Top Side Hustles You Can Start This Year

Food and Grocery Deliveries

Although it’s not glamorous or stimulating, food and grocery deliveries can bring in a steady stream of money, especially in densely populated areas. Companies such as Uber Eats, Instacart, and even local grocery stores hire delivery drivers.




You’ll need your own car and solid time management skills. The faster you deliver, the happier your clients will be, which may lead to bigger tips. It also means you can move on to the next delivery more quickly.




Online Buying and Selling

Many people buy items at discounted prices and sell them for a profit on platforms such as eBay and Craigslist. If this type of e-commerce appeals to you, look out for bargains on other online sites or at thrift stores and garage sales.




Keep in mind that you’ll need space to store your inventory and a trusted carrier to deliver your sales. This option gives you the freedom to sell whatever you want, so it’s possible to turn this side hustle into your own niche market.




Online Surveys

Although it’s not a golden ticket to riches, completing online surveys can bring in a little extra cash. Doing this is very straightforward.




Simply do your research and access sites such as Toluna or Swagbucks. You’ll have to complete a profile, and then they’ll notify you when there’s a suitable survey that fits your profile. You can do this anywhere when you have a spare 10 minutes or so. It’s easy and quick!




Driving for a Ride-Hailing Service

Over the past decade or so, ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft have boomed, especially in urban areas. Driven by smartphones and user apps, this market falls under the growing Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) banner.




If you have a car, picking people up and dropping them off at their destinations is a viable side gig. Thanks to the innate flexibility of ride-hailing services, you can decide when you work. For many people, it has become a full-time job.




Your car must meet the requirements of the ride-hailing company. They usually want newer vehicles with five undamaged seats. You also have the option of going solo and marketing your own ride-hailing services. Just remember to research the tax requirements and implications.




Providing Car-Sharing Services




Car-sharing differs from ride-hailing in the sense that you rent out your car instead of driving it yourself. In this case, a person who is interested in using your car for a certain period picks it up at an agreed-upon point. They then pay you for the time they use your car.




You need a suitable car for this side hustle to work. There are also approval and insurance aspects, but the car-sharing app you sign up with will guide you through every step.




Online Tutoring

This is a practical side hustle for people who have specific knowledge or are qualified in a subject field. For example, many people teach English online. You do, however, need the necessary qualifications and experience.




These gigs typically pay per hour or per session. You can market and run your own services or apply for online platforms that help you find clients. For example, you could advertise your services as an after-hours tutor if you have a full-time job as a math teacher.




Pet Services

Animal lovers can earn some extra money by offering pet services. These can be anything from daycare and grooming services to dog walking and pet sitting.




You can fit some of these, such as grooming services, into your schedule; others, such as pet sitting, will be scheduled according to the timeframes of your clients. The only requirement is a love for animals and possibly your own transportation.




You can also apply to work through official services such as PetSitterPlus and Rover. Of course, you’ll need to be approved, but these types of pet-sitting and pet-walking jobs have taken off recently.




Rent Out Spaces, Rooms, or Homes




You can rent out a room, a space for a function, or your home or second property to generate extra money. Airbnb, for example, is a popular platform on which you can list and market everything from a single room to an entire property.




Recently, Airbnb launched an “experiences” service, where hosts can offer certain novel experiences, such as wine tastings, photo shoots in unique or picturesque settings, and encounters with farm animals. This sideline has the potential to generate quite a bit of extra income.




Remember to check out other similar platforms, too.




Freelancing

If you’re qualified and experienced, you can always take on freelance writing, editing, or proofreading jobs. Many platforms, such as Upwork, also advertise data entry, social media, and audio editing jobs.




Some of these platforms charge you a fee to be listed as a freelancer, but most have lots of contracts available. In addition to Upwork, you can also take a look at Freelancer, SolidGig, and Toptal.

Dropshipping

If you have a knack for sales, consider dropshipping as a side hustle. This entails setting up an online store through a platform such as Shopify or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). You then market and sell the goods of your suppliers. You are simply the middleman; the supplier fulfills and ships the orders.

You don’t need a degree in retail to open a dropshipping store, but organizational skills are a definite plus. Initial startup and subscription costs are involved, but it’s not overly expensive.

This can be a viable side hustle where the amount of extra income you generate largely depends on the work you put in. When using FBA, for example, you can sell your goods through their vast network services.

Earning a few extra dollars helps a lot in today’s demanding economic landscape. Explore these options and consider the one that best aligns with your personality and lifestyle.

By: @Mark (Mark Reynolds)