40 Lucrative Ways to Make Money on the Side
So - maybe you've found yourself with extra time on your hands and the itch to make money on the side.
But there's one missing piece.
You need a profitable side hustle idea that will be successful, sustainable, and enjoyable!
The good news is that there are hundreds of lucrative side hustles to start making money on the side.
We've put together 41 lucrative side hustle ideas to help get the wheels turning for you:
1. Start a mom blog
Parenting may be an overwhelming journey. Mothers result to the internet to read stories from other moms.
Reading mom’s blogs makes parenting feel less alone a long way. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or passionate about parenting, you can consider starting a mommy blog.
You can make money through affiliate links or by selling your merchandise on the blog. To increase traffic to your blog, include resourceful and encouraging content.
How much you can make: $3,000 — $10,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 150 days (?)
Mom blogger creates two related businesses, one generating 8-10k Canadian dollars per month in traffic revenue, and another offering courses to new bloggers about how to monetize their sites, all at an initial investment of $2,000, and largely based on her Pinterest presence.
2. Start a freelance writing business
Freelance writing can be a good career choice if you are looking for a flexible online job.
Working as a freelancer gives you the flexibility to define your work schedule. You can work from home at any time. Freelance writers work across various niches, writing about various topics assigned by the client,
To earn good money as a freelance writer, you need the following personal qualities:
- Strong writing skills
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Stay on the cutting edge
- Be a self-starter
- Be up-to-date with the current writing tools & writing trends
- Proper communication skills
How much you can make: $700 — $500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 56 days (?)
How David Tile turned a freelance writing gig into an $80k/month business, discussing lessons learned through managing growing demands and maintaining a remote team operation.
3. Start a finance blog
A finance blog is a feature appearing as part of an online publication relating to finance and consisting of articles or personal commentary. A finance blog earns income through sponsored content or simple marketing programs. To succeed in business, a finance blogger should:
- Have a good writing background
- Understand the industry from a concept or fundamental standpoint
- Be passionate about the topics
- Be well organized and maximize the work schedule.
Starting a finance blog involves a low financial investment, while there is a considerable possibility for success. There are minimal overhead costs, saving you time and money. Therefore, starting a finance blog is an incredible business opportunity.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $3,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
Financial media company MarketBeat, founded by Matt Paulson, provides objective financial information and real-time market data to empower individual stock investors to make better trading decisions, generating approximately $8 million in revenue in 2019 and ending the year with over 1.3 million unique email subscribers due to a freemium model with 75% of revenue from advertising and 25% from subscriptions.
4. Start a food delivery business
In today’s busy lifestyles and schedules, cooking is no longer a priority to many. People like to order-in food from their nearest restaurants or food joints and enjoy a meal in the comfort of their homes.
The food delivery business is like a courier service through which restaurants deliver food to their customers.
You can offer retail food delivery services to restaurants within your locality if you have a truck. Customers order through a restaurant or grocer’s website, and the owners contact you to deliver.
How much you can make: $14,000 — $1,800,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Food Fleet grew over 160% in just one year and managed over 20 million in sales for its clients, securing multiple contracts with the likes of Sodexo, Levy Restaurants and more, due to its understanding of catering client needs and its advanced turnkey and design services.
5. Start a healthy meal delivery service
Meal prep delivery services offer healthy and nutritional meals to customers via e-commerce sites.
These services provide either DIY meal kits or Ready-to-eat meals, saving time and eliminating food waste.
They are particularly beneficial for busy people and health-conscious millennials who prefer nutritional food at home.
There are two types of meal services: online meal kits and fast food delivery services.
A meal prep delivery business can be profitable, especially when compared to restaurants, as they save costs on a storefront.
To make a good profit, one should invest less in groceries and ensure they have many customers.
How much you can make: $60,000 — $300,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 7 days (?)
Healthy Chew is a profitable weekly meal preparation service that grew from 200 to 10,000 weekly bowls in just over 3 years, with an overall sales figure of $1.8 million, achieved through effective branding and personalised customer service.
6. Start a party supply store
If you love fun activities and helping other people enjoy their parties, starting a party store in your neighborhood can be a rewarding and profitable business.
Party stores sell balloons, decorations, costumes, novelties, confectionaries, theme party wear, and other party supplies.
If you are starting a party store, you may choose to join it as an affiliate or enter a franchise. A party store is a low-to-entry business venture and can be rewarding in the long run.
