Even if you work full time, you may want to explore ways to make extra money. Many people with full-time jobs have side hustles, from freelancing to affiliate marketing. You can save for a vacation or a big purchase or start a business on the side in your free time.
You may want to take on a second source of income for various reasons. A side job may be necessary to pay all of your bills during tougher times or an opportunity to slowly change jobs and gain experience. Sometimes, it’s a short-term solution; other times, it’s just the beginning of a new career or business. Everyone’s situation is different, and that’s OK. No matter what your reasoning is, you have many options for how to make extra money while working full time.
If you’re looking to earn extra income while working full time, this guide can help you get started:
Assess your skills and interests
Before you begin this journey, you need to figure out exactly what you’re hoping to achieve. Ask yourself why you want to do this and what your goals are. You also must be realistic about your expectations.
Understanding your goals and motivation makes it easier to brainstorm how you can achieve them. Start with what you’re most interested in. Think about what hobbies and activities you do in your spare time and the types of tasks and projects you like best at your current and past jobs.
After that, conduct a self-skills audit. Make a list of the different skills you have and note your level of proficiency with each one.
Tip: Before you dive too deep, make sure that having a side gig won’t interfere with your full-time work contract. You may have a non-compete clause or other restrictions that could limit the type of work you can do.
Explore side hustle ideas
Once you have your list of hobbies, interests, and skills, you can start researching ways to make money with them. Some side gigs let you start working immediately, while with others, you have to build the foundation first. Think about what would be the best side hustle for you based on your work schedule and the amount of free time that you have to dedicate to extra work.
This article will explore popular side hustle ideas ranging from work-from-home opportunities like freelancing to in-person gigs like food delivery that you can do to make extra income while working full time.
Side hustle ideas
Freelancing
Gig-based work
Selling handmade crafts
Creating and selling digital products
Blogging
YouTube channel
Social media
Peer-to-peer lending
Real estate crowdfunding
Dividend investing
Renting out unused property or belongings
Affiliate marketing
Dropshipping
Online surveys and focus groups
Teaching English online
1. Freelancing
As a freelancer, you work directly with clients, negotiating your contracts. You get to decide how many hours you’re available each week, what projects you say yes to, and your hourly rate. Many people choose to freelance because of the flexibility involved. Two benefits of freelancing are you can work remotely and you have more control over when you work.
Compared to full-time employees, freelancers typically are highly specialized. Becoming an expert in a niche allows you to charge more as your reputation builds and the demand for your skills rises.
You can choose from a wide range of categories, from highly technical, like engineering and architecture, to more artistic, like design and creative.
These are some popular freelancing skills on Upwork with their median hourly rates:
Copywriter. $19-$45/hr
Editor. $15-$40/hr
Graphic designer. $15-$35/hr
Web designer. $15-$30/hr
Virtual assistant. $10-$20/hr
Translator. $15-$25/hr
Transcriptionist. $12-$22/hr
You can see how much freelancers typically make for other skills on Upwork in the Hourly Rates Guide and check out some of the highest-paying freelance jobs.
As a freelancer, you can do one-off projects for clients who don’t have a recurring need for your skills, like resume writing or consultations, when you have extra time. Client engagements can also be longer term. You may enjoy building relationships and working part time for the same client, creating social media content, or doing bookkeeping every week.
Getting started as a freelancer on Upwork is simple. All you have to do is create a profile. You want to make sure your Upwork profile is 100% complete, and that includes a portfolio. Showcase a wide range of past projects that potential clients can check out to get a feel for your work. After your profile is ready, you can start bidding on projects and work on landing your first client.
More freelancing resources:
What is freelancing?
How to get more jobs on Upwork
Pros and cons of freelancing
Easy project ideas for beginners
Tips for working from home
Freelancing tips for success
2. Gig-based work
Gig-based side hustles let you work on demand. They typically have service apps or websites that allow you to choose your availability and accept short-term jobs when you can. Depending on the type of gig, you may need to set your weekly availability ahead of time, while for others, you can turn it on as needed.
