A side hustle can be a great way to increase your earnings from your regular job or even can turn into your main source of income. Here we’ll walk you through how to start a side hustle before sharing 27 proven side hustle ideas you can use to work from home. Once you’ve got your side hustle up and running, Fiverr provides you with an online marketplace you can use to sell your services, along with lots of resources to guide you on the path to success.
What Is a Side Hustle?
A side hustle is a second job a person does to add to income from their primary job. A side hustle also may be referred to as a side job or a gig job.
Many workers run a side business because they aren’t earning enough from their regular work to cover expenses. However, others start a side hustle to increase their standard of living, to lay a foundation for a new career, or to get paid for a hobby they enjoy.
Side hustles have grown more popular as the Internet and smartphones have made it easier for entrepreneurs to promote their businesses and find clients. In 2021, 16% of Americans earned money from online side hustles, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
What Do You Need for a Side Hustle?
One advantage of side hustles is that they’re easier to set up than most businesses. Here’s all you need to get started:
A Brand
First, you need a brand name to call your business. You can use your name or choose a name that sums up what you’re selling. A good name should communicate the benefits you offer buyers.
Once you have a name, a great way to use it to promote your brand is to create a logo. You can hire a professional graphic designer to make a logo for you, or use Fiverr Logo Maker to make one yourself.
Portfolio
A portfolio is a collection of your best work and your credentials which you can display to show clients what you can do for them. In a digital environment, a portfolio can include elements such as photos of work you’ve done, a biography emphasizing your relevant background, a list of your skills and work experience, academic or professional credentials, lists of clients, and testimonials.
Website
To promote a business online, you need a website. You can build a website using a free template, or for a customized design, you can hire a professional website developer
Marketing Strategy
To promote your business, you’ll need a marketing strategy. Your strategy can include both traditional tactics such as word-of-mouth referrals and digital tactics such as SEO, PPC advertising, and social media marketing. For help with your promotional efforts, Fiverr provides you with access to digital marketing services.
So that’s what you need to get started running a side hustle from home. Now let’s look at some work-from-home tips for running specific types of side hustle businesses:
Build your digital asset
A great side gig idea is to create your digital assets such as a website or online course and monetize them for profit.
1. Dropship
Dropshipping is a method of selling where you sell products supplied by a third party who is responsible for storing inventory and shipping merchandise. You’re only responsible for promoting and selling the products and passing orders on to your supplier, but you don’t have to handle the logistics of storing and shipping the products.
This cuts the labor and expenses associated with running a brick-and-mortar store, and you don’t have to pay for unsold goods upfront as you would with a conventional store. With the dropshipping market valued at $128 billion in 2020 and projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% in the period from 2021 to 2026, according to Market Data Forecast, there’s plenty of room for newcomers in this growing industry.
To get started in dropshipping, you’ll need to set up an online store and find one or more suppliers with products to sell. You can set up your website or tap into existing platforms such as Amazon, eBay, or Shopify. To find suppliers, you can search dropshipping directories or approach suppliers directly.
2. Sell Handmade Crafts and Goods
Instead of dropshipping someone else’s products, you can make and sell your own. For example, soap entrepreneur Anne-Marie Faiola started Bramble Berry in 1999 with a pallet of soap, five fragrances, and a handful of soap molds and has since grown her business to a social media success with 60,000 customers and 90 employees. Sites such as Etsy provide markets you can use to sell your products.
3. Create and Sell an Online Course
You can sell digital products online as well as physical ones. One simple way to create a digital product is to offer a digital course on a subject you have expertise in.
Demand is high for digital course content in a wide range of fields. These include the content of interest to consumers, such as health and wellness, self-improvement, and personal finance, as well as topics oriented toward business clients in fields such as financial services, IT, and healthcare. The global e-learning market will swell to $457.8 billion by 2026, ReportLinker projects.
Digital courses can be promoted through marketing channels such as search engines and social media and sold through your website. Content can be delivered in various formats, including e-books, audio, and videos.
One of the easiest ways to create an online course is to deliver your content as a series of videos. For example, you can offer a step-by-step how-to guide delivered over a series of premium videos and use a free video sample to promote your course. If you need help creating your videos, Fiverr offers access to professional video editing services.
4. Start a Blog
Another way to make money digitally is by starting a blog on a popular topic. Blogs can be monetized in several ways. You can use your blog for affiliate marketing, where you drive traffic to links for products in return for a commission. You also can make money from ads placed on your blog through services such as Google’s AdSense.
