30 Best Side Hustle Ideas To Try in 2026

Explore 30 of the best side hustle ideas—from creative crafts to work-from-home jobs you can start today, no experience required.

by Elise DopsonJul 23, 2026 • 33 min read

Stack of three glowing coin shapes against a soft neon gradient

A side hustle idea is any income-generating activity you pursue alongside your primary job. It could be freelancing, selling products online, or flipping furniture in your spare time.

More than one in four US adults (27%) have a side hustle, earning an average of $885 a month, according to a 2025 Bankrate survey. About 41% of side hustlers said they use the extra money for discretionary purchases, while 35% put it toward living expenses and 28% save at least some of the income they’ve earned.

What starts as a side hustle idea can also turn into a full-time business. A 2025 Shopify survey of store owners found 46% said their business started as a side project that grew over time. This guide covers 30 side hustle ideas to make extra money.

30 best side hustle ideas to make money

Here are 30 side hustle ideas to make money in your spare time:

Monetize a YouTube channel
Start a blog or newsletter
Secure social media sponsorships
Record a podcast
Participate in online surveys
Get paid to test apps
Provide virtual assistant services
Become an affiliate marketer
Sell digital products
Start a dropshipping business
Offer digital marketing services
Sell freelance services on Fiverr or Upwork
Develop mobile apps
Resell used or vintage goods
Advise eco-friendly businesses
Develop a clothing line
Sell your photography
Sell your voice as a voice-over artist
Offer virtual interior design consultation
Create handmade goods
Become an IRL or online tutor
Transcribe or translate content
Teach fitness classes online
Deliver groceries and other items
Rent out your home or spare room
Become a ride-share driver
Wash and detail cars
Provide local handyman or cleaning services
Give neighborhood tours
Offer pet-sitting and dog walking services

Online side hustles for digital creators

If you want to work from home and become a digital creator, here are seven side hustle ideas to consider:

1. Monetize a YouTube channel

Earning potential: Between $1 and $30 for every 1,000 views, on average, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

YouTube is the US’s favorite social media platform, with 84% of adults saying they use the platform, according to a 2025 survey by Pew Research Center. Tap into this audience by starting your own YouTube channel.

YouTube creators earn through the YouTube Partner Program. Once you meet the eligibility requirements (1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days), you can apply to join and start earning ad revenue.

Beyond ads, successful creators also make money through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and channel memberships.

Beginner advice

Lyn Allure built her YouTube channel to more than 400,000 subscribers by starting with simple lifestyle content, then evolving to share financial expertise as her interests matured. She was able to monetize her side hustle through ads, sponsorships, and merchandise.

Her advice for beginners?

“You absolutely have talent,” says Lyn in an interview with Shopify Masters. “You don’t have to be the best at something either, you just need to be helpful enough at it to help people.”

How to get started

To start a YouTube side hustle:

Choose a niche you’re genuinely passionate about—whether it’s gaming, cooking, personal finance, or DIY projects—and create content consistently.
Create engaging videos and YouTube Shorts that appeal to your target audience.
Use artificial intelligence (AI) to research episode topics and draft social media promotion posts.

2. Start a blog or newsletter

Earning potential: Bloggers in the US earn $79.65 per 1,000 page views, on average, according to a 2026 Productive Blogging survey.

Monetize your writing skills by starting a blog or newsletter. You can get paid by collaborating with brands on sponsored content, adding affiliate links, or joining a display ad network like Google AdSense.

Subscription services like Medium, Kit, and Substack also let independent writers publish their work and get paid directly from their readers. This can avoid having to rely on intrusive ads, sponsorships, or finding freelance writing gigs.

Beginner advice

Build a direct line of communication with blog readers by encouraging them to sign up to your email list. This makes you less reliant on acquisition strategies like SEO or social media where algorithms can change frequently.

“We started our email list from the beginning, with our first 20 people, and started sending out an email every single week,” says food blogger Jessica Beacom in an interview published by Kit. “Even if we felt like we had nothing to say.”

How to get started

To make money from your blog:

Choose a niche for your blog and research keywords to find topics to write about.
Find a blogging platform or email marketing tool to build your audience.
Use AI tools like Shopify Sidekick to speed up the content creation process.
Register for display ad networks like Google AdSense.
Once you’ve built a readership, consider selling products and merch to your fans.

3. Secure social media sponsorships

Earning potential: Nano-influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) can earn $25 to $150 per sponsored Instagram post, while mega-influencers (one million followers or more) can earn upward of $50,000.

If you have a niche hobby, start producing content on TikTok or Instagram that appeals to that community. Once you’ve established a following, you can monetize your account through sponsorships, where brands pay you to promote their products.

