The Best Side Hustles

Gain financial freedom with these creative money-making side hustles.

With COVID-19 unemployment stimulus benefits running out and jobless claims plateauing, people are hungry for new ways to make extra money. Whether you’re unemployed or working part-time or full-time, it never hurts to explore the wide range of side hustles available out there. You can easily start a side hustle from the comfort of your home, and the best part is that side hustles can look good on your resume.

Even if you’re a busy person, you can work to achieve your financial goals with a passive income and these simple side hustles! 

1. Take surveys

Survey taking is far from a get-rich-fast scheme, but it is a great way to rake in supplemental income when you have free time.

Here are some of the best survey-taking websites in the market:

1. MyPoints

MyPoints offers five different ways for you to make money online, including doing surveys that pay cash instantly. You can get paid by taking surveys, watching videos, reading emails, or even shopping online! MyPoints offers free gift cards as payments. Sign up here for MyPoints. 

Check out my comprehensive MyPoints review to learn more!

2. LifePoints

LifePoints is another one of my favourite survey platforms. It was first established in 1946 and then rebranded by Lightspeed in the early 2000s. It has more than 5 million members on board, clicking away on their desktops and phones for money.

The app will transfer points into your online account as soon as you complete your first survey. You can then redeem them for cash or gift cards instantly.

If you are in the US: Sign up here for LifePoints!

If you are in Canada: Sign up here!

Interested in learning more about this platform? Check out my complete LifePoints review!

3. Survey Junkie

Another reputable survey-paying site out there is Survey Junkie. Survey Junkie is a well-established community with over 20 million members. Not only can you earn cash by completing surveys, but you can also make money by sharing your digital browsing behaviours through SJ Pulse. The latter is a great passive way of making money. I highly recommend that you join the community and start making money today! Sign up for Survey Junkie here.

The key is matching quickly with surveys that are looking for people like you to take them. This is a great way to make some extra money while watching TV, commuting, or over a cup of coffee.

Survey Junkie also operates SJ Pulse, which allows you to make money by sharing your digital browsing behaviours. This is a great opportunity to earn some passive income. Sign up for SJ Pulse here!

Check out my Survey Junkie review to learn more!

For more survey options, check out my comprehensive post on surveys that pay cash instantly!

2. Sell on Amazon

We are big fans of making money on Amazon. When everyone was quarantining during COVID, it became apparent that e-commerce is a vital and necessary aspect of our lives. So why not capitalize on it and open your e-commerce storefront? Anyone with a computer and initiative can start their own Amazon marketplace.

Curious to learn more about selling on Amazon? Check out the various ways you can make money on Amazon!

3. Play games for money

We have written pretty extensively about the best ways to make real money from simply playing games on your phone, but we also have a favourite app. Anyone with an Android phone should download Mistplay today.

Making money on Mistplay is as easy as downloading the app, playing games, earning Mistplay units, and cashing out on gift cards. To maximize your income potential, make sure you take note of the games that offer higher value rewards.

4. Become a virtual assistant

Becoming a virtual assistant can be a lucrative way to start making money from home. You can set your own hours, run your own business, and be your own boss. Work from the comfort of your own home and combine your skills as a freelance writer, transcriber, or bookkeeping knowledge to attract higher-paying virtual assistant jobs.

The key to becoming a virtual assistant is being good at managing your time. You’ll be working either hourly or task-based roles, and your clients will expect the job to be handled in a timely fashion.

You can find virtual assistant jobs on virtually every job hunting source on the internet.

5. Start a blog

Blogging can be a full-time job, but it can also be an incredibly flexible and fun job. The key is to have a solid strategy and theme for your blog and to know your market. With a little effort, you can start reaching people and monetizing your blog within a few months.

Don’t expect your blog to become a boon overnight, but do expect that you can start attracting ads and affiliate programs for your blog in a short period of time. 

Check out my blogging tips and my first blogging anniversary post to learn more!

6. Drive for Uber or Lyft

Uber and Lyft aren’t exactly going to make you quick money, but if you love driving and you don’t mind driving people around, then it might be the perfect side hustle for you.

They are excellent gigs if you’re looking for a job that lets you set your own hours. If you live in a metro area, where a lot of people use ride-sharing apps, you can make some decent money.

