30 Legit Ways to Make Money from Home

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30 Legit Ways to Make Money from Home

There are many legit ways to make money from home and this page covers 30 of the best opportunities. Check out the details of each to see which one might be right for you.

In recent years, the number of freelancers, remote workers, and digital nomads has increased dramatically. A 2019 study done by Upwork found that 57 million Americans (35% of the workforce) already freelance. With the Coronavirus pandemic forcing many businesses to close or layoff employees, the rise of freelancing is almost sure to continue.

Whether you’re looking for a full-time income to replace a lost job, pursuing a career that provides maximum flexibility, or simply looking for a way to make money from home in your spare time, there are plenty of options.

This article will cover many of the best options to make real money online or from home. Some of the opportunities involve freelancing, others involve starting a business, and a few of them would give you the possibility of being a remote employee.

Each listed opportunity will include some details like the income potential, how fast you can start making money, and resources that will help you to get started. Remember that details of things like income potential and how fast you’ll start making money can vary, but this should give you a general idea that can help you to find the best opportunity for your own situation.

The Best Ways to Make Money from Home

1. Become a Virtual Assistant

Possibly the best way to make money from home (or anywhere with an internet connection) is to work as a virtual assistant (VA). It’s extremely flexible, offers good income potential, and there is a high demand for quality VAs.

VAs can offer a wide range of services including things like managing social media profiles for clients, blog editing, moderating forums or Facebook Groups, providing customer service, and basic administrative tasks. That list is just scratching the surface. For more ideas, see this list of services you can offer as a VA that was put together by Gina Horkey.

Working as a virtual assistant is something that you could do part-time or full-time, and you can make the work fit around your existing schedule.

Free Workshop - 5 Steps to Become a Virtual Assistant Free Workshop - 5 Steps to Become a Virtual Assistant

If you're interested in making money from home, be sure to check out this free workshop from Kayla Sloan. She shows how to use the skills you already have to start making money as a VA.

Although there are some low-paid VA jobs, there are also plenty of VAs that are earning a great income (as much as $100/hour). Most of the high-paid VAs have chosen to specialize in a particular area rather than taking a generalized approach and offering a wide variety of different services.

If you’re interested in becoming a VA, think about the existing skills that you already have and find ways to put them to use for clients. If you’re good with social media, maybe you could manage Pinterest profiles. If you’re good with grammar, maybe you could work as a blog editor.

Uncertainty in the job market may lead to an increase in opportunities for VAs. Companies may choose to outsource work rather than bringing on additional employees, which means more work for VAs.

The best training that will help you to become a successful and in-demand VA is the $10K VA course created by Kayla Sloan. Kayla has extensive experience and this is a thorough course that gives you everything you need to succeed.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You’ll be able to start making money as soon as you land your first client and there are plenty of clients out there.

Resources: The free workshop 5 Steps to Become a Virtual Assistant by Kayla Sloan is a great place to start.

2. Start a Blog

If you’re looking for a low-cost online business opportunity, starting a blog may be for you. You could start a blog on any topic that interests you, so you’ll get to work on something you enjoy. Blogging also offers unlimited income potential and plenty of different ways to make money (display ads, sponsored content, affiliate programs, offering a service, selling your own products, etc.).

The downside to starting a blog is that you’ll need some patience. Most new bloggers don’t make very much money for the first six months to a year, so you’ll need to be willing to put in some work before you see the payoff. However, once it starts growing, it’s a great way to make money.

Starting a blog could be a great option if you have a long-term focus, but if you’re looking for a way to start making money quickly, you’ll want to choose something else.

I’ve been blogging since 2007 (full-time since 2008) with successful blogs on topics like web design, photography, and finance.

Income potential: $1,000 per month after one year, unlimited potential beyond that.

Start making money: Slow – Plan to spend 6-12 months working on the blog before you start to make any significant income.

Resources: See my article How to Start a Blog for a step-by-step guide. 

3. Create Niche Websites

Starting a blog is common advice for people who are looking to make money, but another excellent option that’s often overlooked is to start a niche website.

A niche website is very similar to a blog, but it takes a more specialized and targeted approach. All of the content of a niche website revolves around a particular topic, with a very tight focus. For example, here are a few real-world niche websites:

  • GlutenBee – Articles and information for anyone on a gluten-free diet.
  • Honest Golfers – Product reviews of golfing equipment.
  • RateMyToilet – Product reviews of toilets.

