15 Legit Side Hustles to Make You Money -

Many of us are looking for ways to make some extra money on top of our full time job.

It can be hard to find side hustles that aren’t scammy looking or time consuming with little payoff (looking at you, surveys).

If you are looking to start a side hustle TODAY, here are a list of 15 legit side hustles that can actually make you money.

15 side hustles you can start today pin with picture of a laptop and someone working on it

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Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistant positions are really on the rise!

By the end of 2020 it’s estimated that 40% of the US workforce will be freelancers, including virtual assistants.

Virtual assistants have a wide variety of responsibilities, many that are similar to office assistants.

Blog writing
E-mail management
File organization
Communications with other services
Organize/plan workday activities
Social media manager

But with the added benefit of being able to work from home on your computer!

If you know how to use social media, and love working from your computer, this is a great option.

You can check out some open positions here.

Delivery Driver

This is one of the side hustles that I have done, and I actually LOVED it!

Me and my partner would go together and split whatever we made. It was a fun way to make some extra money, plus we got to hang out with each other.

Personally, I drove for Doordash. In my area they are the most popular and I seemed to make the most money.

On average, we made about $40-50/hour. Plus, if you sign up to drive using this link, you’ll get an extra $250!

You’ll definitely make the most money driving during weekends and peak times (usually around dinner and sometimes lunch).

Also keep in mind, with Doordash, you’re not an employee. You’re a contract worker. So you’ll need to keep track of your taxes if you make more than $400/year.

Grocery Shopper

This is very similar to Doordash (but with groceries instead of takeout delivery orders).

Personally, I tried this and it seemed like there were great offers in the app for shoppers, but I never accepted any.

To be honest, I HATE grocery shopping. And I quickly realized that no amount of money would get me excited to leave the house and go to the grocery store.

But if you are someone who loves grocery shopping (or even is just neutral about it) then this can be a great option!

Especially now, many people are choosing to stay home and would rather pay for someone else to grocery shop for them.

When I was doing Doordash, I talked to a few people who shopped for Instacart and Shipt who said that the tips were amazing and they were making tons of money!

Plus you get to pick when you want to work and when you don’t since you’re a contract worker! (but again, remember taxes!)

Reseller

Are you someone who has a knack for finding the gem of items at a thrift store or garage sale?

If so, you could really profit from reselling items online at places like EBay, Mercari, or Poshmark.

You would be SHOCKED at how many amazing items get donated to places like Goodwill and other local thrift shops in your area.

It does take some time and work to go out and hunt for these items, post them, and resell them. But if you stick to it, you could make a nice side income!

Me and my partner made about $2,000 from selling items on Poshmark and Mercari last year.

If you do this, I highly recommend you take the time to post the items on multiple selling sites.

Some items did REALLY well on one site and completely flopped on the other.

YouTuber

Okay, stick with me. I know that it seems everyone out there is trying to make it big on YouTube.

But you don’t have to have millions of subscribers in order to make some money being a YouTuber!

Cathrin Manning talks all about statistics, money and the YouTube algorithm on her page. And best part, you can go back in her videos and watch her document her success from 0 subscribers to almost 250k now!

Of course the chances of you getting millions of followers are lower.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make a successful side (or full time) business out of YouTube.

If you have something you want to say, and have a camera and some good light (natural or otherwise) then it might just be worth giving it a shot!

I totally recommend this tripod/ring light combo if you are looking for an inexpensive set up for recording.

Picture of a ring light/tripod set up with different light functions and a remote for taking pictures and videos from your phone.

It’s so cheap but GREAT quality. I use it to shoot TikTok videos, and personally love it!

Blogger

This is down a similar path from YouTube! And it may seem like blogs are dead. But in 2019 pro bloggers made an average of $1.5-125k/month!

Blogging can be a great side income because there are so many ways to make money off of it!

Affiliate marketing is huge, where you post links to services or products and in return get a small commission.

You can also create and sell your own products!

Or the basics, advertise on your blog!

While I definitely recommend rounding out your blog with other social media, it can be a great addition to your content creation side hustle.

