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Hot new online side-hustles to earn an income from home
With unemployment on the rise and a rise in jobs that don’t require a cubicle, many women are opting to make money and work from home, new studies are showing that 56%, would prefer to stay home over going to work.
Not to mention the constant nag of society for a mom to be present for every step of their children’s lives- online business opportunities for women are becoming a more and more ideal situation.
Even for those who aren’t stay at home moms trying to make ends meet, the looming threat of a potential recession is making these opportunities even more appealing.
What are the advantages of working from home?
Working from home has definitely become something more and more people are looking to do. There are definite advantages of being able to commute from your bed to your coffee pot. Here are a few of my favorite:
You can define your own work hours when you work from home
This may be one of the most coveted reasons for starting your own at home business. The idea that you can set your schedule according to when you are most productive is definitely a bonus.
If you are a morning person, you can get up and get things done early in the day to free up the rest of your day for other things. Maybe you are a mom who wants to be available for your kids’ activities or school functions.
Working from home allows you to do all of these things while building your own business.
Working from home can save you money
In a corporate job, you may need to commute to a downtown location or even just long distances. Gas, parking and lunches all start to add up.
Also, at home, there is no dress code so you won’t have to buy expensive, corporate attire. Your regular jeans and t-shirt will do in most cases and even a PJ day doesn’t hurt every once in a while.
There’s no commute
A while back, I took notice on how much time I was spending in my vehicle driving back and forth to work. I spent a total of 1 hour of my day just commuting. I don’t know about you, but I can get a lot done in an hour.
That productivity could definitely be better spent elsewhere, building my own business. Besides the fact that I actually dislike driving in general, saving all that extra energy to build my own business definitely sounds like the better plan.
So, what jobs can you do from home to make some extra money?
There are literally hundreds of different ways to make money from home if you want to put in the time and effort. These are not “get rich quick” schemes and will take some thought and effort.
BUT – if you are dedicated and work hard, these are all great opportunities to work from home and make money and they can definitely pay off in the long run.
1. Social Media Manager
Social media is huge, and both brick and mortar and online businesses all need an online presence and many of them don’t have the time to manage their social media accounts.
Because of this, social media managers are in high demand. The great thing is that you don’t need to know how to run all the platforms. If you are successful with one, you can always specialize.
Here are some skills that you will need to be a successful social media manager.
2. Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Pinterest is a key platform for so many businesses looking to grow their traffic. If you love Pinterest and understand how it can help a business grow, consider being a Pinterest Virtual Assistant.
A while back, I interviewed successful Pinterest VA, Megan Johnson (who has also done some work for me) on how to grow your own Pinterest VA business. She also has an amazing course on everything you need to get started as a Pinterest VA here. to get you up and going in one day!
3. Network Marketing
This is one of those things that so many people roll their eyes when they hear. Also called Multi-Level Marketing or Direct Sales, this can be a really profitable business venture.
The reason it is so popular is that the business model is usually already set up for you to get going right away and you generally have access to lots of marketing tools.
If you do go this route for making money at home, I do suggest that you also build your own personal brand at the same time using social media, to maximize your online presence. This way, you’ll be able to take advantage of other income streams at the same time, so that you’re not just reliant on the company.
Find out more about how to add additional income streams as a network marketer using a blog.
4. Freelance Writer
If you love to write and have special knowledge about a specific topic, there is always a need for freelance writers.
Freelancers can write for online publications or even ghostwrite for other bloggers who don’t have time to create fresh content for their websites.
There are a ton of places to find work from home as a freelancer like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelance Writing Jobs. Blogger Elna Cain has a great free guide on getting started as a freelancer.
5. Start a Blog
Starting a blog, either about something you’re passionate about or to boost your business’ online presence is a great way to make money working from home.
There are bloggers who make enough money to cover their expenses and others who make 6 figures a year doing what they love and sharing their passion with their audience.
This may sound like a dream, but it’s definitely a reality. If you have been thinking about starting a blog to earn some income, you can check out my Ultimate Blogging Toolkit for Beginners to get you started.
6. Completing Surveys
There are a ton of companies online that will actually pay you to do simple surveys for them. They might be polls, product surveys, or marketing research surveys. A few of the more well known and trusted ones are:
- Swagbucks
- LifePointsPanel
- Prize Rebel
- Inbox Dollars
- Toluna
- OnePoll
- Branded Surveys
7. Mystery Shopper
One of the very first things I did to make extra money from home was as a mystery shopper. Mystery shoppers get paid by agencies who are contracted by companies to review transactions at specific businesses and grade their service level.
As a mystery shopper, I got free sit down meals, lots of free fast food, attended local tourist attractions and even got $100 to do a 10 minute “shop” of a government center to see if they asked the right questions.
It’s pretty easy work and you don’t really need any special skills except for a keen attention to detail and the ability to submit your reports to get paid.
