Side hustles are becoming the new normal in the United States.

Over a third of American adults (36%) have one – and they set up these small businesses on the side because they know that the right side hustle can be a path to generating a solid second income stream. In some cases, the side hustle can become even more than that. It could become so successful that it becomes a person’s new career.

Unfortunately, there’s a downside to the side hustles. Many of them either fail or barely produce enough income to justify the time spent on them.

Enter you.

You’re interested in starting a side hustle, but you’re far more interested in ensuring that side hustle makes money. So, you need a guide that explains which hustles are worth your time so you don’t end up wasting your efforts on something that will never make enough money.

Understanding Side Hustles

Let’s start by digging into what side hustles actually are. The answer may seem obvious but there are some subtle distinctions to keep in mind.

What Is a Side Hustle?

Many define a side hustle as a second job – or, as Indeed puts it, “an additional employment opportunity” – where you start to make a little extra money on the side. Hence the name. While that description is technically correct, it misses the point of what a side hustle is supposed to represent:

Freedom.

That could mean the freedom to work in an industry for which you have a passion or simply the freedom that comes with making that extra bit of money that allows you to save or afford life’s luxuries. That’s how a side hustle distinguishes itself from just another job. You get flexibility in terms of how you work, what you do, and how deep you go into the hustle.

Benefits of Side Hustles

We’ve already touched on one of the main benefits of having a side hustle – you gain freedom and flexibility to earn money in a way that you choose. There are others, including the following:

• Tailored to Your Schedule – Building on the flexibility aspect, a good side hustle is one that you can tailor to your schedule. You’re not chained down to regular hours, allowing you to run the hustle whenever it suits you. As just one example, this is great for parents who want to earn a little more but need to fit what they’re doing around their kids’ lives.

• Financial Stability – Let’s face it: things are tough in the United States right now. Four out of every five Americans say they’re still struggling financially even four years after the COVID pandemic, with 77% claiming to be anxious about their monetary situation. A side hustle isn’t necessarily a cure-all for these problems but, when done well, it can help you to achieve more stable personal finances.

• Building Skills – Perhaps the least appreciated benefit of creating a side hustle is what it delivers in terms of self-improvement. Many start their side hustles because they have a skill or passion they believe they can monetize. By building structure around that skill, you give yourself a reason to improve – ideal for those with an eye pointed toward leveraging those skills into more opportunities in the future.

Top Side Hustle Ideas for 2024

You get it by now.

A side hustle is a great way to make some extra money while still maintaining the freedom to live your life how you choose. The question now is simple – with dozens, if not hundreds, of potential hustles out there, how do you choose the one that’s right for you?

Nobody can make that choice for you, though the following six ideas are some of the most lucrative in 2024.

Dropshipping

With Etsy, you’re moving into the e-commerce sector, we have our first side hustle – dropshipping. This model bucks the trend of traditional e-commerce by having your supplier move beyond manufacturing and into the stocking, packing, and shipping of your products. You still use the traditional online selling platforms – such as Amazon or your own website – but you don’t have to get into the weeds when it comes to getting your products to customers.

Shopify and AliExpress are great starting points here. The latter is ideal for finding products, with the former making it easy for you to set up an online store to sell those products.

If you go down this route, shoot for high-ticket products. These are items that you can sell for several hundred to several thousand dollars each – ideal for creating a strong profit margin while also limiting the amount of work you do because you make extra money through fewer sales. Platforms like HighTicket.io can help you get started by offering courses, a community, and advice at the high-ticket end of the dropshipping spectrum.

Freelancing

When people think of online side hustles, their minds often track to freelancing first. That’s no surprise, as this idea is all about taking something you can already do and making some money out of it. A talented writer, for instance, can make some cash by using their skills to write marketing copy for a larger business. Graphic design, digital marketing, programming, and many other skills are ripe for the budding freelancer, too.

Frankly, many are already doing this.

Forbes says the number of full-time freelancers grew by 90% between 2020 and 2023. Even if you’d want to keep freelancing as a side hustle, you’re entering a booming sector – by 2028, 50.9% of the American workforce will be freelancing to some degree. While that does mean there’ll be more competition for your services as time goes on, the mere fact that growth exists at all signals that companies are increasingly happy to work with freelancers.

So, how do you get started?

There are tons of freelancing platforms out there, including Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.com. Set up profiles, add as much as you can to your online portfolio, and start sending out proposals. Don’t sleep on the small jobs either – doing well in one small task for a client could lead to years of work if you play your cards well.

Online Surveys

Who would have thought that answering a few questions online could be a pathway to generating an income?

It is, and usually for a simple reason – companies want to collect as much consumer data as possible. By answering questions in surveys, you’re providing that data, which is a valuable commodity for which companies pay. Granted, this isn’t a side hustle that’s likely to evolve into a full-time career. CBS notes that survey takers may earn anywhere between $1 to $5 per day to around $200 for certain surveys. Many platforms offering these surveys also gate their highest-paying surveys behind membership duration and number of questionnaires completed.

So, it’ll take time to build this side hustle up.

Speaking of platforms, research will be your friend here. Scammers sometimes use online surveys to collect details they could use for fraud or identity theft. Stick to the well-known platforms – Swagbucks and Survey Junkie are two good examples – and always check for feedback on a platform before engaging with it.

Tutoring

Much like freelancing, tutoring involves taking something you know and finding a way to monetize it. Better yet, the growth in internet technology means you don’t have to follow the traditional tutoring model. That means no traveling to students – cutting down on your expenses – as well as the potential to create online courses out of your knowledge that you can sell to generate passive income.

