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by Mike Vestil 

28 Best Side Hustle Ideas In 2022 (Make Fast Cash $1000+)

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Looking for the best side hustle ideas to make extra money in 2022?

Then you are in the right place.

Let’s admit it.

No matter how much money you are making now, you can always do with more. With the right side hustle idea, you can strike it rich. Side hustles can generate enough cash to knock off that pesky credit card debt or bolster your stretched budget. Not only are smart side hustlers making good money, but some also go on to start and run successful small businesses. 

This guide will unpack the best side hustle ideas you can exploit for more money…fast.

What Is A Side Hustle?

A side hustle is a part-time job you do during your spare time in addition to your full-time job. It’s a popular way of supplementing your income.

28 Best Side Hustle Ideas For Easy Extra Money

Here are 28 trending side hustle ideas to help you make more money in 2022 and beyond. How much money you make from the business ideas depends on the profitability of the idea and the industry you work in. 

Let’s jump straight in.

1. Become A Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants have gone mainstream.

More and more professionals need a virtual assistant to take administration off their daily workflow. By delegating admin work to someone else, they can focus on their core duties and become more productive. 

As a virtual assistant, your duties include:

  • Making travel arrangements.
  • Managing email inboxes.
  • Making phone calls.
  • Scheduling appointments.

For higher earnings, specialize in a specific industry. You can look for side gigs yourself or join virtual assistants platforms. 

Earning Potential: $39,972 on average and over $60,000 for top earners. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • High earning potential in some industries.
  • You work on your own schedule.
  • You can work from anywhere since duties are performed online.

Cons

  • Hard to find clients when you are starting.
  • Balancing work and home duties can be tricky.

2. Get Into Freelance Writing

Profitable side hustles don’t come any bigger than freelance writing.

Worth a mouth-watering $417 billion in 2021, the content marketing industry growth trajectory isn’t showing signs of stopping anytime soon. An enormous amount of that chunk goes to paying writers who churn out huge volumes of content. 

Are you a decent writer?

Then you can launch your side hustle as a freelance writer. Writing resumes for professionals is hot right now. You can get a part-time-job as a resume writer on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. 

Earning Potential: Pay starts at $24 an hour to over $100,000 a year for top writers. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • Superb writers are paid premium rates (over $1k per article)
  • You set your own rates.
  • You take your office (read laptop) with you wherever you go.

Cons

  • Writing is a time-consuming exercise that can negatively affect your work-life balance.
  • Work can be inconsistent when you are starting.

3. Launch A Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping has taken the e-commerce world by storm.

Many small businesses use the dropshipping approach.

It's a convenient business model because you don't need a large warehouse to store goods. You can sell and deliver goods from your online store without the hassle of inventory storage.

The key to succeeding with this side hustle is finding high-quality products that are in demand. Another crucial aspect is partnering with a reliable supplier that'll ship goods promptly.

There are countless products you can sell on Shopify, Amazon, and eBay.

Earning Potential: $1,000 to $5,000 a month. (Bluecart)

Pros

  • You can get started with minimal capital (under $100).
  • You just have to find customers and let your supplier do all the heavy lifting.
  • No worries about inventory storage and management.

Cons

  • Fierce competition as everyone is selling the same products to the same people.
  • Very low-profit margins.

4. Sell Handmade Items On Etsy

People value handmade items.

Their uniqueness makes them appealing, unlike mass-produced goods.

Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade items. Therefore, if you are gifted with your hands, you can make a killing by selling your crafts on Etsy.

Earning Potential: $44,380 per year. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics)

Pros

  • You can sell some vintage handmade items at premium prices.
  • There are many platforms where you can sell your goods.
  • Sell to 82 million eager buyers.

Cons

  • Scaling can be difficult since the goods are made by hand.
  • Listing and transaction fees eat into your profits.

5. Write An Ebook

One of the best side hustle ideas you can implement and get a passive side income is writing an ebook. 

Ebooks make up 21% market share of the total book sales. It’s a growing sector. In 2020, ebook sales in the US crossed $1 billion. These figures show ebook writing can be a profit-making side hustle. 

The best part?

You can write about virtually any topic under the sun. As for marketing, you can sell your ebooks on Amazon Kindle or sell them yourself.

Earning Potential: Ebooks sell for anything from $2,00 to over $10.

Pros

  • Work once and get paid forever.
  • You build your authority and add more part-time income streams e.g course or paid community.
  • You keep most or all the income.