How much you can make: $25,000 — $500,000/month
How long does it take to build: 183 days (?)
BACH, an app that plans and books bachelorette parties, has grown from $0 to >$1M net revenue run rate in less than 6 months, gained over 100,000 users in their first 60 days, and has over 40,000 parties using the app this month.
7. Start a custom prints business
Custom print businesses often focus on printing everything, including business cards, photos, and even custom T-shirts.
To start an online custom prints business, choose a niche to help your business stand out and attract the right target audience. Then, focus on producing quality prints of different sizes, materials, and designs. You may hire designers online or search for designs in online design communities. Then, validate the designs before you begin mass production. Finally, set up an online store, and launch the business.
Remember that with the growth in popularity of selling custom prints, expect to face stiff competition. Therefore, you should market your custom prints on social media to maximize your reach.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $3,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 365 days (?)
Framed Tweets, an online store that offers customers the opportunity to frame tweets as art, started by grossing $20k in its first year and increasing to $110k in the second year, and now has monthly gross sales of $20k from Instagram ads, spending about $300 a day.
8. Start a newsletter
Did you know that in the past five years, there has been more than a 50% increase in the number of people who read newsletters?
Newsletters are one of the few things you can use to market yourself as a trusted expert. A well-written newsletter can educate your subscribers and build connections with them.
Email newsletters are a great way to connect with customers and potential customers. It’s a newsletter’s job to inform, persuade, and sell to your audience.
How much you can make: $160 — $4,100,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
Financial media company MarketBeat, founded by Matt Paulson, provides objective financial information and real-time market data to empower individual stock investors to make better trading decisions, generating approximately $8 million in revenue in 2019 and ending the year with over 1.3 million unique email subscribers due to a freemium model with 75% of revenue from advertising and 25% from subscriptions.
9. Become a delivery driver
The delivery driver side hustle can be a fantastic idea if you own a delivery car and a valid driver’s license. Receiving deliveries at home or at the office has become an almost undeniable convenience for most people. There are more and more platforms that deliver all kinds of products and, therefore, the demand for couriers is also increasing.
As an independent delivery driver, you choose your most convenient working hours, and the more deliveries you complete, the more your earnings. Besides, you interact with a wide range of people from different backgrounds.
Your core roles will include loading and unloading cargo, delivering goods to the customer, accepting any payments for shipments, and handling paperwork.
How much you can make: $25,000/month
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 10 hours/week
Muver is a mobile app for gig workers allowing them to multi-app seamlessly between Uber, Uber Eats, Doordash, Grubhub, Lyft, Instacart, and more within a single app with over $270k revenue in the past 12 months.
10. Create an online course
An online course business involves creating and selling digital classes teaching specialized skills or knowledge to subscribed students.
As an entrepreneurial course creator, you identify educational gaps around topics you have expertise in and develop engaging video lessons and supplementary materials.
With flexibility around self-paced or cohort-based structures, building a student base provides passive income potential.
For founders who enjoy information-sharing, launching an online course platform presents a lucrative way to monetize your instructional talents with small startup costs by serving eager lifelong learners seeking convenient access to emerging subjects.
How much you can make: $275 — $1,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 88 days (?)
Learn how one couple created a successful personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, that now makes over $20,000 per month and has sold thousands of digital workbooks and courses, by focusing on purposeful content and optimizing their ROI with efficient time management.
11. Start a career coaching business
A career coaching business involves providing personalized guidance, support, and strategy services to help clients navigate professional transitions and growth opportunities.
As a career coach, you design custom sessions to assist with resume building, interview prep, and workplace advancement goals tailored to each client’s aspirations.
With flexibility for in-person or virtual meetings, building a client base lets you empower breakthroughs through specialized advice and accountability.
Launching a coaching practice can be a great opportunity for those with speaking talents and human resources expertise to monetize their natural motivational abilities while setting their own schedule.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $235,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Wall Street Oasis, the largest online community focused on careers in finance, has over 100 million visitors during its 14-year history and is currently receiving over 2 million visits per month, offering interview courses and mentorship services, in addition to building and investing in a thriving online community.
12. Become a shopify app developer
Have you thought about a career building Shopify apps?
Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company that provides an online platform for entrepreneurs to set up their own online stores and sell products. Shopify is now valued at over $45B (as of 2022) with over 1.75M merchants using the platform worldwide.
