30 Side Hustle Ideas to Make $500+ in Your Spare Time (2024) (2024)

Every side hustle starts with an idea!

I put together this list of the best side hustle ideas to help get your creative juices flowing.

Most of these side hustles don’t require a huge initial investment, but each has the potential to earn you money in your spare time. And it’s important to remember: what’s best for you might not work for someone else.

These were selected based on:

• 15+ years of side hustle experience
• Interviews with over 500 side hustle entrepreneurs
• Feedback from the 50,000-member Side Hustle Nation community

These ideas are worth anywhere from $50 to $50,000 a month — it all depends on your execution!

1. Online Surveys

These won’t make you rich, but can be an easy way to supplement your income and you can do them in your downtime (waiting in line, watching TV, etc.).

If you love this stuff, check out:

2. Rental Properties

Real estate investing is one of the oldest and most popular side hustles in the books … but houses are expensive!

Thankfully, new platforms like Arrived make it easy to invest in income-generating properties—with as little as $100.

The company pools money to buy rental properties, manages them, and then distributes the cash flow every month.

I also liked Austin Miller’s creative approach to building his rental portfolio, which was up to 17 properties worth $1.2 million when we spoke.

The kicker? They were all acquired “free”—without any of his own money.

3. Customer Interviews

Many companies use customer interviews to get feedback on new products.

User Interviews and Respondent.io are a pair of cool services that facilitate those interviews online and over the phone.

The best part? The average compensation is $50-150 an hour!

Here are some other companies that facilitate focus groups and paid research studies.

4. Part-Time Remote Work

With legit jobs ranging from entry-level to executive and freelance to full-time, FlexJobs is the leading work from home jobs site.

At press time, there were more than 48,000 openings in dozens of career categories.

They charge a nominal monthly fee to access their listings, but you’ll easily earn it back (and then some!) with one job.

Check out our Flexjobs review to learn more.

5. Reselling Furniture Returns

Reselling furniture returns is a unique low-risk side hustle.

How it works is you join Sharetown as a local “reverse logistics” rep. Sharetown partners with direct-to-consumer mattress and furniture brands to handle their return requests.

When customers decide they don’t want to keep the item, you’ll get dispatched to go pick it up.

After that, you’ll clean it up, photograph it, and list it for resale on sites like Facebook Marketplace.

The Sharetown reps I’ve connected with target $150-250 per flip — and the kicker is you don’t have to pay Sharetown for the inventory until the item sells.

Check out my full Sharetown review to learn more.

6. Start a Helpful Content Business

Create content on a topic you care about and build an audience in your niche. As you build out your library of helpful posts, videos, and articles, you’ll pick up more traffic and revenue.

Content creators earn money from affiliate partnerships, ad revenue, and your own products and services.

For example:

• Shelley earns $50k a month from her travel blogs
• Scott earns 6-figures a year from his bird-watching blog
• Katie earns $6k a month from her gray hair blog

Want to start a blog of your own? Check out my free 6-part video course on how to start your own site.

7. Flipping Items for Profit

The art of buying low and selling high is a super popular side hustle, and a very common option to start making extra money.

You can start by offloading items you have around the house, and then look for profitable inventory at:

• Yard sales
• Garage sales
• Estate sales
• Thrift stores
• Flea markets
• Facebook Marketplace

If you love the thrill of the treasure hunt, this could be a great side hustle for you.

For example, my friends Rob and Melissa Stephensonconsistently earn thousands of dollars a month, flipping items part-time!

They put together this free training on how to get started and make your first sales in as little as 2 weeks.

8. Freelance Your Skills

One of the best side hustles to start with is freelancing. You can get started for almost nothing and use the skills you already have.

In fact, more Side Hustle Show guests started with a freelance or service business than any other business model!

Some popular ideas include:

• Bookkeeping — Virtual bookkeepers can earn $60 an hour or more.
• Web design — Ryan Golgosky reported earning up to $100k a month from his unique web design business.
• Freelance writing — Make $100-$500+ per article. Check out the 9-Step Blueprint to Making Money as a Writer for more.
• Software consulting — Is there a software product you’re a relative expert in?
• Graphic design
• Photography
• Personal training

After you take inventory of your skills, think of how you might connect with your target customers. This could be:

• around your neighborhood
• in Facebook groups
• through online marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork

9. Selling Printables and Spreadsheets

I’m a fan of side hustles that let me get paid over and over again from work I do once, and printables definitely fits that bill.

By uploading digital files to Etsy, you can reach a wide audience of buyers—without having to fulfill individual orders.

Rachel Jones reported earning $10,000 a month from her portfolio of Etsy printables. Examples might include habit trackers, meal plans, budget templates, chore charts, intake forms, and more.

Here are some bestselling product ideas to get you started.

