Best Side Hustles for Busy People
An excellent strategy for gaining insights into salary ranges and other people’s experiences is by examining sites such as Glassdoor when evaluating a potential new employer for a secondary job.
Reddit, among other online forums, has numerous groups dedicated to side hustles, making it effortless to gather data about a particular job. A shining instance is Reddit Side Hustle. All you need to do is sign up for a Reddit account to pose a query regarding your side job of interest. Additionally, you can scour through previous posts made by Reddit members to see if anyone has already addressed your concerns.
Numerous side hustle ideas have been tested and proven successful. These options are particularly beneficial for individuals who work full-time and wish to boost their monthly earnings.
1. Grocery Delivery
If you’re looking to earn a good income without using your car or if you don’t have one, delivering meals as a bicycle courier is a great option. Nevertheless, if you don’t mind driving, there is also an increasingly promising and flexible job in delivering groceries for businesses like Instacart or Shipt.
Instacart and Shipt operate similarly to food delivery platforms, but instead of delivering ready-made meals, they deliver grocery orders. Individuals aged 18 and above, with a dependable vehicle, and the ability to lift 40 pounds and navigate a grocery store autonomously, are eligible to work for these companies.
You have the ability to choose your own work hours through Instacart and Shipt, allowing you to balance other employment and obligations. Glassdoor reports an average hourly wage of $11 for Instacart shoppers, with the possibility of earning up to $25 per hour. Salary evaluations on Glassdoor indicate that Shipt shoppers typically earn between $12 and $15 per hour.
If you don’t own a vehicle or prefer part-time work, you can still benefit from Instacart’s feature of being able to apply for an in-store shopper position. However, there is a significant difference between in-store and full-service shoppers; while the latter group is responsible for creating and delivering grocery orders, the former operates as a W-2 employee in an assigned Instacart partner grocery store. When an order is made, in-store shoppers gather and process items, then transfer them to full-service shoppers to be delivered.
In-store shoppers are assured of receiving the minimum wage, but they are restricted to working for a maximum of 30 hours per week. In addition, they do not receive any tips, unlike full-service shoppers.
Grocery Delivery Pros
Grocery delivery services are growing in popularity, and both Instacart and Shipt regularly hire new workers. Job demand aside, there are also several advantages to this side hustle:
- Decent Pay . When you consider base pay and tips, Instacart and Shipt generally pay more than minimum wage.
- Great Exercise . Although grocery delivery isn’t as physically demanding as being a bike courier, shopping for groceries still keeps you moving and helps you get your daily steps in.
- Job Flexibility . Instacart’s flexibility between contractor and a W-2 role lets you choose a side gig that suits your schedule and preferences.
Grocery Delivery Cons
While it is true that delivering groceries can provide you with both physical activity and a reliable income, there are also several significant drawbacks to this particular side job.
- Depreciation . Unless you work as an in-store Instacart shopper, you’re putting additional mileage on your vehicle with every delivery.
- Fuel Costs . Like depreciation, you’re also on the hook for fuel costs as an independent contractor with any grocery delivery service.
Verdict
In case Instacart or Shipt is recruiting in your locality, you can earn some supplemental income while also working out. But, consider adding the costs of vehicle wear and tear and fuel expenses to your per-hour remuneration after a few weeks on the job to determine if working for Instacart or Shipt is profitable.
2. Start a Blog
Blogging may have the highest potential for generating income among hobbies. If writing is your strong suit and you have a special interest, you can easily create your own website with Bluehost at little to no expense and make money from your online platform.
There is a learning curve to blogging and it is important to have realistic expectations about earning significant income from your blog in the first few months.
Blogging offers complete flexibility and the potential for full-time work if you acquire the skill of scaling your website. Moreover, you can acquire a range of valuable skills during the process, which includes creating a website, producing captivating content, and marketing your work.
3. Dog Walking & Sitting Through Rover
The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that nearly 39% of households possess a dog, indicating that there is potential for significant profits in the vast pet care sector. Moreover, individuals who adore dogs may not even consider dog walking or sitting as a job.
Pet owners can use services provided by companies such as Rover to find pet sitters who are interested in taking care of their pets. To avail of this service, one simply needs to download the Rover app, register, and request dog walking or pet sitting assignments after being authorized.
Living in a big city presents plenty of prospects to begin a side hustle in dog walking or dog sitting. As per roughly 150 Rover salary evaluations on Glassdoor, dog walkers receive an average of $16 hourly. Furthermore, factoring in bonuses or the more profitable dog-sitting sphere of the enterprise, one can attain an additional few hundred dollars each month.