Niche websites can make money in a few different ways, but many of them make money from display ads and/or affiliate programs. Amazon’s affiliate program (they call it Amazon Associates) is extremely popular with niche website owners, so you’ll see a lot of sites that publish product reviews or top lists (example, “The Top 10 Low-Flow Showerheads”) and then link to the products on Amazon.

While creating a niche website is similar to blogging, there are a few key differences:

  • Blogging requires more consistent effort. When you’re building a blog, you’re trying to grow a base of readers that keep coming back to your blog for new content (loyal readers). As a new blogger, it will kill your momentum if you take an extended break from blogging. Niche websites typically attract the vast majority of their traffic from search engines and repeat visitors aren’t as important to the success of a site. You can work on it whenever you’re able and longer breaks won’t have as much of an impact.
  • Niche websites create content to target long tail keywords for easy search traffic. Long tail keywords typically involve 3-5 words and you’ll face less competition from other websites, making it easier to rank on the first page of Google.
  • The work of managing a niche website is easier to outsource. Most niche website owners outsource the majority of the content writing, whereas most bloggers write their own content. You can outsource the majority of the work related to running a niche website, making it a nice low-maintenance business.

The process of building a niche website can be easily duplicated in another niche. Most niche website owners have multiple sites.

I’ve built a few niche websites over the years and from my experience, this is one of the most practical and realistic ways to make money online. Anybody can do it if you follow the process.

Income potential: $500 per month after the first year, $5,000+ per month long-term.

Start making money: Slow – Plan to spend at least six months working on the site before it starts to earn anything significant.

Resources: Create and Automate Profitable Niche Websites is a course available at Skillshare. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

4. Freelance Writing

If you’re looking for a great way to start earning money quickly, working as a freelance writer is one of the best options you’ll find. Not only can you start making money quickly, but the earning potential is excellent.

Freelance writing is something that you could do part-time or full-time, so it could be a side hustle or a six-figure business.

As a freelance writer, you could be writing for newspapers, magazines, industry journals, or other types of publications (including ghostwriting books). Most freelance writing opportunities right now involve writing for blogs or websites. With millions of online publications constantly creating new content, there’s a lot of work available.

If you like the idea of blogging, but you need to start making money quickly, working as a freelance writer for other blogs may be a better option than starting your own blog. There are opportunities available in many different niches and industries, so you can put your existing knowledge and experience to good use.

Contrary to what you might think, you don’t need a lot of experience to start working as a freelance writer. There are a number of freelance writing jobs for beginners so getting started is not that difficult.

Clint Proctor from Wallet Wise Guy is a great example of what’s possible. Last year, Clint went from complete beginner to replacing his full-time job’s income in about 7 months, and from beginner to six-figures in about a year. The combination of great income potential and no experience required makes it one of the best entry-level work from home jobs.

Income potential: $10,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You’ll be making money as soon as you have your first client.

Resources: Earn More Writing is an excellent course by Holly Johnson that teaches everything you need to know to have success as a freelance writer. Holly makes a great income and has many students (including Clint) who have also had a great deal of success.

5. Start a Podcast

While podcasting is rapidly growing in popularity, the number of podcasts out there pales in comparison to the number of blogs. That means there is plenty of opportunity for new podcasters.

With a podcast, you could make money from sponsorships, affiliate programs, or creating and promoting your own products (for example, ebooks or online courses). And don’t worry, even small shows can land sponsors.

One of the nice things about starting a podcast is that you don’t need to have a lot of experience or expertise in your area of focus. Many podcasts rely on guest interviews to provide content for listeners. You don’t need to be an expert, you just need to interview experts.

Finding guests for a podcast is easy. Appearing on a podcast is a great way to gain exposure, so even new podcasts can easily book guests for interviews since just about everyone is happy to get more exposure.

Income potential: $1,000 per month first year, unlimited potential beyond that.

Start making money: Slow – Plan to put in at least six months of work before you start to make anything significant.

Resources: How to Make a Podcast: Plan, Record, and Launch with Success, a course available at Skillshare, will help you to get started. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

6. Start a YouTube Channel

Starting a YouTube channel offers a similar opportunity as blogging or podcasting, except instead of text-based or audio content, you’ll be creating video content.

Just like blogging and podcasting, this is a great option if you have a long-term focus and you’re looking to build a business with unlimited potential. And it’s not the best opportunity if you need to start making money right now.

There are YouTube channels on every topic that you can imagine (and many topics that you would never imagine). You can create a channel based around your existing experience or just something that interests you.

