There are lots of easy ways to make money from home. I do. But that wasn’t always the case. There was a time when we struggled financially to make ends meet. Fortunately, I found a side hustle that has since turned into a lucrative business. I was one of the lucky ones who found a way to turn a hobby into a business opportunity.
If you struggle like we did, you may need to find a way to supplement or even replace your income. But, where do you even start? What is it that you could do to make money from home? You don’t want to stuff envelopes, and those online companies are all a sham. It can leave you wondering what options you have to make money on the side.
Sometimes, you need to think outside of the box. There are opportunities all around you, but you need to just look for them! To help kick-start your work-from-home thoughts, we’ve rounded up some of the best ideas! These are all things you can do that will make you money from home.
Now, many of these won’t make you wealthy, but when you can find one or two that work, that can have a positive impact on your monthly income. There are lots of interesting and fun ways to make money and become your own boss! We’ve got 75 ideas below!
MAKE MONEY AT HOME BY STARTING A SIDE BUSINESS
There is nothing like being your own boss. However, knowing what kind of business to start can pose a challenge. These ideas will allow you to use your own hobbies and talents and turn them into a way to make more money. Some of these may require a business license, so check with your local regulations before you begin.
1. Start a blog. Believe it or not, blogging can be a lucrative way to bring money into your home. The trick is to blog about your passion! I have been blogging for more than eight years now and have continuously made six figures per year for more than five years now.
In just a few minutes, you can create your own blog and be on your way to making money blogging too!
2. Open a Day Care. You need to love kids before you consider this option. You will need to be able to prepare meals, teach kids, and have a set-up in your home that would be safe for children.
If this interests you, it is important that you visit your own state’s childcare license office to learn what it will take to become accredited. Share with friends to help them get the word out that you are open for business!
3. Home-Based Business. I’m sure you’ve heard of many consultant-based businesses, such as Thirty-One Gifts, Mary Kay, Party Lite, Pampered Chef, etc. These are great companies that allow you to set your own hours, get out and meet new people and still bring in a little spending money.
The one tip I have when it comes to this type of opportunity is to make sure you do your homework, so you fully understand the start-up costs and even what you have to do to maintain your consultant status.
4. Become a tutor. You might be able to make money tutoring students. From elementary school to college, there are those who need a bit more help on various topics. Check with your local school and college to find people whom you can help.
You might also see if you meet the qualifications to work for VIPKID, where you teach English to children in China.
5. Teach a trade/craft. Even if you are not an educator, people want to learn now hobbies all the time. If you know guitar, you could teach lessons. You might be a baker and can help someone learn how to decorate cupcakes.
6. Lawn maintenance. Love to be outdoors? You might want to consider mowing, weeding and gardening as a way to make more money.
7. Become an Uber or Lyft driver. This is a really popular trend right now and a simple way to make money. You are able to set your own hours and make good money doing it. You can work for Uber or Lyft to get started.
8. Call center employee. When you place a call to a company, the call rarely goes to an office, but is directed to an employee (who is probably working from their home). You just set up an area where you can work and follow a script, taking calls from customers. Pay varies, depending upon the type of company for which you work. If you are interested in this option, here are some sites you can visit to learn more: workingsolutions.com, liveops.com or sykes.com.
9. Dog walker/sitter. If you are home all day because you can’t get out, you could be a dog walker or sitter. Furbabies are family members for many, and people will pay to have companionship or weekend sitters for their dogs.
10. Pet trainer. Speaking of dogs, if you are good at training, you could become a pet trainer. This can include obedience or even fun tricks.
11. Home organization services. Organization is a gift that many people do not possess. You can help people clean and organize spaces in their home.
12. Clean homes. If you don’t organize well, but you can clean, become a house cleaner.
13. Balloon animals. I recently ran into an old friend at an event and she had picked up a side job as a balloon animal creator! It was an affordable investment and she makes excellent money creating animals at corporate events, parties and more.