Cons

  • Without proper marketing, you get paltry sales.
  • Ebook prices are on the lower end in most industries.

6. Become An Online Tutor

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Source: Unsplash

Online tutoring is a great side hustle idea you can execute and make money online from the comfort of your home.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have become comfortable with online learning. You can teach anything from regular academic subjects like Math or Chemistry. Or you can teach a skill you have such as music. In particular, you can teach English As A Second Language (ESL) because it has an ever-growing market. There are plenty of teaching opportunities on VIPKID and QKids.

Share whatever know how you have and get paid handsomely for it.

Earning Potential: $32,000 on the lower end and up to $62,000 for top earners. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • Very low barrier to entry-no startup costs.
  • You can monetize your expertise as long as there is a demand for it.
  • You don’t have to worry about the hassle of commuting.

Cons

  • You can struggle if you don’t have a stable internet connection.
  • Adjusting to the time zones of your students can be stressful.

7. Become A Product Tester

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Source: Unsplash

Testing products before releasing them to the market is part of the product development workflow of serious companies.

To do that, companies need product trialists. So if you are adventurous and willing to give different products a spin, you can make extra money testing products. 

Whether it’s sampling full-sized physical goods, browsing websites, taking online surveys, or playing games, you can make more money as a product tester:

All you need is:

  • A stable internet connection.
  • Ability to give concise feedback orally or in written form.
  • An honest streak for authentic, useful reviews.
  • A PayPal account for receiving payments.

Earning Potential: $18 per hour or $38,113 annually (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • Low barrier to entry.
  • You don’t require special skills.
  • You can get started right away.

Cons

  • Some gigs don't pay much.
  • You must do many gigs to get a decent income.

8. Start A Blog

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Source: Unsplash

Another good side hustle idea is starting a blog.

Back in the day, blogging used to be a hobbyists channel. People used it to share their convictions with the world. Not anymore. Today, serious bloggers easily earn six figures from their blogs. So if you love writing you can launch a blog and earn money online by:

  • Publishing sponsored content.
  • Selling other people’s products (affiliate marketing).
  • Selling adverts to companies.
  • Launching an online course.
  • Sell services like writing or graphic design.

Prefer speaking to writing?

No problem. Do video blogging instead.

Earning Potential: $37,073 per year and up to $100,000+.

Pros

  • Very lucrative in some niches—you can earn six figures yearly.
  • You can get started with $100 or less.
  • You grow and own an email list asset.

Cons

  • It takes months or years to start seeing results.
  • You need SEO skills to make it.

9. Manage Company Social Media Accounts

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Source: Unsplash

Every company is on social media these days.

They do it to connect with their customers, increase brand awareness, humanize their brand, get customer feedback, and more. 

But there’s a problem. Doing all this takes a ton of time. 

Therefore brands hire a social media manager to run their social accounts. So if you are social media savvy, you can manage social accounts for companies during your spare time and make extra cash.

Earning Potential: $20.53 an hour or $60,000+ per year. (PayScale)

Pros

  • Easy to start if you are already active on social media.
  • Pays well if you get a gig with a big brand.
  • You enjoy connecting with different people and get paid for it.

Cons

  • Getting high-paying gigs as a newbie is difficult.
  • Putting out PR nightmares can be a handful.

10. Rent Out Extra Rooms On Airbnb

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Source: Pixabay

Do you own a decent home with a spare room or two?

Don’t let them go to waste. Consider renting them out on Airbnb and earn extra income by hosting guests in your home. People who are on a tight budget can’t afford hotels so they prefer staying in people’s homes.

If your rooms are adequate, clean, and you are an excellent host, you’ll have a stream of guests coming through. 

Earning Potential: $924 a month on average. (Ernest)

Pros

  • Low barrier to entry.
  • Easy to maintain.
  • Charge more and earn more during peak travel periods.

Cons

  • There are local legal hoops to go through.
  • It's a seasonal hustle so there will be dry months.

11. Become An Affiliate Marketer

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Source: Unsplash

To start a business and succeed with it, you need to have a product, right?

Wrong.

If you are using the affiliate marketing model, you can get started even if you don’t have a product. You can earn a decent passive income by selling other people’s products as an affiliate marketer. 

As long as you have the doggedness to build an engaged audience, you stand a good chance of succeeding with this perfect side hustle. 

Earning Potential: Anything from $42k on the low end to over $100k on the higher end. (Taboola)

Pros

  • You don't have to spend money on product development.
  • You can sell as many products as you like.
  • You don't have to worry about customer service.