YouTube creator and stationery designer Amanda Rach Lee built her channel by first posting videos on her hobbies, which include journaling and making DIY notebooks.

“I started because I genuinely enjoyed sharing what I was doing,” she says in an interview with Shopify Masters.

Beginner advice

A Buffer analysis of two million Instagram posts shows more content equals more growth, but patience is key.

“Find a good rhythm that you can maintain,” content creator and photographer Ethan Barber told Shopify. “Figure out what that is, and then stay consistent—the best thing you can do is stay consistent.”

Ethan recommends repurposing old content if you’re stuck for ideas.

“We consume so much content a day, no one is going to remember what you posted two days ago,” he says. “Post it again.”

How to get started

To land sponsorships for your social media content:

Follow the influencer playbook by sticking to a consistent posting schedule on multiple platforms.
Try these tips to go viral on TikTok.
Build a media kit that compiles your social media analytics.
Start reaching out to brands with your media kit, showing your audience demographics and engagement rates.

4. Record a podcast

Earning potential: $55 per hour, according to Glassdoor.

Podcast audiences are expected to grow up to an estimated 770 million-plus listeners by 2030, reports Statista.

Starting a podcast can be cheap, too. A decent USB microphone sold specifically for podcasting can be purchased for less than $100, and recording platforms like Audacity are free to use.

Beginner advice

Treat your podcast as a source of reusable material.

Erika Geraerts, founder of beauty brand Fluff, launched a podcast featuring conversations about beauty and identity, then repurposed that content across multiple channels, including Instagram Reels, TikTok, and blog posts.

“It’s all about repurposing that content, filming all of our podcasts so that we can put them up as reels or on TikTok, taking some of those conversations, perhaps repurposing that into blog content," Erica says in a Shopify Masters interview.

Guests can also share episodes with their own audiences, expanding your brand’s reach and potential customer base.

How to get started

To start a podcast:

Find a theme or subject that resonates with a target audience.
Use AI transcription tools to automatically transcribe podcast episodes to repurpose on social media.
Record a few episodes in advance and plan a launch campaign.
As the show grows, incorporate ads or sponsorships to turn the podcast into a side hustle.

5. Participate in online surveys

Earning potential: Between 25¢ and $5 per survey, according to Swagbucks.

Filling out online surveys may not pay the bills, but it can pad pockets with extra money for the weekend.

Many survey platforms are free to join and require no special skills beyond providing honest opinions. There may be a delay in receiving your earnings. Rewards earned from Swagbucks, for example, can take up to 10 business days to process.

Beginner advice

Be wary of scams that ask for upfront fees or promise unrealistic earnings. Never share any personal information (such as your Social Security number or bank details).

Verify any emails you receive are from the official domain and read the site’s reviews on a third-party site before you register. Survey Junkie, for example, has more than 44,000 reviews on Trustpilot.

How to get started

To make money online with this side hustle, register for survey platforms like:

6. Get paid to test apps

Earning potential: Depends on the platform.

Developers need testers to click every link and press every button to make sure things work before their apps go live. You might be asked to check for confusing navigation, broken links, or unclear instructions.

There’s money to be made with this side hustle idea. Respondent says the average incentive is $95 per project, but payout speed depends on the platform. For example, UserTesting says earnings are usually paid out 14 days after a test is completed.

Beginner advice

Be realistic with how much time you have to dedicate to this side hustle, then find app testing gigs that pay the highest amount for the time available.

How to get started

Join matchmaking sites like:

7. Provide virtual assistant services

Earning potential: $10 to $20 per hour through Upwork.

A virtual assistant (VA) completes tasks remotely. This can include scheduling meetings, replying to emails, or booking flights.

Beginner advice

Think about any special skills you can offer as a virtual assistant. Upwork’s data shows marketing, customer service, or accounting experience can increase your hourly rate to $35-plus per hour. Those in management roles can earn upward of $50-plus per hour.

How to get started

To get started as a virtual assistant:

Look at your skill set to see which tasks you can offer.
List your VA services on a platform like Upwork, Fiverr, or Time etc.
Pitch clients directly by finding busy entrepreneurs who might need an extra pair of hands.

Profitable marketing and ecommerce hustles

Expanding your online activities into a full business is another route to side hustle success—or even a full-time career.

8. Become an affiliate marketer

Earning potential: 5% to 30% commission, depending on the affiliate program.

Affiliate marketing is when you advertise products or services on your platform and get paid a commission for any sales generated from your referrals by providing followers a unique link or code).