You can write your blog content, or you can get someone else to do it. Fiverr provides writers who offer blog posting services. Affiliate partners may be willing to contribute guest blog posts for free in return for promotional consideration.\
For People with Design Skills
Do you have graphic design skills? Here are some ways you can turn your talent into a side hustle from home:
5. Web Design Business
Today’s businesses need websites, which means they need web designers. But many small business owners are lagging, and more than one in four still don’t have websites, according to a report by the design firm directory website Top Design Firms. If you know how to use your design skills to give websites a professional look, you can earn money as a web designer for business clients.
To get started, you’ll need to create a visually compelling website of your own to show clients what you can do for them. Promote your site by partnering with companies that work with clients who need websites, such as marketing agencies, or by using Fiverr’s website design market to promote your services.
6. Graphic Design on Demand
Another way to sell graphic design services online is to offer a graphic design on demand. With this business model, clients can pay a monthly fee to subscribe to custom graphic services, commissioned as needed.
For clients who need graphics regularly or in high volumes, this can be more cost-efficient than commissioning designs individually. You can establish different pricing tiers for clients with different levels of need.
7. Sell Pre-made Designs
Another way to turn graphic design skills into a side hustle is by selling designs you’ve already made. Use sites like Creative Market to showcase designs such as icons, illustrations, and web elements.
For best results, research what your market is buying before creating your designs. You’ll find it easier to sell if you can identify a niche where designs are already in demand.
8. Illustration and Animation
Illustration and animation are specialties within the graphic design where you can earn money. Illustrations are needed for purposes such as ads, product packaging, and books, while the animation is needed for business and educational videos as well as entertainment.
To succeed as an illustrator or animator, you’ll need to start by building a strong portfolio showcasing your skills.
For People with Digital Marketing Skills
If you’re savvy with digital marketing, you can easily turn your skills into a side business. Here are a couple of ideas:
9. PPC or SEO
Pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization are two of today’s most important digital marketing tools, and if you’re good at either one, many online businesses need your help. Spending on digital advertising surged 35% in 2021 to $189 billion, according to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
There are several ways you can get started selling PPC or SEO services. One is to approach small businesses individually offering your marketing assistance.
10. Do Social Media Marketing for Businesses
Social media marketing is another area of digital marketing where businesses have high demand. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are just some of the social media platforms where businesses need help creating posts and ads and promoting them. Social media advertising grew 34% to record levels in 2021, according to media investment company Magna.
For People with Writing Skills
If you’ve got writing skills, a wide variety of side business opportunities are open to you. Here are just a few:
11. Freelance Content Writer
SEO marketing depends on relevant content, creating a high demand for blog writers. Global SEO spending is growing at a CAGR of 20.27%, on track to reach $108.89 billion by 2026, according to projections by ResearchandMarkets.com. This means a steady stream of work for writers who can produce quality content.
To get started as a content writer, you’ll need to build a portfolio of samples and testimonials to show what you can do. Competition is high, so consider focusing on a niche where you can stand out. Approaching small business website owners via email is one way to go.
13. Social Media Copywriter
Social media copywriting can be another viable writing niche for side hustles. To do social media marketing, brands need writers to contribute copy for posts, memes, and ads.
One advantage of specializing in social media copy is that it gives you a niche where you can stand out.
14. Video Transcription Work
If you’re a writer, you may be a fast typist, which means you can make money as a transcriptionist. There are many different specialties within transcription. One in high demand is video transcription. Businesses and government agencies need video transcriptions for purposes such as improving SEO search results, documenting Zoom meetings, and providing interview quotes to content writers.
Transcriptionists in the U.S. currently earn an average of $16.56 an hour, according to job site Payscale. You can find work through a transcription company or by promoting your work through a forum such as the Fiverr transcription services category.
15. Edit Resumes
If you’re a good writer, you also may be a good editor, which can open up additional gig opportunities. One way to put editing skills to work is to help others find work by editing resumes.
Anyone with writing and editing skills can pick up resume editing, but you can bolster your credentials and increase your pay rate by getting certified by an organization such as the National Resume Writers Association. This will earn you the opportunity to be listed in directories of professional resume writers and editors.
16. Provide Proofreading and Editing Services
Another way to leverage writing skills is by branching off into proofreading or editing. Proofreaders review spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Editors may help writers with these issues as well as broader concerns such as content development and organization.
Marketing agencies, business marketing communication departments, and book publishers are among clients in need of proofreading and editing services
17. Create and Sell eBooks
Another writing specialty you can turn into a side hustle is eBooks. Many businesses commission eBooks to position their brands as thought leaders. You also can sell your eBooks for profit.
If you want to get into writing eBooks for businesses, you would use the same strategies as you would get into content writing, and you could promote your services through resources such as Fiverr’s book and eBook writing listing. If you’re thinking of selling your eBooks, you can write them yourself and sell them through platforms such as Amazon, or you can commission other writers to create content for you while you handle the marketing.