Teaching English Online

This is another side hustle I ALMOST did, but then never committed to. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an amazing income for some people.

There are tons of companies hiring for people to teach English online to children abroad.

This is a great side hustle if you are looking for a way to work from home that isn’t super computer/social media focused.

I know tons of people at my job who teach with VIP Kid on the side and love it.

Just keep in mind, you will need access to a webcam, laptop, and a quiet place to conduct your sessions. Also, because most of the children live in China, the teaching times are usually very early or very late at night.

But if you want to add a bit of side income before/after your 9-5, this may be a great option!

Dog Walker/Pet Sitter/House Sitter

I mean let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to get paid to hang out with dogs or watch over someone’s house?

This can be a great way to make random extra money if you have a financial goal you want to throw some more money at.

Places like Care.com and Rover.com are great to search your area for people needing these services.

This is especially great if you are an animal lover, and looking for ways to make some extra money that aren’t emotionally taxing.

Customer Service Representative

There are loads of companies in constant need of virtual customer service representatives.

Here you can check out Apple and Amazon for any open positions.

There is not a set schedule due to the fact that different stores are opened different hours. It also would depend on what time zone you are in.

And while I’ve worked retail, and know that sometimes customers can be the WORST (we’re all thinking it, okay?), if you’re good at talking to people, this could be a great part-time or full time gig.

Freelance Writer

It may not be an obvious choice for a side hustle, but if you love to write, and are generally good at it, many companies will pay you for your work on a contractual basis!

Companies are often in need of people to write blog posts, stories, articles and advertisements.

Most of the time, they outsource this work.

You could be the person they are outsourcing too!

People offer up their services on Fiverr for all kinds of writing gigs!

Editor/Proofreader

Are you constantly correcting people’s grammar, or cringing at people using the wrong form of “there, their, they’re”? Well then editing or proofreading may just be the side hustle for you!

You don’t need any special certification or degree to be a proofreader, either!

And it can all be done from home on your laptop.

If you love reading, and are good at analyzing text and correcting errors, you can check out some listings for proofreaders or editors on ZipRecruiter.

Set Up an Air Bnb

Now this obviously isn’t something that would work for everyone, but under the right circumstances, it could help you pay for rent or other expenses!

If you live in a city where tons of people come to visit, and have an extra room in your house or apartment, then you could start listing it on Airbnb.

You don’t need a separate property to make this work. Many people are looking for a cheaper option to rent by the room instead.

Me and my cousin did this a couple of times on our trip through Europe. I actually loved it so much more than a hotel, because we got to talk to a local and get tips on what they would see and do.

If you feel safe and comfortable having others rent out a room in your home, then this may be a great way to make money more passively!

Etsy Seller

This is great for all of my artsy and creative people out there! Etsy has TONS of different handmade items and digital downloads that you could be selling on the platform for some extra money!

If you are looking for the biggest bang for your buck, selling printables is a passive income that does not require you to hold inventory.

This is great for making the selling process quick and easy.

Once you make the product and update it on Etsy, you can sell items without ever having to ship them/make them per order.

I love shopping on Etsy, and actually just purchased some downloadable artwork from there! Tons of people are searching on the platform every day, and if you have a creative side, you could benefit from that.

Plants!

Another thing that you can sell on Etsy? Plants!

Honestly, up until a week ago I had no idea that this side hustle existed, but now I’m super interested for myself.

There are tons of plants that are super easy to propagate!

And if you have a knack for keeping them alive, you could be making money off of your one plant that you already have at home.

I constantly see postings on Etsy and Facebook marketplace for propagated plants. If you’re a plant person, it’s definitely something to check out!

Sell Photos

To be honest, I always thought that to sell you photos you needed to be some amazing photographer.

But there are tons of people making a little side money off of selling stock images taken on their phones!

I don’t have any personal experience with this, and my guess is that it probably isn’t as simple as it sounds, but if you are already someone who leans toward photography, it could be a great way to make some extra money!

You can sell images on places like Pond5 or GettyImages if you are looking to just sell individual photos.

You can also market your skills for weddings/events if you have a knack for photographing people.