Get ready to launch your side hustle with these business ideas and tips for getting started.
A side hustle is a small business that a person starts alongside another, usually more stable, job. Side hustles tend to be labours of love鈥攖here鈥檚 a reason they鈥檝e been deemed 鈥渉ustles.鈥 Starting a business of any type requires a certain amount of dedication, business know-how, and motivation.
People who start a side hustle are often motivated to make more money or bring a passion into their career trajectory. Some people with entrepreneurial aspirations will plant the seeds for their future full-time business by launching a side hustle. Maintaining a steady job during this transition can offer financial security as they explore what it鈥檚 like to become a small business owner.
As workers across Canada reassess their workplace needs, many are turning to side hustles. According to an H&R Block survey, 28 per cent of Canadians have a side hustle or are doing gig work [].
Here are 21 ideas to help you identify the right side hustle for you.
If you are interested in starting a side hustle, begin by identifying your 鈥渨hy.鈥 What is it that you hope to achieve? Some examples of achievements may be:
Earn more money
Express creativity
Have more fun
Participate in a community
Learn about running a business
Create a launchpad for full-time self-employment
As you consider your 鈥渨hy,鈥 think about ways you鈥檒l be able to measure success. This can be related to finances, feelings, social media metrics, knowledge, or anything else that feels right for you. Remember that with your side hustle, you get to decide what 鈥渟uccess鈥 means.
Once you have some clarity on your goal (or goals), it鈥檚 time to find your idea. With your objective in mind, read through the ideas below and notice if anything sparks your interest. Consider whether that spark signifies alignment with your goal, or if you鈥檙e recognizing an additional goal that you hadn鈥檛 yet considered.
Also, be sure to keep your skill set in mind. A side hustle is a great place to use skills you already possess to guide you toward your goals, as well as a mechanism to practice skills you hope to further develop.
Each of the ideas listed below offers some amount of scheduling flexibility, allowing you to pursue a side hustle while still prioritizing a full-time work schedule. Many of the ideas can also become full-time small business ventures鈥攚ith the right business plan to back them up.
There are a number of factors that influence how much money you can make from your side hustle鈥攊ncluding things like how much effort you put into creating your business, where you鈥檙e located, and market demand.
That being said, people tend to be able to charge more for certain services. Here are some side hustles that tend to be lucrative:
Social media managers help businesses create and manage their social media presence. This can include tasks like developing strategy, creating content calendars, copywriting, and more. Social media can be a crucial part of a business鈥檚 marketing strategy, and they鈥檙e often willing to pay for expertise. Depending on experience, social media managers can make an average of $52.88 CAD per hour [].
Digital marketers help businesses create and manage their online presence. They may be responsible for tasks like building Google or Facebook ads, creating SEO content, or developing email marketing campaigns. Digital marketing specialists charge an average of $31.19 CAD per hour, often more with experience [].
Web designers are responsible for the aesthetic appeal and usability of a website. They鈥檒l often have some kind of design, user experience (UX), or user interface (UI) background in addition to the technical skills required to update a website. The average wage is $31.79 CAD per hour [].
If you are talented in the technical aspects of building and maintaining a website, you may want to consider a side hustle as a web developer. Web developers are responsible for coding and configuring websites on the backend and developing functionality on the front end. They may charge an average of $36.06 CAD per hour []鈥攁nd what鈥檚 more, after the site is built, clients may maintain a contract with their web developer to cover site maintenance.
Bookkeeping involves balancing chequebooks and reconciling budgets for businesses. It doesn鈥檛 require any formal education, though you鈥檒l want to be comfortable with basic math and know how to use bookkeeping software. The median hourly rate for bookkeepers is $25.20 CAD per hour [闭.听听
If you like working with kids or teens and enjoy the learning process, you may like tutoring. There are many ways to personalize your services鈥攆or example, you may focus on a specific subject or age group or offer virtual or in-person tutoring. The average rate for a tutor in Canada is $20 per hour for secondary education and $20 for elementary years [, ].
If you鈥檇 prefer to play with kids rather than teach them, consider babysitting. The average rate for a babysitter in Canada is around $17 per hour, and you can adjust your rates depending on factors such as number of kids or their ages []. To find a babysitting job with more consistent hours, you may also want to look into part-time nannying. For this side hustle, you may want to bolster your credentials (and emergency preparedness) by getting certified in first aid and CPR.
