How to Start a Side Business

We’ve compiled a list of 25 side business ideas if you’re looking to get into the gig game. Most of these side hustle ideas have the potential to turn into full-blown businesses, while others are accessible and time-efficient ways to earn extra money while you work your day job. Let’s get into it.

What is a side business?

A side business is also called a side hustle. A side job is a job that you work outside of your daily 9 to 5 job that brings in extra income. Reports from 2017 show that one-third of workers in America have at least one side hustle.

A side business is not connected to your day job in any way. Many people take on a second job that they work during night hours, on weekends, or at other times when their primary job does not demand their time.

What’s the point of a side business?

The main reason to start a side business is to generate additional income. This is great news for anyone who wants to achieve their financial goals more quickly.

Some people have a side hustle in addition to their regular full-time job. A side hustle is usually a part-time job that fits around their usual working hours. There are many different types of odd jobs that people can do to make some extra money. Some examples include landscaping, babysitting, delivering pizzas, or waiting tables. In this case, you don’t have to put a lot of effort into developing your side hustle.

For many, a side business is a self-employed venture. This text is saying that being your own boss is a good opportunity to get a taste of running a business. A side business may become a full-time job if the individual likes it a lot.

Who is a side business right for?

Almost everyone can benefit from having a side business. If you are looking to make some extra money, there are many side hustles that you can do in your free time. Find one that works for you and that you enjoy doing.

The most common motivating factor for people starting a side business is the opportunity to get paid for doing something they are passionate about. If you want to start your own business but are worried about giving up your full-time job, you can start small by running your business on the side. This provides you with a financial safety net and ensures your bills are paid while you are working to build your business.

Potential pitfalls of starting a side business

It’s important that you start your operation above board. If you don’t take the right precautions when you start out, a small mistake can end up costing you a lot of money in a lawsuit. There are some potential legal problems you could face if you don’t take care when starting a side business. Be sure to avoid these if you want to stay out of legal trouble.

Check your employment contract

Your day job probably had you sign some paperwork. Go through your files and find your employment contracts. There are three major clauses that you’ll want to look for:

• NDA: A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is the legal way of keeping the company’s private information — well, private. It legally prohibits you from talking about specific information that you learn through your company. If intellectual property from your day job will be used in your side hustle and you signed an NDA, all your profits can get taken from you.
• Non-compete: Similar to an NDA, a non-compete clause can stop you in your tracks. In this clause, your employer will restrict what kind of side job you can have. It will explicitly describe the type of work you can’t do. It usually revolves around jobs that can steal business, compete, or put the company at a disadvantage. For example, a professional welder won’t be able to open their own personal welding shop if they signed a non-compete.
• Exclusivity: If there’s an exclusivity clause in your contract, then you will have to kiss your dreams of a side business goodbye. This clause blatantly prevents you from doing paid outside work while you’re working for the company. It doesn’t matter if it’s a competing business or something completely unrelated.

You will need to be careful if your contract has any/all of these clauses. You might have to get a new day job before taking on a side hustle in order to make ends meet. In addition to legally binding clauses, there are also workplace policies that you need to be aware of.

Learn your workplace policies

The HR department at your job should have given you forms with workplace policies on them. These are standard operating procedures for the office. Employees are typically reprimanded for using their personal phones, emails, or social media while they are working. Even though using work computers for anything non-work related is typically frowned upon, they can still discuss it.

The typical outcome is that you’re not able to do any freelance work while you’re working, using work resources, or on work property.

Avoid policies and clauses that create conflicts of interest.

Avoid conflicts of interest

As you’re planning your side business, be sure to take into account any potential conflicts of interest that could arise. This refers to a situation where your side business causes problems for your employer or affects your work performance. Many of these things are laid out in your workplace policies.

For example, if your side business tries to recruit your coworkers or clients from your day job, this would be a conflict of interest. This conflict is not allowed and can end in a lawsuit. Opening a competing store directly across the street would be a major conflict of interest.

An example of this that many people don’t think about is using resources from your job to help with your side business. Things as small as checking your side hustle’s related email account while on the clock at you day job can get you into trouble.

Your side job should not have any connection to your full-time gig. If you have to balance two things, how are you supposed to do it?

