25 Easy Side Income Ideas From Home That Can Make $10K+ Per Month

There are numerous side income ideas with the potential to generate a few hundreds of dollars of extra income every month.

But what about side income ideas with the potential to generate $10,000 a month?

While the list of possibilities narrows significantly, such opportunities do exist.

In her book The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, author Elaine Pofeldt researched which U.S. entrepreneurs have created a business with over $1 million in revenue with just one employee.

Pofeldt found that these one-person, $1 million businesses fell into six categories:

Informational content creation
Real estate
Personal services firms offering expertise
E-commerce
Professional services and creative businesses
Manufacturing

This is a great starting point for ideas that can earn $10K a month. Below you’ll find 25 business models, broken down into the six categories listed above.

Informational Content Creation

#1. A Personal, Niche Or Authority Blog

Quick summary: Start a website that generates income from advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsorships and more.

A blog is a wonderful online business to own. You can earn over $10,000 a month, the hours are flexible, the start-up costs are low, and when done right you can generate passive income.

With these wonderful advantages, there is competition. But there are many people who are successful in this space.

To be successful, it’s important to pick a good blogging niche, as well as a good blog name.

From there, it takes the persistence to create valuable content, the commitment to learn marketing, and a willingness to test different monetization models.

#2. Virtual Assistant

Quick summary: Perform various administrative tasks for executives and small business owners.

When you’re looking for business ideas, try Googling the phrase “six figure + your niche.”

For example, type: six-figure + virtual assistants.

#3. Kindle Direct Publishing

Quick summary: Publish and market digital e-books on Amazon.

Self-publishing your own e-book is a trend that’s not slowing down. Many writers are making over $10K per month. James Altucher did a wonderful podcast with a writer who is earning $40K+ per month.

#4. Podcasting

Quick summary: Create and publish a podcast, earning revenue from advertising and affiliates.

Where to learn more: How to Start a Podcast: Pat’s Complete Step-By-Step Podcasting Tutorial.

Podcasters can command good money from sponsorships. And similar to blogging, there are a number of additional revenue models podcasts can pursue, such as affiliate deals, subscriptions and coaching.

#5. Affiliate Marketing

Quick summary: Sell other businesses’ products and services for a fee.

Being an affiliate marketer is like being a 100% commission salesperson. And while it’s closely linked to blogging, there are many ways to generate revenue as an affiliate marketer, such as through social media and YouTube.

Real Estate

#6. Real Estate Investing

Quick summary: Purchasing, renting, and managing real estate for a profit.

You can choose your own adventure as a real estate investor. From flipping homes to investing in rentals to commercial real estate, there are endless niches to get into.

One option I recommend before diving in head-first is Fundrise, which is a crowd-sourced real estate investing site where you invest in deals alongside others. The minimum amount to invest is just $500.

This is a fantastic way to start getting a feel for the market. You’ll be able to look a lot of deals, pick out which ones to invest in, and track your returns.

#7. Airbnb

Quick summary: Renting out real estate you own to others.

Airbnb gives anyone with an extra room (or even a spare couch) the ability to generate income by listing it. Use the Airbnb rental income calculator to see how much your place is worth on the marketplace.

Personal Services Firms Offering Expertise

#8. Tutor

Quick summary: Share your knowledge with eager students around the world.

Can you really make $10K a month teaching English online? The highest-paid teacher on VIPKID, a website that connects tutors with children looking to learn English, earned $9,000 in a month. So, you can at least come pretty darn close.

#9. Resume Writer

Quick summary: Prepare a professional resume that helps your client land a job.

Resume writing is a high-end niche in freelance writing. If you’re able to land clients a 10% or 20% greater salary, your value is high in the market. And that’s just what quality resume writers can do.

#10. Job Recruiter

Quick summary: Help others land a job.

If you can find the best candidate, you can create a lot of value for your client. Commissions get as high as 50% of the candidate’s first-year salary in specialized fields.

#11. Dog Walking

Quick summary: Walk and care for dogs.

Where to learn more: This Dog Walker Probably Makes More Money Than You Do.

The above-mentioned article tells the story of Ryan Stewart, who earns over $100,000 walking dogs part-time in New York City.

While Ryan certainly benefits from being in one of the most affluent areas in the U.S., the bigger takeaway is that many niche personal services businesses are in high demand today.

And whether you’re looking to earn some extra cash or want to start a legit side business, looking at these outliers can help you learn a lot about starting your own profitable business.

Rover is one of the best ways to make money by walking other people’s dogs.

E-Commerce

#12. Amazon FBA

Quick summary: Source, list and sell products on Amazon.

