26 Side Hustles to Earn You Real Money

Everyone on the internet is sharing ideas on how to save money.

There are websites devoted to helping people find the best deals. Extreme couponers are spending 40 hours a week clipping coupons to save fifty cents on toothpaste. Some people go as far to divide their two-ply toilet paper into two separate rolls(true story bro).

Well…I’m tired of everyone discussing ways to save money.

The issue I have with this philosophy is no one has ever couponed their way to wealth. It just doesn’t happen.

You can only save so much money on your everyday purchases.

However, the last time I checked there is no limit to how much money you can earn. The upside is unlimited.

The problem most people face is they don’t believe they can make more money or don’t know how. Well, we live in the best era ever to earn a little extra money.

Below you will find 26 ideas to help you learn how you can earn more money.

• 1 - Cracked Phone Repair Business

As a parent, it is almost inevitable your phone will be damaged within a week of bringing it home. We have all been there with a screen we can barely see because of all the cracks.

You can make quite a bit of money if you know how to fix those screens. There are also a number of different companies that will hire you if you know how to fix them. If this is something that interests you, check out www.icraked.com – a company looking for on-demand techs.

• 2 - Teach a Class

Teaching has always been something I have enjoyed and there are a number of different options available.

Community colleges are a great place to start if you want to teach. They are always looking for qualified candidates to teach a number of different classes. Many times you only have to teach one or two days a week and can earn a couple thousand dollars for the semester.

Other colleges, like the University of Phoenix, are looking for people to teach online classes. This is a great opportunity for those who don’t have much time.

You can also teach your own in-person class. If you have a skill other companies want their employees to learn, then create a class around teaching that skill. Market the class to different companies and earn some money.

• 3 - Sell on Amazon

This is my favorite way to earn more money. As I have discussed, I earn over $2k per month selling on Amazon while only working 10-15 hours a week.

If you want to learn more about selling on Amazon, check out my Ultimate Guide at http://www.stuffparentslike.com.

• 4 - Udemy

Udemy is a platform that offers courses on a number of different subjects. There are courses about podcasting, Excel spreadsheets, folk dancing, and much more.

Creating a course is fairly easing today. You need four things:

Knowledge on a subject
Computer
Powerpoint or Keynote
Screen recording software
Once you decide what to teach, create your course using powerpoint. Then record your presentation using a program like Camtasia or Screen Flow.

I have had a course on Udemy for the 18 months and have earned over $3,500.

• 5 - Sell on Ebay

I know lots of people who sell on Ebay and crush it!

This is a viable option for people who just want to dabble with online selling and don’t want to commit.

• 6 - Sell Your Crap on Craigs List

In the past, I have sold a number of things on Craig’s List. If you have any junk around your house, chances are someone else will pay you for that junk.

Ryan Finlay has an excellent blog about how he earns a full-time living flipping items on Craig’s List. You can check out his site at ReCraigsList.

• 7 - Blogging

Blogging is a long play.

You aren’t going to make money overnight blogging, but over the long-term you can monetize your blog through advertisements, Google Ad Words, or affiliate links.

Check out the Smart Passive Income blog to learn more about this strategy.

• 8 - Fiverr

If you have a skill like copywriting, web design, or have a great voice; then you should consider selling your services on Fiverr.

I have never sold anything on Fiverr, but my friend Nick Loper interviewed a guy who absolutely Crushes it with Fiverr. Listen to the interview here.

• 9 - Freelance Writing

People will pay you if you are a good writer. There are people I know who are making $1k and much more every month by writing a few articles.

To find some great writing gigs check out Contea (it’s a paid service, but well worth it).

When it comes to paid writing, Gina Horkey is probably the expert in this area. She quit her career to focus on writing full-time. You can learn quite a bit from her at Horkey Handbook.

• 10 - Podcasting

This is another longer play, but you can make money by podcasting.

If you can create a podcast that is popular or is very niche, people will pay you to advertise.

• 11 - Field Agent

This is an app you can download on your phone and complete “jobs” for a few dollars each. You won’t get rich, but you can easily pick up an extra $50/month.

Most of the time you will go into a store to take pictures of a display. Then you need to answer some questions.