Some gigs like rideshare driving or food delivery have peak hours when you can earn more. What you can make as a gig worker often depends on where you live and the type of gig. Ridesharing and delivery typically have set hourly rates for workers, and then you get to keep tips from customers. Gigs like tutoring or pet care often let you choose what you charge for your services.
App-based gigs are heavily dependent on reviews for tips and securing work through the app’s algorithm. If you have multiple negative reviews back-to-back for your services, the app may not prioritize you as high as other workers. Some platforms even put you on a probation period and will deactivate your account if you receive too many bad reviews.
Popular gigs for side hustles:
Delivery driving: Drive and pick up food or grocery orders and deliver them to customers.
Apps to try:
UberEats
Shipt
Postmates
DoorDash
Shopper: Receive grocery shopping lists from customers, then shop, check out, and prep orders for customers or delivery drivers to pick up.
Apps to try:
Instacart
Shipt
Amazon Shopper
Pet care: Get paid to walk dogs, check on and feed pets, or watch pets overnight or in your home.
Apps to try:
Tutoring: Help students study and do test prep for subjects that you know well or teach skills you have advanced knowledge of.
Apps to try:
Tasking: If you’re handy, you can earn extra income by helping neighbors and those who live close by with tasks like assembling furniture or yard work.
Apps to try:
3. Selling handmade crafts
If you want to start a business from home, selling handmade products can be a fun and rewarding option. Think about your hobbies. Would anyone be interested in buying what you’re already making? You may have a creative outlet like designing jewelry or crocheting, and you could turn this into a side hustle by selling what you make online.
The first step is deciding on an e-commerce channel. You could set up your own website or Shopify storefront to avoid seller fees and have more control over your marketing.
Instead of building your own website and setting up shipping, payment processing, and sales tax, marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, and Amazon Handmade take care of the back end. All you have to do is provide the product and create your listing, then pay a fee or percentage of your sales.
Once you have your selling channel, you’ll need to develop a marketing strategy. Some online marketplaces like Etsy let you run ads or promote your listings. Depending on the platform or marketplace you use, you can optimize your listings with the right keywords to help boost SEO.
As an independent seller, you’re responsible for inventory and shipping. You need to be available to package and ship your products on time when a customer places an order. Keep track of your sales, make sure that you have enough stock, and ensure your listings are up to date.
4. Creating and selling digital products
Instead of offering physical handmade goods, you can create and sell digital products. Marketplaces like Creative Market, Etsy, Gumroad, or Amazon KDP let you sell digital goods to customers. These digital products could be creative, like artwork and knitting patterns, or more functional, like templates and planners.
If the digital products don’t need to be customized, you have unlimited selling potential. The entire checkout and delivery process is likely automated when you use one of these platforms.
Setting up a website gives you more e-commerce marketing and advertising options. You can dive deeper into SEO and create blogs, articles, and other content to promote your digital products. If you have a marketing budget, you can also run ads on social media or search engines like Google.
Tip: If you want to create your own website, you can see what e-commerce website projects are available on Product Catalog within your budget.
Digital product ideas:
eBooks
Stock photos (Sell to Shutterstock or Adobe)
Learning and training courses
Spreadsheets
Planners and journals
Crafting plans (for example, knitting or crochet)
Fonts
Templates (for example, presentations or social media)
Animations
Graphics
5. Blogging
Blogs that get enough traffic can bring in additional income through advertising or affiliate marketing. When starting a blog, you’ll want to have a niche. Think about what you enjoy doing and would like to write about, and consider the value or unique perspective you can bring to that space.
Having a niche helps you define and target the right audience when promoting and marketing your blog. Your niche also guides your content creation, making it easier to come up with topics and blog ideas.
You can build your own website using a drag-and-drop website builder like Squarespace or Wix. Once you have a website and have created content, you can start experimenting with marketing and driving traffic to your blog through SEO, ads, and social media marketing.
Brands look for blogs that fit their products and services to advertise or partner with for affiliate marketing. You can allow brands to pay for ads on your website. Another option is to promote products in your blog and earn a commission from the sales you drive.
6. YouTube channel
Starting a YouTube channel is similar to blogging, but instead of written content, you create videos. You’ll want to have a niche for your channel and create videos around that theme. YouTube has its own SEO for videos based on the title, description, tags, and categories, along with other best practices to improve ranking.