Beginner advice

Kelly Marohl, owner of The Greenspring Home, offers this advice:

“Focus on publishing high-quality content that teaches your audience something,” she told Shopify. “Always bring value to them. Do not focus your content around yourself.”

How to get started

To start an affiliate marketing side hustle:

Choose an affiliate marketing niche and create a blog, newsletter, or social media profile to post content.
Join an affiliate network like Impact or Awin, or apply to a brand’s program directly, like the Shopify Affiliate Program.
Find a link management tool that uses AI to monitor affiliate link performance and automatically recommends higher-paying alternatives.

9. Sell digital products

Earning potential: The average online course on Ruzuku, for example, sells for $416.

Digital products are items that exist only online. Examples include downloadable or streamable files such as documents, audio, video, and technical templates.

The beauty of digital products is they can be sold repeatedly without additional production costs. Start by identifying a problem you can solve for a specific audience, whether it’s a template that saves time, a guide that teaches a skill, or a tool that simplifies a process.

Beginner advice

Use existing skills to create digital products. If you’re a graphic designer, for example, think about how websites are always on the lookout for unique fonts and eye-catching page layouts to set them apart.

Eric Miller, founder of UX Kits, turned his design studio’s internal documents into digital products.

“We would often have to create documents for clients to help illustrate a website or an app,” says Eric on an episode of Shopify Masters. “When we decided it would be a good time to have a product side of our business, it was just a natural approach to turn some of those documents into products that we could sell.”

The digital products took off immediately, achieving approximately 97% profit margins per sale.

How to get started

To make money with this side hustle idea:

Create a digital product to sell online.
Choose an ecommerce platform to sell through. Shopify’s Starter plan lets you get setup quickly and take payments without a full website build.
Promote products on social media with incentives such as a free sample or discount code.

10. Start a dropshipping business

Earning potential: Profit margins are between 10% and 20%, according to TrueProfit.

Dropshipping is an online business model where a third party produces (or sources) and ships products on your behalf. All you have to do is set up your store, price your products, and make sales. Since fulfillment is handled by your supplier, you can focus on marketing to your customers.

Beginner advice

Tan Choudhury, dropshipping expert and YouTube creator, notes that the current era of organic social media makes dropshipping more accessible than ever.

“The actions you need to take to get started really are not that difficult: design a Shopify store, order the product, shoot videos, and post it on social media. It’s four steps,” he says in a Shopify Masters interview.

His advice: “Start small, test products quickly, and scale what works.”

How to get started

To start a dropshipping business:

Choose a dropshipping niche.
Start an online store.
Browse dropshipping apps and find suppliers that integrate with your ecommerce platform.
Use tools like AI Dropshipping to automatically adjust product inventory levels, reducing the risk of accepting orders for out-of-stock products.

Shopify Collective is Shopify’s own curated supplier network, letting you browse millions of products from verified Shopify brands and ship orders directly to customers with no inventory required.

11. Offer digital marketing services

Earning potential: $15 to $45 per hour through Upwork.

Some businesses are in need of digital marketing services to manage content creation, run social media accounts, and optimize websites.

Josh Elizetxe, founder of dental brand Snow, began his career by starting a digital marketing agency as a student. He built a team of approximately 20 remote freelancers and scaled to charging $10,000 to $20,000 per month for SEO projects and managing millions of dollars in advertising spend.

Beginner advice

Start by specializing in one or two services rather than offering everything. This could be social media management, email marketing, SEO, or paid advertising.

“Ideally, you personally have an interest in this niche,” says Shuang Esther Shan, senior producer of the Shopify Masters podcast. “You can pulse-check these things with social listening, with keyword research, or with Google Trends to see if the community of people interested in the niche is actually growing.”

How to get started

To make money with a marketing side hustle:

Take free digital marketing courses from Shopify Academy, Google, or HubSpot.
Experiment with marketing techniques on your own website or blog.
List your marketing services on a freelance marketplace or pitch clients directly.

12. Sell freelance services on Fiverr or Upwork

Earning potential: Depends on your niche.

Freelance marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork connect brands with freelancers that offer the services they’re looking for. This can prove a lucrative side hustle. Project rates on Fiverr for listed services include:

$40 to $280 for accountants
$100 to $500 or more for AI experts
$63 to $2,000 or more for brand designers
$200 to $650 for project managers
$40 to $162 for social media marketers

Beginner advice

A niche that’s in demand may help you stand out from other freelancers and charge premium rates.

How to get started

To start a freelancing side job:

Join freelance marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork.
Create a portfolio website to display skills and previous work.
Actively pitch clients who need the marketing services you offer.

