49 Best Side Hustle Ideas to Make $5,000+ Per Month
- Does your idea fit in your busy schedule?
- Do you like the topic of the idea in question?
- Does it pay well?
1. Does the idea fit your current schedule?
A side hustle can demand a considerable about of time for it to build from level zero.
So you need to take this into account if you have a tight schedule.
If it requires only your free time, surely you can do it but if it overlaps with your job and chores, that’s a problem.
In such cases, time management plays a key role.
Managing time for a side hustle is discussed later in the FAQs.
2. Does the idea align with your interests?
Since building a sustainable income stream is a long game, make sure it is something that you enjoy doing.
If you’re pursuing something that does not interest you at all, then at some point you will get tired of it.
As a result, your side hustle will start feeling just like some boring 9-to-5 job.
And trust me, that’s the last thing you want.
So I would suggest you try different things but stick to gigs you enjoy doing.
3. Does it have a good income opportunity?
And finally, keep an eye on the income potential of your idea.
You may have already heard or read that not all niches and categories make the same amount of money.
For example: On YouTube, different video topics have varying revenue rates.
Similarly, different side hustle categories and business models have different income potentials.
Your idea doesn’t need to be in the crazy high digits, just make sure it’s viable in your terms.
But don’t use “High Income” as the sole deciding factor to start a side hustle. Consider all 3 factors while deciding to pick, mainly the “your interests” part.
Working on something you like largely contributes to how well you’ll be able to work.
You’re in it for the long game, to avoid tapping out before the finish line, make sure you’re involved in something that you like.
Now let’s jump right to the list you’re actually here for,
The 49 best side hustles to start. And after that, there are some relevant FAQs and tips that you might find useful.
What is the Best and Most Profitable Side Hustles out there?
This post contains affiliate links, please read the Disclaimer for more info.
1. Blogging
Income Potential: $1000 to over $200,000 monthly
There’s a particularly apt reason why I chose “Blogging” as the #1 in this list. Can you guess?
Yup, this is what I do! This is the side hustle I started two years back that became my main hustle allowing me to work anywhere and anytime, that too according my own convenience.
And I absolutely love it.
But before sharing the inside details about blogging, its income opportunities, and other stuff, let’s discuss the basics first,
What is a Blog or What is Blogging?
A blog is a website that contains informational content, generally, in an article/video/podcast format that revolves around a certain topic(s) intended to help people. The person who owns the blog/writes the content is known as a blogger.
This is called blogging!
This website, for example, is owned by me and it is primarily focused on finance and business/entrepreneurship ideas. All the contents of this website are on the said topics (also called “Niche” of the website).
Income Opportunities in Blogging:
Income depends on a lot of factors such as the age of the blog, the topic of the blog, the quality of traffic, the size of the blog traffic, and even the time of the year (the holiday season, October to December, makes a lot more ad revenue to most of the bloggers compared to rest of the year)
Income from blogging can come through multiple avenues such as:
1. Display ads: Do you see the ads placed all over this page? Those are display ads and yes, they make quite a lot of money if you choose a good ad network (such as Mediavine).
2. Affiliate marketing: When you promote other’s products with your own affiliate link, you get a commission if they get a sale through you.
3. Sponsored posts: When you hit a certain traffic or audience threshold, various companies will reach out to you to publish a sponsored article in your blog highlighting their products and services. You get paid in return.
4. Selling Products: You also can create physical or digital products such as Ebooks, and courses, and sell them through your blog.
5. Coaching services: This requires some experience and expertise in a certain domain which you’ll be offering as a paid service to the people visiting your blog.
It’s usually some combination of these 5 methods that make blog money.
Who Can Start Blog?
Well, this is one of those sides hustles that anyone can start with no prior experience whatsoever. Here, you’ll be sharing your passion, ideas, and experiences and making money along the way.
This is kind of a creative outlet, that fills up your pocket. For example, I made over $9482 in December 2020 through this blog, click on the link to know more.
I mean you’ll be creating meaningful content around the topics that you already love, and that makes it less boring and more alive.
How Much Does it Take to Start a Blog?
With just $2.95 a month, you can kickstart a new income stream. Skip only a single latte this month and that’s enough to afford your new side hustle.
If you’re unsure about what content you’ll be creating if you choose to create a blog, don’t worry at all. Most people have no idea what they’ll be writing. I had no idea what I will write and whether people will read it or not.
All of this is part of the process, all you have to do, as of now, is to make the first move. Get yourself your very own blog.
Here’s a well-formatted step-by-step guide to help you start a blog within 10 minutes. Just tap the button below.
2. Proofreading
Income Potential: $52,000 yearly
Do you occasionally catch the classic “your/you’re” mistake from texts? If yes, then Proofreading might be just for you!
But…what exactly is proofreading?
Proofreading is the process of thoroughly analyzing and rectifying errors in a piece of writing to ensure accuracy in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting. And it should make sense altogether in the end.
In short, finding (and correcting) mistakes in written pieces!
It is done just before its final submission or publication to make sure that the piece of writing is accurate, professional, and grammatically sound.
To get freelance proofreading jobs you don’t need to leave your house at all. You can easily set aside a few hours a day to work on it at the comfort of your couch or a work desk, whatever you prefer.
Businesses and massive publishing organizations rely on proofreaders to ensure quality and maintain professionalism throughout.
So, if you like correcting mistakes and can spot errors, or can easily fix hidden misspellings, proofreading may be the thing just for you.
In 2014, Caitlin Pyle made over $43,000 by working as a freelance proofreader.