For People with Coding Skills
Coding is another skill set you can convert into cash through a side hustle gig. Here are a couple of ways to use your coding skills to earn extra cash:
18. Teach Coding Online
Over half of U.S. students aged 16 to 23 see coding as an important skill to learn for their future careers, according to a survey by data analytics firm XK. Combined with working adults who need to learn to code, this creates a large market for coding instruction.
You can earn money teaching coding by creating a video course or offering customized lessons for individual students.
19. Develop Websites
Another source of demand for coding skills is website development. Whether you have basic website design skills or advanced programming experience, you can find business clients who need your help with their websites.
Start by building your website to showcase your talent. To begin building a portfolio, you can find your first clients by helping friends with their websites, canvassing businesses through email or social media, or using resources such as Fiverr to promote your web development services.
20. Consulting
Another way to earn money from coding knowledge is by becoming a computer consultant. Consultants advise and assist companies on technical support issues such as what type of software they need, how to set up a network, or online security.
Depending on your area of expertise, computer consulting can gain you entry with high-paying business clients. A computer consultant in the United States currently earns an average of $47.75 an hour, according to job site Zippia.
For People with Photography Skills
Photography skills can be another door-to-side hustle work. Here are some ways to make money if you’re good at photography:
21. Sell Photography
Marketing agencies, real estate agencies, car dealerships, and news companies are just a few of the types of businesses that buy photographs. If your photographs are more artistic, consumers who collect art may be interested in your work.
You can sell photos taken on your initiative or you can take photos commissioned by clients. You can sell your photos through your website or online marketplaces such as Etsy. If you want to sell commissioned photos, consider approaching a local or online business that needs photos regularly and showing them your portfolio.
22. Sell Stock Images
A great way to sell photos is to sell stock images. These are photos you’ve taken that you license out to parties such as small business owners and news agencies who want to use them for commercial purposes. For example, many business websites use stock photos to create banners on their home page or in their blog content.
You can sell stock photos through digital markets such as Shutterstock. When selling stock images, make sure you study your contract and understand your rights and payment arrangements.
23. Photo Retouching
Companies and individuals who use photos often need them retouched to make them suitable for display. If you have good skills with photo editing software such as Photoshop, you could be earning money retouching photos.
Parties in need of photo retouching include marketing agencies, small businesses, and photographers for events such as weddings. Create a portfolio of photos you’ve retouched with before and after versions to show off what you can do, and use your website to start promoting your services.
Additional Side Hustle Ideas
24. Event Planning
Event planners help organize occasions such as graduations, weddings, and business conferences. They are responsible for duties such as planning activities, scheduling dates, renting venues, arranging catering, sending invitations, and generally making sure everything is in place for a successful event. If you have good organizational and budgeting skills, you might be a success as an event planner.
Event planners earn an average of $28 an hour, according to the job site Salary.com. You can gain practical experience as an event planner helping family and friends, but to attract professional clients, you’ll need to earn a degree in meeting and event management.
25. Be a Consultant in Your Area of Expertise
Do you have an area of specialized expertise needed by consumers, such as personal training, or businesses, such as marketing? If so, you could be earning extra money as a consultant.
Earnings for consultants vary widely based on the type of consulting you’re doing. Some types of consulting require professional certification, while others only require knowledge. Once you have your qualifications, you can begin showcasing them on a website and building a portfolio of clients.
26. Become an Influencer or Brand Ambassador
Influencers and brand ambassadors promote companies through means such as guest blogs and video reviews. They can help brands build their reputation and gain a social media following.
To become an influencer or brand ambassador, you’ll need to find a brand you feel passionate about and connect with them. For example, if you like a particular fashion brand, you might begin building a social media profile where you review their products. Once you’ve gained a following, you can contact a representative of the brand about the possibility of you becoming a brand ambassador. Many brands offer affiliate marketing programs you can join to earn a commission on sales.
27. Video Editing
Like photos, videos often need editing before they can be used for commercial purposes or family remembrances. If you have experience with video editing software, you could make side hustle money helping businesses or consumers make their videos look more professional.
Markets for video editing include marketing agencies, event planning companies, realtors, news media, and film and TV producers. Create a website and portfolio and promote your services through social media or resources such as Fiverr’s video editing marketplace.
28. Be a Virtual Assistant
Do you have good skills in managing phone calls and email, organizing calendars, or using office software? You could earn money from home as a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants offer remote administrative support for businesses, much the way an in-office secretary does.
You can work as a virtual assistant part-time or full-time. Earnings vary with experience and other specifics. In the U.S., virtual assistants currently earn an average of $22.05 per hour, according to the job site Indeed.
So there are 27 ideas to get you started with your first side hustle job. Good luck landing your first gig!
