Are you an employee looking to earn extra money on the side? If YES, here are 50 part time small business ideas you can start with low investment for employees. A good many business gurus have declared that one stream of income can hardly provide anyone the financial independence needed to live a comfortable life and perhaps retire early with good benefits.
This is the reason why a lot of employees are seeking out ways to supplement their regular income. There are lots of businesses out there that one can comfortably use to supplement a regular job without spending too much money for startup and without compromising his or her regular job.
If you are an employee and you are thinking in the lines of having a side business to earn extra cash, here are 50 profitable businesses that you can consider.
Part Time Business ideas for Employees
To start a floating art gallery, you simply need to make arrangements with different restaurants, bars, or coffee shops to host your art shows for free in exchange for all the promotion and traffic you will bring to their respective businesses. This business is apt for an artist who lacks the funds to rent an art gallery.
You can assemble your art works and display them in floating galleries. You can organize your shows on the weekends when you are free. Similarly, you can contact your fellow artists and offer to display their works in your gallery. You can charge commission for each art you sell.
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Start a menu planning business
A lot of restaurants often find themselves confused when it comes to what meals to serve each day, most especially as seasons change. A menu planning business is a very low-cost idea but it is perfect for those who love to work with food without any direct involvement in preparing or serving it.
Many places are willing to hire a consultant to design their seasonal menus, so visit local restaurants and make them aware of your skill set. This business can very much be done on a part time basis and it would not cost you much to start. In fact, it would not cost you anything to start this business.
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Bridal Concierge service
A bridal concierge service handles wedding day schedules to ensure the plan is executed to perfection. Because it is nearly impossible for brides and grooms to be able to enjoy the planning of their wedding, they often pay professionals to do it for them.
If you have strong organizational skills, are communicative, pay attention to the little details, and love weddings, then you could set up shop from the comforts of your home. To get started and build a portfolio, offer your services to a friend or family member. From there, you can start charging other clients.
You can definitely run this service alongside your day job as you would need to make most of your contacts and arrangements via phone and email. You can use your evenings to move around with the bride, and since weddings usually hold on weekends, you would have the free time to give all your attention to the bride and to last minute preparations.
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Become a landing page specialist
In online marketing, a landing page, sometimes known as a lead capture page is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on a search engine optimized search result or an online advertisement.
The landing page usually displays directed sales and they can be used to generate leads. If you have a way with words and know how to make keyword-friendly and beautifully designed SEO-optimized landing pages, you can charge other companies for your services and turn it into a money-making side business idea.
If you are able to produce even a short landing page, you can earn a couple of hundred bucks in some cases, and the best part is that this business can be done on the side and you do not need a lot of capital to start it up.
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Drive for Uber
Uber is a technology platform that provides peer to peer ridesharing. Driving for this globally expanding app-centric taxi service can be a fairly lucrative way to earn money as a side business idea on nights and weekends. This business is so good for a side business because you can work only when it is convenient for you.
But before you dive head first into this side business idea, do your homework and calculate the costs of extra gas, mileage, tires, wear & tear and usage on your vehicle. This business may not turn a huge profit for you but it would pay some of your bills.
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Become a Task Rabbit
TaskRabbit is an online and mobile marketplace that matches freelance labor with local demand, allowing consumers to find immediate help with everyday tasks, including cleaning, moving, delivery and handyman work. If you don’t mind doing other people’s chores, then TaskRabbit may be the right side business idea for you.
You can earn some side money here doing odd jobs like walking your neighbor’s dog or mowing their lawn. If you are serious with this business, you can earn as much as $7000 a month. You can sign up for tasks that can be done on weekends or evenings.
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Start an Online Custom Tailoring business
Shopping for clothes in brick and mortar stories has always been the way to go, and people who want a more personal approach go bespoke.
But why go through all that trouble when you can get your clothes tailored online and receive them at your doorstep? There are plenty of online clothing shops that will take your order and then customize your clothes to fit you like a glove, so you get style and comfort even for a discount.