If you have the right skill set, you can launch many of the listed side hustles right from your home鈥攏o formal office space needed. In many cases, if you have an internet connection, you can get started. Here are a few additional side hustles you can start from home:
- Proofreading or copyediting
- Transcription service
- Virtual assistant
- Dropshipping business
- Audiobook narrator
If you have a creative passion, you may be able to translate that passion into a side hustle. In fact, many people start a side hustle in an effort to monetize a hobby or add that specialized skill set to their resume in a more formal capacity.
You鈥檒l likely want to factor upfront costs for materials and the amount of time you spend creating into the overall cost you鈥檒l charge for your products to make these side hustles financially worth the effort鈥攂ut if creativity is a priority for you, here are some ideas to consider:
Sites like Etsy and Shopify make it easy for casual crafters to turn their hobby into a business, whether you make jewelry, pottery, cards, or anything else.
If you prefer large-scale projects, you may be able to make a business out of repurposing second-hand furniture.
Since many people schedule weddings and birthday parties on weekends, you could realistically run an entire photography business while still maintaining a full-time job on weekdays.
If you are skilled in digital design, you may want to consider a side hustle as a graphic designer. You can find gigs on websites like Fiverr or Upwork, or you can have your designs printed on apparel, stickers, and other products and sent directly to customers using services such as Redbubble. You can learn graphic design fundamentals with the Graphic Design specialization from CalArts.
For the editorially inclined, there are plenty of ways to make money as a writer. You can write for traditional publications, create copy for marketing agencies, help job seekers hone their resumes, or start your own affiliate marketing blog or newsletter.
If the idea of community building excites you, you may want to consider becoming a content creator. It can take a bit of time before your audience is large enough to monetize, but the payoff for creating a successful podcast, YouTube channel, or Instagram account can be huge.
You may need to navigate laws regarding the sale of food, but if you enjoy baking, it may be worth bringing your kitchen up to code to start this side hustle.
You can turn shopping into a side hustle by reselling the clothes and accessories you find while browsing your local thrift shops. To reach a wider audience, some people with an eye for fashion will open online vintage shops through sites like Instagram, Etsy, Depop, or Shopify.
Incorporate movement and physical activity into your side hustle with these ideas:
In becoming a fitness instructor, you鈥檒l find that there鈥檚 a wide range of specializations you can pursue, from yoga to spin to strength training. However, you will likely need to attain certain certifications or complete certain training programs in order to begin this side hustle.
Dog walking is one way to turn a profit while taking a daily walk in or around your neighbourhood. Plus, when your regular clients go out of town, you may have a built-in opportunity to boost your earnings by pet-sitting for extended periods of time.
If you played a sport in high school or college, you might be able to pass down your love of the game as a referee or coach for your local sports teams. Check with your town鈥檚 parks and recreation department to learn about opportunities.
Use your physical strength to help people get rid of the things they no longer want. If you know how to navigate your city鈥檚 waste and disposal procedures鈥攁nd have an adequate mode of transportation鈥攁 junk hauling service may be the right side hustle for you.
If you prefer a more methodical side hustle, you may enjoy mowing lawns. One benefit of this side hustle is that people with lawns tend to need them cared for fairly regularly, so you鈥檒l only need a couple of clients to fill up your part-time schedule.
People hire party entertainers to do magic, dress in costume, or otherwise perform at parties鈥攐ften children鈥檚 birthday parties. If you do well with a crowd or have a slew of party tricks up your sleeve, you may be a natural entertainer.
Passive income is money you make without having to put in repeated, active efforts. Often, with passive income, you can make an effort one time and see frequent returns on that one-time effort. One common example of passive income would be earning interest on your savings accounts鈥攂ut some people build a side hustle off of passive income.
Some passive income businesses include:
- Writing an ebook
- Selling worksheets
- Selling stock photos
- Creating an online course
Whatever type of side hustle you start, you can hone the skills you need to launch and maintain your business with 糖心vlog官网观看. Learn social media marketing, bookkeeping, project management, and more from top companies like Meta, Intuit, and Google with a Professional Certificate, or get organized with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using the Microsoft 365 Fundamentals specialization.
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