31+ Side Hustle Ideas to earn Money from Home and Pay Down Debt

Side hustles are getting more popular these days as busy parents yearn for more flexibility and a better work-life balance. Many of us have accumulated quite a bit of debt and are working on paying it down (student loans anyone?) and balancing our budgets. Being able to earn some extra money from home is wonderful and can help in so many situations. Read on for some great ideas for side-hustle businesses you can start and maybe even work from the comfort of your home in your pajamas!

Some links in this list are sponsored or affiliate, meaning I may be compensated for their inclusion or if I refer you.

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Side-Hustles Online

• Start a blog

Like this one! Blogging is a wonderful way to express yourself, make connections with others, and make a difference. It allows you to be super creative with honing your writing skills, learning photography, and sharing your adventures!

• Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing can be an incredible side-hustle. It can be partnered with blogging, or just in social media or email (per the terms of the affiliate company, of course). You promote products you already use and love and get a commission if someone snags it up with your link.

• Digital marketing and SEO

Starting a part-time Digital marketing and SEO consulting business from home can be amazing because consulting hourly rates are quite lucrative, so the hours of work required to reach a goal can be much lower than a full-time job.

You can even turn your freelance work into a full digital agency.

• Social Media Consultant

Being a digital consultant is one of the more popular work-at-home business ideas. You can sell all kinds of services based on your expertise. There are many different ways to be a social media consultant, and you can even be very specific in your niche! I recently interviewed a social media consultant who specifies in helping military and spouses!

• Surveys

Online surveys can be easy and quick. You get to sample products, share your thoughts, and get paid! Here is a list of survey companies you can join to earn yourself some extra spending money:

1. 1. Survey Rocket
   2. DollarsForYourThoughts
   3. Opinion Outpost
   4. Nielsen Computer and Mobile Panel
   5. Pinecone Research
   6. eSearch
   7. Vindale Research
   8. National Consumer Panel
   9. KashKick 
   10. Reward Bee survey
   11. Surveysurfing
   12. Inbox Dollars
   13. Survey Monster
   14. Panda Research
   15. Opinion City
   16. LifePoints

• User testing

It has become a popular tip for blog owners to get a free test of their website to get an idea of how a new user understands and navigates your site through User Testing.

• Translation Services or Teach a Language

Do you speak another language? If you’re fluent, you can apply for translation services.

You can also teach Spanish online! In fact, you can also teach English to kids in other countries online.
 

• Transcription

If you enjoy listening and can type fast, you can do transcription. That means you can listen to audio and type out what is being said.
 
 

Side-Hustles from your Car

• Uber for Drivers

Do you like to drive around? Are you just fine with passengers in your car? If so, you might like to drive for Uber. Pick someone up from the airport and take them to their home. Be someone’s designated driver home from the bar to avoid drunk driving issues on the road.

• Uber EATS

Uber EATS works with the best restaurants in your city to deliver local food. There are 3 types of couriers on Uber EATS: 1) Biker 2) Driver 3) Scooter. Wouldn’t it be a great side hustle gig to deliver meals to the elderly, or to new moms who seriously have no time to cook or drive around?

• Be a Grocery Shopper

Did you know you can get paid to shop for other people? Some of us hate to grocery shop with our toddlers. I use a service called Shipt to shop and deliver my groceries from my local store. And there’s also Instacart for grocery delivery. You can be a shopper and grocery delivery driver for either of these businesses!
Read more about becoming a full-serivce shopper with Instacart.

• Delivery Driver for Take-Out Food from Restaurants

You can also drive for restaurant take out services, like Door Dash.  DoorDash is a food delivery service that has partnered with local restaurants in over 300 cities across the US. Busy or lazy people like myself order food via the app, and as a driver for Door Dash, you would go to the restaurant and order and pick up the food, and deliver it.

Here’s information on how to deliver food with GrubHub.

Rent a Car

If you don’t have a car you wish to use for your Driving side-hustle, you can rent a car to drive for any rideshare or delivery service (Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Amazon Flex, etc.). You can also list your own car for others to rent for this purpose.

Side-Hustles selling a Service

• Photography

You can become a photographer if you already have amazing photo-taking skills! People are always looking to memorialize important events – weddings, new baby, etc. If you have the talent and are good at capturing emotion in a click, this might be the gig for you.