How it works is that you get to send in your measurements through their website or you could go personally to the clients to get them measured. Once your measurements are in, you can go full custom by picking your fabric and the shirt’s style — collar, cuff, pocket, yoke, placket etc. The clothing are then finished and delivered to your doorstep all in weeks.
The custom clothing industry is still relatively untapped, so starting a business now will offer you a significant potential for growth in the future. If you are a good tailor, you can also start this business on the side by taking only orders you can handle at a time and working on the evenings and weekends.
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Home appraisal business
A home appraisal is an unbiased estimate of the true (or fair market) value of what a home is worth. Though you would need credentials to back up this business, but it is a great side job to use to back up your main job.
You won’t need a college degree to start in on this business idea, but you’ll need bankable appraiser credentials (including relevant training and professional licenses), strong knowledge of the sector, and a growing network of industry players including mortgage brokers, real estate agents, banks, and fellow appraisers that’ll want to utilize your services.
Private Labeling entails buying products directly from the manufacturers and then placing your own logo and/or branding on the package. In the world of internet marketing today, Amazon is also a massive global market where virtually anyone can cash in on the rising tide of eCommerce if you have the right business idea.
To effectively carry out this business, you need to do tons of research in order to find generic products such as clocks, keychains and mugs to attach your brand to; as well as develop a sensible inside sales strategy that’ll help you generate profits from your private label side business idea. The best part is that this business can comfortably be done alongside with a day job and with little capital investment.
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Start a litter removal business
Like recycling, this side business idea requires the willingness to get your hands a little dirty. If you enjoy working outdoors, then this side business would suit you well. You can make a pretty good side income cleaning up litter outside retail, office and industrial properties, especially for businesses that have large parking lots that need regular cleaning.
You can contact property management companies and intimate them your services and request to be hired. This service can be carried out on foot using inexpensive equipment like this cheap pick-up tool and a broom. You can charge between $35 and $50 per hour for your services.
Since industrial cleaning services are typically done after working hours, so it would not interfere with your full time job, and this business does not need much startup capital.
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Start Mobile Home-Entertainment repair Service
Electronics do have a way of throwing up issues just when you have friends over, or you want to just relax with them. Well, these issues make mobile home entertainment repair services relevant. As a side business, you can start a business where you make yourself available to make house calls to people who get in a jam with their jam boxes.
You can repair home entertainment devices from sound A/V receivers or conventional stereo receivers to power amplifiers, preamplifier, speakers, and iPod/Bluetooth speaker systems. To be able to carry out this service, you need to be quite knowledgeable with electricals and wiring.
To publicize your business, you can create door-to-door fliers (make sure to indicate the times you are usually available in your fliers), and make calls to retail-store managers about your services so they can recommend you to their customers who have problems with their devices.
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Become a tester or reviewer
Individuals or startups often look for people to review their products to encourage others to buy them. You can either get started with a profile on freelancing websites or approach companies directly, offering them a review in exchange for a monetary reward by becoming an influencer.
Even better, if you have your own website or blog, you could write entire posts about their products, thus allowing you to charge more money in the long run and build a portfolio with tangible results to show future clients. This is another business that can be done on the side and it cost nothing to start.
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Become an online Dating Consultant
Dating consultants, also called dating coaches, advise people who seem to have problems finding true love, helping them develop interpersonal skills that will lead them to finding a better match. These consultants can work in person, solely online or a combination of both.
This type of consulting comes with a large level of responsibility as you will be guiding someone’s love life. To effectively use this as a side business, you have to state on your website times you would be available to talk with your clients, but you need create posts to encourage them frequently.
Aside from the fact that you will have to invest little to no money to get started, it is far less time consuming than the average 9 to 5 and you can equally run it with a 9-5 conveniently. Once you have created your application, couple it with the right marketing strategy and you’ll be making your side money comfortably.
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Start a House/Condo Staging business
This business is indeed in the real estate niche, and it means preparing a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace. In order to do this, people usually buy or rent arts, painting, accessories, lights, greenery, and carpet to stage the home, to give potential buyers a more attractive first impression of the property.
