49 Best Side Hustle Ideas that Can Make $100k+ Per Month
Every single Side hustle starts with an idea!
An idea to build something that can generate money.
A few years ago I too had an idea to start one and now fast forward 2 years later, I am making a full-time income from the said side hustle, a.k.a This blog (Prosmartrepreneur.com).
Starting a side hustle is by far one of the best ways to make money if you’re looking for some extra side income apart from your primary source or a way to make the best use of your free time, or make money in general.
And the best part of having a side hustle is its potential to attain financial freedom.
It is a fairly common occurrence among people who start a side hustle just out of curiosity or to make extra income and end up leaving their primary job because they start to make a lot more from their side hustle than their main hustle.
And there’s a high chance you can pull this off if you just start.
Another pro that comes with owning a side hustle is the constant sense of reassurance.
Reassurance from the fact that you don’t have to worry about losing your only source of income, reassurance from the idea that you don’t have to depend on others, or ask for favors in case of a financial emergency.
And this feeling of reassurance gives you a sense of freedom, which according to me is an integral thing to have in one’s life.
Now, let’s move forward in the article to know more about building a side hustle the right way!
But fair warning,
this article is a bit too long for one sitting (around 11,460 words or so). So I would recommend you to save or share to your socials or email, this way you can access it later.
Table of Contents
What exactly is a Side Hustle?
A Side Hustle is a type of secondary employment that you do in your spare time which generates additional income along with your primary source.
A side hustle generally revolved around something that the person is passionate about and what they wish to become and if someone is pursuing something that does not excite them, then the additional money is the subject of interest.
Either way, you get paid at the end of the day is on the table.
For some, a successful side hustle might be the out ticket from their soul-sucking 9 to 5 jobs. that one day their side hustle would become their main hustle.
What makes a good side hustle? And questions to ask when considering a side hustle.
While you’re weighing all the options and small-scale business categories, there are 3 primary points you need to take into consideration before diving into anything.
They are:
- 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.
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 side 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 $26,527 in September 2023; 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.
f 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 would write and whether people would read it or not.
All of this is part of the process; all you have to do, as of now, is 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
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: UndefinedWhat 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 now makes 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
Income Potential: $15 to $35/hr
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant (Also known as VA) is a person who helps businesses from a remote location through their paid services.
Thanks to the development of high-speed internet facilities- file sharing, and real-time multimedia communication have proven to drastically increase the demand for virtual assistants to entrepreneurs and businesses that are on the internet (Blogging, Ecommerce, etc).
Moreover, If a business needs instant help, hiring a VA is much less complicated compared to bringing in a full-time staff.
What Exactly Does a Virtual Assistant Do? Tasks of a Typical VA?
Being a Virtual Assistant, you will have to provide your services as self-employed or as a contractor irrespective of your location.
These said services may include but are not limited to–
Social Media– Almost all of the businesses that are present online are opting for social media for driving leads to their websites. But most of them do not have time to create consistent content to share and engage with the audience on a regular basis.
Thus the need for VAs who have some expertise in the given topic to run their social media accounts on the business’s behalf.
So, if you have any experience in creating content for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc this might be right up your alley.
Social media VAs are very high in demand in online businesses, so if you have these skills, this niche is for you–
- You can create visually appealing and shareable posts
- You can engage with the audience well
- Keep up with the trending topic
Admin Work– This niche is basically for administrative work. Booking appointments, managing emails, keeping track of official documents, data entry, and spreadsheets are a few examples.
So if you have any previous experience in an office job or you would like to do tasks like the above mentioned, this category might just be for you.
So basically, this niche is like any other office assistant job, except for the “bringing the coffee for the boss” part.
Content Creation– Content creation is really popular as this niche is the most lucrative of all. Good content is what really brings sales to the business, hence this is very crucial for any online business.
Moreover, content creation is hard, time-consuming, and tedious, this is why business prefers to outsource these jobs.
If you like creating well-written articles, reviewing products in detail, making good-quality videos, and editing videos, and photos, there is a good chance you’ll thrive here.
Ecommerce– Do you know that the eCommerce industry is expected to hit $4.5 Trillion in sales (Source: DisruptiveAdvertising)?
What does that mean?
These businesses are expected to grow at an exponential rate, therefore, e-commerce VAs are (and will be) in great demand.
Tasks for an Ecommerce VA– Product management, Inventory management, Shipping issues, and returns, Customer relations, Order tracking, and invoicing
These are just a few examples, there are many more services that you can offer!
If you want to know more about what you could offer and choose what suits you best, check out this list of over 150+ services that a Virtual Assistant can offer to a client by downloading it here.
How much Money do Virtual Assistants Make?
An average North American can earn anywhere from $35 to $50 per hour. This rate goes as high as $100 per hour depending upon the area of expertise and experience.
How to get started as a Virtual Assistant?
If you think Being a Virtual Assistant is something you can do and have a desire to be self-employed, I know you’ll find Gina’s course 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success incredibly helpful. Her strategies are solid and very practical to follow up.
Gina from Horkey Hand Book, a millennial mom from Minnesota, is an awesome example of how you can set up a VA business.
Following her course, many students end up getting hired by their first client before they finish the course.