Similarly, Emily McDermott reported earning $250,000 in her first two years of selling spreadsheets on Etsy.

10. Vending Machines

Mike Hoffmann’s vending machine empire earns thousands of dollars a month in profits.

His advice was to get modern machines, and find locations with either 100 residential units or workplaces with 100 employees.

11. Local Service Business

Starting a local service business is a low startup cost way to make extra money.

Examples include:

• Window cleaning — Johnny Robinson built his window cleaning business to $700k a year — while a full-time college student.
• Pressure washing — Earn $3,000-$4,000 a month part-time, and break even on your startup costs after just 1-2 jobs.
• Yard work — As a teenager, Jack Fleming built his lawn care business to $70k in profit!
• Pet waste removal — It’s a dirty job, but can pay up to $50 an hour.
• Mobile car detailing — Get clients in bunches at office parks, shopping malls, schools, sporting events, and other places where people (and their cars) like to gather.
• Parking lot cleanup — Brian Winch turned “America’s simplest business” into a $600k a year income stream.
• Knife sharpening — Every house in the country is a potential repeat customer!
• Home organization — After you’re done Marie Kondo-ing your own place, maybe others would hire you to “spark joy” in theirs.
• Junk hauling — This is a great side hustle business if you already have access to a pickup truck or van.

If you can apply some modern digital marketing, you’ll be able to build a profitable side hustle.

12. Niche Newsletter

One of the side hustles I’m excited about right now is curated email newsletters. Could you source the best articles on your topic of choice on a daily or weekly basis?

These are super valuable for readers since you help cut through the clutter in your niche. As your audience grows, you can monetize with ads, affiliate offers, or your own products or services.

Tools like Substack and SendFox make it super easy to get started.

13. Local Rental Business

High school teacher Steve Nadramia began renting out portable hot tubs, and now does $1000s a month in bookings.

These types of “unconventional” rental businesses are exciting because the return on investment is so much higher than traditional real estate. For example, in Steve’s case, he might buy a hot tub for $2000, and rent it out for $400-500 a month.

14. Tutoring

Put your education to use helping students learn in a comfortable one-on-one setting. WyzAnt is one of the largest marketplaces in the online tutoring world, where you can set your own rates.

In this post, Matt Fuentes shared how he built his tutoring business up to $1000 a week.

15. Teaching an Online Course

Udemy is an online education platform with thousands of on-demand courses. You can create your own course around a topic you’re an expert in and set your own tuition rate.

I did this several years ago and have earned over $28,000 in (mostly) passive income from it!

If you have an existing audience, you might be able to sell the course directly (without giving Udemy a cut).

For example, Nate Dodson shared the framework he uses to earn $40,000 a month teaching people how to start a microgreens business.

Lyftor Uber have become synonymous with side hustles. Starting a rideshare or delivery side hustle is easy and straightforward. In most cases, you’ll just need to:

• Have reliable transportation (car, bike, electric scooter, etc.)
• Be 18 or older
• Complete a background check

Your earning power is typically in the $14-25 per hour range,and you can set your own schedule.

Here are a few delivery apps to consider:

• Instacart – Pick up and deliver groceries around town. Check out our full Instacart shopper reviewfor more.
• DoorDash – Deliver takeout orders. For more, check out our full DoorDash review.
• Uber Eats – Deliver takeout meals like my friend Jason, whoreported earning $25-30 an hour.

17. HopSkipDrive

HopSkipDrive specializes in safe and transparent school transportation for kids.

Their rigorously vetted CareDrivers are “caregivers on wheels” who set their own schedule and get to support the community.

HopSkipDrive currently operates in select metro areas, but is rapidly expanding to new cities.

Requirements:

• At least 23 years old
• 5 years caregiving experience
• Background check; good driving record
• 4-door vehicle under 10 years old

Earning Power: $20-30 per hour. (Earnings vary based on location and demand, but HopSkipDrive CareDrivers can earn over $35 per trip on average, completing 7-8 trips a week.)

18. Get Paid to Play Mobile Games

If you already love playing mobile games, this is probably the easiest way for you to make extra money.

Several apps will pay you to download and try out new games, and you can earn more by reaching certain milestones within a specified period of time.

Where does the money come from? These apps get paid by game developers who want to get new users to play their games. The apps then share a portion of that money with you, the user.

19. The Amazon Influencer Program

My latest side hustle is as an Amazon Influencer. This is an offshoot of the Associates program designed for content creators with a following on social media.

Once your Influencer account is approved, you’ll be able to upload short product review videos.

In turn, Amazon displays those on the relevant product pages, and rewards you a commission when someone makes a purchase after watching your video.

I made a little over $100 doing this in my first month, with very little effort!

