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Starting a side hustle is the most rewarding and satisfying journey you will ever embark on; those who have launched a side business can attest that it is a low-risk-lucrative business that provides life-long financial benefits. If you do not have one, it's okay. But if you intend to have multiple streams of income, you should choose from the best side hustles out there.
Imagine it like this; you have a full-time job that pays you monthly; meanwhile, your side hustle can pay you anywhere and anytime and at your convenience. Another way you can think of side hustles is; that it is here to stay, even if your full-time job leaves, so if you’re wondering whether you can start a side hustle, the answer is yes. Side hustles are for anyone and everyone! No years of experience or specific age gap are required.
Whether you have a full-time role, are considering quitting a position but don’t know what to fall back on, want a side hustle alongside your 9-5? or you want to go into different side hustles full time? here are the 48 best side hustles you can launch:
Drop Shipping: This type of business requires no capital and is a low-risk business. All you need is a merchant who can help you deliver to the customer's location. You can drop ship any item from cosmetics to footwear.
Freelancer: As a freelancer, you can earn per task and create a schedule that suits your workflow because you are not committed to a fixed work schedule. You can determine your terms of payment and contract. There are no limitations to the industry that you can freelance.
Personal shopping: A personal shopper shops for people for a living. Such people mainly shop for fashion items. An example of a personal shopper is someone living around a local food company in Nigeria, who selects an order for a client, and sends them down to the customer's preferred location. While some personal shoppers affiliate with the brands, others work independently.
Virtual Assistant: The demand for virtual assistants is rising, as people are looking for assistants to carry out administrative tasks. Virtual assistants can host zoom sessions, schedule phone calls, manage calendar appointments, and travel appointments. Today, virtual assistants work not only on administrative tasks but also in operations, business management, accounting, and management. Do you have strong communication skills? Then you should apply for VA roles.
Become a Freelance writer: Being a freelance writer means writing at your own pace and earning at your own time. To become a freelance writer, you can join a community on Twitter or LinkedIn for writing jobs. You can create a medium or Quora account to build your portfolio. Several industries require freelance writers, from marketing agencies to UX and technical writing; you will always find a niche.
Freelance writing spans the following:
Content writing: A content writer writes for companies and websites. This type of writing is usually niche-based; for instance, a content writer may write a guide to use a company’s product. You can turn on your Linkedin job notifications to get access to such jobs. You can look up Glassdoor and Indeed for content writing jobs.
Blogging: Are you aware that people get paid as much as $15,000 for a blog post? Well, they do. You can charge based on your experience and work your way upwards if you are starting.
Ghostwriting: Get paid to write; the only clause is that you won’t get credit for your work, but your client will pay for it.
Copy Writing: Copywriting, also known as sales copy, is writing done to enable customers, users, or visitors to take action. When you log into an app and see several CTA’s that say “shop now Or do not miss out on this promo,” those are copywriting examples. LinkedIn, Twitter, Glassdoor, and Indeed are great places to find copywriting gigs.
Essay writing: As intending students struggle to put their ideas together, they look to professionals to write down their thoughts; if you are great at writing, you can help people write this academic content
Proofread and editing: There are millions of writers, both full-time, per time, and freelance writers, looking for proofreaders and editors who can edit their written content. If you are great at grammar, spelling, or fact-checking, you should consider checking out some of these sites to start your proofreading side hustle.
Affiliate marketing: You can make bonuses or get commissions for selling other brands' products through your website or word of mouth. Affiliate marketing is a referral kind of business where you are being paid or rewarded a commission for every lead or sales generated through your marketing efforts.
Hair Care: Become a mobile hairstylist; women want to install their wigs on the go, and you can fix them at any time. This business model also works for make-up artists.
Become a driver: Imagine closing from the day’s work, and on your way home, you can use your car to earn a few coins instantly. Even without a full-time role, you can make money instantly or per ride by driving for these companies, Uber, Taxify, Lyft, and Amazon. You need to find out the requirements for becoming a driver and the payment method, and you are good to go.
Tutoring: Tutoring does not have to be limited to academia; you can teach cooking skills, hairstyling, and any other thing you are passionate about or well-rounded. You can launch your tutoring business on Instagram, telegram, or WhatsApp, where you use videos to teach. Zoom, Microsoft teams, or Whova are also suitable platforms for training.
Build and write Resumes: Writing resumes is a lucrative business; job seekers are looking to put their best foot forward daily, thus outsourcing resume writers to write their resumes. If you want to start a resume-building business, you can set up a YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter account to launch a resume-building side hustle. The job-hunting market is enormous, and no one wants to get rejected. Using your resume-building side business, you can help job hunters access job opportunities.
Home cleaning services: There are two ways you can start your home cleaning service; you can either register under an established home cleaning service or launch a personal service with your rate cards. It is easy to start a home cleaning service, make up your mind, choose a location, and spread the word.