This real estate niche is relatively new but it seems to be growing fast. Even if you have to buy the furniture to use to stage the homes, you should get some of your money back quickly, and you can still use that same furniture and fittings to stage other homes.
Furthermore, there is a lot of room for specialization in this business and it is something you can do as a side business. You can decide to stage new homes for builders, you could focus on upscale apartments or you can focus on suburban homes; whichever way you like it.
If you have any artistic skills or crafty hobbies, you might just have one of the essential building blocks of a successful business, and not just any business but a side business. Handmade crafts business isn’t limited to paper crafts; you could quilt, knit, crochet, work with glass, sew, make pottery, weave baskets, or any other kind of craft that is marketable and salable.
All those hours you spent indulging in your hobby would finally turn to income for you. Today, the Internet has provided the opportunity and ease with which one can break into the craft business. With websites like Etsy.com, you can find a comfortable place to sell your goods in your free time.
A personal shopper is a person who helps others shop by giving advice and making suggestions. They are often employed by department stores and boutiques, but some prefer to freelance or work exclusively online. So, if you like shopping, there are plenty of people (typically busy business executives and the like) who would love to hire you to do their shopping for them.
To succeed in this business, you need to reach out to all possible contacts and don’t be shy to push them to pass the word on to everyone they know. For someone who is a paid employee, you can do this business exclusively online or you can decide to move your shopping appointments to the weekends. Note that starting this business would not cost you much.
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Become a calligrapher
Calligraphy is the design and execution of lettering with a broad tip instrument, brush, or other writing instruments. Modern calligraphers typically use one of several calligraphy alphabets to create attractive texts and lettering for wedding and event invitations, logo designs, maps, memorial documents, religious art, cut stone inscriptions, quotes, poems, testimonials, birth and death certificates, letters and stationery.
As a calligrapher who also has a day job, you can work as a freelancer, taking special orders from clients that you can do at your convenience, maybe at night to over the weekend. You would make a good income from this business if you are able to promote it well.
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Start a childproofing service
Starting a childproofing service is beneficial in more ways than one. First, you get to help parents protect their children and you get to earn money on the side. In doing this business, you’ll tour homes, installing safety latches, catches and other safety devices and alerting parents to potential hazards like poisonous plants and other materials.
The good part of this business is that you can work from home and start it part time as an addition to your main job. A childproofing business is very cheap to startup, but you may be required to follow certain state regulations, depending on your location. To understand the ins and outs of the industry, you may want to undertake an internship in the field before setting up shop.
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Become a massage therapist
Giving a massage is to work on the body with pressure using the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device for the treatment of stress or pain.
The licensing to become a massage therapist varies according to the state in which you reside, but if you have a passion for health-related activities, you could take a masseuse course and set up a clinic from the comforts of your home. Once you have completed your course and gained your license, you will have to invest in a massage bed as well as the appropriate oils and massage products.
You can comfortably combine this business with your day job especially if you operate a mobile massage. To cut cost, you can make your oils and get a good woodworker to make a durable and movable massage table for you.
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Become a life coach or mentor
Coaching has been a very popular profession in the last 20 years and for the right reasons. It allows the coach to make a difference in the lives of many people in the most effective way.
If you want to make a difference in the lives of others and you have a “giver” mentality, coaching may be the right profession for you. People, especially soon to be entrepreneurs, seek guidance through mentorship and life coaches. You can setup your services from the comforts of your home, and on a part time with no monetary investment.
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Start a referral service
If you are just that person that gets called by friends and family to help them find a good restaurant, lawyer, carpet fitter, or gardener, then know that you can leverage on this natural ability to start a referral service. You can specialize in one area or several, depending on your preferences and the size of your town.
You might run an attorney referral service, matching callers to specialists in family, real estate or criminal law; a physicians’ service matching up potential patients with pediatricians, cardiologists and other health-care specialists; or a homeowners’ network, referring consumers to plumbers, painters, and cleaning and lawn care services.
You can also specialize in travel and tours, entertainment, apartment rentals, baby-sitters, real estate agents, bridal services, and just about any service that people need help with. You can also run your referral service online or over the phone, and it can work well as a side business.