7. Walk dogs

Rover is my favourite app for dog lovers looking for a side hustle. It is easy to use — download the app, create your profile, and sign-up to become a dog walker in your neighbourhood!

Depending on where you live, there may already be a lot of dog walkers, but it’s worth checking it out. Some users have reported making almost $4000 a month walking dogs part-time!

8. Become a freelance writer

As a freelance writer, you can become your own boss and choose who you work for and when you work. Freelance writing is perfect for topic experts, resume writers, copywriters, proofreaders, and almost any written media creators. There are so many different apps that have been created to cater to freelancers, but you can also find listings on the typical job finding sites.

Being a freelance writer requires a lot of initiative. You need to be following every lead, following up with potential clients, and prowling social media for jobs to jump on. It’s a highly competitive field, but there’s also a place for everyone in the market.

9. Perform tasks locally

You can do this side hustle whenever you want to and make some quick cash. TaskRabbit is one of the largest platforms centered around running errands, assembling furniture, and doing virtual jobs for other users.

Rates vary, but some tasks start at $15 an hour, paying all the way up to $100 an hour for more specialized jobs.

Check out other ways you can make 1000 dollars fast in a week!

10. Deliver food & groceries

These apps are a little inundated with workers, thanks to COVID-19 making grocery delivery a vital part of our day-to-day lives, but there’s still room for you.

If you have time to kill, and you’re looking for a part-time or full-time gig, check out Instacart, DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats to become a professional grocery shopper and food delivery service.

Sign up to be a DoorDash driver today to earn a healthy income on the side!

11. Utilize Airbnb

Do you have a spare room in your home? Or maybe you have a second home that sits empty throughout part of the year. You could be capitalizing on that space and making some decent money on the side.

The real key to making money on Airbnb is having a property in a highly sought after location — a city center, near a convention center, or a popular destination. People will turn to Airbnb for extended business stays or off-beat vacation rentals, rather than turning to chain hotels.

So what are you waiting for?

12. Start a graphic design business

Is graphic design your passion? You may be able to monetize that passion and turn it into a marketable side hustle. Create yourself a website, showcase your portfolio, and start tracking down potential clients. You can search for businesses that are advertising the need for graphic designers or track down small businesses that look like they might need a little graphic design TLC.

13. Flip real estate

Real estate flipping isn’t as easy (or as painful) as HGTV, and DIY shows make it out to be, but it does take a lot of patience, work, and a willingness to play the long game.

You can choose to invest in turnkey properties that can quickly be turned in rental properties, or you can look into investing in quick-sale fixer-uppers that need a lot of money invested in updating them.

14. Become an expert consultant

If you specialize in any specific topic, you can become an expert consultant!

15. Teach English online

English language teachers are in high demand, and you can easily become a teacher from the comfort of your own home. There are dozens of websites that help match you up with kids from all around the world who are looking to learn English. If you’re a native English speaker with a Bachelor’s Degree, teaching experience, and can pass a background check, what’s stopping you from becoming a teacher?

16. Run Facebook ads for small businesses

Becoming a Facebook ad manager might seem like a daunting task, but it’s easier than you think. Are you well connected in a small town? Does your best friend run their own small business? Do you frequent mom-and-pop shops that need a little marketing boost? Then you may already have the right leads.

Despite the controversial nature of Facebook, it continues to be one of the largest tools for small businesses to market themselves, and now is the time to capitalize on it and turn it into the best side hustle for you. Some of the key aspects of managing Facebook ads is understanding the market, knowing the right keywords, and being able to produce quality copy and graphics to engage in potential customers.

17. Rent your car

Has your unused RV been camped out in your driveway? Do you have a spare vehicle you haven’t let go of yet? Then renting your car out might be the best side hustle for you. There are several user-friendly apps out there that will help you start renting out your car by this weekend.

Getaround and Turo make renting your car simple. These are the perfect apps for users who might have a second car that sits idle most of the time or someone who lives in a tourist destination that wants to make money off their vehicle. You can easily earn upwards of $500 a month keep your car running!

RV Share and Outdoorsy are specifically geared towards users who own RVs. If you’re an RV owner, but you only use it part of the time, why not list it and make money letting someone else use it? Some users report making over $300 a day renting out their RV!

18. Become a mover

We mentioned TaskRabbit above, which has plenty of moving jobs listed, but if you have the strength, you can make moving a cozy part-time job. If you have a truck to help move larger pieces, you might even make a little more money than the average mover.