There are many ways to make money online with Amazon, but one of the fastest growing is with Amazon FBA. (FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon.)

With Amazon FBA, you source a product and send it to Amazon. From there, you’re done. Amazon takes care of all the fulfillment needed to get your product to the customer, and even handles returns.

What’s great is that it doesn’t require a lot of money to get started. Your inventory can be as small as a few units you get from Ali Express. You’d then resell the product online on Amazon for a higher price.

#13. Retail Arbitrage

Quick summary: Buy an asset and sell it for a higher price on an online marketplace like eBay or Amazon.

Where to learn more: The Washington Post — Raid clearance aisles and resell online for a profit.

Do you love going to flea markets, garage sales, or browsing thrift stores? If so, you can make money flipping items you find for a profit with retail arbitrage.

Successful side hustlers in retail arbitrage have a superior information advantage. This means understanding the market for what you’re buying better than the person selling the item.

#14. Etsy

Quick summary: Etsy allows anyone to create and sell handmade, custom, vintage and unique gifts.

Where to learn more: Inside Mrs. Money Mustaches Six-Figure Etsy Shop.

Selling and marketing unique homemade crafts used to be very difficult. That was before Etsy.

Total sales on Etsy nearly eclipsed $4 billion in 2018, which was up 20% from 2017.

#15. Launch A Shopify Store

Quick summary: Easily create an online store, selling anything from digital products to drop shipping others’ products.

Shopify allows you to easily create and sell all types of products online via your own store. The options of what to sell are endless.

A few ideas include:

Consultations. Have a skill where others would benefit from your expertise? Consider selling your time via a consultation. Examples include interior design, bookkeeping and SEO.
Digital products. Shopify allows you to sell digital downloads like PDFs and graphics. Example of this might be a personal trainer selling training plans, or a passionate home chef selling meal planning templates.
Dropshipping. Dropshipping is a fulfillment method where you don’t keep or hold products in stock. Instead, whenever you sell a product, you purchase it from a third-party who ships it directly to the customer. The big advantage to dropshipping is that you never see or handle the product.

Professional Services And Creative Businesses

#16. Bookkeeping

Quick summary: Produce financial statements and keep track of transactions for small businesses.

Bookkeeping is a business that’s consistently in demand. And just like freelance writing, it’s not hard to break into.

While rates start at around $30 an hour with basic training, you can advance quickly in the field.

One consistent theme among high-earning, one-person professional service and creative businesses is that they specialize. In bookkeeping, many industries have their own financial software.

For example, I spent 10 years working for an insurance agency where everything was run on a system called Vertafore, which had its own accounting method (as well as a certification program).

It’s these types of niche certifications — combined with working in a high-growth, high-margin business — that will allow you to become one of the high-earners in the field.

#17. Freelance Writing

Quick summary: Create written content such as blog posts, web pages, and newsletters for other businesses as an independent contractor.

One of the most popular ways to make money without a traditional job is to freelance. And one of the best ways to start is to become a freelance writer.

Six-figure writers are more common than most people think. We’re in a content boom. Businesses of all sizes are looking for quality writers and are willing to pay a good price.

What’s also nice about freelance writing is that it’s easy to break into, as no experience or certifications are required. You can find freelance writing jobs on sites like Upwork and Fiverr.

#18. Copywriter

Quick summary: Promotional writing for businesses.

Where to learn more: Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

Copywriting (which has nothing to do with the legal term “copyright”) is simply promotional writing for businesses. This could be anything from writing a brochure to web content. And as skilled copywriters are highly in demand, it’s also one of the fastest ways to quit your day job.

One of my favorite copywriting success stories is that of Mindy McHorse. She went from zero experience to paying off over $100,000 of debt by freelancing as a copywriter.

She credits her success to taking the Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting offered by American Writers & Artists Inc. (a course I took and highly recommend as well).

Top copywriters can earn six figures. For a project, a typical fee might be a base rate plus a percentage of the revenue generated. Good copywriters can earn $10,000 a month, as their impact on revenue can be large.

#19. Social Media Manager

Quick summary: Manage the day-to-day social media activities for small to medium-sized businesses.

Every small business needs more customers. And one of the best channels right now for gaining new clients is through social media.

Good social media managers charge $2,000 to $4,000 per month per client. Expert social media managers, who can typically run paid social campaigns for a profit, can charge over $10,000 (plus a share of the revenue) per client.

If you commit yourself to learning the fundamentals and are able to show results, managing social media is one of the fastest paths to working from home (or anywhere in the world).