Tutoring is a growth industry, too.

According to Grand View Research, the only tutoring sector was worth $7.69 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.9% between now and 2030. In other words, there’s a high demand for good tutors. And if you’re able to teach in a subject that’s in high demand, you have the potential to charge pretty hefty hourly rates.

As with freelancing and online surveys, there are platforms to enable your tutoring endeavors. Tutor.com, TutorMe, and Skooli are all great examples, with some of those platforms even working alongside educational institutions. There’s also potential to build out the side hustle if you establish a reputation, with some who start as online tutors going as far as creating their own websites and developing online course content.

Selling on Etsy

With Etsy, we’re returning to the world of eCommerce, but with a bit of a twist – the products sold on Etsy are typically handmade and personalized to the buyer. That makes this side hustle one of the best ways to make money online for the creatives among you. A dab hand at knitting or crochet, for instance, can make a mint if they’re good enough to create products that people actually want to buy.

Your products don’t have to be complicated, either. Take PlannerKate as an example. It specializes in selling small gifts and handmade favors for events like weddings and baby showers. Small simple products.

Products that have earned the seller behind them 1.841 million transactions by April 2022.

Therein lies the trick to Etsy success – you have to be willing to put in the time both to make your products and to handle customer concerns. That can be done within a side hustle setting, of course, but getting started means developing processes for both making products and handling communication with customers.

Affiliate Marketing

Where the other four ideas are fairly skill-based, affiliate marketing is less about selling your own product (or talent) and more about using your influence to help others who sell. The concept is simple – you essentially advertise a product on somebody else’s behalf, with every sale made through your efforts netting you a commission.

Talent still comes into it, of course.

For instance, many copywriters gravitate toward affiliate marketing because they can use blog posts to talk up a product before linking people to it. If you’re a social media maven, you have a good entry into this side hustle, too. Even somebody with just a few hundred followers can become a “mini-influencer” who can use that following to advertise affiliate products.

Plenty of platforms, such as Amazon Associates and ShareASale, can get you started. One word of advice – pick products about which you have knowledge or passion and you’ll do a better job at selling.

Making the Most of Your Side Hustle

Picked a side hustle yet? Great – now let’s make sure you get the most out of it with some handy tips.

Time Management

Though flexibility is a big benefit to having a side hustle, the specter of burnout can still loom large. Push yourself too hard – by taking on too much work too soon or simply not setting boundaries – and you risk burnout. The side hustle becomes a job, which is only fine if you intend to do it full-time. Balance is your friend. Commit to a maximum number of hours per day for which you’ll work on the hustle rather than taking an “I’ll work on it during my spare time” approach. That touch of structure still leaves you free to adjust your hours as needed but will also protect you from overwork.

Investing in Your Skills

A hustler who gets better at what they do is one who’s going to know how to make more money. That’s the case even for hustles that don’t rely directly on you having a skill in the same way that freelancing does. Consider committing a portion of your hustle time each day – or maybe a couple of hours on the weekend – to doing something that helps you get better. Take a dropshipping course, for example, or practice a new crafting skill.

Scaling Your Side Hustle

In some cases, a side hustle scales naturally as what you do becomes popular enough that the hustle can replace your old job. That’s great from a cottage industry perspective, but those who want to scale further by turning the job that sustains them into a business they can build should keep the following in mind:

• Marketing is your friend, and it’s what you’ll need to go beyond the one-person-band stage. Leverage your socials by sharing customer feedback and pushing your products.

• Get picky when it comes to how you spend your time, especially regarding clients. Some people want your help at a cut price – they’re not worth your time.

• Figure out which niche your product or service best serves and get talking to your target audience. Repeat yourself constantly. What do you do? What problem do you solve? What makes you awesome? Answer those questions for your customers, and keep answering them so the answers stick.

  
  

Get Hustling

There’s only one thing left for you to do – get the side hustle started.

That may seem like the most basic piece of advice in the world, but it’s also a fact that many who want to start a hustle take far too long to do it. They’ll wait until “tomorrow” or act as though there’s a better time than now to get started. Don’t fall into that trap. The best time to get started is right now, and you can do that by taking a course, learning more about the skills you bring to the table, or simply committing to a specific gig. Every forward step is a move in the right direction – start small and build up.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What are some legit ways to make money from home?

A: Some legit ways to make money from home include freelance writing, graphic design, social media management, babysitting, and offering services online.

Q: How can I find the best side hustle for me?

A: To find the best side hustle for you, consider your skills, interests, and time availability. Research different side hustles and choose one that aligns with your strengths.

Q: Are there real ways to make money online?

A: Yes, there are real ways to make money online such as taking online surveys, offering your services, selling products or services, and working as a social media manager.

Q: Can I earn extra cash by renting out items online?

A: Yes, you can earn extra cash by renting out items online through platforms that facilitate peer-to-peer rentals.

Q: What are some popular side hustles to make extra money from home?

A: Popular side hustles to make extra money from home include freelance writing, graphic design, content creation, social media management, and babysitting.

Q: How can I make extra money from home without investing a lot of time?

A: You can make extra money from home by offering your services online, taking on short freelance gigs, or participating in tasks like online surveys or social media management that don't require a significant time commitment.

Q: What are some fun side hustle ideas to make money online?

A: Some fun side hustle ideas to make money online include creating and selling digital products, starting a blog or YouTube channel, participating in online gaming tournaments, and offering virtual tutoring services.