To be able to build a plugin for Shopify, you need to know how to code. If not, then at least have some knowledge of HTML and CSS. You also need experience in the Shopify API and some basic knowledge about the Liquid template language for Shopify.
How much you can make: $150 — $65,000/month
How long does it take to build: 115 days (?)
ByteStand, a software development company run by ecommerce experts, created Shopify apps, including FreshCredit and FBA Shipping, which generate approximately $17,000 per month in revenue, with over 2,000 shops using their software.
13. Start a subscription box business
Subscription box businesses offer customers a niche set of products on a monthly basis.
They're in high demand as they add value to customer service, offer exclusive products and can be highly profitable.
To start a subscription box business, understand your niche market, provide quality products, perfect your box design, build a good relationship with fulfillment companies, and market your service.
How much you can make: $400 — $400,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $210 (?)
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Vowed Box Co. is a line of curated, quirky gift boxes with non-traditional brides in mind, offering four different products that have helped the business become profitable most months since its launch in 2018, with a monthly income of roughly $600.
14. Start an online t-shirt business
Running a t-shirt business is an opportunity many entrepreneurs are looking into as a side hustle or even a full-time business opportunity. While having your own physical store is possible, online businesses are becoming extremely popular in this field.
Launching your own successful online t-shirt business may feel daunting, but with the guidance & insights from people who are already pioneering this industry, it’s simpler than you may think. You can start with selling customized quotes t-shirts, tie-dye prints/screen printing t-shirts, or solid color t-shirts. The opportunities for this industry are endless.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $275,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 7 days (?)
Texas-born apparel brand Tumbleweed TexStyles has grown to serve over 150 retailers throughout the southern United States, selling an estimated 90,000+ products yearly and making an annual $1.2m in sales, thanks to the founders' unique designs, focus on giving back to the education community and successful “guerilla marketing” tactics.
15. Start a property flipping business
Are you thinking about getting into the property flipping business?
Flipping houses (or homes) involves buyers purchasing distressed properties, fixing them up, and then reselling them for a good profit. The trick is to find a house that you can buy below market value and then turn around, sell it, and make money on it.
16. Start a pet store
Pet stores are retail businesses that sell animals and pet supplies. They are a leading industry category with sales of approximately $4.5B U.S dollars and positive sales growth of 2.7%.
You can set up a pet store in many places, like supermarkets, malls, or pet supply stores.
The first thing to do is to find a location for your store. A good place would be an area with many residential buildings, schools, and colleges as this will give you access to many customers. It would help if you also looked for a location near public transport as it will make it easier for people to come and visit your store.
How much you can make: $400 — $1,833,333/month
How long does it take to build: 238 days (?)
Mechanical engineer and avid bike rider Mike Leon turned his hobby of creating a safe bike-to-leash attachment for his service dog into a 6-figure business, shipping from hundreds to thousands of 1-Running-Dog Bike Tow Leashes per year to dog owners, military and law enforcement, and search and rescue teams.
17. Start a Greeting Cards Business
People use greeting cards to mark births, deaths, graduations, anniversaries, and other parties or events.
If you love helping people celebrate special occasions, starting a greeting card business can be a great business opportunity.
When starting a greeting card business, choose a potential niche and write a business plan.
Then, find an ideal spot to sell the greeting cards.
For instance, you can offer greeting card design and posting services, so customers can choose the best designs and post greeting cards online.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $100,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $8,750 (?)
How long does it take to build: 77 days (?)
Joker Greeting sells unique prank gifts, including a non-stop musical birthday card, an idea raised by the founders visiting their mom's house, having no website or marketing and yet raising $92,073 on Kickstarter in 30 days due to being picked up by media, enabling them to sell 15,000 units in the first year, owned SEO for their niche, selling almost 40,000 units in 2017 and expected to reach 50,000 to 60,000 in 2018 with a small team, using Shopify and various social media channels with lots of organic traffic.
18. Start a jewelry making business
The global jewelry market size was valued at $278B in 2018 and is expected to reach $292B by 2025.
The industry comprises manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and jewelry designers. Unlike many other industries that have gone through leaps in technology, the jewelry industry has remained untouched for over 40 years.
If you know how to make jewelry, then this might be a great way to make some extra money.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $2,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)
A primary school teacher found his passion for jewelry-making, turning it into a successful business generating $2500-3000 per month through sales at the Creative Queenstown Arts and Crafts Market, online, and through stockists, with plans to expand and eventually make it his full-time profession.