After she had a ton of success in 2014 being a professional proofreader, she decided she wanted to teach others how to do the same thing, so she started the simple course called Proofread Anywhere to make sure that others learn to proofread the right way as a total beginner and get clients consistently.
How to Get Yourself Started With Freelance Proofreading?
The easiest way to get familiar with proofreading and learn how to get clients is by signing up for Caitlin’s Free Workshops.
Here you can learn so much about starting a proofreading side hustle and securing a decent side income from it.
P.S. The workshop is FREE
3. Dropshipping
Income Potential: Undefined
What is it & How Does it Work?
Dropshipping is basically a business model that allows individuals to sell products online to customers without ever actually stocking the products themselves.
Meaning, in dropshipping you don’t have to make or keep track of inventory and shipping yourself, you can sell other suppliers’ products and they handle the rest.
While there is an option to sell other’s products, you can also sell your own products by opening an online store.`
The difference between Amazon FBA and dropshipping/online store is, here you get to build your own store and scale it on your own terms.
How to Get Started as a Dropshipper or Build an Online Product Store?
Starting an online store is very easy, trust me. I’ve opened quite a few of them in the last year. The only problem is, it is not so easy when it comes to scaling or bringing people to your store.
This is why proper guidance is necessary when it comes to learning a new skill, a lot of phony gurus nowadays sell their courses on every social media platform that has no value whatsoever.
Scott Hilse’s Simplified Dropshipping course, on the other hand, is as genuine and practical as it comes. I’ve taken a lot of dropshipping classes (including this one) and in the end, this course is what I’ll recommend every time.
Scott has taught many students who have (within the first week) made thousands of dollars. Just check out the testimonials and decide for yourself.
4. Making Videos On YouTube
Income Potential: Undefined
Let me start things off by pointing out some of the quite interesting YouTube stats.
- Number of MONTHLY active users: 1.9 Billion+
- Number of DAILY active users: 30 Million+
- Number of videos watched per day: 5 Billion+
- Every day people watch one billion hours of video on YouTube.
Just look at those massive numbers and let the sheer volume of opportunity to make money sink in.
YouTubers make videos through which they make money by putting ads in their videos. The revenue generated by those ads splits 55:45 between the creator of the video and YouTube.
The creator gets 55 percent of the revenue and YouTube takes the rest 45 percent.
And it’s not just ad revenue or Adsense through which you can make money, after building a good audience following in your channel, brands will reach out to you to promote their products or services.
Ever watched videos that start with “This video is sponsored by …”? Yeah, those are sponsored videos where the creator is getting paid to promote a brand.
The amount you make through these brand deals largely depends on the type of content you upload as well as your average views per video.
On average, If a video has 100,000 to 500,000 views, then the YouTuber makes anywhere from $1,000 to up to $10,000.
But again, a little disclaimer, this is not a hard and fast pay rule, it really depends on channel to channel and brand to brand.
To know more about starting a youtube channel, visit the article: How To Start a YouTube Channel Successfully
5. Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Income Potential: $15 to $20/hr
Pinterest is not just a place where you find various recipes and home decor ideas, it is so much more than that. Pinterest is more than a typical social media and in many ways, it is a visual search engine.
This is why Pinterest is a goldmine for people who are looking to drive potential customers and blog audiences to their own websites through Pinterest images, called pins.
But as straightforward as that may sound, there are a lot of small businesses and individuals who struggle to drive traffic from Pinterest to their businesses., especially those who are new to Pinterest.
This is where a Pinterest virtual assistant helps such businesses and individuals get their customers.
As a Pinterest virtual assistant, you will help build your client’s Pinterest outreach and maintain their Pinterest presence.
The majority of users on Pinterest are looking for things to buy on the platform, which makes them the perfect audience group for businesses trying to market their products.
Your job is to help those businesses and individuals reach potential buyers through Pinterest.
As a Pinterest Virtual Assistant you will work remotely and virtually, and that too at a time that’s convenient for you.
If you would like to know more about being a Pinterest Virtual Assistant, I suggest you check out Pinterest VA.
With a curated plethora of useful information and strategies created by Kristin Larsen, Pinterest VA is one of the best resources when it comes to becoming a Professional Pinterest Virtual Assistant.
She also has a workshop that helps you understand the responsibilities and the work you need to do as a Pinterest VA which is totally FREE to join.
At the time of writing this Pinterest has more than 400 million active users on its platform, which keeps on increasing every single year. So this side hustle will be relevant and wildly profitable for centuries to come.
6. Freelance writer
Income Potential: $20 to 60/hr
What is Freelance Writing “Work From Home Jobs”?
A freelance writer is someone who doesn’t work for one specific company, rather they work for themselves, contract out their writing, and write for a number of different clients, such as websites, blogs, magazines, and more.
P.S. You don’t really need a strong writing background in order to thrive in this business
How Much Money Do Freelance Writers Make?
According to PayScale.com, a part-time freelance writer’s salary is put somewhere in the range of $24,000 to $115,000 a year.
This range can go as high as $200,000 a year
How Can You Get Started as a Work From Home Freelance Writer?
Holly from Club Thrifty started doing freelance writing on the side with no real background, and nowmakes over $200,000 per year from her writing.
Now she has a course primarily focused on people who want to be successful freelance writers with no previous experience.
In her course, she has included nine video modules, several printable worksheets, awesome add-ons, and also,
- How to find your clients.
- Which platforms to choose
- How to structure your work so that you can make a six-figure income.
- how to find a beginner’s job and move up with time and all that good stuff.
Check out Holly’s free workshop to start your $200,000 journey!
7. Work as a virtual assistant
open next page to continue reading….