How to balance a side business and a full-time job

It can be challenging to balance a side business and a full-time job. People drop their side hustles because they require a lot of time and energy. You can make your dream of starting a side business a reality by having the right mindset and planning.

Think about the hours and the required sacrifice

There is a limit to the number of hours in a day, week, and month. This will all come down to how you manage your time, and how willing you are to give up some things.

Think about a typical week in your life. What are you doing outside of work? Are you seeing friends, sleeping, watching Netflix, or investing time in your health and fitness?

Think about what you’re willing to give up when you look at your extra activities. You will need to find 20 hours each week to work on your side business. Sacrificing sleep only works for so long. This implies that you will have less time for yourself and less time to socialize.

For some, the costs outweigh the benefits. Although it may not feel like a large sacrifice if you are very passionate about your side business, giving it up may still be difficult.

Set strict boundaries for your full-time job

Another way to add more hours to your week is by being assertive at your full-time job. You don’t have to put in extra hours at the office, work on weekends, or take on projects that take up all your time in order to get promoted.

If you want to start a side business, it’s important to have a healthy work-life balance. You should talk to your coworkers and boss honestly to see where everyone stands.

10 side business ideas to try this year

1. Resell used clothing and items.

Caught by the Marie Kondo bug? Do not throw away clothes or items that do not make you happy, but are still in good condition: sell them.

Selling old stuff is a good way to get rid of clutter and make some money at the same time. One of our friends has made over $19,000 by selling old designer clothes on The RealReal. There are many websites where you can sell your used clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories, such as Depop, ThredUP, Tradesy, and Poshmark.

If you want to sell items other than clothing and accessories, you should consider selling on eBay or Amazon. To open and manage a store on either Amazon or eBay, a little bit of work is required but as long as you follow the platform’s guidelines, you can sell anything you want. There is a small chance that you could become a seller who makes over $1 million on either site.

2. Declutter and organize people’s homes.

After you have decluttered your own home, you can start charging other people to declutter their homes as well. Professional organizers are neat freaks, of course, but they’re also compassionate, personable, and excellent listeners—your clients aren’t just paying you to purge and organize their stuff, but they’re trusting you with some of their most sentimental objects.

If you are interested in starting a side business in professional organization, you should consider taking a course or certification program in professional organization, such as those offered by the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. If you want to stay within the average range, you should charge $80 per hour or a $375 flat fee for large projects.

3. Sell original items on Etsy.

A great side business idea if you’re a crafter, maker, or artisan: Monetize your one-of-a-kind items by opening an Etsy shop, a platform that literally exists to help creatives connect with customers across the globe (though you can sell vintage and secondhand items on the platform, too). Selling on Etsy is a good way to make some extra money while you are working your day job. However, if you are willing to work hard and take good pictures of your products, you could make a living selling on Etsy.

If you are successful in getting a lot of traffic on Etsy, it is recommended that you also create a store on another ecommerce platform such as Shopify. This way you can sell your products on both platforms at the same time. You can control your branding, customer relationships, and store management by taking advantage of revenue streams.

4. Participate in the gig economy.

Finding odd jobs to do in your spare time is a great way to make extra money on evenings and weekends. The gig economy is growing, and is expected to make up 43% of the workforce by 2020. This makes it easy for people who are self-motivated to find short-term jobs.

Just a few gigs to consider:

• Become an Uber or Lyft driver

• Deliver food via Postmates, Uber Eats, Seamless, or GrubHub

• . As a TaskRabbit, you can sign up to complete everyday projects and repairs for people in your neighborhood.

• Participate in focus groups and surveys

• Become an Amazon Mechanical Turk Worker

After you’ve pieced together a variety of different jobs, researched the going rates for each type of work, and have a sense for how much effort each task demands, it’s conceivable that your side hustle could turn into a full-time job.

5. Rent out your home on Airbnb. 

If you live in an area with a lot of traffic, tourists, or vacationers, and you don’t mind having strangers in your home, you could start a business as an Airbnb host.

Before you start renting out your home, you need to get permission from your landlord, co-op board, homeowner’s association, or other organization. You also need to make sure that your city, county, or municipality does not have any legal restrictions on short-term rentals. After you have been given the OK, you will need to set up an Airbnb profile for your home and make sure it is clean, tidy, and has everything guests might need. While your guests are staying with you, be available in case they need help or have a request. You should also be prepared to deal with guests who are not easy to please.

