The old adage is true: you need money to make money. To achieve financial freedom, you’ll have to take some risks and do some work, and it all starts with side hustles. These don’t have to be big, but they diversify your income stream and start bringing in trickles (and sometimes floods) of cash that grow your bank account. As your savings grow, even more opportunities will open up. And best of all? Many of these side hustles could become your own business if you find you love the work.
10 Side Hustles You Could Start Right Now
This post contains affiliate links. Please see our affiliate disclaimer page for more information.
1. Rent a Room
This is the most accessible form of real estate investment there is. Whether you choose a long-term renter to share your home or simply rent out through Airbnb, this is one of the least complicated ways to bring in some money. It doesn’t require much more investment than building your Airbnb account or running some background checks on potential tenants.
2. Write Online
There are websites everywhere that will pay you to write for them. You have to actually be able to write fairly well if you want to move on from $0.01-a-word jobs to something more lucrative (and fulfilling), but once you get the hang of it and pay your dues, you’ll be able to pick your own jobs.
3. Sell Your Pictures
If you love to take photos, then start by selling your work on stock photo sites. If people love your work, they might reach out and hire you for specific jobs. You can also record video tutorials to help out aspiring photographers and sell access online.
4. Walk the Dogs
If you love animals, start with an account at Rover.com. You’ll offer your services walking dogs, house-sitting for vacationing pet owners, and dropping by to let Fido out in the middle of the day. As you build your skills and network, you can offer your services directly and command higher pay.
5. Take Care of the Lawn
There are people everywhere who either can’t or won’t do their own lawn maintenance tasks. If you’re willing to cut grass, pull weeds, rake leaves, or even shovel snow, you can start making money today. It’s amazing how much income you can build if you’re willing to work hard.
6. Clean
If you get joy out of transforming a dirty kitchen into a sparkling gem, just begging a cook to begin the next meal, people will happily pay you to clean their homes. You can get started through numerous online platforms and grow your network of clients who pay well. All it takes is a few steady Saturday cleaning jobs to really start padding out your bank account.
7. Create Artwork
We’re not talking about trying to sell your paintings (at least not yet). But if you have a flair for the artistic and some computer mojo, you can create and sell online art. It’s not hard to start a store at Etsy or even on Facebook, and it can be as simple as creating party invitations or Christmas cards that people will pay to access. Once you’ve built up a reputation, you can do custom orders.
8. Run Errands
When an older person no longer has the energy (or perhaps the balance or sight) to hop in the car to take care of little things, they or their families are often willing to pay you to pick up the groceries or run someone to the bank. It will take a little time to get your name out there, and online platforms are often the way to start, but you’ll soon build a steady client base. In fact, if you’re friendly and reliable, you’ll probably have more work than you can actually take.
9. Be a Rent-a-Friend
Through the website RentAFriend, you can offer your services as an (entirely platonic) companion for an event, an evening, or a whole weekend. People traveling on business may not want to go to dinner by themselves. A visitor to your area might want to have some adventures with someone who knows the area. Someone’s date to a required black-tie event for their company may have canceled at the last moment. This is a great side hustle for extroverts in particular.
10. Drive for Uber
Don’t waste a moment in the car when you have an account with Uber or Lyft. Once you set everything up, you can make virtually effortless money by picking up a fare going in your direction on the way home from work. When you need even more cash, hang out near the airport, or be available after concerts or other special events in your area.
Finally, See Your Bank Account Grow
The purpose of a side hustle is to work hard now so you can work less later. Use your free time to do something you enjoy and watch your savings grow. Soon you’ll have enough to make bigger investments and get free of the daily grind entirely!