13. Develop mobile apps

Earning potential: $45 to $3,400 or more per project through Fiverr.

Developing mobile apps can be a profitable venture if you’re proficient in coding or know how to use AI to code. As a solo developer, focused hours during evenings and weekends can be channeled into projects.

Beginner advice

Many successful app developers began by creating tools they personally needed, then discovered others had the same problem.

Ahmad Iqbal, for example, built Shop Phone and Callback Request using his experience as an online store owner. He troubleshooted the apps using his own storefront before listing them on the Shopify App Store.

How to get started

To develop mobile apps:

Brainstorm app ideas based on your own experience.
Find AI or no-code platforms to build an app
Get beta testers for your app and launch it on an app store.

14. Resell used or vintage goods

Earning potential: Depends on the item and sourcing method.

You can resell items no longer being used on local markets, buy-and-sell groups, or Facebook Marketplace. This could be vintage clothing, preloved children’s toys, collectibles, or furniture to flip.

Nica Yusay, founder of vintage brand FashioNica, started her reselling business after college to help pay student loans. She would thrift five to six pieces weekly, create styling videos showing how to wear them, then sell the items through her online shop.

“I think the reason I love thrifting so much is because of the thrill of the hunt—you never really know what you’re going to find,” she says in an interview with Shopify Masters.

Beginner advice

Nica’s advice: Research pricing carefully (she initially sold a Saint Laurent button-up for only $15 to $20 when it was worth much more). A free product margin calculator can help determine markups.

How to get started

To start a reselling business:

Resell items you already own.
Source inventory from thrift stores, estate sales, or garage sales.
Open an online store to expand beyond local marketplaces.

15. Advise eco-friendly businesses

Earning potential: $37 per hour for a sustainability consultant, on average, according to Payscale.

A 2025 report by Getty Images found 86% of global consumers believe businesses should use their resources to improve the environment and society. Offer support to companies who want to meet those expectations with a green business consulting firm.

Beginner advice

Offer practical, actionable solutions, like how to reduce packaging waste, source sustainable materials, or implement energy-efficient operations.

Sarah Paiji Yoo, founder of Blueland, consulted with sustainability certification organizations when building her eco-friendly cleaning products company.

“There are so many of these amazing organizations that have been doing this for decades and have extremely rigorous frameworks and processes for helping companies like us really build the right way,” she says in an episode of Shopify Masters.

How to get started

Build green credentials by volunteering skills to local businesses and charities.
Create a website to list your consulting services on.
Consider a platform like Contra to find consulting clients.

Creative and DIY side hustles you can do from home

Put your skills as a maker to work with these craft-based side hustles and creative ways to make money:

16. Develop a clothing line

Earning potential: 60% to 70% gross profit margin, according to TrueProfit.

If you have a passion for design, consider starting a print-on-demand business. Apps like Printful allow you to upload custom designs onto clothing that are printed and shipped at the point of purchase, meaning there’s no need to make large inventory purchases upfront. Or, you can design and produce your own clothing line from scratch. Sew original pieces or outsource your vision to a factory.

Beginner advice

Many successful founders began by identifying a gap in the market—clothing they couldn’t find for themselves.

Allegra Shaw, founder of Uncle Studios, started her fashion brand with no industry connections.

“We had no idea what we were doing—we didn’t have any connections in the industry," she says in an episode of Shopify Masters.

She drove around the outskirts of Toronto, physically knocking on factory doors and sending cold emails to manufacturers. Her first product, a white t-shirt, became the brand’s bestselling item, and the same pattern is still used today.

How to get started

Shopify has everything you need to start selling print-on-demand products:

Connect apps like Printful or Printify to your Shopify store
Choose a product to customize and upload designs.
Start marketing your products to niche audiences on social media.

If you’d rather manufacture your own clothes, start by sketching designs or creating mood boards for your clothing line concept. Research your target market and competitors to identify gaps.

AI tools like Midjourney or DALL-E can generate unique design concepts and graphics, while ChatGPT can brainstorm design ideas and catchy phrases for target niches.

17. Sell your photography

Earning potential: Depends on the platform.

Sites like Shutterstock and Unsplash buy photos that can be used by clients on their websites and in ad campaigns. You can also sell your photography as prints or put them on items like mugs or clothing, or sell your photography as a service.

Beginner advice

Start by selling stock photos. Stock photography can provide a passive income stream once uploaded, though earnings differ by platform:

Unsplash pays between $5 and $30, on average, per approved image
Shutterstock gives photographers between 15% and 40% of the photo’s sale price

How to get started

To start a photography side hustle:

Build a professional portfolio to feature your best photos.
Upload your strongest images to stock photography sites.
Contact local businesses or event planners to offer photography services.

