If you have some extra time on your hands, you may be wondering about easy side hustles to do at home.
There are hundreds of ways to make money from home – some that earn pennies and others that can make you hundreds of dollars at a time. For most side hustles from home, all you need is a computer, an internet connection, and the desire to make money.
Okay, sometimes you need a bit more than that, but almost anyone can learn new skills to make money from the comfort of your couch.
Are you asking yourself, why would I add a side hustle to my already busy schedule? I get it, but once you try a side hustle or two and see the money you can make, you’ll realize what you’ve been missing all along.
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What Is a Side Hustle?
A side hustle is a way to make money on the side. Usually, it’s in addition to your 9 to 5 job.
Side hustles can be anything, such as driving for Uber or delivering food for DoorDash. You can also make money babysitting, walking dogs, or organizing people’s closets.
In fact, I wrote about several side hustle ideas that you can make at least $500 a month with. There are others that you can make much more. Honestly, the sky’s the limit to earn money today.
But what if you want to stay at home? Well, there are many side hustles you can do at home, too.
For me, coming up with side hustles from home was easier (and better). I don’t have to leave the house, I can work when I want, and I can be in control of how much I earn.
When you work side hustles from home, you can work them at the crack of dawn if you’re an early riser or late at night if you’re a night owl. There’s no rhyme or reason to how much or what time you have to work.
Ready to learn about easy side hustles you can do at home? Let’s dive in!
11 Easy Side Hustles You Can Do at Home
1. Take Surveys With Survey Junkie
It seems strange that you can make money taking surveys, but you can. I love this because anyone can do it. You can even make money while you sit and watch TV or wait for the doctor.
All you have to do is sign up with a market research company like Survey Junkie. You’ll complete a profile questionnaire that tells them a lot about you.
When the market research company has a survey that you fit the demographics for, they contact you. If you take the survey, you’ll make a couple of dollars.
As I said, you won’t get rich doing it, but you’ll have fun helping companies perfect their products and services, and you’ll make a little side cash.
2. Create a Blog
Despite what you may have heard, you CAN make money blogging. Whether it’s about your dog, shopping, cooking, or personal finance, and more, there’s money to be made.
Now to be clear, you won’t get rich overnight blogging. It takes a lot of work, but work you can do on your own time. You’ll get out of it what you put into it.
The key is to have a topic people want to read about and you can write about it. You don’t need a journalism degree or any fancy training.
Your blog needs a niche—you can’t just blog about anything. For example, if you love photography, you could start a blog about photography. But, you should consider niching down within photography.
What is it you love about photography and want to share? Do you take newborn pictures, nature pictures, or family portraits?
Get specific. That’s how you build an audience that’s primed to help you earn money. To monetize, you can apply to ad networks, work with companies that you can be an affiliate for, and create products.
As you grow, you may even get requests for sponsored posts. These are posts companies pay you to write about their product. They choose bloggers with a large audience because they want to take advantage of the exposure.
3. Become a YouTuber
Don’t worry if you can’t write; there’s money to be made in making videos too. Yes, all those videos you spend time watching on YouTube are actually making the creators money.
You can do it too.
Will you become the next Jeffree Star who earns approximately $4,000 A DAY or $1.5 million a year in YouTube ads? Probably not, sorry. He’s the 14th richest YouTuber in my list of the richest YouTubers in the world – that’s not a goal you should aim for.
But, YouTube is an excellent avenue for side hustle income. You could make $100 to $200 a day if you work on your YouTube channel for a year or so. Just like blogging, you have to build your audience.
Start by choosing a niche. Find your target audience and figure out what they want. Don’t copy what others do. Try to fill a void so you can capitalize on the traffic to make more money.
Once you have a large enough audience and watch hours, YouTube will let you monetize your channel through display ads that pop up every time someone views and clicks on your video.
If you get really big, you may score sponsored videos too. It’s okay to dream big—there’s potential out there.
4. Take Advantage of Bank Account Opening Bonuses
It sounds crazy, but you can make money just by knowing where to open bank accounts.
Will you get rich doing this?
No, but who doesn’t like a little extra ‘free’ money just for opening a bank account?
For example, Chase Bank has several promotions available where they will give you a cash bonus for opening a checking account. For instance, you can:
- make $200 when you open a Chase Total Checking account and set up a direct deposit within 90 days
- make $300 when you open a Chase Business Complete checking account for your business (a side hustle counts as a business!)
For bonuses from other banks, check out our comprehensive list below.
5. Transcribe for Business Owners
Transcribing is one of those side hustles from home that takes little thinking. I love this idea when my brain is fried from working all day, but I still want to make a little side cash.
All you need to transcribe is great listening and typing skills. Both are skills anyone can have.
When you start, you may not make a ton of money, but with experience, transcribers can make $15 to $25 an hour.
If you have great grammar and listening skills, check out Quicktate or TranscribeMe to get started!