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Start trading currency
Currency Trading is the act of buying and selling (trading) different currencies of the world. The Foreign Exchange (or Forex) is the market that allows you to trade currencies in volume. Online currency trading is easier than ever thanks to the number of tutorial videos, online courses, and applications that offer step-by-step guides to becoming a currency trader.
All you need are technical skills, fundamental analytical skills, a small amount of cash flow, phone, tablet, or computer. Trading on currencies would never affect your day job and you can as well start with a small amount of cash till you grow your cash base.
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Become a model
If you have the attitude, build and carriage, you can register with a modeling agency. There should be a product or service out there on the hunt for the right model to promote their brand as a side business idea. You can sign up with a large agency, find a freelance agent, or look for your own modeling gigs as an independent talent.
Going independent would actually be the best way to handle your side modeling career since you already have a day job.
Alternatively, you can register with an agency and tell them that you can only work at night or the weekends. Since modeling is a complex field, get all the advice you need before jumping right in, and find a mentor who can guide you through some of the early challenges it’ll take to establish your brand.
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Become a travel planner
A travel plan is a package of actions designed to encourage safe, healthy and sustainable travel options. With all the booking platforms available online today, anyone can book a holiday from the comforts of their home. As a travel planner, you get to help travellers arrange for cheap or very comfortable flights, car rentals, hotels, restaurants, tours etc. all for a small surcharge fee.
If you have strong organizational skills and the knack for finding a good bargain, you could offer these services to others who have less time on their hands. This business can be done exclusively online, so it would not interfere with any full time job you have.
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Start online photo selling
If you are a professional photographer or just have a deep-rooted passion for it, you can make money from your pictures on photo selling websites.
All you need to get started is a good camera, and a computer. Once you have established yourself on websites such as GettyImages.com and Flickr.com, you can setup your own website with a list of your watermarked images and their price per unit. You can take the pictures at your free time and prep them to sell online.
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Become a tax advisor or consultant
A tax advisor or tax consultant is a person with advanced training and knowledge of tax law. Companies big and small pay good money to have their taxes prepared for them. It gives them a chance to focus on the everyday operations of their business.
If you have the appropriate experience, you could set yourself up as a freelancer so you can work at your own timing and pace. This business requires little or no cash investment to start and it can be done online.
Most small businesses seek the expertise of a business plan writing service to help get their proposal ready for a bank or investor, or to get their ideas and financials organized in preparation for starting their business. If you have owned your own business in the past or earned a business degree, why not help fledgling entrepreneurs start something they love.
You can plan your fee around the various packages you are prepared to offer your clients. This is another business a person who has a full time job can run comfortably from the comforts of his or her home with little or no capital. To make things easier for you, you can either create an electronic copy that your client can customize or you can keep a copy at hand and continue customizing it according to their needs.
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Become an affiliate marketer
Affiliate marketing is extremely easy to get into and involves you earning a commission by promoting other companies’ products and services. Basically, you choose a product you like, promote it, and make a profit on each sale that stems from your marketing efforts.
An affiliate marketing business is especially easy to start if you have a blog or website of your own, if your blog has a good number of visitors, and if you have successfully undertaken affiliate marketing.
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Medical Transcription
Medical transcription is the manual processing of voice reports dictated by physicians and other healthcare professionals into text format. Starting a medical transcription service would enable you to work as an important member of a medical team without leaving your home based office.
There’s a big demand by hospitals, doctors, dentists, chiropractors and veterinarians who need outside help transcribing patient medical records. Training in medical terminology and linguistic skills will keep your business healthy. Of course you do not need any capital to start this business, and it is something you can do on the side.
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Trade collectibles
Collectibles is an asset of limited supply that is sought for a variety of reasons including, it is hoped, an increase in value. Collectibles can run the gamut from fine art, antique furniture, stamps, and coins to baseball cards and Barbie dolls.
If you have a hobby that involves collectibles, why not turn that passion into a business? As a collectibles dealer, you can supplement your income by selling online. You can equally sell offline during weekends to build your client base. Going into this business, you need to be particularly disciplined in valuing and paying for items.
