50 side hustle ideas to get you started
- 01 Rent strollers, car seats, and other "baby gear" to visitors.
When families travel, they can't always bring everything they need with them. The crowdsharing service Babierge coordinates rentals between people who need equipment and independent agents who provide it for a fee.
- 02 Put your art on iPhone cases; get paid when people buy it.
If you're an artist, you might be surprised to learn that people might want your work on their phone cases. Use Society6 to upload images—they'll do the rest. The service is free, and whenever customers purchase, you'll receive a commission.
- 03 Teach people how to use their smart devices.
With new Apple and Android products arriving every year, plenty of people would like to learn how to use their devices but have no idea how to get started. Teach them how by creating a series of online courses specializing on various techniques. The best part: these courses can earn you a passive income while you're sleeping.
- 04 Rent out your car to strangers.
Using a carshare service like Turo, you can list your car for rent by the day, week, or month. For best results, list at a low price for the first few rentals, then raise it once you have good reviews.
- 05 Make money living in a foreign country.
Looking to move overseas? Research and document your journey so you can get paid offering guidance to others looking to do something similar. Low startup and maintenance costs make this one an especially high-return side hustle.
- 06 Start your own private wine label (it's easier than you think).
Dreamed of launching your own wine label but never thought you could without running a full vineyard? Several innovative private-label companies make it far easier than it used to be. Some, like Terravant, will even help you design your label and build your brand for you.
- 07 Create a fun novelty item.
Some of the best ideas come to you over drinks with friends—and in some cases, those ideas lead to a new source of income. In this episode, a group of friends decide to upgrade the small pockets on t-shirts so they can double as puppy carriers and mobile drink coolers.
- 08 Sell resume and cover letter templates.
Does building resumes and cover letters come easily to you? Turn those skills into cash by creating templates and selling them on a platform like Creative Market. Bonus: offer optional coaching to go along with it, and build a tiered "pick your own" package.
- 09 Become a niche photographer.
Turn your love of photography into a new stream of income. For best results, pick a focus (cosplay, pin-up, sports, events) instead of marketing yourself as an all-purpose photographer. General photography's fine, but establishing yourself as the expert in a specific market makes you stand out.
- 10 Get ordained online and make $300 a ceremony.
Want to be part of one of the best moments in a couple's lives? Join the ranks of Conan O'Brien, Lady Gaga, Stephen Colbert, and Benedict Cumberbatch when you create a side hustle marketing your officiant services.
- 11 Create a side hustle that works in conjunction with your day job.
A lot of people worry that starting a side hustle will have a negative effect on their full-time job. What if you built something that helped your day job instead? In this episode, a real estate consultant starts a side hustle curating art installations for her day job. Both businesses benefit.
- 12 Create a unique delivery service.
Part of what people love about big cities is that you can get almost anything at any hour. Why not bring something similar to your own hometown? If you enjoy baking, consider launching a cookie delivery side hustle—who wouldn't want a dozen freshly baked cookies delivered to their door at midnight without lifting a finger?
- 13 Take up tutoring part-time.
Do you have knowledge that others would benefit from? Become a tutor and help people master a new skill. You can do this on your own, but a platform like Wyzant connects you to potential clients through their database.
- 14 Monetize videos on YouTube.
Create videos on a topic of your choice on YouTube and use Google AdSense to collect a small profit when viewers click on the ads. It's a solid option if you'd like to get paid without charging viewers directly.
- 15 Make $700 a month drop-shipping crickets (or something else).
Want to start a side hustle but limited on time and space? Give drop-shipping a try. Drop-shipping suppliers handle inventory, packing, and shipping, so you only manage customer service and communication. For best results, pick a niche market—like Jeff did with his cricket drop-shipping business in Ep. 46.
- 16 Make up to $17,000 a month selling t-shirts.
Put your love of cats and memes to good use by creating t-shirt designs and using Merch by Amazon to handle production, shipping, and customer service. Best part: they do it all without upfront costs. Ideal for a more hands-off side hustle.
- 17 Create keepsakes and mementos for parents.
If you enjoy arts and crafts, find a way to create something like baby or pet clay imprints parents can cherish for years. For best results, go directly to the source by advertising at obstetrician offices and humane societies.
- 18 Create a membership site (members-only jacket not included).
If you're a teacher, use your knowledge to help other instructors by offering online resources. You could start with a blog on WordPress and use a plugin like Memberful to let your followers sign up for a membership where they can access your resources. Offer free resources for everyone, and market membership resources as "next-level."
