10 Side Hustle Ideas To Earn Extra Cash in 2023
If the high cost of gas, groceries and living expenses is squeezing your budget, it might be time to find an additional income stream. The right side hustle can help you earn decent money in your spare time. Keep reading to find out more about 10 easy side hustle ideas you can start anytime.
Read: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch
10 Easy Side Hustle Ideas
Ready to break out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle? Find a side hustle that fits with your schedule and lifestyle. The most profitable side gigs can help you make an extra $1,000 per month or more if you’re dedicated to your hustle.
To help you get started, here are 10 easy side hustle ideas to boost your income in 2023.
Try housesitting
Resell new and used goods
Start freelancing
Start a pet sitting service
Rent out your home or a room
Sell stock photos
Become an online tutor
Offer handyman services
Become a virtual assistant
Become a transcriptionist
1. Try Housesitting
As a housesitter, you’ll stay in someone’s home — or check in every day — while they’re out of town. You might be asked to take care of the homeowner’s pets, plants or yard, or just be a presence in the house to discourage thieves.
Housesitting gigs are great for remote workers and people who work part-time. You can find housesitting jobs by posting in local Facebook groups, signing up for a site like TrustedHousesitters or offering your services to friends and family.
Skills required: Following written and verbal instructions, good communication, customer service
Potential earnings: $17/hour
Where to get started: TrustedHousesitters
Long-term prospects: You can find housesitting work year-round, but jobs are most available during summertime and around holidays.
2. Resell New and Used Goods
Reselling can be an entertaining and profitable side hustle for someone with an eye for style. Refurbished furniture, vintage clothes, art and other goods can be resold for a profit to the right buyer. This side hustle requires time and some overhead costs, but it’s a good option if you love shopping.
Skills required: Assessing the resale value of new and used goods, computer access, writing product descriptions
Potential earnings: $33/hour
Where to get started: EBay, Poshmark, Decluttr
Long-term prospects: As long as online marketplaces exist, online resellers will have plenty of customers looking to buy.
3. Start Freelancing
Freelancing as a writer, editor or graphic designer is a great way to pursue your passions and earn some extra cash. Try a freelancer platform like Upwork or Fiverr — all you need to do is make a profile and start browsing for jobs.
While it takes some time and experience to turn freelancing into a full-time career, you can start earning extra income on a freelance platform as you develop your skills and build a portfolio.
Skills required: Communication and skills for your service of choice like writing, editing, coding, design, etc.
Potential earnings: $33/hour
Where to get started: Upwork or Fiverr
Long-term prospects: Freelancing can become a full-time career with time and dedication.
4. Start a Pet Sitting Service
Similar to housesitting, pet sitting is an easy side hustle that will help out your friends, family and neighbors. You can watch pets while their owners are on vacation or offer dog walking services on a regular schedule. Sites like Rover and Petsitter offer a platform to find clients in your area.
Skills required: Following written and verbal instructions, confidence in caring for a variety of animals
Potential earnings: $14.59/hour
Where to get started: Rover, Petsitter, Fetch, Care.com
Long-term prospects: People will always have pets that need care, so you shouldn’t run into a shortage of pet-sitting positions.
5. Rent Out Your Home or a Room
If you travel a lot or have an extra room, you can earn passive income by renting out your space. You don’t need to own your home to create a profile on Airbnb. All you need is a safe, private space to host guests.
Skills required: Second home or spare room, customer service, cleaning
Potential earnings: The earnings for this side hustle can vary depending on location and bookings
Where to get started: Airbnb, VRBO
Long-term prospects: As long as you provide a good experience for your guests and have the extra space, you should have good earnings for years to come.
6. Sell Stock Photos
Love photography? You can earn extra income by selling your work on stock photo sites. Depending on each platform’s rules, you might earn a one-time profit or a small commission for each sale.
Skills required: Photo editing, phone with a camera or stand-alone camera, ability to take quality photos and determine the types of stock photos in demand
Potential earnings: $17/hour
Where to get started: Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, iStock
Long-term prospects: Just about every type of business needs stock photos for websites, brochures and advertising.
7. Become an Online Tutor
Tutoring is an ideal side hustle for a student or college grad who wants to supplement their income. You can make a profile on an online tutoring platform or offer your services through your university.
Skills required: Ability to teach in a subject area that often requires tutoring
Potential earnings: $18/hour
Where to get started: TutorMe, Tutor.com, Preply, Wyzant
Long-term prospects: Tutors are in demand year-round, and you can find more clients as you develop experience.
8. Offer Handyman Services
If you aren’t the kind of person who likes to sit at a desk all day, consider offering handyman services around your neighborhood. You can help people with day-to-day tasks like cleaning, gardening and fixing appliances.
Moving assistance can also be a profitable service, especially if you have a truck or van. Starting a handyman service is a good option for a group of friends who want to start a side hustle together.
Skills required: General strength, skills with appliances, driving and lifting skills
Potential earnings: $21/hour
Where to get started: Thumbtack.com, TaskRabbit, Angi
Long-term prospects: Handyman services are always in demand. As you gain experience, you could even turn your side hustle into a thriving small business.
9. Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants help busy professionals with their day-to-day tasks. You might respond to emails, keep track of a schedule, book flights or make phone calls. Look for virtual assistant jobs on sites like Fiverr or Upwork — you can create your own schedule and get paid by the hour.
Skills required: Typing, communication, organization
Potential earnings: $27.10/hour
Where to get started: Fiverr, Upwork
Long-term prospects: You’ll find higher-paying gigs as you gain experience as a virtual assistant, especially if you stick to a specific industry.
10. Become a Transcriptionist
Transcription sites pay people to transcribe audio and video clips. All you have to do is listen, type and get paid by the hour. Most transcription sites don’t require experience to get started, but you can increase your pay as you put in hours on the site.
Skills required: Typing, comprehension
Potential earnings: $16/hour
Where to get started: TranscribeMe, Crowdsurf, Scribie
Long-term prospects: Although a lot of companies today use AI transcription services, there are still plenty of sites that prefer human writers for better accuracy. Making an account on multiple sites is the best way to find consistent work.
Final Take
Whether you need extra income to pay your bills or want to save for your future, starting a side gig is a good idea in any economy. If you don’t find that any of these side hustle ideas match your skills, get creative — it all comes down to defining your skill set and making smart use of your time.
FAQ
Here are some answers to common questions about side hustle ideas.
How can I make an extra $2,000 a month?
Earning an extra $2,000 a month might not be easy, but it can be done. Assess your skills and choose a side hustle that is in high demand and pays reasonably well. Depending on where you live and your skills, this could be anything from getting paid as a local tour guide to writing content for websites.
How can I make $1,000 a week on the side?
There are many ways to make an extra $1,000 a week. Do a few of these side hustles simultaneously and you could have that $1,000 rather quickly. For instance, you could find a few housesitting gigs, sell some items online and sign up to do freelance work on a platform like Upwork or Fiverr.
What is a good-paying side hustle?
Some of the best-paying side hustles are reselling goods online, housesitting and freelancing.
Andrea Norris contributed to the reporting for this article.
Pay data is accurate as of May 25, 2023, and was sourced from Indeed and ZipRecruiter.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Side Hustle Ideas To Earn Extra Cash in 2023