19. Start a NFT marketplace
An NFT marketplace is an online site for crypto-collectibles and non-fungible tokens where traders can buy-sell and discover exclusive digital items.
Launching an NFT marketplace requires setting up a blockchain network, integrating a chosen digital wallet, and creating smart contracts. Finally, you need to build a customer-facing web application.
Experts estimate that NFT marketplaces will continue experiencing a YoY growth of 30.72%.
Therefore, NFTs are becoming some of the most profitable blockchain-based experiments.
How much you can make: $30,000 — $1,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 212 days (?)
RMRK developed the most advanced NFT system in the world, generating $1 million per month in volume and $30k per month in revenue, due to founder Bruno's hack to put NFTs onto a chain without smart contracts.
20. Become a mobile personal trainer
Do you love helping people through their fitness journey? If you want a great side hustle to earn extra income, consider becoming a personal trainer.
The fitness trainer side hustle can be an adamant industry to earn good money. However, once you develop a reputation as a good trainer, you can get more clients through referrals. You need to register for the certification course to start offering personal trainer services .
To attract your first clients, consider online advertising, and seek referrals from every customer.
How much you can make: $600 — $60,000/month
How long does it take to build: 365 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 4 hours/week
Sweat from Home is a two-way, interactive, and live-streaming group fitness workout startup that has held over 800 classes since March 2020, generates $25k in monthly recurring revenue, and has donated over $7k to 6 different charities; they aim to become the world's best live-streamed fitness class.
21. Start a landscaping business
A landscaping business is engaged in maintaining lawns and gardens, trimming trees and shrubs, and providing landscape maintenance and beautification services. Landscaping costs vary depending on the size and location.
For small jobs such as taking care of the lawn and trees, the cost can vary from $50 to $100 per hour. The average wage of a landscape designer is $70,000 to $90,000, and a landscape architect makes around $50,000 to $100,000 per year. For basic maintenance and mowing services, a single person who runs a landscaping business can get started with as little as $5,000 or less. However, a proper landscaping business will require a large investment. The average start-up cost is between $15,000 to $20,000.
Once the type of service is decided, the list of tools and equipment can be purchased. The best way to succeed in a landscaping business is to provide quality service. This will not only retain existing clients but also promote and attract new customers.
How much you can make: $2,000 — $375,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $8,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
GreenPal has bootstrapped their business to over $30 million a year in revenue, after securing an unsecured line of credit for $85,000, and have built the operating system and platform for small lawncare companies to run their entire business through, becoming live in all 50 US states and having 1.2 million homeowners using the platform.
22. Start a time tracking app
A time tracking app is a tool used allows its user to clock in/out via an internet-connected device or to use a stopwatch to record the start and end of tasks. The time tracker apps also have analytics and reporting features that consolidate the data so that users can gain insights into time spent on different tasks, projects, and clients.
The growing need among managers and enterprises to improve employee productivity and adopt a remote work culture contribute to the high demand for time-tracking apps.
Therefore, if you are looking for the best App-based business, you may consider developing a time tracker application. Here is a high-level overview of some steps to get you started working on your business idea of the time tracker App
- Define the project scope
- Choose a software development methodology
- Formulate the approach for your development project
- Create a project team
- Develop the project plan with timelines
- Test the prototypes
- Find suitable API solutions
- Publish the Apps
How much you can make: $350 — $500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Labor Sync is a mobile application that provides business owners with the ability to track the time and GPS location of their mobile workforce and after just one year of use, they saved $104,000 across 45 employees despite starting off with no funds for advertising or marketing.
23. Start a social media management business
Similar to virtual assistants, social media managers offer various services, including but not limited to:
- Developing a marketing strategy based on clients’ goals
- Setting up social media accounts
- Posting on behalf of their clients
- Coming up with strategies for increasing client’s social media following
- Marketing analysis.
To become a social media manager, know the various platforms and understand how they work so you can develop strategies that help clients reach their goals.
The beauty of working as a social media manager is that you can define your work schedule and choose what niches to work on.
How much you can make: $100 — $550,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
This case study is about how the founder of AdvertiseMint, a Facebook advertising agency, started the company with just one employee and has since grown it to 25 employees, managing close to $100 million in digital media buys for clients such as Coca-Cola and Viacom.
24. Start a board game business
Creating your own board game can be fun, challenging, and rewarding. Games are an integral part of our culture and are played by people from all walks of life.
