A side business is something you do to earn extra money when you’re not at your day job. According to an April 2023 Bankrate survey, about 40% of Americans have one, with 28% expecting it to be an ongoing financial necessity. And nearly 30% of those with a side hustle made more than $500 a month from their business. You can use the money you’ve made to pay off debt, invest, or splurge on a treat for yourself.
Financial benefits aside, pursuing a side business idea gives you a chance to build a new skill set. Entrepreneurs also enjoy the satisfaction of creating a business while forging a new career path that gives greater security amid layoffs.
Do you want to start a side business but aren’t sure about what you can make money from? Here are some side business ideas you can start today.
Best side business ideas
- Start a photography business
- Start a clothing line
- Sell your skills
- Become a virtual assistant
- Teach a language
- Start a cleaning business
- Become an event planner
- Start a house- or pet-sitting business
- Be a usability tester
- Become a dropshipper
- Rent your space
- Sell thrift store finds
- Become an influencer
- Teach a class
- Start affiliate marketing
- Become a rideshare driver
- Deliver food
- Write an ebook
- Sell online courses
- Sell your art
- Private label your own products
- Sell handmade goods
1. Start a photography business
Turn a passion for photography into a side business. Promote your photography services in your local area and earn hundreds of dollars or more per photoshoot. Alicia Ho of Precious Ones Photography turned her hobby into a gratifying business photographing families and children.
“The ability to get the creative juices flowing while creating heirloom artwork that will last a lifetime for families is such an incredible feeling,” she says.
You can follow her example when starting your own photography business:
- Photograph newborn babies and families
- Work with local businesses to photograph their store or products
- Start a successful wedding photography business
- Partner with event managers to photograph local events
Expand your horizons (and make more money) by selling your photos online. Sites like Stocksy, Shutterstock, and Alamy pay photographers when their photos are commissioned, downloaded, or sold.
2. Start a clothing line
The clothing industry is big business: Global consumers spent an estimated $821 billion on fashion ecommerce in 2023. Get a slice of that fast by using the print-on-demand model.
Platforms like Printful, Lulu Direct, and Printify allow you to upload your design onto t-shirts, sweaters, hats, and more.
The best part about this side business idea is you don’t need to invest tons of cash upfront. Whenever you receive an order through your online store, print-on-demand suppliers will print your design and ship it to the customer—no need to hold and manage inventory yourself for your clothing business.
3. Sell your skills
Selling your skills is a profitable business idea if you’re on a budget. Most skill-based businesses are free to start since you don’t need inventory. You can also do free marketing by asking if anyone in your network needs help.
Look at the skills you already have and research whether they’re in high demand—either as a service or as advice through a consulting business.
Popular skills-based side hustle ideas you can start alongside a day job include:
- Freelance writing
- Graphic design
- Online dating consultant
- Personal training
- Landscaping
- Pet sitting
Ashley R. Cummings took this approach when starting her side business.
“I was working as a full-time corporate trainer and also teaching Russian at the university,” she says. “My background was in English, and I’d always loved writing, so I started taking on projects slowly. Eventually, I had enough clients to replace my full-time income from my nine-to-five and teaching. So, I quit and started my freelance writing business.”
4. Become a virtual assistant
Do you have incredible organizational and management skills? Monetize them by becoming a virtual assistant. You’ll manage the administrative side of a business remotely, making it one of the best home business ideas to do on the side of a day job. At first, your virtual assistant work may require just a few hours per week.
It’s a virtual assistants’ responsibility to:
- Schedule appointments
- Arrange travel
- Manage emails
- Take and receive phone calls
Ariana Rodriguez started a virtual assistant business in April 2021. It cost $2,000 to get her side business up and running, which included a website, business course, and technology she’d need to run a virtual assistant business.
“In April, I began making $700 a month,” Ariana says. “By December I was making $6,000 a month and working a full-time job. I was able to hire a subcontractor to make the work more sustainable.”
5. Teach a language
The online language learning market is forecast to be worth $41.6 billion by 2030. If you speak multiple languages, monetize your skill by starting a side business that teaches other people how to do the same.