Cons

  • Intense competition.
  • Your income can fluctuate.

12. Start A YouTube Channel

Similar to blogging, vlogging can be a money-making side.

With over 2 billion active users YouTube is a massive pool of potential buyers of all kinds of products and services.

The good news?

You don't need a fortune to launch a YouTube channel. A smartphone with an excellent camera is enough. You can make money off your channel through affiliate marketing and selling ads.

Earning Potential: Anything from a couple of hundred to thousands of dollars per month depending on audience size.

Pros

  • Low barrier to entry.
  • YouTube has excellent targeting capabilities.
  • Viral potential to explode your views and reach.

Cons

  • Growing a YouTube audience can be an arduous process.
  • Low sales conversion rates.

13. Offer Graphic Design Services

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Source: Pexels

Next up on our side hustle list is graphic design.

Companies need lots of visuals for marketing purposes:

  • Logos.
  • Posters.
  • Brochures.
  • Social media images.
  • Custom illustrations.
  • Blog header images.

You hang your shingle as a freelance graphic designer if you are skilled at creating computer graphics.

Earning Potential: $46,983 per year. (PayScale)

Pros

  • Very high earning potential for skilled designers.
  • You set your schedule.
  • You determine your rates.

Cons

  • You must do dreary administration duties.
  • You will get very lonely.

14. Build Websites For Companies

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Source: Unsplash

There are close to 2 billion websites on the internet mostly running on WordPress. 

And guess what?

Someone gets paid to build them. So if you have web development skills you can make good money creating stunning websites for companies.

With each website you build costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, you can make serious money in just a few months. 

Earning Potential: $500 to $5,000+ per website. (Ripe Media)

Pros

  • It’s a highly profitable hustle- you can earn $500+ per gig.
  • There is an increased demand for web developers so you can easily turn your hustle into a full-time job.
  • You work from home or anywhere in the world as long as you have internet access.

Cons

  • Working while seated can negatively affect your health.
  • Working alone means you don’t enjoy the social connections enjoyed by office workers.

15. Sell Stock Photographs

Visual content is a vital part of the interwebs.

Webmasters and marketers need a constant supply of quality images for their projects. If you like taking snaps and have a packed portfolio of impressive photos you can profit from your hobby.

Simply create a profile on stock photography sites like Shutterstock or Adobe Stock and upload your photos. People who like the photos buy them and you earn extra cash each month.

Earning Potential: $0,25 to $0,45 per image per month. (Improve Photography)

Pros

  • Easy to start.
  • You don't need any formal qualifications.
  • The income is passive.

Cons

  • Most stock photos sell for pennies and prices have been falling.
  • Many marketers don't like stock photos so you may struggle to sell.

16. Start A Pet Grooming Service

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Source: Unsplash

Another easy-peasy side hustle idea is pet grooming.

You can make a few extra bucks and splurge on that holiday you’ve always been putting off by grooming pets for a fee. So if you love keeping pets clean and looking great you can make money as a pet groomer. 

Pet grooming is one of the easiest side hustles to latch onto. You can start right away by advertising your services online or in local publications. And there are many pet grooming training courses you can take from City and Guilds and other boards to improve your skills.

There is a high demand for a mobile pet grooming service. 

Earning Potential: Earnings are around $25k up to $51k annually. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • Low barrier to entry—start right away.
  • You don’t need a lot of capital to start.
  • Plenty of customers.

Cons

  • The income isn’t passive.
  • You spend a lot of time on your feet.

17. Offer A House Sitting Service

Did you know you can make good money keeping people’s homes while they are away?

Yes, you can literally sit in someone’s house and get paid for it. How cool is that?! Well, you sit most of the day and do a bit of light work in between:

  • Turn the lights on and off.
  • Do a bit of cleaning.
  • Perform light maintenance duties.
  • Look after pets (and earn more).

You can get house sitter gigs easily on websites like HouseSitter.com and Care.com.

Earning Potential: Earn $30 an hour or $61,729 per year. (Zippia)

Pros

  • Good pay for little work.
  • Get some much-needed me time and get paid for it at the same time.
  • Enjoy the comfort of luxurious homes.

Cons

  • Overbearing house owners who go beyond the scope of the job.
  • Loneliness can be a serious challenge if you are a people person.

18. Buy And Sell Used Items On Facebook Marketplace

Facebook isn't just a social network.

There is a lucrative business side to the platform. You can leverage it to make a few extra bucks selling things online.

