01. Figure out what you want to do
With so many options to choose from, it can be pretty easy to want to dive head first into multiple side hustles. However, you should probably start with just one side hustle so you don’t spread yourself too thin early on. Starting with one also helps you keep from burning out and stopping it before it becomes really lucrative.
Even if you have many ideas that you want to try, start with the one that’s the most appealing to you. Because you’d be your own boss in these endeavors, you can test out a lot of different ideas over time to find the one/ones that you really want to pursue in the long term.
That’s one of the beautiful things about starting a side hustle — you aren’t stuck to any one idea. Use every opportunity to learn things, build new skills, and make new connections that could open doors for you later on.
02. Open a high yield savings account
Once you start your side hustle, your money needs to be kept in a safe place. You should also look into putting it into a place where you can earn money while it’s sitting there, which is why you should look into high yield savings accounts so that your earnings are making even more for you.
03. Keep track of your net worth
Managing your finances and keeping track of your money is an important skill in general, but you should also do this when it comes to managing your side hustle as well. You can use plenty of tools to do so, as there are many free tools on the app store today that can help you do this. Or, if you would rather, you can design your own tracking method.
What is a Side Hustle?
A side hustle is anything you can do to make yourself extra money outside of your full-time job. You can often do a side hustle from the comfort of your own home. However, you will discover pretty quickly that not all side hustles are created equal, as you can make more money with different side hustles compared to others.
The best side hustle is going to be doing something that you enjoy to do, that also happens to have a good amount of profit and growth potential. Ideally, it would also be a gig that isn’t limited by your own time, but could eventually scale as it takes off or could generate some passive income after an initial time investment.
This doesn’t mean that walking dogs for some extra cash every week isn’t worth doing. If you enjoy spending time with dogs or you want some extra time spent being active, then something like this can still be worth it. It just isn’t as scalable as other side hustle ventures. However, not everyone is looking to scale, which is why the choice of finding the right side hustle for you is going to be extremely important.
You should understand that you can really make tons of money in your spare time, and settling for less just because you think that’s all you can do is a disservice to yourself. Instead, having the right mindset and strategy as you evaluate your side hustle ideas will help you maximize your return on your time.
Personally, I believe that you should try to avoid dead end side hustles like driving with Uber or running websites where the only way you can compete with competitors is on price. This turns your website into a commodity product instead of a value product, and it makes it harder to get ahead of your competition doing this.
Is Your Side Hustle Scalable?
The final question you should ask yourself before investing a considerable amount of time into any particular side hustle is that you should consider how much potential this side hustle has to be scaled. If you’re looking to start side hustling mainly for money, then this will help you narrow down your ideas to things that are the most profitable ideas. As a practice, you should try to shift your thinking ideas that are strictly limited by your own time to side hustles that have the most potential to be scaled.
Today, Side hustles are one of the best ways to increase your income so you can pay off debt, pad your savings, afford an expensive new toy you’ve been eyeing, or even just help reduce your overall financial stress. That means you can use side hustles when you’ve gotten more serious about tackling your debt, you want to save up for a vacation that’s quickly approaching, or you’re looking to use some extra money to save for retirement by investing more.
If all of these options sound appealing to you, then you’re going to want to keep reading. I’m currently using a few different side hustles that are a part of this list to pay off student loans, pay for my wedding, and even pay for our honeymoon.
The best side hustle ideas are going to be flexible and pay well for the work that you’re doing. These types of side hustles are typically also scalable, so that they can produce one or more of these side hustles into a much larger business. However, the list below also shows side hustles that aren’t quite so scalable, since not everyone is looking for a new career that takes up all of their time.
Either way, if something is driving you to find your side hustle, the list below is going to show you the best side hustle ideas of 2022 that can generate you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars in additional income each month.
1. Start A Blog
Even though it might take some time, you can make plenty of money blogging. Some of the higher grossing blogs can make more than $10,000 per month on just advertising and affiliate marketing revenue. This is money that you have to do nothing to get. Reading just read, some will click on affiliate links, and then sometimes they sign-up or try a service, which ultimately will bring more money into your pocket.
If you’re a person who loves to write, then blogging might be a great start for you. Most bloggers don’t start their blog for the money, but rather start them because they enjoy thinking and writing about a particular area. They normally feel a sense of purpose or that it’s their mission to share their information with the world.
Over time, as these blogs can grow a following, they can turn into a great side hustle opportunity for the blog owner.
2. Proofreading
Proofreading can be an extremely lucrative side hustle for those you are extremely detail-oriented (and I’m sure you know who you are). If you’re one of these people or you just like proofreading, then starting a proofreading side hustle might be a great fit for you.
There are plenty of bloggers, websites, and businesses alike who are looking for proofreaders and will pay you handsomely for this service. One of the best parts of proofreading is that you can proofread or copyedit from your laptop anywhere and anytime. You can also set your own rates, so if you’re extremely in demand you can make a great amount of money.
In addition to becoming a proofreader, you can also build your brand and reputation into your own business where you can broker other people’s time for money. What this means is that once you get a few clients, you can also begin to hire others to do the proofreading. This can free you up to focus on landing more clients and then do more hiring, which will build your business and make you more money! Not only this, but once you’ve scaled your growing business, you can hire someone to manage your proofreaders and hiring for you, which would ultimately turn this business into a passive income stream.
