17 Great Ideas For Side Hustles To Earn Extra Income

Having a job is great but there are also great opportunities out there if you’re looking to make some extra money. If you have any skill you feel can be offered to the world and you can make money from then by all means look for ways to capitalize on that. It can be on this list or something else. But here I wanted to lay out some ideas for you. You can use this list for inspiration.

But first…

Why you should have a side hustle?

A side hustle has the potential to earn you a lot of income. Don’t get it wrong though, side hustles aren’t guaranteed get rich quick schemes. Yes, they work many times, but you may need to put in quite a bit of work just to earn an income to begin with other times. This is something you should consider.

The other benefit of a profitable side-hustle is it can sometimes offer a sort of safety net. If you have a job with a company there is a chance you may lose your job. There’s a chance you can lose a side hustle too, to be fair. But at least if you have more than one source of income you can have some extra reassurance in case one fails.

With many side hustles you also often have the luxury of being your own boss.

All-in-all a side hustle is freedom but it does have its pros and cons. The main thing to consider is the pros typically do outweigh the cons (at least in most people’s situations).

Side hustle ideas

Here are some ideas for side hustles you can do to earn extra money.

1. Photo editing

Do you have skills using top tier photo editing software? Can you make even the most unflattering picture angles look good? Then consider a side hustle editing photos. Simply let people submit their photos to you and discuss with them what aesthetic they’re looking for. Then edit away. Charge per photo and offer deals for more than one photo. You can offer your services for weddings, bloggers, social media influencers or even work out a deal with a photographer so he or she can suggest your services to customers.

2. Web design

For web design, it is important to make sure you can accurately realize your client’s vision. Web designers make websites, assuring they appear nicely on many devices. It’s also important to make sure the site runs smoothly and there are no conflicts or viewability issues when it goes public. It might take a bit of effort but web designers can charge a fair price if they do good quality work and if they back their work in the event of errors.

3. Online store/selling online

E-commerce is booming and you should absolutely take advantage of it if you can bring a product to market and/or sell a product you made. If you plan on selling another manufacturer’s product you can sell a domestic one or one imported from another country.

Whether importing, buying or manufacturing, do your research as to any regulations that might be in place for your jurisdiction. Make sure you build and/or sell good quality products to avoid poor reviews and/or a tarnished image.

4. Content writer/content editor

Talented writers who can get their points across in eloquent ways should definitely be aware of this line of work. Content writing entails just what the name implies: writing content. You can write blog posts for websites, product descriptions, articles or whatever else. You might also want to make sure you’re knowledgeable on content writing best practices like search engine optimization, for example.

Similar to content writing is content editing. If you’re a content writer, it might be expected of you to proofread and edit your own work. However, some individuals or companies may need separate editors as well. You should have an attentive eye for errors and be able to fix them.

So consider offering content editing as a separate service for content that is already written. However, it’s important to know that your own writing should also be edited so as to eliminate mistakes in your work.

5. Social media manager

Social media management implies handling many or all areas of a person or organization’s social media presence. You might want to make sure you understand all the major social media platforms, their users and what works or doesn’t work.

You should be able to develop and implement a social media strategy for your clients that maximizes growth of social media accounts. Your strategy should also increase engagement with individual posts. Knowing how to achieve a goal (i.e. selling a product or increasing traffic to a website) through social media is also a necessary skill here.

6. Graphic design

Graphic designers can handle the visual development of ads, product fliers, brochures, and promo posters, among other things. If you have a knack for digitally made art you might want to consider this field for yourself.

7. Transcription or translation

Transcription basically means converting spoken words into text. You write out whatever was said in an audio or video file to create a written transcript.

While there are audio translators, I would suggest you focus on written translation if you’re bilingual. It tends to be easier and you can do it from a computer without the need to talk. It’s ultimately your choice if you prefer audio or text translation, though.

8. Ghost writing

Ghost writers are writers who produce work without taking credit themselves. Credit is often just given to someone else who instructs the ghost writer on what to write. If you’re a talented writer, consider this line of work.

9. Book writing

If you have a great idea for a fiction or non-fiction, start working on it because your side hustle calling could very well be book writing. Ghost writing involves giving another writer credit but you can also write to take credit yourself.

Consider self-publishing or working with a publisher. Book writing might be a bit of work, but hey, it can be worth it. You can even use ghost writers to get someone else to write for you and you take the credit.

10. Courses

There are platforms available online where you can offer courses to others for a fee. If you have a lot of knowledge on a subject or subjects and you can design a cohesive teaching agenda you should be offering courses starting yesterday.

Do some marketing to make people aware of and interested in your course. Social media can be great for marketing here. Maybe show snippets of your course for free to garner interest.

11. YouTube channel

Anything that you feel might be interesting could potentially earn you some income here. You can do food, vlogging, lifestyle, education, or whatever else. If you’d rather not show your face, use stock footage you have rights to use or animations you make. These can be very effective at telling a story visually.

12. Animator

Animation involves creating imagery of characters, objects or landscapes. If you are talented at drawing (especially using technology) you should consider offering animation services or working in animation.

13. Video editor

Video editors are key players in the video industry. They help make videos (long or short) more enjoyable by fixing errors, adding and/or removing content, and making any changes necessary for a high quality final product. To be a skilled video editor, you should have experience in at least one major video editing software.

14. Social media influencer

Social media influencers can harness the wide reach of social media for making a profit. They create and/or publish content (typically on a specific topic) that gains followers and engagement. Their social media presence can be used as a way to market a product or service for themselves or another company who pays for a post(s).

15. Virtual assistant services

A virtual assistant is like an online secretary who handles different responsibilities for whoever may have hired them. This might include booking appointments, scheduling meetings, writing emails, making or accepting phone calls and other similar tasks. The nice thing about being a virtual assistant is you can do the job remotely, without actually having to be in an office for work.

16. Blogging

It’s not hard to buy a domain and hosting to start your own website or blog. Blogs typically focus on one topic. So, if you have something you can write about extensively, start your research and look into how you can start your own blog. One of the biggest sources of profit for blogs is ad revenue. Many advertising companies do require a minimum monthly viewership so you might need to build your site up first.

17. Data entry

Data entry clerks input information from a source into a database. Data entered by clerks can come from many sources. Sometimes, data entry clerks also update existing data based on updated information. For data entry, some good skills to have at your disposal are attention to detail and patience for work that could (at times) be tedious.