YouTubers make money through ad revenue (YouTube Partner Program), affiliate links, and direct sponsorships.

There’s a huge demand for video content and that demand continues to increase.

Income potential: $1,000 per month first year, unlimited potential beyond that.

Start making money: Slow – Plan to put in at least six months of work before you start to make anything significant.

Resources: Stand Out and Make Money on YouTube is a course available on Skillshare that was created by a professional YouTuber with more than 5 million subscribers! Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

7. Transcription Work

If you have some typing skills, one of the best opportunities to make money from home is to become a transcriptionist. There are many websites that are hiring transcriptionists (see this list of the best transcription jobs) and you can start earning cash very quickly.

Most sites offering transcription work will require you to pass a typing test first, and once you’ve passed that test you can start working right away. That means you could apply today and start making money within a few days.

Free General Transcription Mini Course Free General Transcription Mini Course

Learn how to get started as a transcriptionist with this free 7-lesson course from Janet Shaughnessy of Transcribe Anywhere.

Features:
  • Learn the two keys to success as a transcriptionist
  • Use your existing typing skills
  • Work part-time or full-time
  • Work from home or anywhere with an internet connection

Transcription work is generally extremely flexible. In most cases, you’ll be a contractor and you’ll have the option to work as much or as little as you want. You can also work hours that suit your schedule.

With the rapid increase in video and audio content that is being created, there is plenty of demand for transcription work to put that content into text.

Income potential: $3,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You can start making money with a few days. It may take longer to find the best-paying opportunities.

Resources: Transcribe Anywhere offers the best training available that will help you to earn a living with transcription. They offer extensive courses that show you how to find the best opportunities, and you can even earn a certification that can help you to land work. Transcribe Anywhere offers a Free General Transcription Mini-Course that is an excellent starting point.

8. Bookkeeping

Becoming a bookkeeper is a very underrated option for making money from home. Not only does it offer excellent income potential, but many bookkeeping jobs require no specific experience.

This is one option that could be done as an employee or you could start your own business. If you have no bookkeeping experience, you may be able to find an entry-level remote bookkeeping job that would provide training. If you have some experience, starting your own business may be the more desirable option, as it will definitely give you better income potential.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a work-from-home bookkeeper is over $58,000. There are not a lot of jobs with an average salary that high that can be done with limited experience and also offer flexibility.

While accountants are responsible for taxes and compliance issues, bookkeepers generally handle day-to-day operations like managing payroll and handling invoices and receipts.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You might be able to find a remote job as an employee to start earning quickly. And if you start your own business, you’ll be making money as soon as you have your first client.

Resources: Bookkeepers.com offers a free 3-lesson series that shows you how to start your own bookkeeping business and make great money from home.

9. Proofreading

Do you have strong spelling and grammar skills with a keen eye for detail? If so, one of the many online proofreading jobs available could be the right fit for you.

Like bookkeeping, proofreading is something that could be done as an employee, or you could start your own business. Of course, starting your own business will give you higher earning potential, but you might be able to start making money faster by landing a job.

Proofreading and editing are often confused. As a proofreader, you’ll mostly be responsible for finding and correcting errors, whereas editing involves things like clarifying ideas and organizing the writing.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – There are some remote jobs available for proofreaders, which would allow you to start making money quickly. If you decide to start your own business, you’ll be making money once you secure your first client.

Resources: The best training is available from Proofread Anywhere. This is an in-depth course that covers everything related to starting your own proofreading business, but the most important part covers how to find clients so you can actually make money.

10. Web Design/Development

If you have the right skills and experience, making money as a web designer or developer is a great option. Obviously, there is plenty of demand from businesses, entrepreneurs, and organizations that need a website, and you can earn a great income.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a web designer is more than $60,000 and the average salary for a web developer is more than $74,000 (source).

Web designers are typically responsible for the visual design element, and they often do the HTML and CSS coding as well. Developers typically focus strictly on coding without responsibilities for design.

Many web design and development jobs are remote, so this is a perfect opportunity to work from home. And of course, you could easily start working as a freelancer if you want more freedom or if you aren’t able to find a job.

Not only is this an excellent way to start making money today, but it also allows you to develop skills that that will be valuable and in-demand well into the future.

Income potential: $7,000+ per month (or more)

Start making money: Fast – If you already have some design or development experience, you can start making money quickly. Land a remote job or start your own freelance business. If you need some training, it will take a little bit longer but you could be making money within a few months.