6. Sell Homemade Items on Etsy
Do you spend your spare time making craft items? Maybe you sew, crochet, or build wooden signs. The sky’s the limit when you have creativity. I’ve seen some incredibly unique items that make people a lot of money online while staying at home.
You don’t need a large target market or even to advertise. Etsy is a large online marketplace bringing together independent sellers (like yourself) and buyers. Today over 81 million buyers are looking for homemade items.
Etsy provides the platform and webspace you need to create your ‘corner’ on the internet to sell your items.
Yes, it will cost you a little bit to use the platform, but it’s reasonable. They don’t charge you for the store. Instead, they charge $0.20 per listing and 5% of each successful sale.
Explore how easy it is to sell on Etsy by reading my guide on how to sell on Etsy with 8 simply steps:
7. Run a Virtual Assistant Business
Did you know you could be an assistant from home? It used to be you had to work in an office 9 to 5 to be an administrative assistant, but not today.
Business owners are always in need of people to do the work they don’t have time for or just dislike doing. You can even keep it basic and manage schedules, answer emails, or even answer phones.
If you want to do more, you can also offer content writing services, social media marketing, or travel planning.
You may have to do a little marketing and networking to get your business up and going. Calling and emailing business owners yourself is a great way to drum up business. You can also use freelance websites like Fiverr for advertising your services.
8. Freelance on Fiverr or Upwork
I love finding ways to freelance and make money.
Why?
Because you can do what you love and make money doing it.
You can write for just about any niche since all types of businesses need content. Sure, videos are important too, but without a quality website or blog, companies get nowhere nowadays.
Most business owners don’t have the time to handle their content needs, so they farm it out to freelancers.
The sky’s the limit if you want to freelance. Use platforms like Fiverr or Upwork to find clients. If you aren’t sure what to do, peruse the gigs other people offer—it may get your juices flowing.
Some popular gigs include:
- Freelance writing
- Proofreading
- Video creation
- Voiceovers
- Graphic design
- Advertising
- Web design
9. Teach English Online
Do you have a teaching certificate or at least a Bachelor’s degree? Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a teacher but started a family and never got your teaching certificate.
Or perhaps you’ve stepped down from teaching in-person during the pandemic and need a way to make an income safely at home.
Whatever the case may be, you can teach English online from the comfort of your own home. VIPKid is a great platform for jobs teaching English abroad. You can teach English to kids in China.
All you need is a college degree and the desire to help others. The hours are a little wonky since you’re working in China’s timezone, but if you’re a night owl or early riser, it can be the perfect gig for you.
Most teachers make $14 to $18 an hour once they get going. The classes are quick—just 25 minutes, and it can be a lot of fun.
10. Stream on Twitch
Did your mom ever tell you that playing video games isn’t a productive use of your time? Now’s the time to prove her wrong!
Millions of video game enthusiasts stream their game playing on Twitch and make money. It’s mind boggling to see how much Twitch streamers can make in a month.
Will you get rich overnight?
Nope.
Will you make any money when you first start?
Again, no.
But with dedication and some time, you can make money playing video games on Twitch.
To make money on Twitch, you must make partner status. This means you:
- Stream for at least 25 hours in the last month
- Stream for at least 12 days in the month
- Have at least 75 average viewers in the last month
But where does the money come from? It’s interesting, to say the least, but here are the four ways:
- Donations – Viewers can donate ‘bits’ which are Twitch currency. One bit equals a penny for players.
- Advertisements – Players can run ads (but they have to be selective so as not to turn off viewers) and make money
- Subscriptions – Viewers can subscribe to your Twitch channel. They get benefits as a subscriber, and you earn 50% of the monthly subscription fee.
- Sponsorships – When you make it big, companies will pay you to promote their products. They know you’re the ‘big stuff’ online, and they want your audience to know about their products.
11. Sell Your Old Items
Have you ever heard the saying, “your trash is someone else’s treasure?” It’s true, and you could make money by selling items you no longer want or need.
Whether you’re selling designer clothing or your grandma’s old antiques, there are always people out there who will want them.
Poshmark and Tradesy are a great apps to sell your designer clothing and accessories. If you’re selling antiques or other valuable items, consider eBay. For everything else, don’t forget about Facebook Marketplace.
Think of it as an online garage sale. You have a much wider audience and will likely make a lot more money than you would if you hosted an old-fashioned garage sale during the summer months.
The Bottom Line
Twenty years ago, you could only make money working your 9 to 5 job or begging your boss for overtime. Today, you can say ‘peace out’ at quitting time and make more money in your spare time.
You can run as many side hustles from home as you want. For example, if you’re crafty and love to write, create a blog and sell your handmade products. You can even combine the two at times to increase your sales.
The key is never to give up. No idea is too small or too dumb. Side hustles are jobs we create on our own, with or without the help of existing platforms. Start thinking outside the box and see how you can make money from home.
Who knows? Maybe someday you can quit your 9 to 5 job and just run your side hustles. It certainly creates a more flexible lifestyle. For now, dip your toes in and see what you think!