• Coaching

Being a business coach to other aspiring business owners has gained a ton of popularity lately. If you’re amazing at motivating and teaching someone how to simplify their business model, you can really take off on this avenue. You can read about becoming an Executive Coach here.

• Sell services as a gig

You can create gigs for just about anything on Fiverr – social media, graphic design, ebook design, editing, etc. the list goes on. Decide what you’re good at and can do quickly and set up a gig.

You can also list yourself as a tasker on AirTasker and do tasks for people that they want to outsource. Examples include home cleaning, handyman jobs, admin work, photography, blog writing, graphic design, etc.

• Run a Bed and Breakfast

Ever thought of owning a hotel and running a bed and breakfast service? It is a pretty interesting idea, and I have an interview with a B&B owner.

You can also turn your property into an Airbnb! Put your extra space to work for you! Earn money hosting with the safety and support of Airbnb.

• Be a Pet Sitter

I have a lovely interview with a pet sitter about the business of playing with cats and dogs. Yes, get paid to pet animals. One such company is Rover.

• Sleep Consultant

Tired parents seek help with their baby sleep issues, so sleep consulting is a great service to provide.

• Sell an Online Course

Teaching people is a great side hustle if you have some knowledge you want to share. For example, here is an amazing Breastfeeding course to help new moms!

• Organize Luxury Sleepovers

Organizing and helping busy parents host luxury sleepover events for their kids is a wonderful business opportunity. Elite Teepees creates luxury sleepover experiences in your own home. It was formed to recreate the essence of childhood, where the magic of friendships happen, bonds grow tighter and life-long memories are formed.
Elite Teepees sets up a chosen sleepover collection on the day of the client’s party at the selected location, then returns the next day to pack it all away.

Side-Hustles selling a Product

• Direct Sales Consultant

Being a direct sales consultant is a very popular way to sell a product without having to create your own.

Wine lovers can share the love of wine by working as a Wine Guide. In fact, here is another wine direct sales option.

I recently interviewed a Norwex consultant who shared how to get started in direct sales and also chatted with an It Works distributor.

You can even start a fitness motivation business via a direct sales company.

• Etsy shop

If you make handmade products or even digital printables, you can start a shop on Etsy and sell your goods.  I knew someone who sold festive hair tie bows for young girls. A former neighbor has a handmade woodworking business.

• Start your own clothing line

You can even start your own website to sell your designs. I have an interview with an industrial designer who started her own clothing line. I also interviewed an Amazon seller with her own shop.

• Be a home decor crafter

A handmade business to make home decor is a great option if you have the skills. You can make signs, for example. My neighbors have a custom woodworking business. Here’s another woodworking gift business interview I did.

• Write a book

Writing, whether being an author or a freelance writer, is a great option. You can even self-publish your book on Amazon KDP and use print on demand.

Here is my interview with a children’s author and another with an author helping working parents.

• Create a Journal to sell on Amazon 

Did you know that people can easily create journals to sell on Amazon? These books are called Low Content or NO content books. As the name implies, the books have little to no content. They are notebooks, Planners, and Journals. 

Book Bolt will help to do the research, find the top-selling niches, create these books quickly, easily and in a fun way. 

Check out Book Bolt and use my Coupon code: fabworkingmomlife (20% OFF at checkout)

• Sell baked goods

Selling baked goods would be more of a local business, but you can be really creative. Check out this interview I did with a lovely military spouse who bakes macarons!

• Make an app

Everyone has a mobile device these days, right? Making an app that someone can find helpful is another great side hustle if you have the programming skills (or partner with someone who does).  This is an example of a babysitting exchange app that helps other parents.

• Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a way to sell products without keeping inventory or shipping items.  The drop shipper is a sort of middle-man between the customer and the vendor providing the item.

Side-Hustles Investing and Trading

• Invest in Stocks

Stocks allow you to share in the profits of a company as it grows and thrives. You can start investing even with a fraction of a share using Stockpile.  Trading is done online or from your app, making purchasing shares super easy. My review post has more details.

• Online Trading

Start off online trading on the right foot by choosing brokers which have demonstrated reliability over the years. A good trading platform to start with would be something like CMC Markets that offers a host of trading tools and a wealth of helpful tutorials for those who are new to the industry.

Over to you – what side hustle ideas do you have? Have you started a side business of your own? I’d love to interview you!