Who wouldn’t like a little extra cash coming in each month?

Side gigs are work you can do to earn extra income on top of your day job, and they’re also the perfect entry into the creator economy. 55% of creators start making money through their business in the first year, but 39% need at least a year to turn their side hustle into a full-time income.

If you’re trying to find a side hustle idea, keep reading for our list and tips.

4 steps for picking your perfect side hustle

Before you can realistically quit your job, you need to have a substantial side gig set up. Here’s how to pick one that’s a good fit.

Step 1: Make a list of your skills, talents, and interests

Take 10 minutes and write down everything you love doing and everything you’re good at. Your list can range from creative skills or organization to what you do in your full-time job or even something you’d love to learn more about.

Think about:

• What you do for fun
• Your education and training
• What your friends and family come to you for help with
• Tasks you like to do

Step 2: Evaluate how much spare time you have

How much time can you dedicate to your side hustle, and how long do you want to keep it up? Look at your typical weekly schedule and obligations to estimate how many hours a week you have free.

Consider whether you want something to spin up quickly and earn some cash before a vacation, or if you want to build a business to quit your job. Depending on the side gig, you might need to invest in learning or certifications before starting.

Ask yourself:

• How many hours per week can I dedicate to the side hustle, and when can I work on it?
• Do I want a short-term cash boost or a long-term job replacement?
• Am I willing to invest time and maybe money into skill-building or training?

Step 3: Know your income goal

Choose how much you want to earn through your side gig and compare it to how much creators in that niche make and whether there’s a demand. Creator industry benchmark reports and talent marketplaces like Fiverr give you a sense of normal rates.

Research:

• Whether other creators make money with the same type of side hustle
• What the typical rates or prices are for the side gig
• How much you’ll have to work or the number of sales to hit your income goal

Step 4: Narrow down your skills list

Remember, you’re starting a new business on top of your full-time job and life. While full-time creators have an average of 6+ income streams, side gig businesses usually only have one to two.

So, as you think through your skills and look through side hustle ideas, choose one or two you’re excited about and can be consistent with.

101 side gig ideas for part-time creators

There are so many ways to earn money as a creator or side hustler. More than a third of full-time creators start with services like freelancing, new creators make the most money through subscriptions and paid memberships, and creators think digital products are the easiest way to monetize.

Since services are such a popular way to start earning money online, you’ll notice a lot of the side hustle ideas include them. Services are perfect for side hustles since you don’t need to invest in inventory or build a massive audience before starting.

If freelance side gigs aren’t your thing, we have plenty of other side hustle ideas.

 

Our list of the best side hustle ideas fit into these categories:

• Marketing, social media, and other business services
• Teaching and education
• Writing and blogging
• Monetisation and sales
• Coaching and consulting
• Podcasting and broadcasting
• Design and art
• Audio and music
• Photography and videography
• Editing and post-production

Marketing, social media, and other business services

If you have a skill from your day job, like marketing or professional services, you can start a side gig to become your own boss eventually.

• Email marketing services
• Affiliate marketing
• Content curation
• Community management
• Paid advertising management
• Project Manager
• Brand ambassador
• Social media management and analytics
• Online business management (OBM)
• Virtual Assistant
• Customer service support
• Financial services (taxes, financial planning, accounting, etc.)
• Tech services (App development, programmer, developer, etc.)

Teaching and education

If you want to share your skills and experience with more people than you can with one-on-one services, consider teaching through courses, workshops, and webinars.

• Online course creation
• Webinar hosting
• Coaching and mentorship
• Language tutoring
• Photography and videography lessons
• Writing workshops
• Art classes
• Graphic design tutorials
• Blogging courses
• Marketing workshops
• Hobby workshops (sewing, painting, gardening, camping, etc.)

Writing, blogging, and books

Written content is lucrative in the creator economy. Creators see the best audience engagement through newsletters, and 51% of creators wrote articles, blogs, and books in 2023.

• Newsletter creation
• Freelance writing
• Copywriting for websites and ads
• Blogging for brands
• Technical writing
• Ghostwriting
• Ebook writing
• Review writing
• Scriptwriting for videos
• Social media writing
• Book reviewer
• Translation
• Book editor

Monetization and sales

If you love creating and strategizing, side hustles centered around digital products or sales funnels could be a great fit.

• Selling on Etsy, eBay, or Amazon
• Amazon reselling
• Selling digital products (stock photos, templates, recipes, clothing patterns, fonts, and more)
• Dropshipping merchandise
• Merchandise sales
• Selling digital art
• Monetizing online channels (YouTube, Twitch, etc.)
• Buying and selling domain names
• Refurbish furniture or electronics

Coaching and consulting

Coaching and consulting let you work closely with clients without doing the work for them, unlike freelancing. Consider your past experiences and obstacles to find possible coaching topics.

• Content creation coaching
• Brand identity consulting
• Social media consulting
• Career coaching
• Marketing consulting
• Video production consulting
• Health and nutrition coaching
• Fitness coaching
• Writing and editing coaching
• Business coaching
• Life coaching
• Spiritual coach
• Beauty consultant or color season consultant

Podcasting and broadcasting

If friends love listening to your stories, you’re a natural presenter, or you were born with a great voice, consider podcasting and broadcasting for your side hustle.

• Hosting a podcast
• Producing audio shows
• Live streaming services
• Producing YouTube content
• Video streaming for platforms like Twitch
• Broadcasting for events
• Sports commentary
• Voice dubbing services
• Video captioning or audio description services

Design and art

If you have graphic design skills (or are willing to learn), you can help people bring their ideas to life.

• Graphic design
• Logo design
• Branding design
• Custom illustrations
• Digital art creation
• Infographic design
• Merchandise design
• Web design
• Book cover design

Audio and music

If making music is your passion, but you have to work in an office to pay the bills, you can start a side gig to share your audio skills.

• Podcast production
• Voiceover work
• Audio editing services
• Music production
• Songwriting
• Jingle creation
• Music lessons
• Sound mixing and mastering
• DJ services
• Music composition for videos

Photography and videography

While most photography side hustles are local to you, like event photos, you can also do remote side hustles by selling stock photos.

• Event photography
• Product photography
• Event videography
• Drone photography/videography
• Video production services
• Stock photography

Editing and post-production

If you love working with visuals and sounds and want to connect with clients around the world, editing and post-production might be a great mix for you.

• Photo retouching and editing
• Video editing
• Audio editing
• Podcast editing
• Proofreading services
• Copy editing
• Color correction
• Transcription services

---