You can create a board game from scratch with basic programming knowledge or several hours of practice. Board games are easy to manufacture, can be made from home, and can become top-rated and profitable businesses.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $250,000/month
How long does it take to build: 61 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 10 hours/week
Facade Games has raised over $1 million on Kickstarter and sold about 80,000 copies of their board games around the world, with the goal to publish one new game a year on Kickstarter and build on their line of games in books as well as a new party game line in the near future.
25. Start an earring business
An earring business is one type of jewelry business specializing in manufacturing, wholesaling, and retailing a range of earrings. An earring business could involve designing earrings as jewelry for use in multiple pieces of jewelry or designing them for freelance fashion designers and clothing stores.
Earrings are a fantastic starter project for beginners. Earrings also have some quick success as people love to wear them and often have pierced ears ready to receive your creations.
Earring businesses have been growing in popularity and have the potential to bring in a good income. Running an earring business is creative, challenging, and exciting. Earrings have been on woman's ears for centuries. To put it simply, jewelry is one of the oldest trades around.
How much you can make: $2,500 — $500,000/month
A primary school teacher found his passion for jewelry-making, turning it into a successful business generating $2500-3000 per month through sales at the Creative Queenstown Arts and Crafts Market, online, and through stockists, with plans to expand and eventually make it his full-time profession.
26. Start a woodworking business
While many see woodworking as a hobby to pass the time, it is a profitable blue-collar business with growth potential. If you are skilled, passionate, and looking for a blue-collar side hustle, consider starting a woodworking business.
Starting a woodworking business allows you to work from home. Besides, you can scale the business easily and enjoy unlimited earning potential. Some opportunities you can go for include building custom wood pieces, teaching others about woodworking, starting a woodworking blog, and flip furniture.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $40,001/month
How long does it take to build: 204 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
Sasha Weekes, owner of Timber Grove Studios, turned her fine arts and cabinetmaking education into a successful home-based woodworking business that grew from a side project to netting 20-50% profits month-to-month and up to $10,000 in sales during peak periods through Etsy, with her company's growth continuing to increase through other social media outlets.
27. Start a payment app
A payment app lets you accept payments from anywhere, using your mobile phone or tablet. It’s best for business owners and professionals to get payments for products or services occasionally or irregularly.
Starting a payment app is an excellent way of making passive income online. It doesn’t require much initially, and the revenue can be significant.
Payment apps are quite popular nowadays, allowing people to pay for goods and services with the tap of a button on their phones. Creating a new payment app can help you capture a share of this growing industry and virtually endless niche for your business.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $2,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 165 days (?)
Payment.co, an app built on top of the Stripe payment gateway for creating card-present charges, has grown to process over $70M in volume annually since launching in 2015, with the app collecting a 1% service fee on every single charge.
28. Start a hot sauce business
Hot sauce is one of the most popular condiments in the world, and it's easy to see why: it's versatile, delicious, and can add some serious flavor to almost anything you put it on—and not just for people who like spicy foods! Hot sauce can be used to create complex flavors that are perfect for anyone looking for a little extra pep in their step.
So, if you love hot sauce and you also love money, it turns out, you can start and run a hot sauce business! You can make it yourself or you can buy it in stores and resell it to earn some good profit.
If you are planning to make the hot sauce yourself you’ll need some initial capital to purchase ingredients and equipment for making the hot sauce, as well as packaging materials such as bottles and labels.
The average hot sauce lover will try and consume about 2-3 unique hot sauces in a week, which means there's a lot of money to be made in this industry!
How much you can make: $2,250 — $200,000/month
How long does it take to build: 190 days (?)
Trini Pepper Sauce co-founder and co-owner, Mustafa Mannan, shares how he successfully imported and manufactured his family's unique pepper sauce recipe and launched it through a Kickstarter campaign, now selling an average of $3,000/month in revenue.
29. Start a Backyard Plant Nursery
Do you have a gardening hobby and want to turn your passion into a profitable business with a minimum entry barrier?
Starting a backyard plant nursery is relatively easy, and the financial benefits can be rewarding. The secret to maximizing your profitability is specializing in plants that are in high demand, like vegetables and flowers.
To start, you can visit the nearby retail nurseries for seedlings and see what they stock and retail. To keep the startup cost low, consider using locally available materials.
How much you can make: $5,000/month
Camelliashop.com, a small US-based plant business specializing in Camellias and Tea Plants, increased its business 200% within one month of launching its ecommerce website in 2007.