Resources: Complete Web Design is a popular course available at Udemy that teaches you how to design and build websites, and how to make a living as a freelancer. It’s a great choice if you want to learn how to make money as a web designer.

11. WordPress Setup

If you’re interested in web design but you don’t have the coding skills, one option would be to simply offer services for setting up WordPress-based websites.

With more than ⅓ of the internet now powered by WordPress, there are plenty of opportunities here. With modern themes and plugins available (like those from Elegant Themes and Thrive Themes), it’s possible to create custom websites without the need to code.

Even though coding is not required to create a website, many business owners have no experience with WordPress and would still prefer to hire someone to handle it for them rather than trying to do it themselves. You could use the available tools and plugins to set up completely customized websites for your clients without any coding experience.

Your services could include things like setting up web hosting and installing WordPress, installing themes and plugins, creating customized pages and layouts, updating WordPress as needed, and generally managing the site for your clients.

If you have some experience with WordPress, this could be an excellent opportunity. And if you don’t have experience, you could learn what’s needed much faster than you could learn how to code websites.

Even though you’re not coding, you can still earn a nice income. Last year I interviewed Peti, a stay-at-home mom who is taking this approach, and she’s earning $60 per hour to set up WordPress-based sites for her clients.

Income potential: $3,000+ per month

Start making money: Kind of fast – You may need to do some marketing or promotion to start landing clients, but you’ll be making money as soon as you land your first client.

Resources: The themes and plugins from Elegant Themes and Thrive Themes are highly recommended (Vital Dollar uses the Extra theme from Elegant Themes). They are well designed and infinitely customizable. Both will give you plenty of potential to create amazing websites for your clients without the need to code.

12. Graphic Design

If you have some design skills or artistic ability, there are plenty of ways to make money as a graphic designer. According to ZipRecruiter, the average graphic designer makes over $48,000 per year.

Like web design, you can work in a graphic design role either as an employee or a freelancer. Some graphic design jobs are remote and could be done from home, but freelancing may be the better choice if you’re looking for maximum flexibility.

As a graphic designer, you could work on any number of different projects like:

  • Logos
  • Business cards
  • Brochures
  • Packing
  • Labels
  • And much more

If you’re looking to get started as a freelancer, websites like Fiverr and Upwork can be helpful, but be aware that there is a lot of competition for work on those sites. You can also find clients and freelancing opportunities through job boards, your own personal network, or by establishing your own presence online.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – Start making money as soon as you have your first client. There are many different ways to find clients, so if you have some design skills, you can start making money pretty quickly.

Resources: Freelance Graphic Designers Masterclass is available on Skillshare and is a great beginner-level course that teaches you how to design and start making money from it. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

13. Become a Social Media Manager

Most businesses today recognize the power of social media. Many business owners and entrepreneurs would love to get better results from social media, but they don’t know how to do it or they just don’t have the time.

That’s where you come in.

As a social media manager, you could handle all aspects of social media for your clients. This could include creating posts to share on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, scheduling posts to keep the client’s profile constantly active, and possibly managing ad campaigns. If you have some design skills, you may also create images to be used through the social profiles of your clients.

Some social media managers choose to specialize in a particular platform. For example, you may choose to only manage Pinterest profiles for your clients if that is the platform that you know best. Or you could specialize in growing Instagram accounts for clients.

Other social media managers choose to specialize in managing ad campaigns for clients. This would include things like creating the ads, testing variations of the ads, managing the budget, and other details related to ad campaigns. With platforms like Facebook and Pinterest being extremely popular for advertising, this is a great option.

Most of your clients likely have no idea how to set up a Facebook ad campaign, much less maximize it and get the best ROI. If you have some experience in this area, this can be the perfect service to offer (and if you don’t have experience, you can learn pretty quickly). If you’re able to get results for your clients, you can earn a very nice income by managing ad campaigns.

Income potential: $4,000+ per month (higher if you’re managing ad campaigns)

Start making money: Fast – You just need one client to start making money, and so many businesses need help with social media that it’s not hard to find a client.

Resources: Facebook Ads & Facebook Marketing Mastery Guide is a course available on Skillshare that will teach you valuable skills that allow you to set up and manage Facebook ad campaigns for clients. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

14. Flipping

Flipping involves buying used items and then reselling them for a profit, and it can be a surprisingly good way to make money.

There are a lot of types of things you can buy and resell, see our list of the easiest things to flip for profit to get plenty of ideas. You can buy things at places like yard sales, flea markets, estate sales, auctions, and thrift stores and resell them at a higher price.