18. Sell your voice as a voice-over artist

Earning potential: $40 to $85 per hour through Upwork.

Voice-over work can range from audiobook narration to voicing characters in animations. With a quality microphone and sound editing software, you can start this hustle from home.

A professional studio isn’t required to start voice-over work. All you need is a decent microphone and a quiet space. AI voice generators like Eleven Labs let you clone your voice to make new recordings.

Beginner advice

Practice reading scripts out loud, develop different vocal styles, and record samples demonstrating range.

How to get started

To start selling voice-over services:

Create voice-over samples to include in your portfolio.
Join freelance platforms like Voices.com to find gigs.

19. Offer virtual interior design consultation

Earning potential: $200 to $3,000 for consulting and design visuals, according to Angi.

Virtual interior design consultations provide advice, layouts, shopping lists, or renovation plans for clients. You could also offer professional consultations to brands who need help designing their retail stores.

Beginner advice

Start by helping friends and family for free or at discounted rates to build a portfolio of before-and-after photos. Add these to a professional website with a client onboarding experience where customers can upload information about their design challenges and request your services.

How to get started

To offer virtual interior design services:

Build a portfolio by creating interior solutions for friends and family, then start planning a user-friendly website.
Use appointment booking apps like Appointly or Hoppy.
Create service packages with clear deliverables (mood boards, floor plans, shopping lists).

20. Create handmade goods

Earning potential: Gross margins for handmade goods range between 71% and 87%, according to Craftybase.

Whether it’s carpentry, knitting, painting, jewelry making, or crafting, these hobbies can serve as the foundation for many side hustles.

Kristen Pumphrey, founder of P.F. Candle Co., told Shopify she learned to make candles at age 12 in after-school craft classes. When Etsy was just launching in 2006, she started selling handmade candles and various crafts. P.F. Candle Co. now sits on shelves of major retailers.

Beginner advice

Conduct market research to find out which handmade products are in demand.

“All the candle brands that you admire already exist,” says Kristen in a Shopify Masters interview. “You have to figure out what is my niche in the market and what’s not being fulfilled.”

How to get started

To sell handicrafts as a side hustle:

Choose handmade goods to make and log the price for materials.
Use a profit margin calculator to determine retail prices.
List your products on your own ecommerce website and Etsy, where sales increased year over year to $122 per active buyer as of the first quarter of 2026.

Flexible side hustles for educators and communicators

Share your knowledge of a hobby or topic to earn money part-time. If you have organizational skills like event planning or time management, businesses may also be willing to pay to learn from your experiences.

21. Become an IRL or online tutor

Earning potential: $15 to $75 per hour, according to TutorCruncher.

Online platforms like Cambly, TutorOcean, Preply, and Learn To Be let you make money as an online tutor. Even students can get into the tutoring business, offering services like test preparation and homework help. Test prep is a market that’s expected to grow at a rate of 4.43% annually until 2034, according to Imarc Group.

How to get started

To start a tutoring business:

Identify the subject or skills you are most knowledgeable about.
Look for students on tutoring platforms or at local educational institutions.
Package your knowledge into a course or online workshop.

22. Transcribe or translate content

Earning potential: $12 to $22 per hour for a transcriptionist through Upwork.

A transcriptionist receives audio or video files from their clients and types out what they hear. A good ear and quick fingers are crucial. Beware: digital transcription tools exist, and translation services may be at risk of AI displacement.

Beginner advice

Practice typing quickly and accurately using free online tools like Typing Academy or KeyBr. Aim to transcribe one hour of audio in less than three hours.

How to get started

To make money as a transcriptionist:

Practice typing quickly and accurately.
Register on freelancer sites like Rev, TranscribeMe, and GoTranscript.

23. Teach fitness classes online

Earning potential: $50 to $90 per session, according to Bark.

Become a fitness influencer and brand your healthy lifestyle, or share your workouts with a smaller, dedicated audience.

Ross Oltorik and Jay Neyer, co-founders of portable strength training company Body Boss, created a virtual gym service after customers said they didn’t know how to use their products.

“We started realizing we could actually act like a gym, we just don’t need a physical space. Why not just make a virtual gym?” Ross says in an episode of Shopify Masters.

The pair offered livestreaming workouts at set times and different service levels based on where customers were on their journey. Today, they offer online fitness programs and guides for different skills levels and challenges.

Beginner advice

Talk with your target audience to create a bespoke fitness program. Jay and Ross took this approach. They used one of Ross’s in-person clients to create a personalized program.