You can make an average of $924 per month by renting out your home on Airbnb or other short-term rental platform. This is a lot of money, especially when you consider that there are no or very low overhead costs.

6. Become a dog walker.

If you love animals and are looking for a side business idea, becoming a dog walker is a no-brainer.

If your self-marketing skills are good, you can join a dog-walking/pet-sitting agency. If they are not as good, you can try to start your own business. An agency will take a cut of your earnings, but in return will Find clients for you, taking away the hassle of finding your own work. You will be able to set your own rates and keep all of the money you make if you start your own dog walking business. However, you will need to find your own customers and schedule your time as you see fit. To get started, we recommend building a small business website and creating social media accounts. You can also reach out to your personal connections, post flyers in your neighborhood, and let word-of-mouth marketing do its work.

How much you can make dog walking also largely depends upon where you live. This site says that, on average, people who walk dogs for a living charge between $15 and $18 per hour, although this number varies depending on the part of the country where you reside. Once you have established a customer base, you can turn your side job into a successful business venture. In addition to offering dog walking services, you could also look into providing pet grooming and pet sitting services.

7. Babysit or open a daycare.

Many of us have experience babysitting from when we were younger, which makes it a perfect side job for adults who already have full time jobs. The average hourly babysitting rate is $16.75 for one child and $19.26 for two children. This rate is mostly dependent on the area that you live in and how many children you are babysitting.

If you are looking to find babysitting gigs, you can leverage the power of the internet by creating a profile on sites and apps like Sittercity, Care.com, and Sitter. These sites and apps safely connect you to parents who are seeking babysitters in your area. Asking your friends and family for recommendations on babysitters is also beneficial. Think about placing flyers in local schools, libraries, places of worship, pediatrician’s offices, or other places where people gather. Get permission from the appropriate authorities before doing so. If you want to start a child care business, you can get experience and clients by working now with the intention of starting a daycare center later.

8. Start a housekeeping business.

Although many people view cleaning as a chore, starting a business as a house cleaner means that you will have a lot of customers. How much you can make from cleaning houses varies depending on how much your clients are willing to pay, but on average cleaners make $530 a week. This is a good side hustle as it has very low overhead costs, as most clients will provide their own cleaning supplies.

To find clients for your cleaning business, you can list your services on websites like Angie’s List, Care.com, and HouseKeeper.com, as well as conduct your own marketing efforts, like creating a business website and Facebook page. You can make your cleaning business stand out from the competition by offering other services as well, like carpet cleaning, light landscaping, and home repairs.

9. Become a tutor.

If you are looking for a way to make some extra money and you are a teacher, former teacher, or grad student, then you should consider tutoring. It can be a great way to make some extra money and it can be very rewarding.

You can either start an independent tutoring agency by yourself or with the intention of adding other tutors to your business, or you can look for local tutoring agencies. You can find local tutoring agencies by doing a simple Google search, or by asking your local schools and libraries. Although it is helpful if tutors specialize in a specific subject or have experience with standardized testing, many of the people they will be tutoring are adults who have not written a thesis paper or taken the SAT in several years. Therefore, tutors should set aside a few hours each week to brush up on their skills and to create lesson plans.

If you have the right credentials, tutoring can be a very profitable side business. On average, private tutors charge up to $85 an hour, or $80 if you work at an agency or learning center. But tutors who work at elite agencies or in high-income areas can charge up to $100 per hour. To figure out how much you can charge for your services if you go the private route, you need to do some market research.

10. Become a career coach.

If you are good at being organized, listening, and knowing what is happening in the job market, you should think about becoming a freelance career coach.

A career coach is someone who helps you figure out what you want to do with your life and then helps you get a job doing it.

Although there is no legal requirement to be certified to work as a job coach, it is advisable to receive training or a higher education if you want to be taken seriously as a business coach. Begin by investigating career coaching courses on Udemy, an online course through a major university, or obtaining certification through International Coach Federation or the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. According to Payscale, the average career coach salary is $43,725, or $24.80 per hour, which means that this could be a full-time career.