Creating YouTube videos combines skills like videography, editing, and even animation if you want to add graphics or animated content. Filming high-quality content and professionally editing your videos can boost your video ranking.
When YouTubing, you want to post content regularly, ideally sticking to a schedule so your followers know when to expect new videos. You can market your videos, promoting them on social media or running YouTube ads.
Once you have enough traffic, brands will pay to run ads on your videos. Another way to monetize your channel is by promoting products and affiliate marketing or creating a channel membership for exclusive content.
7. Social media
If you enjoy creating content on social media, you can turn it into a side hustle by growing your following and partnering with brands to promote their products. Successful creators on social media have a niche, just like with YouTubing or blogging. People should know what type of content you’ll be creating and why they should follow your channels.
The most popular social media platforms are Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Facebook. When creating a social media strategy, you’ll want to figure out which channels you want to use and what type of content you’ll post on each one.
Every social media platform has its own best practices and type of content that performs best. TikTok, for example, is primarily short video clips, while Instagram allows both static images and videos.
When building a brand on social media, you want to post consistently and create new content regularly to keep your followers engaged. The content should be a mix of informative or entertaining content and promotions. You can promote products that fit your brand and earn commissions from the sales or charge for promotional posts.
8. Peer-to-peer lending
If you have savings that you’d like to invest but don’t have enough for a down payment or aren’t interested in a rental property, you could try peer-to-peer lending. This type of lending lets individuals get personal or small business loans from others without going through a bank. Instead of paying interest to a financial institution, this money goes straight to the lender.
This lending goes through platforms like Lending Club, Prosper, and Funding Circle. These platforms set the rates and terms and facilitate the transaction. The loan amounts are often smaller, between $1,000 and $50,000. As a lender, you can see applicant profiles and choose who to accept and loan money to.
Peer-to-peer lending is riskier than other types of investing, so it has higher rewards. The average return on Prosper is 5.7%. If you have your money in a regular savings account through your bank, the average interest rate is just 0.46%.
While you can see an applicant’s profile and financial history, these platforms can’t guarantee you’ll get paid back. Riskier borrowers will have higher interest rates—which can mean more money for you, but a higher potential that the borrower may default.
Diversifying (having more than one borrower) can help reduce risk. The chances of all of your borrowers defaulting are lower. If something happens and you need your money back right away, you’ll need to find another lender to cover your loan, which can take time and incur costs.
9. Real estate crowdfunding
If you want to invest in real estate but don’t have the funds and resources to purchase a property on your own, you can explore real estate crowdfunding. In this type of investment, you’re buying a property with other investors online, creating a pool of capital. These opportunities could be residential or commercial.
Real estate crowdfunding is a way to diversify your investments and get into real estate while lowering your risk and cost of investment. You get to choose how much you’re willing to invest. The more investors a crowdfund has, the lower the buy-in amount. You may be able to own a small share of the property with just a couple hundred dollars.
Companies use this type of crowdfunding to raise capital to purchase properties or develop. As an investor, you can share in the profits.
Popular platforms:
10. Dividend investing
Dividend investing is when you buy stocks in a company, become a shareholder, and then get paid monthly, quarterly, or annually based on profits. The dividend can be cash payments, stock shares, or reinvestment programs.
Dividends are based on a company’s performance, so you should research different industries and companies before you decide where to invest. The dividend yield is how much the company pays in dividends compared to the stock price.
Let’s say you purchase 200 shares of Company X for $10 each, investing a total of $2,000. The company pays a $0.25 annual dividend for every share. At the end of the year, you’ll receive $50 in dividend payments.
Popular platforms for dividend investing:
11. Renting out unused property or belongings
You may want to rent out your unused space or gear to your neighbors or travelers to earn additional income. You can find apps that make it easy to create listings, set a price, and manage bookings for your spaces and belongings. These apps often take a percentage of your earnings for their service and any insurance or protections they offer.
As a host on one of these rental websites, you’ll want to make sure that you provide accurate listings and a great customer experience so you can maintain a high rating. If you receive negative reviews, new customers may be less likely to rent from you in the future.