You want to be able to buy items at a cheap enough price so that you can still make good money when you sell them at a fair price. You also need to avoid items that may take a long time to find the right buyer. You may need to invest a little bit of capital to buy your collectibles, but you can always recoup your capital after you sell your items.
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Become a part time dance instructor
Most people, even those who won’t admit it, love moving their bodies. It’s also a great workout. If at some point in your life, you had to hang your dancing shoes for a more sensible office job, there’s nothing stopping you from earning money with this as a side business idea or as a passion project.
Part-time dance instructors get a fraction of the pie that their full-time peers enjoy, but it can add up to hundreds each week if you’re consistent—making for a great side business idea to those with the skills and drive.
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Start a pet grooming service
Pet grooming is used to refer to the hygienic care and cleaning of a pet in order to enhance its physical appearance. If you love pets and you know a thing or two about grooming, you can set up a pet grooming service to earn side income.
To do that, you’ll need to have relevant training, an operating license depending on your location, and pet grooming equipment. Pet groomers have an average salary range of $17,600 to $48,500. Not bad as a side business idea if you can find a way to get in most of your clients on the weekends.
A personal chef is a chef who is hired by different clients and prepares meals in the clients’ home kitchens, based on their needs and preferences. If cooking healthy and delicious meals is your thing, then this lucrative side business idea can supplement your regular income by helping to feed busy homes.
This business does not need any startup capital, and you can fix your timings to suit your schedules so that it would not interfere with your full time job.
With the number of American families that own pets increasing by the day, a part time dog walking business is almost the next big thing in the pet niche. With pet owners not always having the time to walk them, you can start a dog walking service that is if you love canines.
This great side business idea can net you a regular profit by just taking some adorable pups for a stroll around the park. Some areas do have a workable app that links dog owners with dog walkers, if such exists in your locality, you can take advantage of it.
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Online subcontracting business
Subcontracting is the process of giving some of your contract jobs to other people to free up your time. If you have established yourself in any number of freelance sites online, you may now discover that you cannot handle all your jobs because of your day job.
You can start subcontracting your work out to other freelancers whom you get to pay a fraction of what you originally got from the business.
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Become a ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author.
Ghostwriting pays pretty well, and if you’re talented at researching and creating great content within a certain subject domain, you can quickly build a roster of high-paying clientele with this business idea. In fact you can start a ghostwriting service as a side business while combining it with your full time job and it would not cost you anything to startup.
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Become a tour guide
A tour guide is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized tours. If you live in a destination where travelers frequently visit and if you love meeting new people, starting your own local tour company is arguably the best business idea that will give you both of those perks.
You can comfortably start guiding people on tours while still working your own full time job. If you have a trusty van or vehicle, you can arrange to take people to tour your city at your convenience. As a lot of touring activities get done on the weekends, so you would have no problems combining it with your job.
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Be an Airbnb Host
Do you have a spare room or loft in your apartment, then you can make a comfortable side business out of it. Not only is Airbnb a great way to make money by renting out your spare bedroom or living room couch, but you get to meet new and exciting people while you do it.
This business is a great side business that would not take you much time, effort and capital to start. Note that you’re on call whenever you have a guest and you’ll always need to keep the place clean for your next visitors. On top of just renting on Airbnb, you can take this business idea to the next level by offering your guests add-on and personalized experiences for an extra charge.
A lot of websites are known to hire copywriters to write content for them. You on the other hand can volunteer to provide this content on a regular basis (for a fee of course). You can charge hourly wages, and with some experience and a growing portfolio, you can soon be charging more than you make at your full-time job if you find the right clients and brand yourself as an expert with this side business idea.
This business would cost you absolutely nothing to start, and you can do your writings at your free time; just make sure you beat deadlines.
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Buy and Sell Domain Names
Domain name trading has been around for the last couple decades, and while most good names have long been sold off, there are still plenty of others that you can get your hands on for relatively cheap and broker as your side business idea. This business is best to be done in combination with a day job because you may not be able to make regular sales, and again, some experts doubt the long-term viability of this business.
