The 40 Best Side Hustles to Start in 2021
Looking to make some extra money with a new side hustle? Not sure where to begin?
We can start by breaking down the different categories that pretty much any side hustle can fall into. We'll dig into each one below, but from a high level here's what we will consider.
- Ecommerce
- Digital products
- Advertising
- Services
Ecommerce
This is a big one, and very popular so we'll start here.
Ecommerce is one of the largest categories of side hustles and contains some of the most talked about hustles.
- Dropshipping
- Amazon FBA
- Print on demand
- Flipping on eBay
- Retail arbitrage
The core idea is you take a product that someone wants and you sell it on the internet for a profit.
Modern strategies have made the barrier to entry low here too.
- Dropshipping and print on demand don't require any inventory
- Shopify will give you an online store with a free trial that lasts long enough to make your first sale
- Advertise on Facebook to reach over 2 billion people
It's easy to get started and build your own store, the difficulty is building a trustworthy brand that people will buy from.
Digital Products
Another popular side hustle is selling digital products. These can be ebooks, self-publishing, courses, or other similar products that are not physical goods.
These creators can sell an infinite amount of their product without having to worry about supply, logistics, or margins.
For the upfront cost of simply your time and however long it takes to create the product, there can be little to no monetary risk in digital products.
Advertising
Advertising is a massive money-making opportunity. If you control an online asset that gets traffic, you can partake in your slice of the pie.
There are many ways to build a side hustle around advertising.
- Blogging
- Niche website
- YouTube
You can build a large audience with any of the above platforms, and when you do the monetization follows. Besides simply placing ads, you can get into affiliate marketing, shoutouts, sponsorships, or even promote your own products and services.
Building an audience is so effective because you can scale. If you can provide valuable content for a large audience, you can maximize your impact for a fixed amount of upfront production effort.
Services
The last category of side hustles would be services. These are any side hustles in which you provide a valuable service for your customers. You are not always, but often trading your time for money.
Hence many avoid this bucket because of their goal to get away from trading time for money. (The lucky few automate their service, such as software as a service companies)
Nevertheless, these can be easier to get into and you can start making money quickly.
Unlike the other side hustle categories, these jobs don't always require you to work until after you know you are getting paid!
Promising Side Hustle Ideas
Still not sure where to start? I've compiled a list of side hustles that I have either tried personally, or am genuinely interested in and would try.
Here's what I've got.
Create a startup
Start a dropshipping business
Start an Amazon FBA store
Start a print on demand store
Create a blog (Like this website!)
Begin freelance writing
Sell ebooks
Sell photography
Get a part-time job
Freelance your skills
Become an online English teacher
Start tutoring
Create a social media agency
Flip items on online marketplaces
Become an Instagram influencer
Become a public notary
Become a real estate agent
Invest in rental properties
Childcare
Caregiving
Build niche websites
Computer repair service
Start an IT support company
Computer tutoring
Review resumes
Start a car washing company
Car flipping
Start a marketing agency
Dog walking
Start a podcast
Become a DJ
Freelance designer
Become a home inspector
Modeling
Start a moving company
Personal training
Pet sitting
Be a virtual assistant
Become an affiliate marketer
Final Words
Finding an idea and committing yourself to it is the easy part. The challenge is getting started, staying consistent, and not giving up when it gets hard.
Is it too late to start?
— Nicholas Dill (@NicholasDiII) April 21, 2020
A year from now you will be looking back wishing you had.
The difference between someone who is where you are versus someone who is where you want to be? A bias for taking action.
Starting it now, not tomorrow.