4. Rent Out Space in Your House Through Airbnb or Neighbor.com
The hotel and travel industry has been disturbed by companies such as Airbnb that enable property owners to rent out an extra room or their whole property to generate extra income with little effort. Alternatively, Neighbor.com simplifies transforming your garage, driveway, shed, or additional bedroom into a secure storage area.
Having an extra room that you hardly ever use can be a lucrative source of additional income. By utilizing Airbnb’s host calculator, you can obtain a rough idea of the monthly revenue your listing can generate, taking into consideration factors such as location and guest capacity. You should bear in mind that the calculator presumes 15 nights of bookings per month at projected daily rates, so when projecting your earnings, consider this figure to be an optimistic approximation.
Several hosts on Airbnb employ lockboxes to enable their guests to access their spare room even if they are not present. Furthermore, property damage is not a concern as Airbnb’s insurance policies offer liability insurance of up to $1 million to all hosts.
If having strangers in your home is not appealing, or if you do not have an additional bedroom, then Neighbor.com may be the perfect solution for you. Month-to-month storage space can be rented in your home or on your property without any long-term commitments. Similar to Airbnb, Neighbor.com takes the security of your and their belongings seriously, providing renters with $25,000 in coverage and hosts with $1 million in liability protection.
5. Deliver Food as a Bike Courier
One can easily earn some additional income by delivering food to hungry individuals with the help of Uber, DoorDash, Postmates, and Grubhub.
Although food delivery companies have faced criticisms lately regarding driver wages and the impact on their vehicles, delivering food as a bicycle courier presents as a distinct situation.
Bike couriers can avoid using their income to cover petrol costs or costly vehicle maintenance fees. Although bicycles may also suffer from wear and tear, maintaining a standard bike is less expensive than maintaining a fuel-operated automobile.
Uber and other companies have a distinct registration procedure for bike messengers, restricting their delivery range to a smaller area than that of delivery drivers. Consequently, residing in a sizable urban area is somewhat necessary for this part-time position, as a larger metropolitan populace is essential to maintain a high volume of delivery orders within a concentrated region.
You can make the most of the high delivery prices by working during peak hours such as dinner rushes, weekends, or late nights. In Toronto, bike couriers can earn anywhere between $15 to $20 hourly if the demand for deliveries is high and the weather conditions permit biking.
6. Teach English online
Due to the desire of individuals worldwide to enhance their education and professional opportunities by acquiring English proficiency, there is currently a high demand for proficient instructors with the ability to communicate effectively in English while possessing the necessary competency, expertise, and patience to effectively teach and mentor others.
The prerequisites for instructing online English classes seem to fluctuate based on the particular website. Nonetheless, as a general guideline, it is advisable to possess a TEFL certification, a bachelor’s degree, and a fast computer with a dependable internet connection for video communication and exchanging materials with students.
If you’re interested, check out platforms such as VIPKid, Preply, or English First. Alternatively, you could start your own enterprise through the creation of a website, YouTube channel, or social media networking.
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7. Sell unwanted tech
It has likely been a long time since you went through your home and discarded any old technology you no longer use, similar to the majority of individuals.
Survey your home for any superfluous gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, DVDs, CDs, televisions, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, and cameras. Afterwards, explore websites similar to Decluttr to potentially auction off these belongings.
You can get paid by Decluttr for your unwanted devices and media, with the additional benefit of free shipping and a provided box for your convenience.
In addition, you can dispose of unwanted toys and games using Decluttr. It is advisable to consider selling your belongings on platforms such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or LetGo. There are various other selling applications to try out if you have a large number of things to dispose of.
After disposing of your undesirable possessions, you may opt to deposit your earnings in the bank to either save or invest. Additionally, you may explore the possibility of acquiring inexpensive or worthless objects through the internet which have potential for profitable resale.
8. Use Amazon to make money
Besides Prime, Amazon provides diverse business services that can be utilized to generate additional income.
- Amazon Handmade: Amazon Handmade is a service that lets you sell handmade items like potholders, t-shirts, drawings, and hats. If you’re creative and enjoy making items in your spare time, consider selling them on Amazon Handmade. It’s sort of like Etsy. Just on Amazon.
- Merch by Amazon: If you like working as a graphic designer but don’t want to deal with the pain of managing and selling inventory, check out Merch by Amazon. This service lets you upload your own unique design, add a product description, and connect with buyers. When someone buys your design, you can receive a cut of the sale. It’s that simple.
- AWS: Organizations of all sizes are moving to the cloud these days. However, many lack experience managing Amazon Web Services, which is Amazon’s flagship cloud offering. If you’re a tech whiz, consider offering AWS consulting services through this program by helping organizations migrate to the cloud efficiently and securely.