14. Party planner. This is where your super-original party ideas can make you money. Become a party planner for birthdays, anniversaries and more.
15. Become a handyman. If you can fix just about anything, your handyman (or -woman) services can bring in some good money.
16. Mover. People hate to move. That is why they pay people to help load and unload moving vans and trucks. I’ve seen people paid upwards of $50+ an hour just to load or unload trucks.
17. Shovel snow. During the winter months, you can make some money shoveling snow from driveways and walkways. If you have a truck with a plow, you could even work for companies to clear parking lots.
18. Personal shopper. Not everyone likes to shop. You could visit the grocery store and do the weekly shopping for others.
19. Photographer. You don’t have to be a high-end photographer to take photos at birthday parties, events and other occasions.
20. Power Washer. If you own a power washer, you can offer to power wash driveways, decks and more.
21. Paint. Most people don’t like to paint. You could paint rooms, furniture and more.
22. Sell baked goods. As mentioned above, you could teach someone to bake. However, you might even be able to sell baked goods as well.
23. Start a bounce house business. Parents and schools rent bounce houses all of the time for parties and events. Invest in the larger houses and you can set them up and take them down at various events.
24. Makeup artist. If you are good with makeup, you can freelance as a makeup artist for events and special occasions, such as weddings.
25. Face painting/tattoos. It seems every kid loves to get their face painted at carnivals and parties. Master your skills and then you can contract your services at different events.
MAKE MONEY FROM HOME ON THE INTERNET
Sometimes, leaving your home to earn money is not an option. There are plenty of ways to earn money at home using the web.
26. Become a freelancer. If you love to create and design or are good with proofreading and more, you could sell your services directly on Fiverr. It is a marketplace where you can create logos, do animation, SEO analytics — all sorts of things! You can set up your shop and people will come to you, and you can also watch for people who post the type of work they are looking for.
27. Take online surveys. If you want an easy way to make money online, you should consider taking surveys. There are companies who will pay you for your opinion. Manufacturers and retailers need to know how they are performing. The best way to do that is to ask people to complete surveys for feedback. And, they pay you for doing it, too!
Although there are hundreds of these companies online, not all of them are legit. The way to maximize your survey-earning potential is to join more than one company. If you want to give this idea a try, here are some of the top companies I recommend:
MySurvey
OneOpinion US
Opinion Outpost
Harris Poll
Global Test Market
Inbox Dollars
VIP Voice
Survey Junkie
There are many others out there. You can read my full list of recommended survey companies.
28. Virtual assistant. You must be highly organized if you want to consider this line of work. Many websites (even mine!) hire Virtual Assistants (VA) to help them. A VA works for bloggers or websites. They might do things such as manage social media, check e-mail, write articles or even help with accounting.
The hours and pay vary from site to site, but it is a nice way to pick up a few extra hours of work and some extra spending cash. Visit VirtualAssistants.com or FlexJobs to learn more about how to become a VA (keep in mind that you do have to pay a fee to join this one).
29. Become a proofreader. Proofreading is a great way to make money at home. It is perfect for moms as you truly set your own hours. Learn more about How to Become a Proofreader.
30. Ebay. If you love to search out deals, eBay might be a good deal for you. If you find a great deal on a toy on clearance, you can probably turn around and sell it on eBay for more than what you paid for it. Another great thing to sell on eBay is children’s clothes.
Right now, the economy is so tough that parents can’t afford new clothes, so they can head to eBay and purchase them for just a few dollars per item. Whatever you decide to sell, eBay has tools to help you with determining your cost to ad layout. Just do your research and get ready to sell!
31. Freelance writing. If you love to write, you can get paid to write for large publications. In fact, many freelancers can make a very good living. Read this post about How to Get Started as a Freelance Writer to learn more.
32. Transcription. Many think this is a dying line of work, but that is not the case. Documents still need to be transcribed and people are paid to help. Learn the tricks to starting out as a transcriptionist.