The most popular languages include:
- English
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Hindi
- Spanish
- French
Create your own website and offer one-to-one virtual classes. Or, join an online language learning platform like Skooli, VIPKid, or Qkids. Tutors can earn up to $23 per hour teaching English on the side.
You could also host group classes in a free-to-book space, such as a community center, many of which are keen to make education accessible to locals.
6. Start a cleaning business
Data shows more than 770,000 maids and housekeepers working in the US in 2022. It can be a low-cost business idea that’s easy to get off the ground. A small investment in cleaning supplies, for example, can quickly be earned back.
Take it from Brian Winch, of Cleanlots, who started a cleaning business on the side.
“I provide a parking lot litter cleaning service for property management companies,” he says. “My service is performed on-foot using simple hand tools. Almost as easy to do as going for a walk! We walk the exterior property outside commercial properties and sweep up litter material into our collection tools then empty into waste bins on site.”
It cost Brian $200 to start the parking lot cleaning company. Eight weeks later, the side business idea ended up making more money than his full-time job, eventually grossing more than $650,000 per year.
“I started my business on the side because I wanted the security from the income of my day job to pay the bills while I gained experience growing my business,” Brian says. “The income I generated from my side hustle was invested back into it to grow.”
7. Become an event planner
The event planning sector topped $5.6 billion in 2022. From weddings and birthday parties to corporate events, taking over the organizational aspect of hosting an event can earn you extra money.
Amber Sironen Massey took this approach when starting her side business, Epic Elopements. The wedding planning business handles everything from officiating, organizing vendors, and signing contracts.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sustain a full income and needed more money to get the business going, so quitting my day job wasn’t an option,” Amber says. “I also wanted to make sure that I was on the right track with my market audience and that I was building traction before jumping in head first.”
8. Start a house- or pet-sitting business
More than 90 million households in the US own pets. What do these pet owners do when they go on vacation and choose to leave their pets behind, or if a walker is needed during the workday? There are job opportunities for entrepreneurs in this space, where pet owners are willing to spend big on caretaking. In 2021 alone, US pet parents spent more than $123 billion on their pets.
Owners often look for a dog walking business or pet boarder on platforms like Rover. It’s an added bonus if you have pet-related qualifications, such as first aid or animal behavior. But most of all, you need to reassure potential clients their pet will be safe in your care.
If you’re not confident with pets, offer to take care of someone’s home while they’re on vacation. House sitters can earn between $25 and $100 per day, though this can increase for overnight stays, the size of a house, and its location. Combine this with a full-time job that allows you to work remotely, and you’ll be able to earn extra income with minimal disruption to your regular job.
9. Be a usability tester
A usability tester gives feedback on a website, app, or product. Companies look for usability testers to improve software before releasing them to the general public, and give compensation in return for their time.
Become a usability tester through platforms like:
One user test each day can add up to a few hundred dollars per month.
10. Become a dropshipper
Dropshipping is an ecommerce business model with minimal startup costs. Find products to sell through dropshipping apps like DSers or Spocket. Then, start an online store to sell them. Your provider will automatically pick, pack, and ship products to your customer whenever an order comes through.
Thomas Sleeth, founder of Dropshipping Hustle says he worked full time for 14 years as a disability support worker before attempting dropshipping as a side hustle.
“I was fascinated by the business model and completely immersed myself in it and spent all my free time and even some work time learning all I could,” Thomas says.
It took Thomas five months to start seeing consistent profits through the small business.
“However, I did not quit my full-time job for almost a year,” he says. “At the time I found it extremely stressful to quit my long-term job, but in hindsight, I should have quit several months earlier.
“I was in the dropshipping and ecommerce space for four years and made more than I could have if I continued at my regular job.”
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11. Rent your space
If you don’t have much time to invest in a side business, consider renting space in your home. More than 393 million people booked night rentals and experiences through Airbnb in 2022. Depending on where you live, a spare room, vacant home, or guest house can fetch upward of nearly $200 per night.