Popular rental apps to explore:
Car. Getaround, Turo
Outdoor gear. FriendWithA, Outdoorsy
Cameras and film gear. ShareGrid
Creative spaces and venues. Giggster, Peerspace
Home or room. Airbnb, Vrbo
Parking space. CurbFlip, JustPark
RV or Campervan. Outdoorsy, RVshare
Pools or sports courts. Swimply
Boat. getmyboat, boatsetter
Home storage. Neighbor, Stache
Miscellaneous. RentMy, Fat Llama, Yoodlize
12. Affiliate marketing
Companies will pay you to promote their products if you can create a channel that gets high levels of traffic, whether it’s a blog or a social media site. Once you have an affiliate link or code, you can earn commissions from your sales. This is called affiliate marketing.
Let’s say that you have a travel blog as a hobby. You can join an affiliate program like Shopify, Amazon Associates, or Rakuten. These programs let you choose products to promote. You can select products that you think your readers would be interested in and incorporate them into your blog posts with shopping links. Every time one of your readers buys the product from your link or uses your promo code, you get a percentage of the sale.
How much you can make as an affiliate depends on the company and product. According to Shopify, you could earn 5% on the low end but could earn up to 50% with some partners. Affiliate marketing is how many influencers make money on social media.
If you want to start promoting products on your website or social media, you’ll need to make sure they’re “on brand” and make sense for your niche. Choose products you believe in and think your followers will like, and create content around that. You can incorporate SEO principles and run ads, but having high-quality and niche-specific content is key.
Tip: Upwork has an affiliate program. You can earn a commission (up to $150) for each new client that you bring to the platform.
13. Dropshipping
If you want to build a business to earn additional income on the side, you can try dropshipping. This business model lets you sell products online without having to handle inventory or shipping. When a customer places an order on your website, you have another company fulfill it.
First, think about the types of products you want to sell. You can create an online store and curate the items your target customers would be interested in. Once you have an idea of what you want to sell, you’ll need to find dropship suppliers on sites like AliExpress, Alibaba, or SaleHoo.
You’ll want to set up an e-commerce website and list and advertise the products you’re selling. When a customer places an order, you’ll need to make sure that the order is sent to the dropship supplier on the back end. You’ll pay them to ship the product to the customer.
As a dropshipper, you earn a profit by marking up your dropshipper’s price. Let’s say that you want to sell a sweatshirt. If the dropshipper charges you $15 to fulfill the order, you can list the sweatshirt on your website for $25 and make $10 on every sale.
Tip: If you need help setting up your website, you can find eCommerce dropshipping experts on Upwork.
14. Online surveys and focus groups
Brands and organizations collect data using online surveys and focus groups. You can participate in these surveys and focus groups as a side hustle when you have free time. An online survey or focus group may be used to get feedback on a marketing campaign or make improvements to a product.
The amount you can get paid for online surveys and focus groups can depend on how long they take. Some surveys are quick, and you can complete them in just 5 or 10 minutes, while a focus group may last over an hour and require answering many questions in real time.
According to SurveyJunkie, you can earn up to $40 a month by taking three surveys a day on their website. Depending on the website, you may also receive free products to test and give honest reviews.
Where to find paid surveys:
Swagbucks
SurveyJunkie
MyPoints
Google Opinion Rewards
Focus groups are often more involved. Depending on the focus group, you may need to fall into a specific demographic or interest group. Companies use focus groups for consumer research and testing ideas.
Where to find paid focus groups:
User Interviews
FocusGroups.org
Respondent
watchLAB
Find Focus Groups
15. Teaching English online
You can teach English to students from all over the world from the comfort of your home. Platforms like VIPKid connect students with teachers for small group or one-on-one classes to help make learning more accessible.
Depending on the platform, you may need to have previous teaching experience, a TESOL/TEFL certificate, and a four-year degree from an accredited university. Some platforms provide training and curriculum for teachers.
Many people want to learn English as a second language (ESL). ESL teachers are needed at all levels, from elementary school to college level. You can teach classes through video calls to students in different parts of the world where they may not have access to fluent English-speaking teachers.
Where to teach English online:
Preply
EF English First
Cambly
italki
SkimaTalk
Starkid
Lingoda