Many flippers use online platforms and selling apps like the Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and others to sell their items for the highest price. There are some specialized platforms, like Poshmark for clothing, that are great for getting maximum profit on certain items (see our comparison of Poshmark vs. eBay vs. Mercari).

You may be able to make a profit simply by finding something of value that’s priced very low (which is common at yard sales), or you may buy an item that needs some repairs in order to increase the value.

One of the reasons why this is a great way to make money is because there is no particular experience required and anyone can learn to do it. Of course, as you get some experience, you’ll get more familiar with the types of items that tend to bring a profit and you’ll be able to easily identify items that are under priced when you come across them.

Flipping can be done part-time to make a little bit of extra money, or it could generate a full-time income.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You can make money in as little as a few days, so it’s a great option if you need to make $500 fast.

Resources: See our article How to Sell on eBay for Beginners. Also, Flea Market Flipper offers a free workshop on building a profitable reselling business that is definitely worth checking out. The host, Rob Stephenson is a six-figure flipper with plenty of experience.

15. Flip Furniture

Flipping furniture involves buying inexpensive furniture, painting or refinishing it, and selling it for a nice profit. This could also fit under the general “flipping” opportunity that was just covered, but I’m listing it separately because it’s a good bit different from flipping other items.

Most people who flip furniture focus exclusively on furniture and don’t buy and resell other types of items. A big part of the process of making money as a furniture flipper involves the work that you do to improve the piece, whereas some other flips simply involve buying an under-priced item and reselling it for more. As a furniture flipper, the work that you’re doing to the item is what leads to the increase in value.

Typically, solid wood furniture is the best option for flipping. When it’s painted or refinished, solid wood furniture can hold plenty of value, so it gives you the opportunity to earn a nice return for your effort. Upholstered furniture also presents an opportunity, especially if you’re able to reupholster it yourself.

In most cases, painting wood furniture will give it plenty of new life and drastically increase the value. All you need are some basic tools like sandpaper, paintbrushes, and paint. There are plenty of free YouTubes videos that demonstrate how to prep and paint wood furniture, so it’s something that anyone can learn to do.

To get started, find a piece of furniture to work with. You may have an item in your home that would be ideal, or you can head out to yard sales and see what you can find. Craigslist can also be a great resource, and you may even be able to find free furniture that has been put out for the trash (remember that if it’s not solid wood, it’s probably not worth your time).

The Facebook Marketplace is a great platform for selling your items after you’re done.

You can earn a nice hourly rate for your time, making it a great option for some part-time income. The biggest challenge related to scaling up involves finding enough quality pieces at very low prices.

Income potential: $2,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – Head out to a yard sale, find an item, paint it over the next few days, and sell it for a profit.

Resources: Please see this interview with Virginia, an experienced furniture flipper, about flipping furniture for profit. She shares everything you need to know to get started.

16. Sell on Amazon

Amazon accounts for about 37% of all ecommerce sales in the US (source), and more than half of the sales made on Amazon are now from third-party sellers.

There are several different approaches that you can take if you want to make money from home by selling on Amazon, including:

  • Buying and reselling used items
  • Retail arbitrage (buying low, selling higher)
  • Private labeling (hiring a manufacturer to put your logo on a product)
  • Buying wholesale items
  • Creating custom products

Creating a private label brand is a popular option because it’s relatively easy to find a manufacturer for most types of products and the profit margins can be high if you find the right product. It also involves building a brand, and once you have some established products that are selling well, it can be a fairly low-maintenance business.

Selling on Amazon is a flexible way to make money that can be done in your spare time, and it’s certainly also possible to earn a full-time income (or even build a massive business).

One of the downsides to selling on Amazon is the fact that you’ll need to invest some money in inventory. It’s possible to minimize the initial investment by purchasing small quantities of products (AliExpress is popular for this approach), but that’s not always practical.

Income potential: Unlimited

Start making money: Varies – If you’re buying and reselling used items, you can probably start making money pretty quickly. Other approaches like private labeling or creating your own custom products will take at least a couple of months before you start earning anything.

Resources: Sumner Hobart has a amazing series of highly-rated courses related to selling on Amazon that are available on Skillshare. The first course is 7 Insanely Profitable Amazon FBA Product Research Methods. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

17. Become a Self-Published Author

Another way to make money on Amazon is to write and sell your own books and ebooks. The Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program makes it easy for anyone to become a self-published author without facing many of the same obstacles that used to prevent people from being able to publish their own books.