8. Start a Business as a Pet Sitter
There are still so many people that work in the corporate world that have to be away from their pets throughout the day. Being a pet sitter is an easy way to make money while helping out someone who can’t let their animals out during the day or take them for a walk.
If you love pets, this might be a great opportunity for you!
9. Get Paid to Shop
This is one that I’ve just recently stumbled across.
Being that I live in a small town with limited access to clothing and supplies, I do almost all of my shopping online. But, did you know that you can earn cashback on a ton of these purchases?
Rakuten is probably the most well-known online agency that offers cashback for using links on their site to shop from a ton of amazing brands. They even have a browser extension to remind you how much you can earn from shopping through their link.
10. Become a Blog Flipper
Love to create new blogs or websites? Have a blog that you’ve falled out of love with and don’t know what to do with it now?
This one might be for you! This is seriously such a cool concept.
I first heard about blog flipping from my blogging friend, Chelsea Clarke, who teaches people how to create a blog and then sell it for profit. She made $50,000 selling her first blog so she knows a thing or two.
Check out the interview I did with Chelsea here about how you can flip blogs for profit.
11. Sell for Others as an Affiliate Marketer
Affiliate marketing is such an amazing concept. Take other products that you use and love, share a special link with your audience and if they buy, you get a commission. SAY WHAT!? Sign me up.
This is great for anyone who doesn’t have their own products to work. The amazing thing is, you don’t even have to have a website or an audience to make sales. Pinterest is an amazing platform to share your affiliate product links and there are a ton of people that make amazing money selling on that platform.
To get started, you’ll need to find some products to share. My favorite agencies that have a ton of companies to get started with are Awin and ShareaSale but there is an affiliate program for almost anything you can think of.
If you’re wanting to learn more, my amazing blogging friend, Cate Rosales has an incredible affiliate marketing course as well as a list of over 1000 affiliate marketing companies to join with everything you need to know to start making money right away.
12. Rent Out Spare Spaces in Your Room
Now this one isn’t really making money online but it’s certainly a way to boost your income if you find you’re falling a bit short.
People can rent rooms out of their homes for a variety of reasons including a lesser commute, university students, temporary jobs or even international students looking for a place to stay.
13. Sell On Amazon or Etsy
Selling on any platform can be lucrative. If you make handmade products, consider selling them on Etsy in a shop. If you are selling manufactured items, many people have success in making extra income selling them on Amazon.
You can literally sell almost anything from crafts to digital downloads. The sky is the limit for this side hustle!
Check out this in-depth post on how you can get started with your own T-Shirt Business on Etsy.
14. Offer Your Skills on Fiverr
People often don’t realise that they have a skill that might be useful to others. These can be administrative, clerical, content creation, web design, graphic design or so many things.
If you have a talent that someone might be interested in paying for on a one-off basis, consider promoting and selling your services on a freelance site like Fiverr. It’s a simple platform to use and you are not required to have an independent website so the overhead is very low.
15. Create and Sell Your Courses as an Infoprenuer
Do you have specialized information on a topic that you could share that others might find useful? This could literally be anything. I have seen courses on training dogs, potty training toddlers, learning how to crochet, and holistic ways to treat eczema in kids.
Think of a problem that you’ve solved and how someone could benefit from your solution. Then create a course to help them. If you’re considering it, one of my favorite platforms for course creation is ThriveCart Learn (and it’s included in the shopping cart free with a lifetime one-time payment option!).
16. Publish an eBook and Sell it on Amazon Kindle
If creating a course isn’t your cup of tea, think about writing your story in a book and publishing it on Amazon Kindle. There is very little overhead and you can definitely handle the publishing process yourself with a little research.
17. Drive for Uber
If you have a license and a car and don’t mind driving, you can consider driving for Uber to make a few extra dollars.
This is a great way to fill in your spare time and I’ve heard some really great stories come out of a few rides so it’s like a job and entertainment all at once.
18. Deliver Food for DoorDash or SkipTheDishes
Another driving option (without having to deal with people) is delivering food for DoorDash or Skip the Dishes. This is a growing demand for delivery drivers and the beauty is that you get to completely set your schedule for when you’re available.
Here are some other ideas on making money from home as a stay at home mom!
How to Start Your Own Blog in 3 Easy Steps
How to Make Money With a Website
Thank you for this information. I am a freelance writer, and Elna Cain is a good resource. I have been contemplating publishing a book on Amazon.
You’re welcome, Jacqueline! I think that’s an amazing goal to publish your own book – I’ve often thought that it would be a great experience. Thanks for reading!
Great post! What’s so great about each of these options is that you can combine so many of them and make more than you may think! I love how creative you can get when it comes to side-hustles!
Thanks, Grace! There’s a side-hustle everywhere (and ones no one has even thought of!) SO glad that you enjoyed the post. Thanks for reading 🙂