A side hustle can be a way to explore one of your passions, develop a skill, and, of course, make some money.
So we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their profitable side hustle ideas, and OMG they had sooo sooo many! Here are the best ones:
1. "I work at a winery on Saturdays as my side hustle. I get to talk about wine with generally nice people in a beautiful setting. I also met my husband there, so bonus."
2. "I run a photography business on the side. I only do 15-ish weddings a year and a handful of family shoots, but it brings in an additional $40,000 a year before taxes. I would do it full time, but I have a state job with state benefits and don't want to give that up!"
3. "I do user testing. Basically what I do is I take a screener to see if I qualify to do the test, and if I qualify I record a video (sometimes just my screen, sometimes with my webcam on) of me talking out loud, describing what I'm doing as I follow the prompts that are given and answer questions out loud that might be included. Each test takes between 5 to 20 minutes and are $10 (longer tests have a higher payout), and I get paid exactly a week after the video is submitted through my PayPal."
4. "I have some rare and rare-ish plants that that even a single unrooted cutting can sell for a pretty penny. There is a HUGE exotic plant community out there, surprisingly, and people shell out big $$$. People will literally pay $700+ for a plant. Thankfully the plants I have weren’t crazy pricey. It’s an investment sometimes, but if you know where to sell you’ll def see a good return on investment. If you know how to import plants, too, even better."
5. "I went full-time shopping with Shipt this year, after it being my side hustle since like 2018. I’m making $20+ an hour and only work on the weekends and a few random orders during the week. If I want more money I can work more, and it’s honestly the most empowering job I’ve ever had. It’s amazing to set my own schedule and not have to answer to anyone."
6. "Part-time Target Lady here. I primarily work from home, so it’s nice to get out of the house and socialize while making $15 per hour at a place I love shopping at. Flexible schedules and fun people."
7. "I thrift-shop good pieces overlooked by the staff because they didn't know it was a good label, buy pieces which are missing buttons/have tears and fix them, dye faded jeans back to life, style, photograph, and resell them on Depop. You'd be surprised how much more people will pay when things are 'curated' for them rather than just rummaging through the racks at the charity shop themselves!"
8. "Selling Funko Pops and Loungefly bags. A Pop that I spent less than $20 on sold for $1,200."
9. "I'm a part-time transcriptionist! Businesses submit audio files (or sometimes video) to the service I work for. We organize the transcript, may edit for clarity (depending on purposes), edit for grammar, and make everything readable before sending it off. If you have good grammar skills and decent hearing, it can be a lot of fun!"
10. "I do massages for trades or cash. Everyone needs a good elbow now and then."
11. "Instacart — if you watch for high-paying batches before tips, you can cash out about $200 in a weekend."
12. "I started an LLC where I make macramé home goods and handbags and have now added concrete items and candles to my product line. I do outdoor artisan markets on the weekend and have even had people think that that is my full-time job and don't know I also work a '9-5' in tech."
13. "When I was younger, my second job was as a princess at kids’ parties. You show up for an hour in a pretty dress and a wig, read a story, sing some songs, play a game, autograph a coloring page of 'yourself,' let each kid select a prize from the prize box, have a crowning ceremony for the birthday girl, and spend time with some cuties at their absolute best (they want the princess to like them!)."
14. "My husband started selling guinea pig cage liners on Etsy and has made a killing! The shop is GuineaPigUtopia, if anyone wants to check it out. 😁"
15. "I work with midwives and learned how to encapsulate placentas. Honestly, it's kind of a badge of honor because of how squeamish people get when I tell them my side hustle."
16. "I freelance write! It’s nice because I can determine how much or little work I want to take on."
17. "I'm a veterinary technician, but I pet sit on the side."
"I once watched a pharmacist's two Shih Tzus for two weeks and got paid $500. Not all jobs pay that much, but I make at least $100–$200 per job."
"I dog sit! It is great. Most dogs are very well behaved, and it is fun for both of us. It keeps me active and entertained since my boyfriend and I work opposite schedules. He and I signed up through an app and would recommend it to anyone. Last month, I made an extra $700!"
18. "I referee hockey games on the weekends (and occasionally, weeknights). I make anywhere from $25 to $100+ per game."
"Most games are an hour to an hour and a half long. If you played a sport in high school, you can ref it. You don't need to know everything to get started, and some sports are easier to get into than others. You just have to look up what the officiating body is and when they have clinics to get certified. Those usually only happen once a year, so put it on your schedule and don't forget to register when the time comes!"
19. "I'm a dog walker for a famous actress who's in her 80s. I get paid $30 for a 30-minute walk and do at least one walk a day."
20. "I have a custom pet portrait business. People send me pictures of their animals, and I make a custom painting for them."
"They make awesome gifts, especially when it is a memorial portrait. I made $5,000 this year! My dream is to make this a full-time gig."
21. "Delivering for Uber Eats averages around $20+ an hour."
"I am a teacher and worked delivery over the summer."
"Before COVID-19 hit, I did GrubHub for maybe 15 hours a week — mostly Friday, Sunday, and Monday nights because those were the busiest times for food ordering. I'd regularly make about $25 an hour including tips, which helped pay my post-divorce bills."
22. "I started an Etsy shop! It doesn’t bring in a ton of money, but after the first few months, I definitely saw a significant profit."
23. "I have a Redbubble shop where I sell products with my art on them."
"I’ve only had it for a few months so I haven’t made that much, given that I only make about 15% of profits. But any money helps when you’re a college student."
24. "I’m a full-time kindergarten teacher and mother of four kids. I started a business selling all-natural, sugar-free sweeteners and drink mixes after I had gestational diabetes."
"Sweet Cheat is small, but growing!"
25. "I’m an elementary school teacher with an engineering degree. Since I've come to know many families, I also get to tutor math (algebra, geometry, calculus, etc.) on the side for their older kids."
26. "I delivered pizzas as a second job for years."
"It really depends on the area you live in, your car's gas mileage, and the store you work for, but overall, it’s an easy night job that can bring in extra cash ASAP. I’ve made up to $150 in one night, although the average is closer to $50."
27. "I buy items on sale at outlets and clearance stores and resell them on eBay."
"I just made almost $1,000 this weekend with less than three hours of work. I started in June and made $8,000 in profit. It's very hit or miss, though."
28. "I rent my spare bedrooms to traveling nurses and other medical professionals."
29. "I was a trivia host a few nights a week, and I loved it."
"When bars and restaurants can open fully again, I will return to it. Some places do have trivia still running, but I have chosen to stay away from that type of contact until it is much safer."
30. "I made $500 in two months selling crap on Craigslist."
"The trick is to not bother selling really valuable/collectible things — people are rarely interested unless they're scammers. I sold things like an air conditioner that was missing knobs, cabinet pulls that had paint on them, and other things that needed a little love (and yes, I made those flaws clear in the ads). I did this mostly at $10–$20 a pop. People will buy just about anything if you price it at $5."
31. And finally, "I used to sell pictures of my feet."
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.
Do you have a lucrative side hustle? Tell us all about how you make your extra money in the comments!
And for more stories about life and money, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.