EARN MONEY IN SPARE TIME

The internet is full of opportunities to make money online or from home, but many are questionable, if not outright scams. Be wary of any “opportunity” that asks for an upfront fee, wants you to pay for certification, or requests your Social Security number or any financial information, such as your credit card number.

Still unsure if an opportunity is legit? Look for community forums, like those on Reddit, for unfiltered reviews and complaints. Also, check if the company has a Better Business Bureau profile. The BBB assigns ratings based on reported complaints, business transparency and other factors.

Nearly everyone could benefit from a little extra income, but sometimes saving extra money and having a full-time job aren’t enough. Good side hustles build recurring revenue streams that go a long way in earning extra income.

Side hustlers come from diverse backgrounds and sell a wide range of products. They’re scrappy, experimental, and view resource constraints as a thrilling challenge, not as a sign to give up. With just a few hours a week in your spare time, you too can benefit from a side hustle.

If you’re looking to make passive income or some extra money by converting a hobby into your own business, browse our list of side hustle ideas—everything from pet sitting to digital marketing to gig economy work.

Are you ready to start a side hustle? Browse these ideas in detail for information on how you can launch an online business or make extra cash by selling your skills. The best side hustle ideas are those that match your skills and interests.

YouTube has more than two billion users who watch 250 million hours of videos every single day. Building an audience big enough to profit from YouTube ads takes a lot of time, which is why it’s better to find a more direct connection to revenue than to wait for ads to become viable. Luckily, there are a ton of ways to make money on YouTube that go beyond paid ads.

💡 Tip: Start by producing great content that resonates with your target audience. As you grow your following, consider making more money selling paid subscriptions, producing merch to sell online, or doing paid sponsorships.

Digital products include any non-physical asset that exists in the digital world. These products are typically downloadable or streamable files like MP3s, PDFs, videos, and templates. If you’re a musician, music is always needed for movies and ad campaigns.

If you’re a graphic designer, websites are always looking for new fonts and graphics to make their site stand out. Digital products could include educational materials, audio files (like stock sound effects or music), digital templates, and more.

Teaching is one of the most rewarding opportunities, and with online platforms like Cambly, TutorOcean, Preply, and Learn to Be, it’s easy for anyone to tutor students online. Some young entrepreneurs even start freelancing while in school. Services like tutoring and exam prep are so popular in universities among student freelancers that the test-prep market is expected to grow at a rate of 6% annually until 2027.

💡 Tip: Take your tutoring side gig to the next level and make more money by building your own online store and selling courses online. An online course is a heavy lift up front to create, but can provide passive income over time.

Anyone with time and access to a vehicle can now sign up to deliver packages through Amazon Flex. Amazon Flex is a great way to earn extra income in your spare time. Work scheduling is flexible: drivers simply sign-up for a block of time and receive as many or as few delivery assignments as they have time for.

Podcasting, like social media and blogging, has become a staple of the broader world of online content. In fact, podcasts have been growing more popular each year since their creation.

Podcasting is comparatively cheap, too. A decent USB microphone sold specifically for podcasting can be purchased for less than $100, and recording platforms like Audacity are free and easy to use.

Print-on-demand businesses are fun, low-risk ventures if you have a passion for design and are looking to dip your feet into the entrepreneurial waters. Shopify apps such as Printful, Printify, and Gelato allow you to easily upload custom designs onto t-shirts that are printed and shipped at the point of purchase, meaning there’s no need to make large inventory purchases upfront.

💡 Tip: Shopify has everything you need to bring your own business to life and start selling t-shirts online. Get the tools and free resources you need to build, launch, and grow your business all in one place.

These days, people treat their pets as members of the family⁠—so there’s a growing demand for reliable people to take care of their furry loved ones. In the past, finding clients was the hardest part of becoming a dog walker or pet sitter, but with apps like Rover, Wag!, PetSitter.com, and PetBacker, it’s easier than ever to find good clients in need of a hand.

💡 Tip: Level up by starting your own pet business, selling products to your existing clients. Set up a simple website to sell your services and products in one place—and make more money from the same clientele.

Earn Money In Spare Time

Bryan Reisberg’s adorable corgi, Maxine, won over hundreds of thousands of dog-lovers on Instagram. His efforts to keep her safe while traveling through Manhattan led to a massively successful backpack company powered by Shopify. 👉 Learn about Little Chonk

These days, there are several options for those wanting to drive for a rideshare company. You can always drive for tried and tested companies like Uber or Lyft, but there are also independent options that cater to specific needs or cities, like ZIRO, which is largely based in San Francisco, or Wingz, which specializes in shuttling people to and from the airport.

If you enjoy driving but don’t always enjoy having strangers in your car, you can sign up to drive for grocery delivery apps. Check out Instacart or Spark Driver (Walmart’s delivery app) for grocery delivery side-gigs.

As with grocery delivery, food delivery has become increasingly popular over the past couple of years. Food delivery is an easy-to-start side hustle, with a ton of apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, SkipTheDishes (Canada only), and Menulog (Australia and New Zealand only) where you can sign up to become a driver.

You likely already spend time caring for and maintaining your home, so why not make some extra cash from it? Renting your home or spare room has big earning potential. Airbnb is the most common way to rent out your home, but you might also try listing it on other apps like Vrbo, Agoda, or Plum Guide (UK only).

💡 Tip: Level up your side hustle to sell products to your guests. Use Shopify Collabs to find brands willing to let you promote their products for a commission. Guests love the soap in your bathroom? Place a QR code in your bathroom so they can buy it.

With the number of online businesses out there, there’s always a need for freelancers with specific skills to help founders create content, run social channels, optimize a website, and more. Advertise your services online through gig or freelance sites and set up a basic website with a portfolio of your work. You can make more money by creating an online course and selling it as a digital product to people who want to learn your skills.

Affiliate marketing is when you advertise someone else’s products or services on your platform and get a commission from any sale that comes from your referral (usually through a unique link or code). This is a great way to combine side hustles.

If you have a podcast, are an influencer, or have a store of your own, get into affiliate marketing. It’s a great way to gain some passive income while you’re either working on a different side hustle or working on your passions.

To get started, go to an affiliate marketplace like Leadpages, ConvertKit, ClickBank, or ShareASale and find the right products for you. And if you’re a content creator, course educator, or influencer working in the world of ecommerce, the Shopify Affiliate Program might be a great side hustle.

Blogging has long been a popular side-hustle, but monetization can prove challenging. That’s why more and more bloggers are turning to Substack, a platform where independent writers can publish their work directly to their audience and get paid through the use of recurring subscriptions.

This allows bloggers to build an audience over time and maintain a regular stream of monthly income, without having to rely on intrusive ads, sponsorships, or finding freelance writing gigs.

💡 Tip: Once you have a substantial following, consider making more money by selling products like merch to your fans. This is a great way to build awareness for your personal brand.

In this guide to brand storytelling, founder Charlotte Cho explains how her personal story and that of her culture were critical to building two skin care brands. As a popular beauty blogger first, she was able to build credibility when she eventually launched. 👉 Read more

Sites like Burst, Shutterstock, and Getty Images are always looking to buy photos that can be used on websites and ad campaigns. And as long as the web exists, there will always be a need for new photos, because websites will always need to update and refresh their content.

You can also sell your photography as prints or put them on a mug or sweatshirt. Get your images on something physical and sell them as hangable and wearable art. Getting quality prints of your photos is easy and cheap these days, so there’s a real market if you’ve got the right image.