10 Lucrative Side Hustle Ideas for Current Employees

Are you desperate to create your own side hustle but out of ideas when it comes to what to do exactly? 

When money is tight or if you have dreams of setting up your own business, creating a side hustle can help you reach your goals. As we mentioned in last week’s article, a side hustle is a popular way for more than 40% of Americans to earn extra cash on top of their day job. 

There are numerous benefits to setting up a side project which you can work on during the evenings, weekends, and holidays. Such a side hustle can grow to be extremely lucrative and a springboard from which to quit traditional employment and jump into the exciting world of entrepreneurship

Lucrative side hustle ideas for all personality types

Yet for many potential entrepreneurs, knowing what side hustle to try is sometimes an insurmountable hurdle. With this problem in mind, here are a selection of excellent side project ideas that cater to a wide number of natural talents, abilities, experiences, personality types, and passions. 

For instance, you could try being a: 

  1. Coach or Consultant

You have the knowledge, experience, and unique insights for which many people would gladly pay to also know. A side hustle as a coach or consultant can be a great way to gradually build a reputation as an expert in a particular field, as well as an extra income stream. 

There are many different types of coaching or consulting you can do depending on your area of expertise. You can work with clients completely online via Skype or Zoom, at weekends and during the evenings. Life coaching is a thriving niche, with more than 50,000 life coaches in the US alone. 

  1. Virtual Assistant

Many entrepreneurs, solo-professionals, and small business owners need assistance with their everyday tasks and procedures. When overwhelmed, they frequently turn to virtual assistants (also known as VAs) who assist with multiple different tasks, all without stepping into an office. 

As a VA you can choose your hours and the amount of work you do, which makes it a perfect side hustle if you’re working a fulltime job. You’ll be able to help fellow professionals with tasks such as website upkeep, bookkeeping, invoicing, calendar management, file management, travel planning, and research, among other things. 

  1. Information product creator 

If you’re not keen on working with clients, then creating your own products is a great side hustle. As an information product creator, you can develop a whole library of informative guides, documents, and videos that inform and teach people about a certain topic. You can price these any which way you want. 

For example, you might have many years of experience in the business management realm. You can therefore create a series of learning courses, videos, eBooks, and membership platforms about best management and leadership practices, aimed at potential managers or existing ones. 

  1. Affiliate Marketer

If you’re not overly enthusiastic about creating your own products, then you can sell other peoples’ products instead. Affiliate marketing is a popular and potentially very lucrative practice of selling a company’s products in return for a commission (a percentage of the final price). 

Whenever you send a customer, via a coded link, to a product page where they make a purchase, you receive money. Commissions range in value from very low to very high. You can create a website around a particular passion or area of expertise and monetize it with affiliate offers, which in time can lead to an ongoing passive income stream. 

  1. Copywriter

Good at writing? If you’ve often been praised for your writing ability and can quickly get up to speed with general marketing and sales principles, then freelance copywriting can make an excellent side hustle. Copywriting is writing crafted to market and sell products and services, and skilled copywriters are much prized. 

There are many types of copywriting, ranging from writing the marketing content for websites and emails through to content for brochures, newsletters, blogs, and advertisements, among many others. You can also specialize in writing for a particular industry or about a certain topic. 

  1. Designer

The best side hustle jobs take advantage of inherent talents and skills. Like with writing, if you are a skilled creative, then a design side hustle can potentially one-day lead to a dream career move. 

Whether it’s web design, graphic design, illustration, painting, product design, interior design, or fashion design, providing design services on the side can quickly bring in extra money. You might need to invest in some equipment and online training, but most design services you can offer online. 

  1. Social Media Manager

Social media is ubiquitous and most people have an account on one platform or another. What many disgruntled fulltime employees don’t realize is that social media is not just a fun distraction but also a potential goldmine when it comes to earning money on the side. 

Every business, in nearly every industry, has a social media presence, and most can’t keep up with the frequency and quality required for success. They need professionals. If you love social media and spend a lot of your free time there, then creating a social media management side hustle could be your ticket to developing a sizeable cash safety net for the future. 

  1. Language Tutor or Translator

Fluent or extremely competent in more than one language? A side hustle as a language tutor or translator could be ideal for you. Millions of people around the world are desperate to improve their English language skills. Many English-speakers also need to learn a foreign language before working abroad. 

Simply set up a website offering your tutoring or translating services, and you’ll be able to develop an enjoyable side hustle that will not only bring in some extra cash but also potentially land you some new life-long friends from different cultures. 

See also: The Pros and Cons of Working with Freelance Clients Internationally

  1. Personal Shopper

Conscious of the latest fashion trends? Adore shopping? Always sharing style advice with friends and family? If so, a side hustle as a personal shopper and wardrobe consultant might be a dream side income earner. Many professional women (and men) hire stylists to help them dress for a special occasion, a new job, or to simply create a new style for every day.

Personal shopping and styling is an ideal weekend activity, where you can meet clients in your local city and spend the day putting a new wardrobe together. 

  1. Photographer

If you have some serious photography skills, then you can earn money in a number of different ways. A photography side hustle is perfect for passionate snappers with busy day jobs. You can spend your free time taking photographs which can earn you potentially a lot of money. 

People and businesses can hire your services directly. You can shoot portraits. You can sell existing photographs as art prints. You can sell your photos on stock photography sites where you’ll receive a commission every time your photo is downloaded. You can sell photos to magazines. You can even conduct photography workshops in your local area.

Follow your passion

Follow your passion is a cliché but for good reason when it comes to starting a side hustle. By its very nature, side hustling requires dedication and motivation when you’re probably feeling tired, drained, and desperate just to spend time with your family. 

It helps immensely when you feel some passion for your side project. Consider your hobbies, what you read about all the time, your childhood dreams, and what you wish you could do instead of your 9-to-5 job. 

There might just be a seed within all of these which can, with hard work and dedication, sprout into a lucrative entrepreneurial career.