Alternatively, you can list spare commercial space on Peerspace. Companies host photoshoots, galleries, launch events, and workshops through renting:
- Rooftops
- Galleries
- Studios
- Kitchens
- Lofts
12. Sell thrift store finds
People donate unwanted items to thrift stores. Money made from sales goes to charity. But if you’re looking for a business to run on the side of your day job, try scouring second-hand stores and flip items for a profit.
Popular items to flip include:
- Antiques
- Books
- Clothes
- Kids’ toys
- Furniture
Kim Hawkins, president of EventsWholesale says, “I originally started selling items on eBay, and my goal was to get enough additional income coming in to quit my day job so I could stay home with my children.
“I started from scratch and invested very little money—under a hundred dollars—to get started, and then I would just reinvest the profit off of what I sold.
“Very quickly the business grew into more than a full-time job. Within two years, my husband was able to quit his day job to help with the business. Business has grown through the years. ”
13. Become an influencer
An influencer is a popular social media user with an audience they can influence into buying or doing something. Almost every industry has influencers, from fashion to gaming. Brands frequently pay influencers big money to convince their followers to buy certain products and services.
While brands pay more to reach bigger audiences, you don’t need a large social media following to make extra money as an influencer. For example, an influencer with 10,000 to 50,000 followers can earn $500 per post. Popular ways to monetize a small following include:
- Affiliate marketing. With affiliate marketing you promote a brand’s products and earn commission on sales you make.
- Paid partnerships. Influencers with fewer than 10,000 Instagram followers can demand $193 per sponsored post for these types of paid brand partnerships.
Abha Chiyedan is one small business owner who ran with this side business idea. She founded The Werk Life in 2017 with $300 for web hosting and a domain. It’s a place to share her personal experience on navigating work and life.
“I started The Werk Life because I was in serious need of a creative outlet on top of my corporate nine-to-five job,” Abha says. “Once I learned the ways I could monetize the blog, I began to venture out to different forms of media, including Pinterest, Instagram, and more. We have a weekly newsletter with over 25,000 engaged readers, and we’re continuing to grow week over week.”
“The Werk Life has grown to an omnichannel media company, with a newly launched ecommerce arm, The Werk Life Shop, where we sell digital planners to help people streamline their planning routines.”
14. Teach a class
Tutoring is a great way to make extra money on the side while also helping other people. Assess the skills that you already have and put together a class that teaches others.
If you’re a skilled guitarist, for example, package music lessons into:
- One-on-one tutoring
- Online group workshops
- Junior college courses
- A class you can teach through a co-working space or community group
If you’re hosting a group class, list it on websites like Eventbrite or Meetup. Local people use those platforms to find nearby classes, making it a great marketing channel to reach potential students for your side business.
Eventbrite rounds up events and classes in a local area, like these in Michigan City.
15. Start affiliate marketing
If you’re a good marketer, becoming an affiliate can be a lucrative business. Affiliate marketing works when you earn commission on a product you sell for another company. This commission can range anywhere from 1% to 50%.
To start an affiliate marketing business on the side, choose a niche. You’ll need to create supporting content around the products you’re promoting. It’ll be easier to create a successful affiliate program if you choose an industry you’re passionate about.
Next, find companies with affiliate programs you can join through sites like ShareASale, ClickBank, or Awin. Grab your referral links and promote them online. You’ll get a kickback on any sales you make.
Affiliate programs in the business, accessories, and health niches have the highest average commission.
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16. Become a rideshare driver
The rideshare industry is expected to grow to $185.1 billion by 2026. Becoming a rideshare driver is one side business idea that can help you capture a slice of that growing market.
There were 131 million Uber customers in 2022. If you’re in a busy city or tourist town and have a car that meets Uber’s requirements, consider registering to become a driver and get paid to transport people around the city.
The best part about becoming a rideshare driver is that you’re in control of your own schedule. While night times and weekends tend to be peak times for customers, since you’re your own boss, you can earn extra cash during any free time.
17. Deliver food
People use food delivery services like Uber Eats, Postmates, and Deliveroo to order food to their home or workplace. Become a delivery driver for those platforms and get paid to transport food to hungry customers.