Ultimately, proofreading has an extremely high return on investment and is worth doing if you are seriously considering or want to learn more about creating your own proofreading business.
3. Virtual Assistant
Becoming a virtual assistant is a side hustle that is right now one of the most in demand side hustles out there.Not only this, but is an extremely profitable and flexible side hustle, making it one of the most popular ones in the digital world.
You can also work as a virtual assistant from anywhere you wish just so long as you have a laptop and reliable internet connection, which makes being a virtual assistant perfect for full-time travelers or digital nomads. With more and more people launching digital businesses, there is an incredible demand for people who can help manage and run those businesses for the owner.
To put it simply, any skill that you have can become monetized. Even if you’ve never been a virtual assistant before, you can become an online entrepreneur who helps other online entrepreneurs as their assistant. Who knows, if you’re able to help other owners well enough, you might earn your way into partial ownership of their business down the road.
Even though I’ve never personally worked as a virtual assistant, I have met multiple people who have made quite a bit of money doing this. There are even some people who will quit their full time jobs to do this online because of the flexibility it provides, the money that can be made, and the better work-life balance that can be found doing this over that of a traditional full time job.
4. Deliver with Postmates
Being a delivery person with Postmates is one of the easiest and most accessible side hustles. It isn’t the most lucrative by any means, but it can provide you with some steady income by delivering food, groceries, and supplies to customers. You can pick and choose the hours you work whenever you want, and everything is done through an app on your phone, making it straightforward to earn money.
Making deliveries as a means to make some extra cash is not going to make you rich, but you can save the money you earn to launch a company later on, or use it to invest so it’s generating you more money as you go.
5. Host with Airbnb
If you have the capacity, renting out a room or an entire apartment can be a great way to pay your bills or even save some money. The amount that you can earn is going to depend on the location of your place and the type of accommodation that you are offering. You can easily see the going rate to similar places in your area and work it out from there. Airbnbs are becoming increasingly popular for travelers of any type of trip, from family vacations to business trips not wanting to stay in a hotel, Airbnb can offer a great way for you to make money.
Airbnb offers a number of protections for both the renter and the rentee, and you can set up your own availability to keep things as flexible as you want. If you have multiple properties, Airbnb can prove to be even more profitable as your different properties are going to drive up your earnings while also making them more consistent.
Where you are looking to host and Airbnb matters a lot. Some cities and areas have much higher earning potential than others. Such is the nature of real estate.
6. Share Your Car
When your car is sitting idly by, your car is losing its value as it depreciates and you get no value out of it in return. This is where car apps like Turo can help you change that by allowing you to share your car with those who are looking to rent one. This can generate you plenty of money on the side, all while you do nothing different than what you would already be doing.
Turo accepts many different car types, from family cars to classics and exotics. Listing your car on Turo is completely free, and you’ll get to set your own daily price and availability. This can be a win for everyone, since you’ll be able to have and use your car when you need it, but also generate money while you’re not using it.
7. Drive with Ridesharing Apps
Ridesharing apps will allow you to pick up passengers and drop them at their destination. It allows for flexibility since you can set your own hours, and it can be a great money generator if you live in a major city with plenty of offices and tourists. Some companies even allow you to rent a car on demand so you don’t have to worry about the wear and tear on your own car.
You’re not going to make your millions if you’re driving for companies like Uber or Lyft, and it probably isn’t something that you’re looking to do for years to come. If you do decide to go with a ridesharing app, however, make sure you make the most out of it and save as much money as possible before you decide to hang up your keys. Any money made can go to saving/investing so it can make you more money later on.
8. Freelance on Fiverr
Freelancing is a great side hustle because you can get employed to do just about anything that there is demand for. Platforms like Fiverr can make it easier than ever to find clients, sign up for gigs, and get paid, which allows you to focus on growing your freelance practice and make even more money.
Freelancing is an extremely flexible side hustle, which is why so many people do it. Freelancing writing is a side hustle that I do regularly, and I’ve made thousands each month while I’m working as a freelancer. You get to set your own hours and rates, but remember you will be competing with any freelancer from anywhere in the world. In any case, being a freelancer means you can certainly keep your day job while joining over freelancers in the gig economy.
9. Freelance Graphic Design
Since many businesses focus so heavily on their marketing efforts with websites and social media, being skilled in graphic design can make you someone of high demand. Small businesses and startup owners will typically turn to freelancers for their graphic design needs since they won’t necessarily want or need a full time graphic designer on their employee payroll.
If you’re able to land work with different clients on different projects, you can not only keep things new and interesting, but you can also expand your portfolio so you can charge more in the future. Like many other side hustles, you can choose with projects you work on, set your own hours, and of course set your own rates.
10. Walk Dogs with Rover
If you love dogs as much as I do, then this side hustle might be perfect for you. Dogs are one of the most fun pets around, making a side job like this fun and rewarding. It also passes the time quickly, which can be plus. Rover offers their users plenty of dog-related services that can include things like dog walking, house sitting, and boarding dogs for their owners. You can choose which services you’re willing to do for Rover, and you can enjoy the time you spend playing with the dogs that cross your path.
