21 Side Hustle Ideas That You Can Start Today

Intro

Don’t already have a side hustle? You could be leaving a lot of money on the table.

Side hustles are a fantastic way to make money online, supplement your income, grow your skills, and keep improving yourself on your own terms.

If that sounds good to you, check out these 21 side hustles you could start doing right now.

21 Side Hustle Ideas

1. Rideshare Driving

If you own a vehicle that fits the safety standards for rideshare apps, this is a way you can start making money immediately.

Register for one or more rideshare apps. The most popular are Uber and Lyft, but there are many other local alternatives depending on where you live. Some alternative apps also pay better rates than the top apps, letting drivers keep a higher percentage of the fare.

Remember that you can register for multiple services and try out each one. See where you get the most work and the best rates over time.

Requirements:

• Driver’s license
• A car
• A clean driving record
• A smartphone

2. Delivery (Food & Grocery)

If your car doesn’t meet the ridesharing requirements or you’re not interested in carrying passengers, delivery service is another way you can make quick money with a vehicle.

In many larger cities, you can also take delivery jobs on foot, bike, or motorcycle. This lowers the barrier to starting delivery as a side hustle, depending on where you live.

There are a lot of different delivery apps you can try out. Some focus exclusively on meal deliveries, others on groceries, and some have a broad range of delivery types. The most popular are Uber Eats, Postmates, Doordash, Instacart, and Grubhub.

Requirements:

• Consistent access to a vehicle, motorbike, or a bicycle
• Driver’s license (if using a car or motorcycle)
• Clean driving record (if driving)
• A smartphone

3. Odd Jobs (Task Rabbit, etc.)

If you’re a handy person or you’re willing to do tasks that others don’t have time for, you could make some money doing odd jobs for people in your area.

Sign up to an app and look for job posts or put your advertisements out there. Some apps to try include TaskRabbit, Thumbtack, and Handy.

Remember that handyman tasks aren’t always skill-intensive like plumbing or construction. People also hire handyman to help them hang pictures, put together Ikea furniture, or clean out their gutters.

Requirements:

• Transport to task locations
• Your own tools (if required for the job)
• A smartphone

Each app may have its own specific requirements for independent contractors (which is you in this case). Check with each app before registering.

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4. Flipping

Many people don’t like to go through the trouble of reselling old or unwanted things. Search around for deals and resell items yourself.

You can find tons of underpriced items on Craigslist, at yard sales, in thrift shops, on Facebook marketplace groups, at local auctions, and loads of other places.

When you have items to resell, you can place them up on eBay or Amazon, or you can look for more specialized marketplaces for other items. Niche sites like Bookscouter, Poshmark, or Swappa are good for specific types of things your want to sell.

It’s all about buying low and selling high.

Requirements:

• Ability to ship to people affordably (ideally living in the US, UK, or EU)
• A smartphone with a camera
• Consistent access to the internet

5. Dog Walking

Many working families living in urban areas have difficulty taking their dog for a walk every day because of their tight schedules. This is where you come in with a dog walking service!

Dog walkers make around $14 per hour on average, per dog. If you’re able to walk multiple dogs at a time a few days a week, you can make a healthy profit while getting some exercise for yourself as well.

Find dog walking gigs online at PetSitter.com, Care.com, and Rover.com.

Requirements:

• Ability to walk for long distances
• Basic dog care supplies (waste bags, leashes, harnesses, etc.)

6. Babysitting & Petsitting

If you have free time and you’re good with kids or pets, you can try out babysitting or pet sitting as a side hustle.

This side hustle can be very profitable, as long as you have spare time when families need sitters. If you want to give it a try, you can find both babysitting and pet sitting jobs on Care.com or Pawshake.

Requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old

Recommended:

• First Aid and CPR training

7. Online Surveys

You can make money in your spare time by answering surveys or doing simple tasks for companies online. It’s simple and has a low time commitment, but how much you can make from each survey varies a lot.