You can write and sell any type of book on any topic, so there are endless possibilities. Use your existing skills and experience to teach others, or try writing fiction.

Through KDP, you can sell digital ebooks and paperback books. The paperbacks are printed on-demand whenever a customer buys your book, so there is no inventory for you to buy and no large investment that needs to be made.

Selling ebooks on Amazon can be a great way to make money from home as a side hustle, or you could scale up and turn it into a full-time business. Most authors who are making a full-time income on Amazon have several books for sale and are always working to create new books.

You might assume that this is only an option for people who are skilled writers, but that’s not really the case. You could also outsource the work and hire a ghostwriter if you’re not interested or not able to do the writing on your own.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Slow – You’ll need to choose your topic, write your book, and get it listed for sale before you start making money. Some types of books can be written pretty quickly, but as a new author, you’re not likely to make a significant number of sales right away unless you have your own existing audience.

Resources: Best-selling author and teacher Jonathan LaPoma has created a course called From First Draft to Bestseller: Self-Publish and Market a Book That Readers Will Love, which is available on Skillshare. This is an in-depth course that covers everything you need to know to start making money from home as a self-published author. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

18. Voice Acting

Another great way to earn extra money is to do voice overs or voice acting. There are plenty of opportunities. You may be reading a script for an online video, recording an introduction for a podcast, narrating an audiobook, or even recording a commercial.

Skilled voice actors can make a great income, whether part-time or full-time. It’s a service that is in demand with all of the video and audio content being generated, and it’s likely to stay in demand.

Platforms like Fiverr and Upwork are common places that people will go when they want to hire a voice actor, so having a profile on those sites is a good way to get started. Of course, you can also find clients on your own.

Many voice actors work part-time. It’s something that’s relatively easy to get started and to make some money, but more challenging to take to a full-time level. According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a voice actor is more than $76,000, but 46% of workers earn between $13,000 – $32,000.

Income potential: $3,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – Create a profile on Fiverr and include some samples of your work (create some clips as sample if you don’t have any past clients), and you can begin making money as soon as you get your first client.

Resources: Voice Over Masterclass – The Official DIY Guide to Voice Acting is a popular course available on Skillshare that can help you to get started. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

19. Podcast Editing and Production

The increasing popularity of podcasts creates another opportunity aside from starting and hosting your own podcast. There is a lot involved with editing and producing a podcast, and many podcasters choose to outsource this work. That means that you could offer services as a freelancer and meet this need.

Of course, this would be an ideal side hustle or home-based business if you have some experience with editing and production, but even if you have no experience, you could learn the basics relatively quickly.

Like any other freelance service that you could offer, you’ll be able to start making money as soon as you land your first client. And if you do a great job for your clients, they’ll probably continue to use you for each new episode, which means ongoing work for you.

Depending on how much money you’re looking to make and how frequently your clients record and publish new episodes, you might only need a few clients to have a successful business.

You could use sites like Fiverr and Upwork to find clients, or proactively reach out to podcasters and offer your services.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start to make money: Fast – If you have experience with editing audio, you can start making money as soon as you find your first client. If you have no experience, you’ll need a little bit of time to learn the basics, but you could still be making money within a few months or less.

Resources: Adobe Audition 101 for Podcasters: How to Apply Effects and Make Your Podcast Shine, a course available on Skillshare, will help you to get started. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

20. Video Production

Just like the rise in podcasting has opened more opportunities for podcast editors, the increasing popularity of video content has created more work related to video production.

As a video producer, you could be working for YouTubers, small businesses, or large companies. There are some remote jobs available where you would be working as an employee, but most likely you would be freelancing.

This is a flexible way to make money that could easily be done part-time or full-time, and you can do the work whenever it fits into your schedule, as long as you’re meeting the deadlines.

Ideally, you’ll have some existing video editing experience if this is a type of business that you want to start. Otherwise, you’ll need to dedicate time to learn in order to be able to do a great job for your clients.

Income potential: $10,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – Find your first client and start making money right away. If you need time to learn or perfect your skills before taking any clients, you’ll obviously need to plan for a longer wait before starting to earn anything.

Resources: Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners, available on Skillshare, is an excellent course that covers all the basics you’ll need to get started. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

21. Sell Handmade Crafts

If you’re crafty, you may want to consider starting an Etsy shop to sell your own handmade or vintage items. And while Etsy is incredibly popular, there are a number of other sites like Etsy where you could sell as well.