The FB Marketplace allows you to buy and sell used goods. It's all about knowing what people want and the true value of goods you are trading.

Earning Potential: Anything from a couple of hundred dollars to $1000+ per month.

Pros

  • Reach 2,89 billion potential buyers.
  • You can list items and sell them for free.
  • The platform is straightforward.

Cons

  • Facebook doesn't vet buyers and sellers so you might get burned by scammers.
  • Buyers prefer established e-commerce sites like Amazon.

19. Try Babysitting

For those who enjoy bambinos, babysitting can be a likely side hustle.

Parents prize their children above everything. You’d be surprised to know that in 2019 the babysitting market size was $54.3 billion. With an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from 2020 to 2027, it’s close to $60 billion today. In short, babies are big business.

As a babysitter you will be expected to:

  • Play with children.
  • Prepare food for kids.
  • Help with homework.
  • Do light housework.

Earning Potential: The national average hourly rate is $18.36 and goes over $20 in some cities. (Urban Sitter)

Pros

  • Reasonable rates so you can make decent money from a few clients.
  • You don’t need any educational qualifications.
  • You do purposeful work shaping the lives of children.

Cons

  • Children can be rowdy and moody—handling them can be tricky.
  • Pay can be paltry in some areas.

20. Plan Events For People And Companies

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Source: Pixabay

Many side hustle ideas require a bit of capital to execute.

Event planning isn’t one of them. 

You can start with no penny in your pocket. All you need are your organizational skills, an eye for detail, and a knack for creative problem-solving. Worth a sizable $3 billion in 2021, the event planning sector is bigger than you think.

So if you are a party animal you can make money in your own time as an event planner.

Earning Potential: $50,624 per year and up to $75,000 on the higher end. (PayScale)

Pros

  • Event planning combines business with pleasure.
  • You can scale the hustle into a full time job if you want to.
  • Plenty of gig opportunities to exploit.

Cons

  • A lot of traveling can take its toll on you.
  • You get fewer gigs when the economy is struggling.

21. Get Into Network Marketing

Another legit side hustle is multilevel marketing. 

Many people do it during their free time. So profitable is this side hustle that some people quit their day job and turn it into a full time business. If you are the persuasive type you can network your way to great riches.

The market value of direct marketing companies in the US is an astonishing $55 billion. You can make money in this industry, lots of it.

Earning Potential: $87,370 per year on the low up to $162,410 on the higher end. (Talent.Com)

Pros

  • Low barrier to entry so you can start easily.
  • Flexible scheduling so you can choose when and how you work.
  • You promote products and services that are close to your heart.

Cons

  • You need sharp selling skills to succeed.
  • You can’t sell online so you need face-to-face meetings to close sales.

22. Create Information Products

Another lucrative side hustle is making info products.

Info products come in different forms and sizes:

  • Ebooks with a few pages or hundreds of pages.
  • Online courses students do anytime at their own pace.
  • Gated content people pay to access.
  • Paid podcast subscription.
  • Webinars with hours of pre-recorded video.
  • Membership sites packed with written, audio, and video content.

For those with a deep knowledge of a specific topic, info products can provide an extra income stream.

Earning Potential: $3 up to $1,000+ depending on niche and product type.

Pros

  • You get passive income month after month.
  • Paid communities can grow organically as excited members share with people in their circles.
  • No storage costs.

Cons

  • Some info products are dirt cheap so you must sell many units to make a decent income.
  • Hard to break into the market if you don't already have a loyal and engaged audience.

23. Become A Social Media Influencer

Social media marketing is now part of every serious company's overall marketing strategy.

Companies are always on the lookout for social influencers to help them connect with their audience and sell their products.

By becoming an influencer, you enhance your chances of landing a gig with companies. To be regarded as an influencer:

  • Grow your followers into the thousands.
  • Focus on one channel so you become known there instead of spreading yourself too thin on different channels.
  • Make sure you engage your followers so they are responsive to your updates.
  • Include the products of the brands you want to work with within your updates.

Earning Potential: Anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 per year. (Fox Business)

Pros

  • You can make a full time income if you have a large audience.
  • You get a lot of cool free products.
  • Influencer marketing doesn’t feel like work, it’s enjoyable.

Cons

  • Growing an audience to an influencer level is tough.
  • Stiff competition because there are no barriers to entry.

24. Launch A Dog Walking Service

Americans adore dogs.

