskets, wreaths, and other decorations to cover.
The holidays do bring cheer, but when winter comes, so does the snow. Thick, traffic-hindering piles of it. Snow can be fun for a while but somebody has to get rid of it for our lifestyles to continue onward. Make extra money from home by offerings snow and ice removal services.
With the rise of online craft marketplaces like Etsy, people with decent artisanal skills like sewing and woodworking have an always-open market to sell their products. If you’ve always wanted to design and make clothes by hand, then you can start turning those fashion ideas into real, hand-sewn garments and make some money on the side.
The antique market is not as lively as it used to be. But there’s still money to be had from the industry if you love rare old stuff and possess the skill of restoring them to their former glory. To start an antique refurbishing business at home, you’ll likely need a few thousand dollars to build out a basic workshop and stock it with all of the right treatments and materials. Start small by borrowing around what you can, and learning the basics of the trade.
Most people, even those many won’t admit it, love moving their bodies. It’s also a great workout. If at some point in your life, you had to hang your dancing shoes for a more sensible office job, there’s nothing stopping you from earning money on the side with this passion project. Part-time dance instructors get a fraction of the pie their full-time peers enjoy, but it can add up to hundreds each week if you’re consistent.
Believe it or not, this freelance bike messenger makes more money than some people glued to their work desks. You won’t rake in a whopping $50,000 as this guy does by just doing this in your free time, but you’ll surely get a piece of the action.
Even Uber is trying out a blueprint for a delivery service, and companies like WunWun and Amazon are stepping up their efforts to expand same-day delivery. If you have a decent bicycle, those pair of pedals might just earn you a healthy side income.
If you have a talent for helping people look their best, and know how to mesmerize with eyeliners and turn heads with lipsticks, consider using your beauty skills to create a profitable side business. For under $2000, you can start your own make-up artist business.
If you speak like James Earl Jones or Scarlett Johansson, quite a number of digital publishers (including game developers, animated film-makers, and training video producers) pay good money for voice talents. You can find these publishers looking for voice-over artists on sites like PeoplePerHour, Freelancer and Upwork.
Car flipping can be a fun way to turn your love for cars into a quick profit if you have the capital and a stomach for the inherent risk. Buying and selling cars is similar to other “buy low, sell high” business models, but the profit potential per hour invested is very high. According to Jeremy Fisher at 3HourFlip.com, the trick is to learn how to make car deals come to you, so you can minimize your time invested and maximize your profit on each flip.
If you have experience with marketing or a knack for getting people excited about the products and services you use on a regular basis, think about refining your skills and putting them to work as a small business marketing consultant in your region. Businesses of all sizes are in constant need of bringing in more customers, which is where you come in. Start by pitching some of these small business marketing ideas by Brian Downard and you’ll be sure to impress the first set of clients you begin working with in your area.
If keeping your home organized comes naturally and you enjoy helping other people, consider becoming a professional organizer. As the need for baby boomers to start downsizing grows, you can use your organizing and decluttering skills to start making an industry standard $50-125 an hour with very little startup costs and some free expert advice from Jen Kilbourne.
Believe it or not, pro organizers don’t just work with hoarders. More and more people are hiring professional organizers in order stop wasting time and money due to the stress of everyday disorganization.
Share in the comments if I’m missing any great business ideas that you can start while working full-time! Bonus points if you’ve already gotten started on it, and share the link to your website.
If you’re ready to make a commitment to finding a business idea that’s right for you, then join my free online course, Finding a Profitable Business Idea today.
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