Unfortunately, this side hustle is only really profitable if you live in the right area and fit into the right demographics. If you fit into the demographics that most companies are seeking for a survey, you’ll have more options and get paid more for each response.

Make an account with a few different sites to try it out. Some of the top sites are Branded Surveys, Swagbucks, Toluna, LifePoints, YouGov, i-Say, and OnePoll.

Requirements:

• A computer or smartphone
• Internet access

8. Help Small Businesses with Social Media

Many companies today outsource the management of their social media profiles. While large companies hire marketing firms, many small businesses work with individuals.

If you’re good with multiple social media apps, approach small businesses near you and see if they’d be interested in working with you.

This side hustle provides a steady monthly income, and has the potential to scale up a lot.

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Requirements:

• Consistent internet access
• Some understanding of different social media platforms

9. Join Fiverr

If you’ve got a skill, there’s a good chance you can do it for hire on Fiverr. Fiverr is a site that matches together freelancers and people seeking services.

You can make an account for free and start looking for work immediately.

Take time setting up your account. Be thorough and give potential clients a compelling reason why they should work with you. You can also try Upwork, Toptal, Freelancer.com, or Guru.

Requirements:

• A computer or smartphone
• Consistent internet access
• Your own equipment (anything needed to do the work)

Do you want to upscale your freelancing skills? Know more about the best freelancing courses here!

10. Start Tutoring

Do you have a skill you can teach? Can you teach academic subjects or a language? There’s huge demand for online tutoring, especially teaching English.

No matter what you’re able to teach, there’s likely a place for you to do it online. Try a few of the most popular sites, including Tutor.com, Studypool, Brainfuse, PrepNow, TutorMe, and Vipkid.

Requirements:

• A computer
• Consistent internet access
• Camera and microphone (if video tutoring is required)

Each tutoring site may have its own individual requirements.

11. Clean Houses

Cleaning houses is a great side hustle because you can start any time regardless of your skill or experience level.

Advertise your service online, look for job ads asking about home cleaning, or advertise with physical posters, business cards, and fliers. Just by asking enough people, you’re likely to find a few jobs to start off.

Cleaning homes can scale up easily into a very profitable side hustle. If you’re good enough and you’re efficient, you may even be able to branch into commercial cleaning, which is more lucrative and provides a more stable client base.

Requirements:

• Your own equipment (recommended, but not required to start)

12. Detail Clean Cars

Are you good at cleaning, or do you enjoy working around cars? Detail cleaning cars is a service many people like to outsource, especially people who own new or luxury cars.

Detailing is different than just cleaning cars, because you’ll be cleaning absolutely every part of the inside and outside of the car. As a side hustle, you can run a mobile car detailing service.

Before you start offering detail cleaning for other people, read about it thoroughly and practice on your own car or your friend’s cars. Hands-on experience can help you do a better job for your clients, making it more likely that they’ll hire you again.

Requirements:

• Supplies (car soap, wax, microfiber cloths, buffers, towels, buckets, sponges)

13. Pet Grooming

Are you good with pets? You might be able to do a pet grooming side hustle for some extra cash.

Grooming pets usually involves bathing, clipping nails, brushing fur, and trimming hair. Each pet has its own needs, and it’s your job as the groomer to identify those grooming needs and get it done.

If you’ve never groomed a pet before, start small with people you know so you can practice. Once you’re more comfortable, you can market your services more broadly.

Requirements:

• Pet shampoo and conditioners
• Eye and ear cleaning kit
• Brushes and combs
• Hair dryer
• Scissors or grooming shears
• Pet nail clipper
• Grooming table (recommended, but not required)
• Access to running water

14. Give Music Lessons

If you play any instrument, sing, or read music, you can give music lessons to others. Depending on your skill level, you can market to beginners or open up to teaching more advanced students as well.

Music lessons are a good way to add to your income by teaching a skill you already know.