Always keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace and NextDoor too, as people are always looking for paid help to move!

19. Turn your hobby into a business

There are so many ways to make money off your hobby if you have the patience to build your own mini-empire. Whether you create quirky stickers, knit geeky scarves, woodcraft, or embroidery, Etsy makes it easy for you to turn your hobby into a lucrative business, but did you know you can also easily teach your hobby online?

You can turn your hobby into online workshops and start drawing in a steady income from fellow hobbyists looking to refine their skills or learn something new. Check out Teachable and Udemy to find out which one fits your personality best.

Youtube is also a valuable asset if you’re building a hobby-focused brand, and you have the time and skills to create and upload videos regularly. You wouldn’t believe how much money YouTubers like Jacksepticeye and streamers like Shroud and Ninja are making thanks to ad revenue, affiliate programs, and sponsorships.

20. Resell domains

If you own a website, never forget to renew your domain! Some people make a living by buying up domains that people have forgotten to renew, and then they essentially ransom them at insanely high price tags (depending on the website, I’ve seen between $300 and $5000). But fear not, we are not advocating that you become a domain pirate — exactly.

Spend time looking for unpurchased domains that may have long-term returns. Focus on domains that might logically become a brand, socially-minded organization, or popular keywords that may one day entice someone into contacting you to buy it. Do your research, and don’t start spending a ton of money on domains. Make strategic choices!

21. Create a course online

If teaching English wasn’t the right match for you, but you have the passion and skills to teach other courses online, then this might be the best side hustle for you. Especially with so many people looking for ways to learn new marketable skills or looking for alternative education for their kids online, this has the potential to be a highly lucrative hustle.

Some people report making upwards of $90,000 a year teaching online.

It’s pretty easy to find online teaching jobs, but you will need a few key skills to get into the market. First, you will need to be proficient in a desirable field — do research, check out what courses are available online, and see which ones are sold out and have a clear demand. You will also need to have a decent computer, video recording and editing abilities, and the discipline and time to teach at a distance.

We already mentioned Teachable and Udemy, Thinkific and Skillshare are two more user-friendly sources for teaching online. Be aware that there is an overhead cost associated with these sites, so check each out and see which is the best match for you.

22. Upcycle furniture

Have you ever been browsing Facebook Marketplace and come across someone practically giving away perfectly good furniture? Or maybe you’ve seen a piece listed for $5 that just needed a nice coat of paint and some TLC? There’s actually money to be made in strategic upcycling. In fact, there are entire websites — like Freecycle — where people list pieces of furniture, trinkets, and electronics for free!

If you’re a creative person, you could easily take a free kitchen table and transform it into a $200 piece with some paint and elbow grease. Keep an eye on thrift stores, too; you never know what sort of pieces you can find that would be perfect for flipping for a profit.

23. Become a mystery shopper

Companies all around the world hire mystery shoppers to give them feedback on their businesses. In exchange for money, theses companies hire individuals to go into their stores and purchase specific items and services to rate and review their employees and product accessibility. Becoming a mystery shopper is easy and can even be done as part of your usual shopping habits.

24. Start dropshipping

Dropshipping can make you upwards of $5000 a month, but it does require a little effort to get into. To get started, you will need to set-up an eCommerce store (we recommend Shopify or WordPress) and then start selling stock straight from the supplier. Instead of shipping the products yourself, yous imply purchase goods from a wholesale manufacturer, and then they package and ship directly to your customers. 

Each platform charges a different amount, so it is essential to do your research before trying to create a dropshipping business as a form of passive income.

Looking to start a Shopify store? You may want to check out Debutify. It is the world’s #1 Shopify theme with 250,000+ downloads, helping you instantly increase sales. 

Final words

Whether you are an introvert or not, there are so many unique ways to make money online, and at home. The key is finding the best side hustles for your lifestyle and schedule. Hopefully, we have helped you find some new ways to bring in a passive income or a new way to showcase and profit from your passions.

What is your favourite side hustle? Be sure to comment on how you’ve been making money on the side.

This article originally appeared on Your Money Geek and has been republished with permission.

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2 thoughts on “The Best Side Hustles”

  1. Starting a blog is a great way to create a side hustle, although it can take a bit of time until you’re making money. Thank you for sharing these recommendations x

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