33+ Side Job Ideas

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Side jobs are a great way to make money with free time you have in the evening, weekends, and even early morning hours.  If you’re motivated and want to make anywhere from $20 to $200+ each week in side jobs, I’m absolutely confident that you can achieve that with some of these jobs.  I know because I’m living proof.  It’s not always easy, and sometimes you have to wake up really early and make a few sacrifices – but if you’re needing to earn money with side jobs, here’s a great list of side job ideas that you can draw from.

1. Freelance Writing  If you have a knack for writing and want to get paid for your skills, you can market your talent on freelance writing job boards or sign up to be a contributor for Yahoo Contributor Network or Hub Pages.

2. Auto Detailing  You don’t need much to start an auto detailing business.  Pick up a few cleaning supplies from Autozone or Walmart, make a few flyers and approach businesses or homes in your neighborhood about a ‘mobile auto detailing’ service.  You can easily make $70 – $120 per car.  This was a great job for me during my college years.

3. Babysitting  Make yourself available on the weekends or even during days that you know you’ll be off from work (holidays, etc) and you could take home a few extra dollars by babysitting.  I’ve even heard that pet sitting is a good way to make an extra $20 in a weekend.

4. Car Repair  Know a thing or two about repairing or restoring cars?  I once helped my Dad restore a neighbor’s car and we made a few thousand dollars from it. Not bad for a summer of side work.

5. Woodworking  If you can use a jig saw like no other, you can make money.  If you create custom furniture or home furnishings, you can list them on eBay or Craigslist or even put up a website to sell them to anyone who’s interested.

6. Jewelry Making  You’ll be surprised what people are looking for when it comes to jewelry.  If you can make unique pieces of jewelry, you might find a buyer through eBay or Etsy.com – a site where you can sell your handmade creations.

7. Home Made Candles  It’s easy to make candles and the markup is very good.  Like jewelry, you can sell it online or even find local stores that will sell it for you.  Check out this recipe on how to make beeswax candles.

8. eBay Business  Starting an eBay business is a great way to make extra money.  You can sell stuff you already have (we paid for Christmas doing this last year!), visit garage sales and resell treasures you’ve found, or make your own things and sell them.

9. Office Cleaning Every business office needs to be cleaned.  This is a great job if you want steady evening work, because you have to wait for the office to clear out before you can start cleaning.  Approach local businesses and churches to see if you can provide cleaning services at a lower price than what they’re paying.

10. Pet Services – Love dogs?  There’s a job for that.  You can walk, wash, pet-sit, board overnight, groom and make dog treats as a side job.  People love their pets, so you might be busier than you think with this one.  Oh…and don’t forget the pet waste removal side job…

11. Music lessons  This can be very lucrative and not too time consuming.  I provided saxophone lessons once a week for 30 minutes and made $20.  Every month I made enough to fill my car with gas.  Well worth it for a quick 30-minute lesson – plus I got to do something I really enjoyed!

12. Tutoring Sessions  While my brother studied to be a teacher, he had a few side jobs tutoring students in math.  The going rate is about $20-$30 per half hour in some areas, so don’t sell yourself cheap if you know how to teach others.

13. Accounting Services  Do you know how to keep well organized and manage transactions and business accounting software?  You can really be valuable to a business if you understand bookkeeping and can start a great side business doing it.

14. Tax Preparation  Everyone needs to file taxes if they have a job. If you’re comfortable and knowledgeable with tax preparation, you can hire out your service around tax time and make a few hundred dollars easily with tax prep.

15. Craft Making  Like to sew or knit?  What about making scrapbooks or other crafts?  Make extras to sell and see if your friend are willing to buy your crafts.  You may even have local boutiques in town that allow you to sell in their shop.

16. Parking Service Do you live near a baseball field or high traffic downtown area?   You might be able to make a few extra dollars by renting out your parking spots to game-goers.  To be honest, I’m not sure if you have to have a special permit, but it was worth bringing up as an idea!

17. Painting Service  Here’s another realistic business idea that can be profitable on the weekends or evenings.  You can set yourself apart by learning how to paint rooms in a unique way and hiring out yourself as a specialty painting professional.  Or, you can take a more simple route and paint a neighbor’s fence or shed – it’s up to you!

18. Yard Work  This is a great job for teens and adults.  You can set up a recurring job like mowing or look for specialty work like creating mulch beds around trees or cleaning up debris.

19. Handyman Service  Put up an ad on Craigslist or in your local hardware store and you could make a few quick dollars doing small repairs or installations in homes.  Better check with an insurance company before you get jobs that are too big.

20. Website Design  It’s surprising how many old looking websites are around today.  Many small business and church websites can really use an update, so if you’re comfortable with WordPress, you might be able to make a few hundred dollars in designing and setting up simple websites.

21. Graphic Design   Are you a whiz with photoshop or illustrator?  You can market yourself as a graphic designer and create ads and flyers for anyone in need of a fresh look.

22. T-shirt design  Have some cool ideas for a shirt, don’t let the logistics of making and selling shirts keep you from starting.  An online site called Café Press allows you to upload your design, create a storefront and sell shirts without the need to make and ship them.  Café Press takes care of all the details for you and gives you a commission of the sale price – about 20% but you can adjust the price to earn more.

23. Music gigs  You can make good money playing at weddings, funerals, and Christmas parties.  My wife plays violin and made over $200 playing one gig last Christmas.

24. Personal Training – With the New Year around the corner, people are going to be setting goals to lose weight and to get in shape.  Put your services in front of them this fall and try to get a few clients going.

25. Health Coach  If you are a knowledgeable about nutrition and have been certified, you can be a nutritional consultant and help people with meal planning and even exercise routines that help them to get in shape.

26. Pizza Delivery  Dave Ramsey wasn’t kidding when he said you should go deliver pizzas.  It’s a decent way to make money on the side.

27. Valet Parking  You don’t need much to start a valet parking business.  If you’re familiar with the business model, you can start your own service and keep the profits for yourself!

28. Video Production  Technology is becoming more widespread and church, schools, and businesses need talented people like you to create videos to share their message with the public.

29. Pampered Chef  (reader’s suggestion) Owned by Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, the Pampered Chef Company is designed to give people the opportunity to sell kitchenware and other goods via hosted parties.  If you like entertaining, you might consider Pampered Chef as a side gig.

30. Electronics Installation  If you’re a tech savvy person, you can make a few extra dollars by setting up electronics for less tech savvy people.  Check out your local electronics store to see if they would let you put up a flyer – assuming they don’t already offer a similar service.  If they do, ask if they’d hire you on the side

31. Snow Removal  You might have to wake up really early to do this one, but it’s a good way to make the best of a snow day.  While everyone is stuck in their house, you’re outside making money.  Can’t beat that!

32. Powerwashing  Investing in a good power washer can make for a great side business.  You can clean siding, porches, driveways, or just about anything someone wants to be cleaned (via high pressure).

33. Computer Repair  If you are good with computers, you can offer services that include: data backup and restore, antivirus installation, hardware replacement, software updates.

I’ll try to add to this list when I think of more ideas.  If you have some ideas, share them in the comments.  If they make the list, I’ll give you the credit!

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