• 12 - Consulting

Do you have a special skill that can help others? Are you good at sales? Copywriting? A Health Nut? Great at Organizing? Team Building? Fundraising? Beauty? Style?

Put those skills to work, market those skills, and make some money.

To learn more about how to do this, follow Kimanzi Constable. He has an amazing story about how he was a former bread delivery guy and now consults for companies all over the world.

• 13 - Cleaning Service

With 60% of households comprised of dual income earners, there is a big opportunity to make money cleaning houses. You could easily earn an extra $250 a week cleaning a few houses.

This is an easy job to market and earn some extra money.

• 14 - Child Care

Again, since there are so many dual income households there is a need for child care. Open up your doors to watching kids.

Earn an extra $1k a month watching children.

• 15 -Event/Wedding Planner

Can you throw a party everyone remembers? Maybe you should consider planning weddings or events for other people and businesses.

There is a great resource about becoming an event planner at The Work at Home Woman.

• 16 - Photography

Scroll through your Facebook feed and you are bound to find professional pictures of newborns, family photos, and weddings.

If your hobby is taking pictures, think about how you can turn that into extra money by taking professional pictures too.

I know many people who have paid $500+ for one hour worth of pictures.

• 17 - Uber

As far as I know, it’s pretty easy to get started driving on Uber. To my knowledge all you need is a running vehicle, insurance, and a decent driving record.

My favorite Uber story is about the driver who made over $200,000.

• 18 - Virtual Assistant

There are a lot of busy entrepreneurs who need help. Running a business isn’t easy and they are looking for people who can make an impact on their business.

If you have wordpress skills, good at organization, can respond to emails, or even help with customer service; you can make anywhere from $15-$35 an hour (or much more) as a VA.

• 19 - Tutoring

Since most parents believe the best option for success is a college degree, tutoring is in high demand.

Whether you can teach math, science, or English; then you can make money helping students learn. You can go to work for a place like Kumon or start your own tutoring business like my friend Olu Sanya.

• 20 - Ebooks

It is amazing how easy it is to write and publish a book today.

You can write a book on virtually any topic. Then you have the option to sell it from your own site, upload it to Amazon, produce an audio version using ACX, or printing it with Create Space.

After you write the book, you will still need to figure out how to market the book to make any money. To learn more about this money making opportunity check out Steve Scott at Authority Pub.

• 21 - Proof Reading/Editor

Millions of blog posts are written each moth and thousands of people are wrtting ebooks. That means there is a strong need for proof readers or editors.

If you enjoy reading and can help grammatically improve a book, then this is a great opportunity for you.

• 22 - Youth Sports Instructor/Trainer

Parents are crazy when it comes to ensuring their six-year-old child has a step up on other children. Seriously!

For some reason, numerous parents believe their children should start their preparations for the pros at very innapropriate young ages.

Whether you are good at basketball, baseball, tennis, volleyball, or golf; then you can make big bucks teaching young players. I have seen parents pay $100 an hour to teach their kids to play sports better.

• 23 - Sports Officiating

Again, youth sports are huge! If you don’t want to train kids, then you can officiate their games.

Every weekend thousands of kids play basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, wrestling, and more. There is a big market to ref these sports.

• 24 - Website Design

Take a look around the web, there are a ton of companies and blogs that need help with their sites.

Personally, if I started this business I would create a list of small businesses in my area. Then look at their web sites and decide which ones could use improvement.

Once I narrowed the list down to who needs help, I would call them and offer my services. You could easily earn $1,000-$5,000 per contract.

• 25 - Facebook Ads

Master Facebook ads and learn how to get a good return on investment (ROI), then teach others how they can utilize them. There are a number of local businesses that could learn to utilize Facebook ads.

When you help people make money, you can charge a high fee to teach them. This could be a very profitable side business for you.

• 26 - YouTube

Ever hear of Evan Tube? This kid makes over one million dollars a year by reviewing toys and posting the videos to his YouTube channel.

To start this, all you need is a cell phone and YouTube channel. Think about what you are an expert at or what you enjoy, then start recording your content. Then post your videos on YouTube.

If you can think of more side businesses, please share.