“It started off with that in particular as a very personal direct one-on-one virtual training,” Jay says. “That really helped validate our concept.”

How to get started

To teach virtual fitness classes as a side hustle:

Find a platform that lets you sell digital classes, such as Maven or GoTo.
Consider offering free in-person classes alongside an online subscription model.

Hands-on and local side hustles

With some spare time, you can make money by serving the needs of your local community:

24. Deliver groceries and packages

Earning potential: $19.74 per hour, on average, according to Indeed.

If you like the idea of driving for extra cash but are not keen on having passengers, delivering groceries or takeout is an alternative.

Food delivery services are growing, according to Statista, with platforms like Instacart, UberEats, and DoorDash to choose from. You can also drive for local shops and restaurants.

Beginner advice

Start by picking up odd jobs in your spare time. DoorDash, for example, runs Dash Along the Way. The program lets you pick up orders as you travel, so you can monetize your time spent on the road, like doing the school pickup.

Learn your delivery area well, organize packages strategically in your vehicle, and complete routes quickly to maximize hourly earnings.

How to get started

To make money with a grocery delivery side hustle:

Register for Instacart, DoorDash, UberEats, or Spark Driver (Walmart’s delivery app) for gigs.
Check that your vehicle meets the platform’s requirements, and make sure you get right type of car insurance.
Pick delivery blocks that fit your schedule.

25. Rent out your home or spare room

Earning potential: Use Airbnb’s free earnings estimate.

Renting out a spare room or empty shed lets you monetize space you’re not using.

Bryan Davis, founder of Teddy Stratford, rented his spare bedroom on Airbnb while building his menswear company in New York.

“Every single person who I was in the startup community with was renting at least one of their bedrooms on Airbnb. … That was covering my rent,” he says in an episode of Shopify Masters.

Beginner advice

Start by renting out a single room or storage space rather than your entire home to get some reviews and learn the hosting process. Bryan took this approach. He rented out spare bedrooms once his roommates moved out.

How to get started

To rent out your spare room as a side hustle:

List your home on Airbnb or Vrbo.
Upload high-quality images.

Take your side hustle further by selling products to your guests. Use Shopify Collabs to earn commissions on products your guests might enjoy. If guests love the soap in your bathroom, for example, place a QR code there that links directly to a purchase page.

26. Become a ride-share driver

Earning potential: Between $28.32 per hour, on average, according to Talent.com.

There are several options for those wanting to drive for a ride-share company. You can drive for tried and tested companies, or options that cater to specific needs or cities. Wingz, for example, specializes in shuttling people to and from the airport.

Nick Guillen, co-founder of Truff, drove for Uber while creating his hot sauce company. After quitting his corporate recruiting job, he drove in the evenings, leaving the days free to build a business.

“I was an Uber driver and I Uber’d on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights,” Nick says in a Shopify Masters interview. “On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, my entire day was focused on building this business with my partner, Nick.”

Beginner advice

Decide which rideshare platform aligns with your schedule and vehicle type. For example, Uber requires you to have at least one year of licensed driving experience in the US (three years if you’re under age 25). You also need an eligible four-door vehicle to drive with Uber.

Uber also offers promotions to drivers. You could earn an extra $100 for completing 30 trips over three days, or complete a trip in a Boost+ area within a specific time window to bump up your earnings.

How to get started

To become a ride-share driver:

Evaluate ride sharing platforms to see which you’re eligible for.
Make a flexible schedule to map out hours you have to taxi.

27. Wash and detail cars

Earning potential: Varies based on project.

Washing cars, both inside and out, is a side hustle you can start with limited equipment. Apps like Jobble can show hourly labor jobs available in cities all over the world.

As your skills and reputation grow, expand into paint correction, ceramic coating, and other premium services. You could also offer mobile car detailing (traveling to customers).

Beginner advice

Offer your services to neighbors, friends, and family to build your initial client base and reputations. It’s a looks-based business, so use social media to show off your work.

How to get started

To start a car wash or detailing side hustle:

Use photos on social media to promote and show the quality of your work.
Upsell add-ons, such as treatments or waxing, for an extra fee.
Consider monthly car detailing subscriptions.

28. Provide local handyman or cleaning services

Earning potential: $164 to $649 per handyman project, according to Angi; $16.79 per hour for cleaning, per Indeed.

Platforms like TaskEasy and TaskRabbit offer a plethora of short-term handyman, cleaning, and landscaping jobs. These tasks are perfectly suited for fitting into spare time and are ideal side hustles for those who enjoy outdoor work.