- 19 Write your novel or genre fiction series.
It's never been easier to write and self-publish. Whether your genre is romance, science fiction, mystery, thrillers, or children's books, Amazon offers a self-publishing option that takes five minutes to set up and gives you royalty payments of up to 70%.
- 20 Capitalize on a pop culture trend.
Most people have heard of Harry Potter, Twilight, and 50 Shades of Grey—use that to your advantage. There are many ways you can capitalize on trends: write fan fiction, start a storefront selling branded merchandise, or create jewelry based on the series.
- 21 Use your "day job" skills after hours.
Do you have a marketable skill from your day job? Maybe you're an accountant, developer, or advertiser—those are skills that not everyone has, and you can start a side hustle consulting for others. Remember: there's no school or degree for consulting. Be confident in your skills, and set yourself up as an expert.
- 22 Become a blogger—it's still possible to build a following and get paid.
You could teach someone in person, but it's so much easier to build a resource blog and online courses that don't require as much of your time. Purchase a domain, transfer it to a blogging platform, and start adding quality content. Online courses are a popular (and successful) monetization model.
- 23 Create a local guide for tourists.
Do you live in an area visited by tourists? Put that local knowledge to use. Create a tour guide highlighting the area with an easy price tag and keep it in a visible place. Level up: add locals-only info about times to visit places, secret spots, or offer a guided tour for people who want more direction.
- 24 Become a bridesmaid or groomsman for hire.
Take advantage of all those hours spent delivering the perfect toast and holding your friend's train out of the dirt by offering your services as a professional bridesmaid or groomsman on Craigslist.
- 25 Make money planning high-end retreats.
If you enjoy event planning, try reaching out to friends and family who might want upscale retreats. Many people love the idea of these unique experiences but lack the time to put them together. See if you can create them yourself and charge a service fee.
- 26 Create your own tour guide service.
If you live in a popular city or town, start your own tour service. Most of this one can be tackled with minimal costs, and the only real expense is time. Bonus: approach Airbnb and similar platforms to see if you can offer your services to guests.
- 27 Become an Amazon affiliate and bring in passive income.
The Amazon Associates Program is one of the oldest and most common affiliate programs, and it takes about two minutes to sign up. The best part: you can bring in side income without dedicating too much time to it. Start looking at products you love and use daily—you may be surprised to find you can affiliate for them.
- 28 Help others "adult" like a boss.
Important life skills like money management and budgeting are rarely taught in high school or college. If you've got "adulting" down to a science, you can help. Offer personal consulting sessions or online workshops to help people figure life out.
- 29 Start your own Etsy shop.
There's a reason so many people use this e-commerce platform instead of (or in addition to) launching their own site. Not only is setting up a storefront easy, you get your products in front of Etsy's massive client base. For best results, learn more about SEO so you can drive as much traffic to your products as possible.
- 30 Create unique jewelry pieces and sell them at the market.
Who says a side hustle has to conflict with your weekly schedule? Become a weekend warrior selling your unique jewelry at the farmer's market. Farmer's markets have become big business in the U.S., and most cities have at least one or two. Check around to see what markets are available, and start making extra money on weekends.
- 31 Set up a worm composting business.
If you care about sustainable practices and aren't easily squeamish, try worm composting. You'll help keep food waste out of landfills and can sell the nutrient-rich soil to gardeners—or connect with your local Meals on Wheels program and work out a system like Henry's in this episode.
- 32 Become a chocolatier.
Many U.S. states have cottage laws that let you sell certain foods made in your home up to a certain income level. That makes it easy to launch a chocolatier side hustle (or whatever else you like to make) within the comfort of your own home—no production kitchen required.
- 33 Capitalize on unique fitness trends.
Sticking with a cardio routine can be challenging, and many people get bored with more traditional methods over time. Offering an interesting alternative to a regular workout can put you on the fast track to success. Many studios don't operate at full capacity every day—reach out to local ones to see if they'd rent you one of their vacant spaces.
- 34 Launch a research-based resource site.
Do you enjoy researching and finding the best deals or services? There are many people who'll happily hand over money to someone who can minimize the time they spend searching. Maybe you can help people find the best deals on clothing, games, or even cheap plane flights—like the side hustler in Ep. 51 who started Scott's Cheap Flights. Add affiliate links and membership options to boost your take.
- 35 Make and sell healthy, natural pet food.
For many people, pets are part of the family. If you'd like to help furry and feathered friends get on a more well-balanced diet, check the guidelines for starting your own pet food or treat business.
- 36 Start your own karaoke league.