33. Sell your photos. If you are a budding photographer, you can make money by selling your images. There are sites where you then sell your photos. As with any online endeavor, always read the fine print before you sign up so you know what you are getting into. Here are a couple of sites you might check out: iStockPhoto, Shutterstock, Fotolia.
34. Data entry. With the digital age comes the need to transfer all of that content on paper into digital media. Companies actually pay people just like you to enter this for them. This is the one where you will find a LOT of scams, so make sure you are very careful before you sign up. One site you can check out is HEA-Employment.
35. Sell your wares. If you love to create items, you can sell them for cash. Check out Etsy and sign up!
36. Set up an online store. Online retailers are making a LOT of money! While many will maintain their own inventory, you don’t have to do that. You can actually easily create your own store and use drop shipping (where someone else mails out the products to the customer). I know a lot of people who do this and make a nice living at it (and have been able to quit their full-time job).
One site you want to check out is Shopify. It’s great because it helps you do it all – from creating your site to helping you get up and running. Shopify charges a minimal monthly fee for the connection process, but that is standard for any company that does this.
37. Review software. If you have a technological mindset, reviewing software is a simple way to make money. You need to make sure you give it a thorough review and report back your honest feedback. You can start doing this today on Software Judge.
38. Translate websites or documents. There will always be a need to translate documents and websites from one language to another. You can visit Proz to get started.
39. Check out apps. This is a fun way to make money for trying out new apps! Companies want to know what people think and get feedback to improve them (if needed). Check out UTest to learn more.
40. Become a website tester. In order to ensure your website is successful, you need to make sure it is user-friendly. That is why companies pay people to test their websites. You can sign up for free and get started right away at UserTesting.
41. Social media manager. In order to stay competitive, bloggers and companies must use social media. If you are extremely knowledgeable in marketing and strategies, you could offer your services as a social media manager.
42. Blogging editor. If owning a blog is not your thing and you really don’t want to be an assistant, you could offer editing services. Blogs want to ensure that posts are free from grammatical errors, and editors help ensure that they are.
43. Forum or Facebook group moderator. Owners of these pages don’t want to have to police and monitor them every second of the day. You can be paid to be a forum monitor. Reach out to the owner of the forums you frequent to see if they are looking for help.
44. Get paid to surf the Internet. When you get ready to search online, use Swagbucks. You can earn points for searching the web, and then also for doing other activities as well.
45. Use Rakuten. This site will pay you when you shop online! Just visit their site before any purchase is made, and they will give you a cut of what you spent. They even send you an actual check! Sign up with Rakuten now and get a free $10 gift card when you spend your first $25!
46. Search for coupons. If you find coupons and coupon codes, you can get paid for sharing them with others! CouponChief pays you for passing along the deals you find with others.
OTHER UNIQUE WAYS TO MAKE MONEY AT HOME
47. Flip products. If you are great at transforming trash into treasure, turn it into a way to make money! Sell your creations online or even at local flea markets.
48. Write a book and sell it on Amazon. The Kindle store sells millions of copies of books every year. It is easy to create your own book, be it a short story or a novel. If you check out some of the best sellers, many have less than 50 pages in them!
You can transform your favorite 50 recipes into a book, your tricks on organizing your home – anything you want. Get started with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program.
49. Get paid to shop. The new way of saving money is not as much with coupons as it is with apps! You can use apps where you buy the things you need, submit your receipt and get cash back!
I’ve talked about these apps before on the site, so these are sites I trust. The ones I recommend you check out include: Ibotta, SavingStar, and Checkout51.
50. Rent your home. Join AirBNB and rent space to travelers. You are in control of who you allow to rent your space and when.
51. Sell items on Craigslist. If you have things you no longer need, you can sell them on Craigslist. Just make sure you complete transactions in a safe environment.
52. Sell your hair. I know this sounds crazy, but people do buy hair! Hairsellon can get you started.
53. Rent your stuff. Believe it or not, you can get paid to rent out all sorts of things, from vehicles to books and even clothes and more! It is a great way to use that item you had to buy for that ONE event and now sits in your cabinet. Rent it out to others and make some money on it. You will want to check out RentNotBuy to learn more about getting started.