Requirements:

• Your own instrument (recommended, but not necessary to start)

15. Write Resumes

No one likes writing their resume. If you’re good at resume writing, you can make it into a side hustle by helping others write theirs.

If you’re a student, you may be able to market yourself to your classmates and other students on campus. Even if you’re not a student, you can market yourself online through freelancing websites or even local marketplaces like Craigslist.

Requirements:

• Access to a computer

16. House Sitting

If you’re a responsible person who loves to care for other people’s pets and you can commit to staying in someone else’s house at any time, this could be a great side gig.

Try signing up to a few different websites as a house sitter. A few of the top websites are Trusted House Sitters, House Sitters America, House Carers, Nomador, and Mind My House.

Requirements:

• Clean criminal record
• Ability to stay at other people’s houses

17. Work as a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistance has become one of the most common small business ideas in recent years. Virtual assistants (VAs) help busy professionals get stuff done. The job mostly consists of basic administrative work like managing emails, scheduling meetings, client outreach, and data entry.

The great thing about being a VA is that you can do it part-time in between all your other daily responsibilities. You don’t have to make it a full-time job to get a decent amount of money from the work, making it a great side hustle

Sign up to a few different VA marketplaces and look for work today. Try out Fancy Hands, Magic, and Virtual Staff Finder. You can also sign up to general freelancing websites like Upwork and Fiverr and find VA jobs there.

Requirements:

• A computer or smartphone
• Access to the internet
• Basic computer skills (typing, email management, scheduling, etc.)

18. Make Logos for Design Contests

If you’re a creative person, you might do well with logo design. Many different people need logos. While it’s a huge market, it’s also a little difficult to break into if you’re new to design. One of the easiest ways to get into it as a side hustle is to submit designs for logo design contests.

Read the requirements for the client who hosts the contest, make your entry, then submit it and wait for the results.

Top logo design contest websites include 99designs, Design Crowd, Design Hill, and Crowdspring.

Requirements:

• A computer
• Access to the internet
• Digital design software (many free options available)

19. Create & Sell Printables

If you’re an organized person, you could start a side hustle of making printables for people to purchase and download.

Printables can be anything that helps someone get more organized without your direct input. That means meal plans, budgets, chore charts, teaching aids, and lots more. The point of a printable is to help someone reach their goals on their own by giving them an easy-to-use tracking sheet.

Create unique and useful printables with free programs like Canva or Inkscape.

The best places to sell printables are Etsy, Amazon KDP, or Creative Market.

Requirements:

• Access to a computer
• Access to the internet

20. Co-Host for Local Airbnbs

Many people who list their properties in Airbnb like to hire other people to keep up with the daily maintenance on the property. As a co-host, you can deal with a variety of responsibilities, including bookings, guest communication, check-ins, and double-checking the listing between guests.

Sign up to Airbnb and list yourself as a co-host in your local area. Also try searching through local listings on Craigslist and even put up an ad for your services to let people know you’re available.

Requirements:

• Meet Airbnb quality standards
• ID for verification

21. Proofreading

With the growing amount of content being produced online every day, many people are hiring proofreaders to help ensure the quality of what they’re posting.

If you’re good at catching mistakes in writing and making written documents look better, you could be a good proofreader.

Start looking for work right away at specific proofreading sites like Scribbr, Scribendi, Proofreading Services, Proofreading Pal, or Gramlee. Or, join broad freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr where competition will be a bit more difficult.

Requirements:

• Access to a computer
• Access to the internet

Bonus

Cryptocurrency Trading

Although this may be highly addictive and risky, you can make money via cryptocurrency trading if you love taking risks. You can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other cryptocurrencies. News-based trading is a lot more effective if you want to go for intra-day or short-term trading.

Note that the money you make from crypto trading is taxable. Consider consulting crypto tax advisors to know more.

Conclusion

With access to the internet, there are so many opportunities for you to start a side hustle immediately, even if you don’t have any experience or money!

Take advantage of the opportunities in front of you and start earning a side hustle income today.