Who doesn't love to belt out their favorite tunes over beers with friends? If you're part of the karaoke community in your city, get some people together and launch your own karaoke league where teams battle it out on stage. Pro tip: reach out to local businesses to see if they'd join as part of a team-building exercise.
- 37 Turn your basement into an exercise studio.
Don't let your basement go to waste—turn it into a studio space and accept clients in your own home. If you've been thinking about starting a yoga, meditation, or pilates studio but have been scared off by rental fees, see what your own home could do. This couple brings in an additional $3,000 a month.
- 38 Bee a beekeeping advocate.
It's never been more important to save the bees, and you can help. Learn more about bees and beekeeping and help your local community build a healthy, sustainable habitat for honeybees. This buzzworthy mission can promote urban beekeeping and education, all while bringing you some sweet cash.
- 39 Improve an existing product.
When you think about it, we use a huge number of products over the course of a day—is there something you use daily (or weekly) that could be improved? As Brandi said to her 10-year-old son after he complained about the current sports cups available to him, "If you don't like something, quit complaining about it and come up with a solution." There are plenty of resources out there for manufacturing your own improved product. If you're frustrated, find a way to make it better.
- 40 Learn how to make and sell candles.
If you're having a hard time finding a skill you already have, pick up an easy-to-learn skill like candle making. There are plenty of free tutorials online (sites like CandleScience are a good start), learning the basics can take as little as an hour, and the candle business has long-term appeal independent of trends.
- 41 Become an online storyteller.
If you love to write and tell stories, share them online in the form of a digital magazine. Startup costs are low, and sponsorship services like Patreon let you fund your writing through readers so you can focus on what you do best.
- 42 Jump on the meal prepping bandwagon.
You can't visit Reddit or Instagram without coming across a multitude of meal-prepping pictures. If you love to cook and plan recipes, this may be the side hustle for you. Research with Keyword Planner to see what meal-prep-related words pop up in search engines and use those for your SEO. If meal prepping isn't your thing, use Google Trends to find the next big thing.
- 43 Snuggle for dollars (it's not what you think).
Since the rise of the technological era, it's never been easier to connect with others at the touch of a button. Despite the advantages, more texting and socializing on social media may result in less substantial relationships, leaving users feeling isolated. Snuggling services offer a new way to respond to this growing need without judgment.
- 44 Turn a hobby into cold, hard cash.
Side hustles should be something you look forward to doing. The sky's the limit, so don't settle for something you don't truly enjoy. In this episode, a social worker uses her jewelry-making hobby to earn extra money and even lands her work in several major TV shows with the help of The Artisan Group. Not sure your hobby would be profitable? Test it on a starter site first.
- 45 Have large companies sponsor your content.
Did you know there are companies that'll pay you to create the content they'd want to sponsor? In 2016, Preston from Millo booked around $75,000 from sponsorships working two hours a day on his commute to his day job. Not sure where to start? He says he got his start the old-fashioned way—cold calling.
- 46 Teach someone a unique skill.
Everyone has something they're good at—share your special skillset with others. If master penmanship and calligraphy is where you excel, you're in good company: calligraphy's taken off on social media, and one of our featured side hustlers decided to teach this skill to others with workshops and specialized kits. What skill can you pass on?
- 47 Write curriculum and lesson plans for busy teachers.
The platform TeachersPayTeachers.com hosts lesson plans, classroom exercises, and other resources for teachers. Prices are low—typically a few dollars per item—but you can earn ongoing royalties whenever they sell. Some content providers earn $1,000 a month or more.
- 48 Start a niche podcast.
Starting a podcast can be as easy as buying a $200 microphone and downloading free audio software. There are plenty of resources out there for people looking to get started. For example, John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire has broken down what you need to get started and even offers a free online course. For best results, find a niche topic that isn't widely covered.
- 49 Launch a subscription box service.
Subscription boxes are everywhere, and the types of boxes are almost as numerous as the people who subscribe to them. Not sure where to start? There's a handy guide from Cratejoy, which serves as a platform for all kinds of boxes and makes it easy to sell your subscription no matter where you are in the process. Pro tip: whatever your box's focus, make sure it's as niche as possible.
- 50 Create a service that rents out homes for events.
Is there an event in your city that happens frequently or even every year? Create your own Airbnb-style home rental service. Research the habits of others, what they're willing to pay for, and what side business you might be able to build. Tens of thousands of people attend the Super Bowl every year, spending plenty of money having a good time. Since they're in the habit of doing that anyway, why not jump in front of that wave and get paid?