And the Facebook Side Hustle Course by Bobby Hoyt is one of the best ways to get started. You’ll learn all about the most lucrative aspect of social media management: paid campaigns, which businesses use to drive new customers to their websites.

Plus, Bobby’s a great teacher. I’ve taken one of his courses and I learned a ton. The Facebook Side Hustle Course only opens up a few times each year, and you have to sign up for the waiting list if you want to lock down a spot.

#20. Graphic Designer

Quick summary: Design visual images using computer software.

As much as we’re in a content boom, we’re in an image boom. The internet is becoming more image-friendly thanks to fast-growing platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.

Higher-paid graphic design niches include UI/UX design, landing page design/optimization, and branding.

#21. Web Design

Quick summary: Create attractive and functional websites.

A close cousin of graphic design, web design is another fast-growing side income idea. Web designers who make $10K a month understand conversion and user experience, as these have a significant impact on revenue.

#22. Marketing Automation Specialist

Quick summary: Implementation of automated marketing systems

Where to learn more: Expert Secrets — The Underground Playbook for Creating a Mass Movement of People Who Will Pay for Your Advice.

Businesses of all types are using marketing automation software. A close friend of mine took a certification program provided by Ontraport, a popular marketing automation software solution. Upon certification, he was charging $75 an hour. A few years later, he’s billing at twice that and is turning clients away.

#23. Paid Media Specialist

Quick summary: Manage paid advertising campaigns on Google, Facebook and other sites.

Where to learn more: Perpetual Traffic Podcast.

This is another side hustle idea I’ve tried myself. While working a full-time job, I took on local business as clients and managed their Google, Bing, and Facebook advertising campaigns.

A lot of the work is up front. Then, it’s about small tweaks going forward.

Experienced PPC managers can charge $2K+ a month, meaning you only need five clients to hit your $10k goal.

If you’re a beginner and in the right niche (I recommend local, high-priced service providers like cosmetic dentists and high-end remodelers), you can earn $1K a month per client — and most importantly, clients can see the ROI in the first month.

As for resources, I listed my favorite podcast above. From there, you’ll want to dive into the specific platform, such as Facebook or Google.

#24. SEO And Content Marketing

Quick summary: Increase visibility in search engines through the production of content.

Where to learn more: The Complete SEO Strategy Guide by Clickminded.

Search engine optimization is the skill of gaining visibility for clients. SEO goes hand-in-hand with content marketing, as it’s through content like blog posts that a site gets found.

Having both skills is rare. As such, the skillset is highly in demand and pays a very high rate.

A course that really taught me a lot (this site gets most of its traffic from search engines) is Mike Pearson’s Stupid Simple SEO.

Mike opens the course only a few times a year. Sign up for the waitlist to get an alert when it opens, which also gives you free access to Mike’s five-day SEO Bootcamp.

#25. Manufacturing

Quick summary: Production of physical goods.

I have to admit, manufacturing as a side income idea sounds very odd. But as I read through The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business I started to see how one person could run a successful manufacturing company.

In the book, Pofeldt profiles a husband and wife team who run a million dollar honey company from Hawaii. They essentially outsource everything but the production of the honey itself.

A lot of converging technologies are coming together to make manufacturing a viable option for a side hustle. From 3D printers to fulfillment centers like Amazon’s, it’s now possible to produce your own goods and sell them all over the world.

Other Side Income Ideas

The downside to the side income ideas that have the potential to generate $10K a month is that going from zero to $10K can take time.

If you’re looking to make a little extra money in your spare-time fast, here are a few part-time side gigs that pay well:

Online focus groups: Online surveys are a simple way to make a few bucks and don’t take a lot of energy. When we ranked the best survey sites, the two that rose to the top were Swagbucks and Survey Junkie.
Swagbucks: Rewards sites like Swagbucks allow you to make money by watching videos, through cash-back shopping, by taking surveys, and more.
Food Delivery: Services like Postmates and UberEats can be solid ways to earn $15 to $25 per hour, and it’s easy to get started. Check out our roundup of the best food delivery gig options.
Mystery shopper: Mystery shopping is a form of market research, where companies will pay you to physically shop a specific retail store.
TaskRabbit: TaskRabbit allows you to choose from a number of different jobs, from running errands to lawn maintenance and everything in between.
UserTesting: This site allows you to review and offer feedback on websites, and pays instantly via PayPal.
Care.com: If you enjoy kids and have experience babysitting, consider signing up as a caretaker at Care.com, a marketplace to find local jobs.
Data entry: There are multiple ways to make money with data entry. To earn cash quick, consider going with a company like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk
Turo: Turo is a creative side income idea, as it’s a marketplace to rent out your car for extra money.