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Erotic fiction writing service
If regular mundane freelance writing for magazines, newspapers, websites etc. are no longer cutting it for you, but you still love to write, maybe it’s time to try your hands on some erotic fiction.
So, if you’ve got some very vivid imagination, you can make upwards of $5,000 a month writing erotic fiction in your free time as a side business idea. The famous saying “sex sells” is extremely true, meaning that promotion for short stories is very simple as you can promote links to it in your website.
Wedding photographers command premium rates because of the professionalism needed for the business. Well, you need to be a professional after all you are capturing one of a couple’s most important life moments.
Many professional wedding photographers charge between $2,500 – $10,000 (or more) to shoot a wedding, so it’s realistic that this side business idea could quickly blossom into a full-time endeavor with a happy clientele base that’s willing to refer you to their friends and family. Since weddings are usually carried out on weekends, you can easily combine it with your regular job.
You may need to spend a little money to get yourself a trusty camera, but this is a long term investment that’s worth every penny you spend on it. You also need to get yourself some cool editing software and you are good to start marketing your business.
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Start a Blog
Some people do think blogging has been saturated as a business niche, but that’s not true as blogging is still a viable source of income. Additionally, blogging also make for a great side business that you can combine with almost anything as long as you have the passion for it.
You can start blogging on any niche that you love so much, from scrapbooking, home cooking, travel, film, lifestyle to health and more.
You can make money from a combination of email subscribers, affiliate marketing, blog sponsorships, and other revenue streams. Your first step is sharpening your writing abilities, understanding what your audience craves and learning how to write a blog post that drives traffic and brings you readers on a regular basis.
Being a virtual assistant is one of such businesses you can combine effectively with your regular job in order to earn additional income. You can find great gigs on Elance, Indeed, Upwork or other similar sites. Because it is something you can do online, you do not need any capital to startup.
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Take on Commission-Only Sales
A commission-only sales job is a mutually beneficial partnership between a company and a self-employed sales agent where the company elects to pay the sales agent commission based on sales made. Commission-only sales have been around for a long time and it is the primary method for compensating independent/manufacturer’s sales agents.
If you have a knack for connecting with people and the willingness to take on some risk, a commission-based freelance sales role could be a great side business idea for you. This business is done freelance, so you only get to sell when you want to, after all you only get paid if you make a sale. You can make a neat income out of this business is you have a knack of closing sales easily.
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Become a local business consultant
If you’ve developed valuable skill sets or certifications within your industry over the years, consider putting your skills to use in your free time by offering your consulting services to local business owners as a potentially lucrative side business idea.
Whether you’re an expert marketer, business strategist, or manufacturing aficionado, there’s likely a local business owner who’s willing to pay you to help them solve an issue with their company—if you can craft an effective cold email that convinces them to hire you.
Yoga is getting ever more popular, which means yoga instructors are more in demand than ever—making this another physically rewarding side business idea. Link up with a local yoga studio to teach nightly classes or offer personalized yoga in-home at a higher rate to pursue this kind of emotional and physical balance with others, during your free time while helping your bank balance, too.
Starting and running a YouTube page can be a good side business idea if you take it seriously. If you can create value-driven, entertaining video content and grow your subscriber base to a few thousand subscribers, your videos can start generating pretty substantial income from all the ads being displayed on your videos.
Many YouTube users make well into millions each year, so there’s a clear potential to take this from a side business idea to an eventual millionaire with the right combination of content, audience, skills, relationships and timing.
Many small companies and startups now outsource jobs that aren’t part of their core business which makes this skill set a great opportunity for starting a side business idea that engages your number prowess. Because companies always need to track their cash flow, freelance accountants and bookkeepers can really benefit from the increasing demand for part-time help.
Companies are always looking for ways to better communicate to their customers what they do. If you can offer this to them, then you can start this business as a side service. All you will need to get started is a computer and applications such as Photoshop or Illustrator.
Types of media you will be responsible for creating include logos, fliers, newsletters, magazines, information sheets, letters, advertisements etc.