Personal Training: You can offer fitness training services who want to go to the gym but do not know how to build a relationship with the gym. As a fitness coach, you may work with a gym, be affiliated with gym brands, start in your home, or even train in a client’s home. There is no wrong or right way to start. You can also sell membership plans, nutrition plans, gym wears, and even create social media channel dedicated to fitness videos. Instagram and TikTok are great channels for this business.
Canva graphic designing: You can sell Canva graphics design to small business owners and medium. Small business owners often have content ideas and do not know how to design; you can offer design services. The only thing is you need a great portfolio to give your clients a feel of what to expect and market your business.
Product Photography: It is effortless to start a product photography business, all you need is a camera, tripod, ring light, and background, and you are ready to launch your product photography side hustle. You can use dropbox or google drive to build your portfolio. You can also sell your images on Shutterstock, Etsy, istock photo, and Getty images.
Social Media Management for SMEs: As people launch new businesses online, they are looking to hire social media managers to monitor and manage their pages. You can help small business owners and medium or large enterprises manage their social media pages. An excellent way to start is by developing your portfolio or using word-of-mouth marketing. You can build a portfolio on Instagram or any social channel you are most comfortable using.
Selling Used clothes or furniture: Do you have used clothes or furniture that are wearable and useable, then hop on the Facebook marketplace or Etsy and sell them off. You can also sell on social media or at your home, in your garage-like a garage sale.
Trade on the Facebook marketplace: You can sell unused items or fairly used items on the Facebook marketplace. Selling on the Facebook marketplace is super straightforward, just get on a Facebook profile and search for a marketplace and sell.
Edit Videos: You are in luck if you are great at editing videos or creating video marketing ideas. You can edit videos for small and medium enterprises and online business owners. You can start your business by creating a social media account to advertise and launch your video editing business. You can also set up a Fiverr, freelancer, or Upwork account to sell your video editing skill.
Sell Graphic Designs: Whether you are a 3D illustrator, animator, or graphics designer, there is a large market for you to earn. Besides opening an eCommerce site or social media channel to sell your designs, you can also sell your creations on the Creative market, Fiverr, DevianArt, BigCartel, and Zazzle.
Create a YouTube channel: The answer to can you earn from your YouTube channels is yes. To earn from YouTube, you must hit the 1000 views milestone and join the Youtube Partners Program. Typically partners with 1000 views get between $3 to $5, which means you will need about 6000 to 20,000 views to make your first $100, and to join this program, you should have:
at least 4000 watches in the past 12 month
1000 subscribers
sign and agree to the terms and conditions
have your Adsense account
Transcribe Interviews: Professional transcribers earn as much as $40,000/yr, which means you can achieve this much, even as a side hustle. All that is needed for you to make money as a transcriber are your listening skills, and the ability to write, because all you need do is write ‘down precisely what you hear and sign up on a transcribing platform. Some of the platforms to start your transcriptionist side business are Scribie and Go transcript.
Sell snacks to co-workers: This business is lucrative and easy to start. Though, be careful not to be caught selling during work hours. Ensure that you are selling during lunch or break; the snacks you intend to sell can span chips to baked goods.
Transcribe YouTube videos: Get paid to transcribe YouTube videos. People earn as much as $1000 to transcribe videos. Some platforms where you can get paid to transcribe are Go transcript, Upwork, QA world, Transcribe me, Fiverr, and Rev.
Start a podcast: News has it that you can earn from podcasting, and we are here to confirm that news for you. If you have launched your podcast or intend to launch it, you can make money from it through several monetization strategies. They are;
affiliate sales or marketing; this is when brands pay for each sale or commission that comes from your podcast
Get sponsorship from brands or businesses
Provide premium content for a fee
Seek donations through PayPal, Paystack, paystub, Barter, or Venmo.
Launch a gifting service: Did you know that over 3 million people celebrate occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and over 100 others you can think of daily? Now you know. Did you also know that they hire gifting services to gift their family, friends, or loved ones during these celebrations? If you have a flair for gifting, this is your sign to start. You can begin by telling family and friends, then launch an online business.
Become a Translator: Can you speak one or more languages? Have you been learning how to speak a second language? You can start a side gig by translating. Many companies ad hoc hire translators, so you can either build a personal brand to this end on social media or create an account on either of these platforms to start your translation side hustle. Lionbridge, Textmaster, Tethras, One-hour translation, Unbabel, or Translate are great places to get translation jobs.
Laundry services: Twenty-four hours is no longer enough for people to carry out their day to day activities, so people are looking to cut off chores, and laundry happens to be on this list. Providing laundry services is an excellent choice for a side hustle and costs 0$ to start. You can print and post fliers and share them on Facebook, WhatsApp, or Telegram.