30. Start a marketing agency
Marketing agencies can be a great option for businesses looking to advertise in different ways. For businesses, hiring a marketing company can help them achieve success as they don't have to spend money on employees or needed equipment. Marketing agencies are not inexpensive and there are many different variables that come into play when deciding which one is the best fit for your business.
You want to start a marketing agency, but don't know where to begin. You're not alone, there are thousands of entrepreneurs across the globe that have the same ambition. Luckily for you, compiled a list of how other agencies were able to grow their agency and scale effectively.
How much you can make: $1,300 — $8,500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 45 days (?)
A successful podcast production company that grew from one client making $15/hour to a team of 10 contractors producing over 30 shows per week with revenue of over $10k/mo, primarily through referrals and with a focus on providing high personal touch and being picky about working only with clients who are a good fit.
31. Build an API
API is the acronym for “application programming interface” and is a software intermediary connecting applications.
More and more companies are adopting a digital business strategy to streamline their operations and provide better customer service.
Many benefits come with using an API, and we’ve compiled a list of the best API businesses today.
How much you can make: $3,600 — $90,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $400 (?)
How long does it take to build: 95 days (?)
Geocode.xyz, a geolocation API, has grown from thousands of daily users to over a hundred million in monthly API calls to revenues of over $15k per month, showing over 1,000% growth in the past year while providing a geocoding API for the world.
32. Start a life coaching business
Life coach helps people in various areas of their lives using a combination of emotional intelligence, professional knowledge, and experience.
Life coaching is a popular industry worth over $2.85 billion, and the number of life coaches has increased by 33% between 2015-2019.
This is a very profitable business and can be started at virtually no cost. You’ll need a computer, a high-speed Internet connection, and a LinkedIn account to start. Then, you can begin coaching part-time in your spare time until you build up your clientele.
How much you can make: $100 — $120,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $750 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
GrowthMentor, a platform connecting vetted growth mentors for one-on-one calls, founded by Fotis Panagiotakopoulos, has had over 2,500 mentorship calls booked to date and has seen success in using word of mouth, content marketing, and leveraging other people's networks as the primary drivers of customer acquisition.
33. Start a campervan conversion business
Campervan conversion is growing in popularity. The main reason behind its popularity is it is a cheaper alternative for buying a new campervan.
If you plan to start a campervan conversion business, you can offer the customers a readymade campervan or a camper van conversion service. A readymade campervan model is where you purchase a caravan, convert it into a campervan, then sell it to outdoor lovers, or even rent the camper van. As a service, a customer drives to your workshop and requests you to convert their van into a camper.
The readymade option offers a wider profit margin, but there is a risk of waiting longer to sell the campervan. Conversion as a service has less profit, but there is more certainty when getting your money back.
How much you can make: $220,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Bryan+Jen Danger broke away from the 9-5 to create ZENVANZ, where they create campervan conversions, and their bootstrapped business now makes $8k a month with no marketing costs.
34. Start a personalized gift business
Personalized gifts are great for celebrating important dates, joyous occasions, and memorable moments. The personalized gifts include photo frames, key chains, to group gifts.
A personalized gifts business is a low-capital idea since you do not need a physical storefront or office space to start the business. Besides, you can put as much time into the business as possible, which means you can run the business as a side hustle.
Check out our guide on how to start a personalized gift business
How much you can make: $1,000 — $800,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Meet Tyler Macke, the 21-year-old founder of SendAFriend, an e-commerce brand that sells stuffed animal care packages, which began with $50k in revenue in 2019 and is now on track to make $5M in revenue this year, while donating 10% of revenue to children's hospitals throughout the United States.
35. Start a SEO & lead generation service
Lead generation focuses on attracting prospects to a business and increasing their interest by nurturing them and converting them into customers. Lead generation experts help businesses collect information about potential customers and turn them into leads.
To become a lead generation expert, you must learn the fundamentals of lead generation and gain experience in various digital marketing areas.
How much you can make: $8,000 — $200,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,750 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
A link building company co-founded by Justas Markus has grown to make an average of $35k per month in recurring revenue with a focus on delivering high-quality services through manual processes and focusing on fewer markets.
36. Become a sports blogger
The sports blogger business involves creating a website or platform where you write about various sports topics, share insights, and engage with an audience interested in sports.
To start this business on a budget, you’ll need a computer, an internet connection, and basic writing skills.