54. Become a tour guide. If you love your city, you can share that with others. You might even be able to make decent money doing it. Vayable is a great site to help get you started.
55. Become a resume writer. The right resume can help someone land the perfect job. Get onto LinkedIn and other sites to market your services.
56. Sell your clothes. Clean out your closet and get rid of the things you no longer need. You can visit local stores, such as Plato’s Closet, which pay you for your items.
57. Have a garage sale. This is a great way to clear out the clutter and turn it into cash. Make sure you read my tricks on running a successful garage sale (I made hundreds on mine — and even $1,200 one year!).
58. Sell unwanted gift cards. This clears out the clutter of the cards you don’t want and puts a little money in your pocket too! Visit Raise.com to learn more about how to sell those unwanted cards (use the code PPINCH and you’ll get $5 free to spend on your first purchase, too).
59. Become a mystery shopper. Believe it or not, you can get paid to eat at restaurants and shop at stores. Learn more about mystery shopping.
60. House sitter. During vacation, people do not like to leave their homes unattended. You can house-sit for them.
61. Sell plasma or blood. Believe it or not, you can sell these.
62. Be a mock juror. Many trial lawyers use mock jurors to get a better feel for their case and how a jury may lean based upon certain testimony and evidence. Visit eJury.com to learn more about this idea.
63. Become a phone nurse. Man the phones for patients who call looking for help and advice. Fonemed is one resource you can look into.
64. Use your car to advertise. Companies will pay you to put advertising on your vehicle.
65. Lose weight. I know that this sounds crazy, but you can actually bet against others to lose weight! Check out DietDebt to learn more.
66. Rate music. This won’t make you rich but you can listen to and review songs. Visit MusicXray.
67. Answer questions. If you are knowledgeable about different topics, Ammas will pay you for answering questions.
68. Get paid to share on social media. Companies such as IZEA and PaidPerTweet pay users and bloggers for sharing information on social media channels.
69. Earn money by shopping online. The ShopTracker app will actually pay you for shopping online! Just shop as usual and you’ll earn rewards month after month.
MAKE MONEY WITH A PART-TIME JOB
Sometimes, part-time employment can help your financial picture, too. These jobs often work around your current work schedule so as to not interfere with your regular job.
70. Food delivery. These jobs don’t pay much, but you can make some decent money in tips. You will need your own vehicle and insurance. Check out UberEats to get started.
71. Newspaper delivery. Believe it or not, people still like to read the newspaper. You can deliver papers early in the morning before the rest of your day begins.
72. Substitute teacher. This can be tricky as you might get a last-minute call out to work, but there is always a need for subs in most school districts.
73. Hotel complimentary breakfast host. When hotels offer a complimentary breakfast, they need people to set it up, keep it stocked and then clean up. As an added bonus, you can often get discounted hotel rates as well.
74. Lifeguard. Lifeguard at a private, community or even your local public pool.
75. Referee. Schools, colleges, and local recreation leagues need refs to help run their events.
76. Holiday help. Retail stores often hire seasonal workers to help at different times of the year. These are not long-term commitments.
77. Temp agency. Become a temp and you will get short assignments to fill in for regular staffers who may be on vacation, maternity leave, etc.
78. Personal assistant. Those who are homebound and/or disabled often need help with shopping, chores and more.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS
Of course, before you ever sign up with a company, make sure you protect yourself. Here are tips to know if the company could potentially scam you:
- Watch out for pyramid schemes.
- Be leery of a company that makes you pay before they tell you what your job will be.
- Read the fine print. Know what to expect before you agree to the terms (that means, don’t just click the accept button).
- Research the company at the Better Business Bureau to see if it’s accredited or if there have been complaints filed.
Whatever you decide to do make money, just make sure you do thorough research. Be sure the job works for you and is something you enjoy doing. Not all opportunities are for everyone. Good luck!