The barrier to entry to become a food delivery driver is low. In most cases, you’ll need:
- A scooter, car, or bicycle
- A car license and insurance
- A smartphone
Based on the city, Ridester estimates that the average Uber Eats driver can earn between $12.87 and $19.77 per hour, though this can increase with tips and gratuities. Deliver food as quickly (and safely) as possible to increase income from your side business.
18. Write an ebook
If you’re a keen writer, self-publish your own ebook to earn side money. Self-publishing platforms such as Barnes & Noble Press and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allow you to upload your book’s contents, along with a cover and author biography.
KDP, for example, lets independent authors sell books on Amazon. You don’t need to invest money upfront into producing the book. KDP will print, assemble, and ship your book to a customer whenever an order is placed.
Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to self-publish their book and sell it through Amazon.
Alternatively, package your book into a digital file. Create your own website to sell your ebook. As soon as customers pay for it, they’ll receive instant access to the digital download.
19. Sell online courses
An online course teaches people how to do something. Look at your hobbies, skills, and personal interests to see if you can develop an online course.
Even the smallest niches can be monetized through an online course. For example, you could teach:
Michael Keenan is one entrepreneur who sells online courses on the side. Creative Class teaches the business side of freelancing.
“I sell the Creative Class course on the side of my day job as a marketer. It’s a great creative outlet to sell products online—instead of services—while also helping people build their own career.”
20. Sell your art
Selling your art online is a great way to make money. Popular ways to package your art include:
- Greeting cards
- Digital art downloads
- Fabric, paper, or wallpaper prints
Online marketplaces like Etsy are crowded with buyers looking to purchase unique pieces such as art. List your products for sale there, but be aware: Etsy takes a cut out of any sale you make. Operate an online store alongside your Etsy profile to maintain strong profit margins from your side hustle.
21. Private label your own products
Private labeling works when you outsource production of a product to a manufacturer. It’s their job to create the product with your branded packaging.
Popular items to private label include:
- Pet products
- Hair growth vitamins
- Makeup and skin care lines
- Supplements and essential oils
To start your own business using the private label model, find a trustworthy manufacturer and have a sample product made.
If you’re just starting out with minimal budget to invest, balance cost and quality. It’s often easier to make money selling inexpensive items at a markup. You can reinvest profits into higher quality products as your side business grows.
22. Sell handmade goods
Handmade goods are among the most profitable things you can sell online. Take raw materials and turn them into something of higher value—be that clothing, jewelry, or skin care products—to sell through an online store.
Sydney So Sweet founder Jen Greenlees started a side business selling handmade children’s products when her first daughter was born.
“At the time I was a high school chemistry teacher,” says Jen. “I ran my new business while teaching full time and also raising five kids.
“It took very little money to start since I was making everything myself. Time was another issue. There were weeks during the fall where I was staying up until 2 a.m. to make and fulfill orders, and then getting up at 6 a.m. to get ready for work.”
Jen eventually took her side business idea full time. “It was a huge risk at the time,” she says. “Teaching provided a great salary and benefits, and I gave up a lot leaving my job. But the risk has paid off, and the freedom I enjoy being an entrepreneur is worth more than any paycheck!”
Jen Greenlees sells unique and well-made children’s products through her online store
Start your side business today
A side business is a great way to earn extra cash outside of a full-time job. It also provides an opportunity to expand your skill set and build something that eventually could become your main income source.
Starting a business on the side of your day job gives room to test the viability of your ideas to make money. Figure out which ideas, business models, and products you and your customers like best. That increases the chance of success if you quit your day job to work on a side business full time.
Side business FAQ
What are the top side business ideas to start?
How do I make time for a side business?
The beauty of a home business idea is that you’re in control of your own schedule. Balance a full-time job by working on your online business on your lunch break, evenings, or weekends. Put in the hours to get a side business to get off the ground.
How much tax will I pay on my side business?
Small business owners who earn extra money through multiple jobs will be taxed. The rate of taxation depends on your state and income bracket. As a safety net, save between 20% and 50% of the extra money you made through the side business for taxes.
What makes a good second job?
The best side business ideas give you freedom to explore new skills. They also are flexible with your full-time job, earn good money on the side, and sell products or services that are in high demand.