20. Residential or Commercial Cleaning Service

It may not be glamorous, but commercial cleaning is something nearly every business spends money on. And since it usually gets done in the after-work hours, it’s a good fit for side hustlers.

You may not even have to do the cleaning yourself. For instance, Anthony and Jhanilka Hartzog built their cleaning business to $25k a month — and contract with other pros to do the work!

21. Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

When homeowners travel, it opens up an opportunity to come by and take care of their animals.

To set up shop, try Rover.com. Several Side Hustle Nation readers report earning $1000 a month watching other people’s pets!

22. Craigslist Gigs

There’s a little-known section in the bottom right corner of Craigslist specifically for side hustlers. It’s called “gigs”:

Check it out and see what kind of gigs you might be able to find nearby or online.

23. AI Training

Yes, this is a real way to make money online for beginners. Modern AI models actually use human assistants to get smarter.

For example, you can get paid to help evaluate AI prompts and responses with companies like Remotasks.

The onboarding process is a bit tedious, but I made $15 an hour in my first paid training session. Check out our full Remotasks review for more.

24. Product Licensing

With product licensing, you sell the rights to your idea to large companies, who then pay you royalties for every sale they make from that idea.

For example, Nate Dallas earned $300,000 from Mattel after licensing them an ideafor a Pictionary spin-off.

25. Child Care or Caregiving

Is it just me, or does “babysitting” sound amateur compared to “child care”?

There’s also an opportunity in elder care as the population ages, and sites like Care.com can help match you with customers.

26. Personal Chef Service

Could you get paid to make meals? This could be a good way to monetize your cooking skills— without the risk of starting your own restaurant.

Some private chefs earn $180-200 a week per family to deliver meals to their house.

HireaChef.com connects you with families and events looking for private chefs, or you might just post on Facebook or NextDoor.

With platforms like Eatwith, you could even begin charging to host meals.

27. Sports Coaching or Officiating

School teams often need coaches and this can be a fun and active side hustle.

Similarly, recreational sports leagues are often in need of referees and umpires. This can be a fun way to spend your evenings and earn a little extra cash.

28. Ironing / Mobile Laundry Service

One Side Hustle Nation reader in Australia shared how she was earning an extra $400 a month to iron other people’s clothes. She was thrilled to be “getting paid to watch movies”–how she passed the time while ironing.

According to the mobile laundry service Poplin, top “Laundry Pros” earn up to $6,000 a month.

29. Local Tours

Do you want to show off your city to visitors? You can create your own unique tour experience with the help of websites likeToursByLocals.com.

For example, Alexandra Kenin leads urban hikers through the hills of San Francisco at $50 a pop.

30. Pallet Flipping

Flipping liquidation pallets is a unique “treasure hunt” of a side hustle. How it works is you buy pallets of returned merchandise from local liquidators and resell the individual items for a profit.

For side hustlers like Jamie and Sarah McAuley, this translates into $500-2000/mo in profit.

What are the Best Side Hustles to Avoid?

I believe just about any side hustle can work under the right circ*mstances, but there are a few I’d be cautious about.

Among those:

• Network Marketing Companies / Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Companies — The vast majority of participants in these end up losing money.
• Low-Paying Microtasks — Several platforms pay you pennies to complete quick tasks online. While the work can be quick and easy, your time is probably better spent elsewhere.
• “Done for You” E-Commerce Stores or Websites — Building the website is the easy part; figuring out how to drive profitable traffic is where these programs fall short.

When you’re starting a side hustle, ask yourself, “What if it works?”

We tend to focus on the negative — “What if this fails?” — and while that’s important, be sure to consider the upside as well. And if it does work, would that be a win for you?

Looking for More Side Hustle Ideas?

• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares hundreds of side hustle ideas to make extra money.
• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a side hustle?

A side hustle is anything you do to earn money outside of your day job. However, side hustles carry a more entrepreneurial connotation than merely taking on a second job.

What’s the best side hustle for me?

The best side hustle for you depends on your skills and experience, the time you have to devote to it, and your overall interests and goals. Check out our full list and you’re sure to find a side hustle idea that sparks a flame!

What are the most popular side hustles?

By raw numbers, the most popular side hustles are freelancing, network marketing, real estate investing, and participating in the “gig economy” through apps like Uber and Lyft. Be sure to check out the full list of ideas to see which one could be a fit for you.

How do you start a side hustle?

To start a side hustle, I recommend the “lean startup” model. That means keeping upfront investments low until you find paying customers. Then, use their feedback to change and adapt as needed. But all side hustles start with an idea. Check out our full list of side hustle ideas for more!

Why should you have a side hustle?

A side hustle can be a great way to build extra income and extra skills outside a traditional job. It can be a way to escape a job you don’t like, a shortcut to financial independence, or just a way to practice entrepreneurship in a low risk manner.

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