Walking dogs isn’t going to make you rich obviously, and you definitely need to have a passion for our furry little friends to make this side hustle work. With this being said, it can be quite relaxing and a way to fit some regular exercise into your daily life.
11. Teach English Online
English is one of the most widely spoken languages all over the world, which makes being able to teach it a high-demand skill across the world. Websites like VIPKid have the goal of connecting students with english language teachers offering personalized classes that are aimed to be used on a one on one basis.
Signing up is easy, and VIPKid has been named one of the top ten places to work by glassdoor. You can set your own hours, and you’ll teach kids from all over the world. This means you will also get to interact with people from many cultures and learn a thing or two about them.
12. Help People
There are very few jobs that are as rewarding or fulfilling as helping those in need. Things like childcare or senior care can be extremely rewarding, and sites like care.com make it easy to make the act of helping others into a great side hustle, both holistically and financially. You will need some previous experience or at the bare minimum some relevant qualifications to join. Traveling is also typically a requirement to visit clients.
While the wages you will make isn’t going to make you rich, they will allow you to understand how the industry works while making some extra cash. Once you have gained enough experience, you can use what you have learned to take your experience elsewhere to make more money.
13. Digital Marketing Campaigns
Before we dig into digital marketing, we should clarify that there are two main ways to go about doing this for someone. These two main ways come in the form of SEO Consulting and being a Facebook Ads Specialist. These two ways have clearly become the two most populars means of digital marketing, so these are the two that we will dig into with this article.
SEO Consultant
Working as an SEO Consultant (or a digital marketing consultant as they’re sometimes called) can book you side hustle gigs that can range in price anywhere from $500 to over $10,000 depending on the type of consulting and the duration of the project. If you ask most SEO consultants, they will attest to this being an extremely profitable both as a side hustle or as a full time job.
Even though SEO has become more of a commodity service, you can build a referral network the longer you do this to generate new clients that will give you their business. Once you’re able to prove your worth, you can really turn this into a viable business, which means it will generate you even more money as your clients (and employees) grow to scale.
Facebook Ads
The second piece of digital marketing is by running search and social campaigns. The easiest and fastest way to get started with this is by reaching out to small businesses in your local community. Personally, I recommend either doing Google ad campaigns or Facebook ad campaigns. The reason I say this is because these two are the current biggest and best ad campaign generators for businesses in the digital marketing space. This doesn’t mean that this won’t change overtime, so make sure to stay agile.
This is an extremely in demand side hustle, since businesses are always looking for ways to generate more leads that will boost their sales. The best part about this side hustle is that once you find your strategy that works, it really turns into a monitor and analysis gig once or twice a day versus doing more hands on work, so once you find your sweet spot you’re getting paid for maintenance. You can also do this from anywhere in the world, making it extremely flexible.
14. Get a Part-Time Job
Depending on your skillset and prior jobs, you might be able to find a very well-paying part time job to make as your side hustle. Part time jobs can be simpler, taking out the hassle of finding clients and being an excellent way to save money or to pay down debts. The type of job that you will be able to find will determine how much money you are able to make, as certain jobs will pay much more than others. Depending on your skillset, it can be a number of jobs. Anything from part-time design work to teaching online, you’ll be able to find something high paying that suits your wheelhouse.
If you struggle to find a job that pays more than minimum wage, then it might be time to invest in yourself and develop a new skill set. There are many online resources that can help you get started, even something as simple as using YouTube to watch videos. You can also check job boards for any part-time jobs near you or consider remote work for maximum earning potential.
15. Become an Amazon Seller
Just like with eBay, Amazon enjoys a worldwide audience online. You can pretty much find anything that you might want to find on Amazon, which is the biggest reason why Amazon is so popular today. This also means that there’s a large potential for repeat customers, which lowers your cost to acquire a customer.
If you don’t have the space, or you don’t particularly like the idea of holding your own stock, you can also use Amazon FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon). By doing this, Amazon will not only handle your stock, but they will also take care of returns and customer queries, which leaves you to focus on selling more to make you more money.
16. Freelance Writing
Personally, this is another one of my favorite ways to generate additional income since it’s flexible and can be done anywhere as long as you meet your deadlines. Freelance writing can be a great way to generate anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 each month.
Here is basically how it works. Different companies, law firms, or blog owners will look for freelance writers who are knowledgeable in a particular area. They then hire someone who is specialized on that topic to then write them either a single paper or many papers as a part of their sales strategy. For example, a freelance writer could get hired by a blog owner to come on as a ghost writer for some blog posts. After agreeing to project length and payment terms, the writer will then do their job for the blog owner, and submit their work for approval. Once their work gets approved, they are paid.
If you were good at writing college papers, then you would be awesome at working as a freelance writer. A great place to get started looking for these gigs can be a place like Craigslist, or even Upwork. If you go in expressing interest in freelance writing, you can likely find some gigs pretty quickly. Plus, the more you do, the more you can charge. Just make sure the quality of your writing is good.