According to the American Pets Products Association (APPA), there are 63.4 million dogs in the USA. Not only that. People so love their canines that they spend $1,480 on pet dog expenses each year.

This makes dog walking a viable side hustle for extra cash. 

You can walk dogs in your spare time and knock off your student loan debt. Who knows, you might grow your gig into a fully-fledged hustle business. To get started, register as a pet sitter on Rover and Taskrabbit.

Earning Potential: $11 per hour and up to $43,000 per year. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • Zero capital is needed to start.
  • Work your own hours and schedule.
  • No back-breaking sweaty physical work.

Cons

  • Sourcing clients can be tough in the beginning.
  • Erratic income so you may struggle in certain months.

25. Rent Out Your Car

Do you own a comfortable set of wheels? 

Is your car always parked in your garage most of the time?

Do you have a second car you rarely use?

If that's the case then you can generate extra cash by renting out your car. It doesn't matter what kind of car it is, you will find takers for it whether it's a luxury SUV, sedan, or pickup. 

You can get gigs fast from car-sharing marketplaces like Turo.

Earning Potential: Make an average of $10,516 per year from renting one car. (Turo)

Pros

  • You can get lots of bookings if you live in a major city or close to an airport.
  • You don't need any capital to start.
  • You can make money from any type of vehicle as long as it's in a good condition.

Cons

  • Risk of extensive car damage caused by accidents.
  • Some insurers don’t cover cars that are part of car-sharing schemes.

26. Deliver Groceries To People’s Homes

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Source: Unsplash

Own a light truck? Check.

Have a valid driver’s license? Check.

Strong physically? Check.

Are you a self-confessed shopper? Check.

Then delivering food is one of the easiest side hustles you can do. People are uber busy. They don't mind paying someone (you) to do their shopping and deliver groceries to their doorstep.

Getting gigs is simple. Hop onto platforms like Instacart, Ubereats, Lyft, Postmates, and Doordash to land grocery and food delivery gigs. 

Earning Potential: $25,000 to $65,000 annually. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

  • No formal qualifications are required so anyone can do it.
  • Good pay if you get a few regular gigs from local business owners.
  • You can earn extra money from tips in addition to your pay.

Cons

  • Lifting heavy goods day after day can ravage the body.
  • People can be nasty to food delivery drivers.

27. Start A Proofreading Gig

Are you a stickler for grammar and spelling?

Are you observant and can't miss the minutest detail?

If that's you then proofreading as a side hustle might be a good fit for you. Many bloggers and authors hire talented proofreaders to polish up their copy and become their second pair of eyes.

Earning Potential: $18,35 per hour or $30k yearly. (PayScale)

Pros

  • Easy to start because you don’t need any capital.
  • There are plenty of jobs to go around.
  • You choose your working hours.

Cons

  • Very low pay in some circles like Upwork, Craigslist, and Fiverr.
  • Staring at the computer screen all day can put a strain on the eyes.

28. Work As An Online Chat Operator

Customer support is an integral part of a successful business.

Live chat is a popular support option for consumers because they get quick answers to their queries. For fast typers, being a live chat operator can be a money-maker.

The best part?

Companies pay back the money you spend on internet access. Many companies offer online chat jobs e.g. The Chat Chop, Live World, and Outplex.

Earning Potential: $17 per hour or $35,999 per year. (Zip Recruiter)

Pros

Cons

  • Dealing with difficult customers can take its toll on you.
  • Sometimes you must work during odd hours.

Quick Tips On How To Start A Side Hustle

Here are a few things you must consider or do to start a side hustle that’s perfect for you.

  • List all your professional qualifications and skillset
  • Jot down your passions and hobbies.
  • Decide the amount of time you want to spend on your side hustle per day or week.
  • Note how much money you want to make per hour, week, or year.
  • Determine if you want to work online or offline.
  • Decide how much you want to invest in the side job.

By going through this quick exercise you’ll be able to identify the side hustle with the highest potential of financial success.

Tap Into The Side Hustle Economy

The side hustle culture is here to stay. 

If you do your homework you can earn a few hundred dollars or thousands from your hustle in just a few hours. Who knows, you can even turn it into a self employed business. Many local businesses and entrepreneurs started as side hustles. It’s all about finding the side hustle ideas that gel with you and how much effort you put in.

Find your side hustle today and earn $1000 or more sooner than you think.

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About the author 

Mike Vestil

Mike Vestil is an author, investor, and speaker known for building a business from zero to $1.5 million in 12 months while traveling the world.

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