Beginner advice

Dustin Riechmann, co-founder of Fire Creek Snacks, told Shopify he helped his kids start a neighborhood service business during the pandemic.

Starting with trash can cleaning, they expanded to additional services like window cleaning and garden weeding. They posted in neighborhood Facebook groups, made flyers, and leveraged customer testimonials to build repeat business.

How to get started

To start a handyman or cleaning service business:

List your services on a platform like TaskRabbit or TaskEasy.
Research similar services in the area to determine your rates.
Start with basic services that don’t need much equipment, like yard maintenance or cleaning.

29. Give neighborhood tours

Earning potential: Depends on your neighborhood.

Platforms like Showaround, Get Your Guide, and Airbnb Experiences can help you meet any demand for a good neighborhood tour.

Earnings can depend on attractions in your neighborhood and competition from other tour guides. For example, food tours in Denver range from roughly $39 to $135 on Get Your Guide.

Beginner advice

Experiences designed for locals can be just as valuable as tourist tours.

Michael Washington, founder of Usal Project, focused on helping people connect with the Los Angeles area by showcasing nearby locations like Mount Baldy and Griffith Park trails.

“What’s interesting to me is helping people realize a connection to where they are,” he says in an episode of Shopify Masters.

How to get started

To make money with this side hustle idea:

Familiarize yourself with the most interesting and unique aspects of your neighborhood.
Check local regulations, as some cities require tour guide licenses or permits.
Join a platform like Showaround, Airbnb Experiences, or Get Your Guide.
Create videos to promote your local tours.

30. Offer pet-sitting and dog-walking services

Earning potential: $45 to $75 per night for dog-sitting, according to Rover.

Many people treat their pets as members of the family⁠, meaning they’re willing to pay for reliable professionals who can take care of their furry loved ones. Offer pet-sitting (either in a client’s home or your own) or dog-walking services as a side hustle.

Beginner advice

Use your own experience with pets to offer these services. This can help you increase your rates. Rover’s data shows pet sitters who watch puppies can charge between $5 and $10 extra per night. The same surcharge applies for senior dogs and those with medical needs.

How to get started

To make money as a pet sitter:

Start by offering pet-sitting services to neighbors and friends to get testimonials and experience.
Join platforms like Rover, Wag!, PetSitter.com, and PetBacker.
Get the appropriate business insurance.
Consider getting pet first-aid certification to stand out from other sitters.

Side hustle income, taxes, and getting started right

The IRS classifies side hustles as a business if the goal is to make a profit. If this is the case, you may be required to pay taxes. Here are some things you should know.

Note: This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Consult a professional to make sure you’re meeting government requirements.

Track income from day one

Split side hustle earnings from other income to track how much you’ve made. You’ll need to report these figures on your tax return.

Accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero help you do this. Upload bank statements and explain where the money came from, and receipts for any business expenses.

“Do the work, do all your product research, do whatever numbers you can, have some form of understanding of your finances,” says Bill Bachand, founder of Renu Therapy, in a Shopify Masters interview.

“I’m not a financial wizard, but I know how to read a balance sheet and a profit and loss. And I know where different charges get coded too, so it all lines up. … Because if you have good finances, then you can make good decisions.”

Understand the self-employment tax threshold

The IRS requires you to pay tax on any net income over $400 from self-employment. All income is reportable regardless of 1099 issuance.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%:

12.4% goes toward social security
2.9% goes toward Medicare

Plan for quarterly estimated taxes

Use your adjusted gross income, taxable income, deductions, and credits to estimate how much tax you’ll need to pay on your side hustle. If this is more than $1,000, the IRS requires you to pay quarterly estimated taxes using Form 1040-ES.

Take the stress out of sales tax with Shopify Tax

With Shopify Tax, you can oversee your current sales tax obligations from Shopify admin, collect the right amount at checkout with product and location-specific accuracy, and let Shopify automatically apply rate and regulatory changes whenever they happen.

Explore Shopify Tax

How to choose a side hustle

To see if a side hustle is a good long-term fit for you, consider how well it matches your interests, how it impacts your finances, and whether it works with your schedule.

Does the side hustle align with your interests?

Perhaps you’re interested in a niche, such as gardening products. It could also be a business model that excites you, such as social media content creation.

Is the side hustle financially viable?

Like any business, you’ll likely need to invest some time into your side hustle before it generates revenue. Take blogging, for example. Productive Blogging’s data shows it takes the average blogger 21 months to make their first dollar.

Focus on how to meet demand for your product or service to make your first sale. Once you’ve made some progress, step back and assess your business’s profitability. Consider whether your efforts are worth the returns.