This option has plenty of potential, but you’ll want to be careful and calculate the amount of time you spend creating the items so you know how much money you’re actually making for your time.

While some sellers are able to do this full-time, most sellers use it as a side hustle to make some extra money.

And of course, you could also use Shopify or some other ecommerce platform to create your own website rather than only selling on Etsy or other marketplaces.

Income potential: $1,000 per month after one year, $3,000+ per month beyond that time.

Start making money: Slow – It will take time to build up your profile on Etsy or another platform and start making consistent sales.

Resources: See our article How to Start an Etsy Shop for a step-by-step lesson on how to get started.

22. Translation Work

If you’re fluent in two (or more) languages, working as a translator may be an excellent opportunity. There is high demand for translation work and most people aren’t qualified for it. So if you are qualified, why not take advantage of the opportunity?

Home-based translation work can involve translating text (like typing articles into a different language), recording audio or video, or translating over the phone.

A number of companies are hiring translators. In some cases, you would be an employee of the company, and other jobs would involve you working as a contractor.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average translator makes more than $61,000 per year.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – If you speak and write two or more languages, you can find translation work pretty quickly and start making money right away.

Resources: See our list of the Best Work-from-Home Translator Jobs.

23. Start a Rental Business

You might be surprised by the opportunities that are available to make money by renting your things out. This would involve renting things that you already own, and probably don’t use very often.

There are a lot of possibilities and I can’t cover them all here, but you can find plenty of details in this article about things you can rent. Some of the most popular options include:

  • Renting a room through Airbnb
  • Renting your car through Turo
  • Renting storage space through Neighbor
  • Renting an RV through RVshare
  • Renting baby stuff through BabyQuip
  • Renting just about anything through Fat Llama

Although all of these platforms can be extremely useful, you can also rent things out on your own without using any apps or websites.

Renting things out can be a great way to make money because you’re taking something that you don’t use and turning it into an income-producing asset. The amount of money that you can make is based more on the asset and less on the work that you’re doing. You’re not trading your time for money, so it can be somewhat passive.

For most people, this would be a part-time thing that would generate some extra money. In most cases, it’s not going to generate a full-time income.

Income Potential: Varies, depending on what you’re renting.

Start making money: Fast – Decide what you’re going to rent, list it, and start making money as soon as someone rents it, possibly within just a few days.

Resources: If you’re interested in this option, please see our article 20 Things You Can Rent Out for Extra Money to help you get started.

24. Become a Pet Sitter

If you’re an animal lover, one of the best ways to make money from home is to work as a pet sitter. Last year I interviewed Lily, who is making more than $40,000 per year with a simple pet sitting and dog walking business based out of a small house.

As a pet sitter, you could be watching pets while your clients are at work, and for a significant boost in revenue, you could also board pets overnight when their owners are traveling. Lily also offers dog walking as an additional cost for the dogs that she watches.

If you’re looking for a little extra money, you could do some pet sitting on a small scale and make a nice side income. And if you’re looking for something more significant, it’s a business that can be scaled up to a full-time income.

Pet sitting requires no particular skills or experience, so just about anyone can do it. And you won’t be constantly busy if you’re just watching a few pets, so you may be able to do other things during the day.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You can start making money very quickly by working as a pet sitter or dog walker.

Resources: Create a profile on Rover so pet owners in your area can find and hire you. Rover is very popular and there’s plenty of work available. Lily gets all of her clients through Rover.

25. Consulting or Coaching

One of the best ways to make use of the skills, knowledge, and experience that you already have is to work as a consultant or coach. The possibilities would depend on your background but some options would include:

  • Business or marketing consulting
  • Financial consulting
  • Executive coaching
  • Career coaching
  • Life coaching
  • Relationship coaching
  • Wellness coaching
  • And much more

Consultants and coaches are generally able to make a nice hourly rate, so there is plenty of potential to make a good income. If you can find enough clients, it could be something that you do full-time, but most likely it would be part-time.

The amount of time needed to build up your business and land clients would depend partly on your existing network. If you’ve worked in an industry for years and you have lots of connections, you may be able to build things up pretty quickly. But if you have limited connections, you may need more time to market your services.

Income potential: $10,000+ per month after the business established

Start making money: Slow – It will probably take some time to build up your business, promote your services and land clients. You might be able to speed up the process if you have a strong network.