Begin by choosing a specific niche within sports (like a particular sport, team, or type of content) to focus on.
Consistently create high-quality, engaging content and promote your blog through social media and online communities to build an audience over time.
Monetize your blog through methods like affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and advertising once you have a steady flow of visitors.
How much you can make: $250 — $18,400/month
How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
Craig Calcaterra's daily baseball and culture Substack newsletter Cup of Coffee has amassed just under 10,500 subscribers, with over 3,300 paying monthly ($6) or annual ($65) subscriptions, achieving average monthly revenue of around $18,400 and growing.
37. Start a tour company
Starting a tour company is a great way to bring your love of travel to life. You can share your passion with others and help make their dream vacations come true!
There are many types of tour businesses, so choosing something you are passionate about and knowledgeable about is best. Here are a few of the most popular tour companies to start:
- Food & Drink Tours
- Adventure & Sporting Tours
- Sightseeing & Historical Tours
- Shopping Tours
- and many more!
It’s also essential to determine what mode of transportation you want for your tour company, as this will determine the initial startup costs needed for your company.
To get started, find out if you need a license to operate in your state. Some states require tour companies to be licensed, while others do not. If you are required to be licensed, talk with the licensing agency to find out what steps must be taken before you can apply for that license.
How much you can make: $3,750 — $500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
How Jessica Baumgart founded a successful food tour business in Denver, which broke even and started making a profit after just three months, generating $20,000/month in revenue from offering different food tour experiences.
38. Start a mobile photography business
Want to start your own photography business? You're not alone. With the rise of social media and photo-sharing, blogging, and online retailing, it's never been easier to start making money behind your camera.
There are photographers shooting weddings, creating images for ad campaigns, freelancing for magazines, touring the world, taking photographs of destinations — the list is endless!
To start mobile photography , research the target audience and determine which specialization area is more lucrative. Invest in high-quality, professional cameras, lenses, and a computer with professional software photo-editing software.
How much you can make: $2,000 — $500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 190 days (?)
Photobooth Supply Co. offers a profitable business opportunity through their sleek and portable photo booths, with up to 97% satisfaction rate and a focus on customer experience, in a fast-growing event industry where photo booths are exploding.
39. Start a travel agency
Are you a passionate traveler with entrepreneurial skills? Then starting a travel agency can be a great career choice for you.
As a travel agency, you'll be responsible for linking travelers to providers of all the travel and tourism-related services such as accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, tour guides, local adventure, etc.
Starting an online travel agency is a lot easier than you might think. You'll need to perform market research, get a few necessary certifications (such as your IATA number), study competition, build a website, and do proper marketing.
To maximize earnings, negotiate discounts from the industry service providers, and charge travelers within the market rate.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $1,500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,250 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Marissa Daniels runs a successful travel agency, Spread Your Wings Travel, that hit $100,000 in sales within a year of launch and provides payment plan options for its all-inclusive vacations, and she hopes to help 100 families supplement their income through the business.
40. Start a wireframing software business
Do you have a knack for design and a passion for tech? Starting a wireframing software business might be your calling.
Wireframing software is a tool used by UI/UX designers to plan and mock up the layout of websites and apps. Your business would develop and sell software that simplifies this creative process, enabling designers to focus more on innovation and less on logistics.
The growing demand for intuitive, user-friendly interfaces in digital products means there’s a burgeoning market for this software. You’ll need a solid grasp of design principles, software development, and user experience to get started, but the potential rewards are significant.
Invest in proper research and development to ensure your product meets the needs of modern designers. If the tech industry excites you and you’re ready for the challenge, a wireframing software business can be a profitable and fulfilling endeavor.
How much you can make: $6,000 — $550,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $675 (?)
How long does it take to build: 562 days (?)
Founder Brian Nyagol started Brainverse Technologies in Kenya, Africa, focusing on helping small and medium-sized enterprises digitize their business, digitalize their processes and build effective digital footprints, with an average monthly revenue of $4,500, serving a total of 113 clients in the past 2 years through referrals and online advertising.
Conclusion
Finding a "good idea" is not only hard, but it's a decision that will change the course of your life.
Once you make the plunge, you will be “stuck” with it for a long time.
But here’s the thing: finding a good idea is not rocket science. It just requires some patience and critical thinking + some time to step back and make sure you’re checking all the right boxes.
We hope you were able to get the juices flowing from this post 😊.
Thanks for reading!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
