You’ve dreamt your entire life about being a business owner. You’re motivated, hardworking, and hungry—the three biggest things it takes to be an entrepreneur. The problem is, you can’t simply decide to be your own boss one day. You have to work your way up to it—without quitting your day job (yet). Side jobs, or side hustles, as it’s come to be known, are one of the most important projects for a budding entrepreneur like yourself.
Not only is starting a side hustle a great way to bring in some extra cash, it’s a good test drive for yourself. If you’re driven to work hard at your side hustle while still having the safety net of a full-time salary, imagine how lucrative it could be when you can devote your entire work life to growing your business.
There are a few things that make for a good side hustle. A lucrative side hustle is flexible, so you can make it work around your full-time schedule; it is either something niche that you specialize in, or something that doesn’t require a ton of skill, yet is high in demand; and, of course, it is something you sincerely enjoy doing.
Here are 10 side hustles you can easily start while working full-time to dip your toes into the entrepreneurial pool—before diving in the whole way.
1. Freelance copywriting
There are more freelance writing opportunities out there than you may think. Brands are constantly in search of freelance writers to work with to provide copy for blog articles, websites, social media, and much more.
Platforms like Upwork and People Per Hour bring together businesses and freelancers, making it simple to find remote, project-based copywriting opportunities.
If your writing style is more creative, you can also try your hand at writing copy and poems for greeting card companies like Blue Mountain Arts.
2. Babysitting
If you enjoy spending time with people and have experience with children, babysitting can be a great side hustle. Plenty of parents need someone to watch out for their little ones during evenings or weekends, either regularly or sporadically, and they are often willing to pay decent hourly rates.
Set up a profile on a site like Care.com, and have a few past clients leave positive testimonials. The more ratings you have, the easier it will be to find clients in the future!
3. Selling clothes online
If your eye for clothing is bigger than your closet, you may want to try selling your clothes online for profit. Long gone are the days of eBay’s monopoly on the resale market—there are now entire sites dedicated to selling clothes on consignment, and they make the process super simple.
Be sure to check out sites like ThredUp or Poshmark for all kinds of clothing, or The RealReal if you have lots of luxury brands to get rid of.
4. Taking surveys
Online surveys are certainly not the most lucrative side hustle, but with the minimal amount of effort they require, they’re a great thing to do when you’re vegging on the couch watching TV.
There are plenty of non-legitimate survey sites out there, though, so try to be sure to do your research beforehand. Some good survey sites are Swagbucks and Opinionsquare.
5. Selling your crafts
If you already have a hobby making things with your hands, why not turn it into a side hustle? Setting up a shop on Etsy is extremely simple to do—they just take a percentage of your sales, and you handle the rest.
This is an especially good side hustle around the holidays, when people are searching for unique gifts for loved ones.
6. College admissions essay editor
Especially over the summer, fall school semester, and winter break, high school seniors are looking for help with their college admissions essays. Organizations like Story2 help students write the best application essays they can, and they work with freelancers to give essay feedback.
You can also offer your services on your own, and set up a simple website through a platform like SquareSpace.
7. Driving for a rideshare app
If you have a car and some time to kill outside of your 9-5, becoming a rideshare driver for apps like Uber and Lyft can be quite lucrative.
Be sure to check out which companies service your local area, and read up on their guidelines to see if it’s a good match for you.
8. Buying and selling domain names
This can be a long game, because you never know how long it’s going to take before someone shows real interest in the domain(s) you’ve purchased. But as far as side hustles go, it’s one of the simplest—as long as you have an internet connection, you can do it by yourself and from anywhere.
Here are some tips to make it worth your while.
9. Renting out your home
Sites like Airbnb are growing in popularity every day, with more and more people opting to temporarily rent a space or a room instead of opting for a traditional hotel when traveling. If you have a spare room, renting it out on Airbnb can be a great, low-effort way to bring in some extra cash.
You can also opt to take it a step further and become a landlord. If you own your home or an additional property, having a renter is a passive way to bring in consistent income each month—just remember you have to take care of the maintenance and legal aspects of renting.
10. Fitness instructing
Another great thing about side hustles is that they can be time you spend fully enjoying yourself and improving your life.
Yoga and Pilates teachers and personal training often have day jobs and do their fitness-related jobs on the side—if fitness is something you’re passionate about, look into getting your teaching certification. Stay healthy and make extra money all at once!
Whether you’re simply looking to bring in some extra cash or thinking about becoming a self-employed entrepreneur, a side hustle is the way to go. Don’t be discouraged by the fact that you have a day job—as you can see, there are plenty of side hustles you can do on your own time. You just have to find the right one for you!
Meredith Wood is the Editor-in-Chief at Fundera, an online marketplace for small business loans that matches business owners with the best funding providers for their business. Prior to Fundera, Meredith was the CCO at Funding Gates. Meredith is a resident Finance Advisor on American Express OPEN Forum and an avid business writer. Her advice consistently appears on such sites as Yahoo!, Fox Business, Amex OPEN, AllBusiness, and many more.