Resources: Strategies to Find Consulting Clients and Win New Business is a course on Skillshare that can help you to get started. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

26. Become a Blog Editor or Manager

Earlier on this list we looked at options for starting your own blog or working as a freelance writer for other blogs. Another opportunity would be to work as a blog editor or manager. You could be responsible for things like managing a team of writers (probably freelancers), planning and scheduling content, and finding ideas for upcoming content.

This could be an ideal option if you have experience blogging, editing articles, or managing a team of remote workers.

As a blog editor or manager, you could be either an employee or a contractor. And it could be part-time or full-time.

Some virtual assistants offer services related to editing or managing blogs. You may want to consider starting a VA business and specializing in this area because many clients will search for a VA when they want to hire someone for this work.

Income potential: $5,000+ per month

Start making money: Varies – Blog editor or manager jobs aren’t as easy to find as freelance writing jobs. If you’re able to find a job quickly, you can start making money right away. But it’s also possible that it will take some time to find the right opportunity.

Resources: Curate Shareable & Likeable Content: Content Planning for Bloggers and Startups is a course on Skillshare that covers some topics that would be very valuable for you as a blog editor or manager. Use this link to get free access to the course for two months, plus access to all other courses on Skillshare.

27. Tutoring or Teaching

There are many online teaching and tutoring jobs that can be done from home. The requirements and qualifications can vary significantly. Some opportunities may require you to have a degree and teaching certification, others may require just a degree, and some do not even require a degree.

You could work as a full-time teacher for a cyber school, teach English to students around the world, or provide online tutoring in any other subject.

Most tutors work part-time, but teaching jobs could be part-time or full-time. According to ZipRecruiter, the average online teacher makes more than $41,000 per year.

Income potential: $3,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – There are a number of websites that offer teaching and tutoring work. If you meet the requirements, it’s possible to find some work very quickly. Finding a full-time remote teaching position would require more time and patience.

Resources: See our article on The Best Online Tutoring Jobs to find possibilities for getting started.

28. Do Other People’s Laundry

Sometimes providing a simple service can be an excellent way to make money, and one of those options is to do laundry for other people. Your clients may be too busy to do their own laundry, or they may be physically unable to do it.

Laundry Care offers laundry services in many cities throughout the U.S. and you can sign up to work as a contractor and do laundry from home. Their contractors get paid about $20 per bag of laundry (pay can vary depending on the details) and each bag contains 2-3 loads of laundry. If you work for Laundry Care, you’ll also be responsible for picking up and delivering to the client.

Of course, you could also offer this service and find clients on your own. Post an ad on Craigslist, local bulletin boards, or find clients through your personal network.

This is a job that almost anyone can do. You can also do other things while the laundry is being washed or dried, so it’s definitely not constant work.

Income potential: $1,000+ per month

Start making money: Fast – You can start making money as soon as you have your first client.

Resources: Visit Laundry Care and check the map to see if it’s available in your area.

29. Become a Search Engine Evaluator

If you’re looking for flexible part-time work, becoming a search engine evaluator could be a good option. Search engines pay contractors to manually evaluate search engine results (including ads) to make sure that the results are as relevant as possible.

Most search engine evaluators make about $12-$15 per hour and can work hours that they choose. It’s not the most lucrative opportunity, but it’s flexible work that can be done from home.

The downside to this opportunity is that there is not enough work to make it a full-time income. The jobs are a bit hard to come by, so you may not be able to find work right away.

Income potential: $1,000+ per month

Start making money: Slow – If you’re able to find work right away, you could start making money very fast. However, there are more people interested in this work than there are jobs available, so you might not be able to find work right away.

Resources: See our article on search engine evaluator jobs to find the companies that are hiring and more details about the work.

30. Take Online Surveys

Taking online surveys can be an option if you’re looking for an easy way to earn a few hundred dollars per month.

The earning potential is not very high but it is an extremely flexible side hustle that anyone can do, and you can start immediately.

There are a few different types of survey sites out there. Survey Junkie and Branded Surveys focus specifically on surveys and that’s all they offer. Other sites like Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and MyPoints will give you a number of different ways to earn more, including surveys.

If you want to maximize your earning potential, you’ll need to join a few different sites. With an account at a few different sites, you’ll have access to more surveys and you’ll be able to earn more.

Income potential: $300 per month

Start making money: Fast – Sign up for a few survey sites and start making money today.

Resources: The best survey sites are Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, InboxDollars, MyPoints, and Vindale Research.

This article has covered a lot of different opportunities and a lot of information. If you’re looking for a way to make money from home, take the time to compare these options and see which one might be the best fit for you.


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