Costume Rental: Renting out costumes is fun and easy to set up. You can decide on single or multiple niches. Likewise, you can decide on an audience or various audiences to serve targeted audiences. Here you can employ word of mouth marketing, print/flier marketing, and social media marketing.
Data Entry: Companies open over 100 flexible data entry roles daily in today's digital world. If you possess strong attention to detail, excellent verbal communication, and writing skills, and can perform repetitive tasks, give data entry a shot. Freelance posts open data entry roles monthly.
Become a cook or meal planner: If you cook or enjoy cooking, you can create a meal plan for people or offer personal cooking services.
Offer babysitting or childcare services: Head to Babymigo to list and launch your babysitting services; Urban Sitter, Au pair America, Helpr, Enanny source, and Bambino. You can also start by word-of-mouth marketing and telling your family and friends. You can also download the care.com app to list your services.
Start a cooking class: Train people to cook. Yes, you read right, organize a cooking class for making crunchy chicken or an hour class on how to cook a particular meal and watch those cash roll. A good marketing tip is to tell them that a cooking skill learned in an hour can last them a lifetime. All you need are tutorial videos and a messaging-based platform like WhatsApp.
Storage renting: You can rent out free space for storage or living purposes. You can also rent out free space or room but be ready to share your home with a stranger to earn that extra cash. List your home or storage space on Airbnb.
Become a Consultant: Did you know that you can become a consultant in a profession you are well experienced? From interior decoration to home decoration, online marketing, content marketing, brand strategy, human resource, or sales strategy, you can launch a consulting business in your most preferred profession.
Offer local tour guide services: It doesn’t have to be huge, you may not take visitors to the tallest mountains or Mount Everest, but you sure can help them get around or on short trips around your area. Social media is an excellent place to start this business; TikTok and Instagram are perfect channels to share videos of your locations and work your way upwards to an influencer in this niche.
Grocery Delivery: Own a car? Or, like being mobile, you can help people deliver groceries to their homes. Amazon flex is a good place to sign up for grocery or food delivery. You can look up top food or grocery stores and learn how to start driving for them. Also, you can tell family and friends.
Launch a calligraphy business: If you have fantastic penmanship, calligraphy is a lucrative business to try. Even if you do not have great handwriting, you can learn calligraphy and start a homemade business by creating handmade notes and gift cards! You’d be surprised by the number of couples, friends, and party planners who need your services. You can also list your art on Etsy.
Take online surveys and get paid: Yes, you read right. Get paid for taking surveys online. Most surveys are for market research purposes, and you can get paid in the form of gift cards or cash. Swagbucks will earn you up to $250 to over $1000. Other trusted websites you can explore are Ysense and Panel Base. Feel free to do more research.
Sell your creative skills: Any corporate professional can sell their expertise on Upwork or Fiverr. From graphic designing to UX designer and software development, you can sell on Fiverr. All you need to do is sign up and create a profile.
Engage in car rental: Is your car lying around your home? Here’s what, you can list your car for rent. Make sure to look up car trusted car rental sites where you can list your vehicle around your area. You can also tell family, friends, and colleagues about your car rental business.
Sell online workshops/courses on Udemy: Selling courses on Udemy is another easy business to launch. However, it is essential to research ways to assemble your course outline and sign up for a teacher's account.
Create and sell worksheets or templates: You can always sell printable templates and worksheets. You can sell marketing plans, excel worksheets, content plans, to-do lists, sales templates etc.
Get paid to watch videos and read books: You can earn a minimum of $10 to as much as $100 from watching videos online; I mean Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and My Points will pay you to watch videos. Additionally, Kirkus media, Any Subject books, and books browse will pay you to read and review books; these reviews could be 50 to 500 words long.
Get paid for downloading apps: This might sound unbelievable, but you can make a side hustle from downloading apps. I tell you that Swagbucks will pay you to download apps. You can also do your research to find out more.
Create an online store: Launch your online store and sell whatever you desire. First, You need to decide on your products which could be gym wear, footwear, clothes, beauty products, personal care, etc. Then you can proceed to launch your online store on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook and also on eCommerce platforms such as Flutterwave, Amazon, Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix.
Become an SEO Specialist: You can become an SEO specialist and work for limitless companies. As an SEO specialist, you can optimize millions of websites to rank for search engines. Now, name a company without a website? If you can’t name any, then there you have your answer- that answer being there are limitless opportunities for SEO specialists. You can take a free course on SEO by HubSpot to build the skills required to succeed in this field.
Launch a food stand: Tell me one thing that humans can’t do without daily? I know you said water, but so is food. You can set up a food business as your side hustle today.
Pro Tip: It is usually best to start a side hustle based on your strengths or skills, something you can be proactive about. However, you can also learn a new skill based on your interests.
Side hustles can help you close the income gap because you can earn from multiple avenues on your terms. If you are unsure which side hustle to start, then start by identifying strengths and skills and select your preferred side hustle from one of the listed best in 2022.