Click here to get access to Gina’s Horkey Hand Book course and start your independent VA life
8. Create a Digital Course to sell
Income Potential: $1000 to over $100,000 monthly
Digital courses are the new model of modern education.
Independent teaching platforms has facilitated instant and cheap learning experience that people are loving because of their convenience.
For example, if over time, you have developed a desire to learn filmmaking, would you get yourself into a film-making college and spend $40,000 there just to pursue a hobby?
OR
Enrolling in a digital course online that costs just a fraction of that amount and will teach you just as much sounds more convenient.
I will choose that latter any day of the week!
And let me assure you, this mindset is more widespread than you think. People now, more than ever are enrolling in digital courses and are learning at their own pace.
And as a result, digital course creators are making a fortune by selling courses online.
So if you have a specialization on a given topic and you want to share the knowledge to the rest of the world, don’t shy away from creating a digital course, whether it is in textual format, explained video format, voiceover, or any combination of these.
People are utilizing platforms such as Teachable to build and sell courses online. Check out teachable to know you can create a digital course.
9. Make money as a transcriptionist
Income Potential: $25,000 to over $50,000 yearly
What does a Transcriptionist do?
A transcriptionist is like a professional typist who listens to recorded or live audio files and then converts them into text format by typing.
They offer their services to the medical, legal, and general transcription industries. Working from home as a transcriptionist has its benefits, including working at your own pace and according to your own schedule.
You have zero commute time with the comforts of your home. The only requirement for this job is to be able to type with speed and accuracy.
There are basically three types of transcription:
- General Transcription
- Legal Transcription
- Medical Transcription
General transcriptionists transcribe on the media and research levels. This might include bloggers, podcasters, interviewers, researchers, YouTubers, marketers…the list goes on.
The legal transcriptionist transcribes in the legal areas and medical transcription for medical areas obviously.
How to Become a Successful Transcriptionist?
To be a Transcriptionist one needs to have the skill of typing fast, accurately, and error-free.
If you think this is something you can pull off, I recommend you to have a look at TranscribeAnywhere.
TranscribeAnywhere offers affordable, high-quality, proven transcription education that you can actually apply for getting big clients. You can learn to transcribe with excellence, and you can do it from anywhere
10. Photography and Videography Services
Income Potential: Depends on the service you provide
This is one of those creative fields where you will have the freedom to work on thing things you want (mostly). And as a self-employed individual and a shutterbug myself, I appreciate the creative freedom this side hustle provides.
There are quite a few ways you can use your photo and/or video skills to make quite a good income on the side. Some of those ways are:
- Sell your photos on websites like Shutterstock, Getty, etc.
- Start a photography blog
- Create a tutorial channel on YouTube
- Create a course online (on Teachable or skillshare)
- Set up a photography or video shoot business
- Sell hard/printed copies of your work
- Create an Instagram page focusing on your best work
When it comes to making money through your photo and video services, this income here isn’t fixed at all. It all boils down to the fact that by providing different services you can make different amounts of money.
For example: Only selling your photos on stock images website isn’t as sustainable as you think while on the other hand, selling courses and making YouTube tutorials has the potential to make quite a good income (up to $100,000 a month)
So I would suggest you experiment with different income formats if you’re just a beginner and see for yourself what works for you.
And to be honest, photography is quite a crowded space with people offering their services for almost all niches and at various price points.
That being said, with the right passion and an eye for exceptional photography, anyone can set themselves apart from such crowds and succeed in ways unimaginable.
One of the things that can set you apart is by creating your own online portfolio where you can showcase your work to potential clients and brands.
And if you choose to create online courses or tutorials, you can redirect those people visiting your website to the courses or youtube channel.
You can use various professional-looking portfolio templates offered by platforms such as Squarespace to get started.
11. Become a bookkeeper
Income Potential: $43,000 yearly
If you’re not familiar with bookkeeper or bookkeeping in general, let me clear the air first.
A bookkeeper is someone who prepares your accounts and documents the daily financial transactions of a company, small business, or organization.
As a bookkeeper, you will be responsible for the documentation of any type of financial transaction concerning the business or organization and hence you’ll be helping businesses to keep track of how much money comes in and goes out every month.
Your daily tasks might include:
- Recording sales and revenue
- Reconciling expenses
- Managing bills payments
- Managing payroll
- Producing financial reports whenever deemed necessary
- Filing receipts
After the recording of the transactions, an accountant will normally review the bookkeeper’s work, analyze the data, and make the adjustments needed before submitting the accounts.
Where can I find legit bookkeeping jobs?
Jobs openings can be found in your area by simply searching on Google: “Bookkeeping jobs near me”
12. Sell stuff on Etsy
Income Potential: A few hundred to over $52,000 Yearly
I’m sure you’re aware of Etsy and what it is about by now. Etsy is a global marketplace for creative goods and has over 33 million buyers that bought Etsy $3.9 billion in 2018 from merchandise sales.
Products sold on Etsy include:
- Arts
- Crafts
- Home Decor
- Seasonal goods
- Clothing and accessories
- DIY stuff
- Jewelry
- Handmade personal care items etc.
But it is to be noted that it’s not just a place to buy creative products but to also sell them. Thousands of sellers use it to sell their own brands and products every single day and make good money at the end of the month.
If you have a creative bug and would like to sell your creative goods such as paintings, accessories, crafts, etc, then you can definitely give it a try.
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