Does the side hustle fit your schedule?

If your schedule is already packed, pick a flexible business model that lets you break tasks into manageable chunks and complete them during spare moments. For example, many survey websites don’t have any commitments and you can pick up questionnaires in your spare time.

Passive or hands-on: What’s your style?

Decide if you want a side hustle that needs your constant attention or one that allows for isolated bursts of work.

Different side hustles require varying levels of involvement, and even passive income ideas take effort to get started. For instance, uploading images to photo-selling sites needs less day-to-day management than a hands-on task like pet sitting.

How to start a side hustle while working a full-time job

Side hustles are a fantastic way to earn side income, but like many new ventures, they require upfront work to get traction.

“[You need] passion, patience, and perseverance,” says Young D, co-founder of Snotty Nose Rez Kids in a Shopify Masters interview. “We weren’t getting livable money until three years in.

“If you’re going to start anything, especially being an entrepreneur, you’re going to eat [it] for a few years. You got to build, you got to build, you got to build. And our mentality was: You only lose when you quit. We just kept going.”

Respect your schedule

Explore side hustles that naturally fit into your available time slots. For instance, if you find that you have chunks of free time in the evenings, a side hustle that can be done entirely online, like freelance writing or graphic design, might be ideal.

Look for under-utilized times in your day. Maybe you can work on your side hustle during a lunch break or while commuting via public transit.

“When I would come home from work, on my nights and weekends, I was able to really pour myself into this passion project,” says Nancy Twine, founder of Briogeo Hair Care, in a Shopify Masters interview. “I had to be really smart with how I was using my time to be able to really dedicate getting things off the ground.”

Map out a realistic plan

Once you’ve chosen a side hustle, outline what you need to get started. This might include setting up a workspace, purchasing equipment, or networking for clients.

Set specific, achievable goals

Instead of vague ambitions, set specific targets, like gaining a specific number of clients or creating a certain amount of content within a quarter.

Automate and delegate

Whether it’s using an AI assistant like Shopify Sidekick, an SEO tool, or freelance support, look for automated solutions to make managing your side hustle easier. The goal is to reduce the time you spend on administrative or repetitive tasks, leaving more time for the actual work.

“I really focused my time on the things that were really really special to my talents, which is coming up with formula concepts and briefs and working on product names and marketing concepts,” says Nancy. “I was really able to do all of those things in my nights and weekends."

Aim to level up (or not)

Decide early on whether you want to keep your side hustle as just that, or if you eventually want to turn it into a full-time business. This decision will influence how much time and effort you invest and guide your strategic planning.

Likewise, it’s important to think carefully about how much additional work you can add to your schedule without increasing your risk of burnout.

“When you’re so passionate about something, you can fit a lot of hours into your downtime from your day job,” says Niall Horgan, co-founder of Gym+Coffee, in a Shopify Masters interview. “That helped give us that confidence that we needed to again jump into it full time.”

Side hustles and scams to avoid

The internet is full of ads promising easy money and content creators promoting get-rich-quick schemes.

Steer clear of any side hustle that operates on a “pay-to-play” model, where you’re required to invest money upfront with the promise of future earnings. These opportunities can end up being time sinks, financial drains, or downright scams.

Side hustle red flags include:

Pay-to-play gigs. These require you to make a purchase up front before you can start earning.
Multilevel marketing (MLM) schemes. MLMs rely on your ability to recruit others to see any return. The FTC says some MLMs are illegal, so thoroughly vet any new program before joining.
Non-scalable crafts. Some crafted items are time-intensive but don’t sell for much, limiting your potential profit.
Travel-intensive hustles. The costs of fuel and accommodation might surpass your earnings.
AI displacement risk. You may want to focus on hands-on side hustles with lower AI exposure, like cleaning or handyman services.

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*Based on a 2025 survey of 500 Shopify merchants conducted in English across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Respondents were established merchants with two or more years on the platform. Results reflect the experiences of this specific sample and may not be representative of all merchants.

Side hustle ideas FAQ

What is a side hustle?

A side hustle is any income-generating activity you pursue alongside your main job or primary source of income. Unlike a full-time business, a side hustle typically requires a few hours per week and can be started with minimal upfront investment.

What are the easiest side hustle ideas to start from home?

The easiest side hustles to start depend on your experience and resources. Examples include ride-share driving, freelancing, affiliate marketing, selling handmade goods, offering cleaning services, or taking online surveys.

What is the best AI side hustle for beginners?

The best AI side hustle for beginners can depend on your existing skill set. You can work as a freelancer to help app developers train AI models so they can refine their tools.