How to Start a Side Hustle? Best Side Hustle Ideas in 2025

Having a side hustle is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Some studies have shown that 36% of the US’s workforce have an extra gig, and 24% of Americans plan to have one.

Blogging and launching an eCommerce website are among the best ways to make money online. However, setting up a blog or an online business for a side hustle comes with some drawbacks. Such jobs require higher focus and consistency to yield the expected results.

Starting a Blog or business needs to conduct regular website maintenance, which can be very time-consuming. The process may include optimizing site speed, checking broken links, conducting data backup, and reviewing SEO rankings.

Therefore, it may be difficult for hustlers to split their focus on their primary and secondary jobs. That said, many other awesome side gig ideas can help you get passive income more easily.

This article will cover the reasons for starting a side hustle in 2022, how to do it, and which secondary job ideas are the most profitable.

Let’s get started.

Five Reasons You Need to Start a Side Hustle

Money experts often emphasize developing a budget, registering for an insurance plan, and building an emergency fund to be the most essential for achieving financial success. However, many forget to add earning passive income to the list.

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Besides helping people survive in trying times, having a side hustle has many advantages, such as:

• Encourages personal and professional growth. Side hustlers can choose a field they’re unfamiliar with but much needed to support their long-term goals. For example, SEO content writers may prefer a digital marketing-related side job to help them find the perfect way to launch their own online business.
• Hones creative skills. People selling their photography or video editing skills for their side hustles may get more chances to improve their mastery in the field. Ultimately, they may have higher problem-solving skills, which help them see an issue from a different perspective to develop innovative ideas.
• Reaches a global audience. Especially in online businesses, hustlers can target a global market for their products or services. With that said, building an international brand may be highly feasible.
• Opens up multiple streams of income. Most millionaires invest their money in at least three secondary projects. Therefore, having one or more side hustles helps achieve financial freedom.
• Doesn’t require much to start. Setting up a side hustle is very cost-effective. Depending on what a person will do, it may only take up tens or hundreds of dollars. On top of everything, side hustles can also be bootstrapped.

How to Start a Side Hustle in 2022

From paying off some debts and making extra money for a vacation to building an emergency fund and taking a step closer to early retirement, having a side hustle is one of the easiest ways to save for such situations.

In this section, let’s learn five easy steps to start a side hustle in 2022.

1. Identify Your Skills and Interests

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You’ve spent 40+ hours on your full-time job and may feel on edge to add another 10 hours for your side gig. Opting for doing something you love for your secondary job can help bring more energy to the table.

Staying true to your passion also helps yield the expected results more quickly. As you may have the skills and knowledge in the industry you choose, you can set yourself apart from your potential competitors by offering the best product or service. These skills can easily help you to add some free money to your PayPal account.

If you haven’t figured out your passion, start with your hobby. Once you’ve found it, make sure to better understand it by learning some key competencies before turning it into a source of income. You can’t even imagine people making money by selling their own shoes.

2. Create a Good Business Plan

A business plan covers detailed information about how a business will operate. Typically, it outlines a business’s goals, objectives, products or services, marketing strategies, and financial planning.

While creating an excellent business plan may sound like a daunting task, it helps business owners save a lot of time and effort. Here are some benefits of having a good business plan:

• Gives clearer business directions. A business plan contains a company’s goals and objectives. It helps business owners stay within their strategy to achieve their purpose.
• Provides marketing roadmaps. The term refers to prescribed plans and timelines for finishing a project. With that said, a marketing roadmap can help business owners decide on what to do and how to do it.
• Helps make more informed decisions. During a business’s operations, there may be unexpected internal and external interferences. In such situations, a business plan helps business owners find the best possible solution to fill the gap between the current situation and the expected result.

3. Research Your Competitors

Competitive research is about identifying your competitors and analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and marketing strategies. Thus, this research helps find ways to make your business stand out from the crowd.

Besides offering the chance to innovate past the competitors, business owners can also think about their competitive edges. Such aspects can be soft-selling tactics, outstanding customer service, and smart pricing.

On top of all, conducting competitive analysis helps business owners better understand who their potential customers are. Meaning, they can determine the best marketing approach and tailor their products or services based on a specified customer persona.

Researching competitors can also provide a benchmark that can help a business grow. Let’s see four easy steps to conduct competitive research:

1. Identify the big names. When it comes to comparing brands, focusing on direct competitors is the way to go. Then, business owners can take notes on what products or services they’re offering and what makes their competitors frustrated about the currently available products or services.
2. Review your competitors’ online presence. Exploring their websites lets you gain insights into their ease of use, mobile responsiveness, content marketing strategy, and user experience. Scrolling through their social media accounts can also help you find out what kind of content attracts your potential customers.
3. Study your competitors’ marketing strategy. Whether they’re using aggressive sales tactics or cross and upsell strategies, taking notes on their marketing strategy helps business owners understand what works and what doesn’t.
4. Analyze your findings. Once you’ve gathered all the needed information, input your discovery into a spreadsheet. The documentation will ease your ongoing assessment that may affect your own business’s growth.

4. Use Freelancing Platforms

Freelancing platforms provide information about available temporary projects. In other words, these applications connect independent individuals with business owners outsourcing for projects that need specific skills.

Such apps also allow users to promote their job and build a client base. Depending on your needs, here are some of the most reliable freelancing platforms:

• Fiverr. Focusing on providing digital and social media marketing services, this platform best suits web developers, marketers, and graphic designers.
• Upwork. This platform offers many freelancing opportunities in the administrative, creative, and technical fields. From graphic design and content writing to IT development and financial planning.
• Simplyhired. Accountants, administrators, and human resource specialists can promote their services here.
• Behance. This platform offers a place for creative workers, such as graphic designers, video editors, animators, and photographers, to find the perfect freelance gigs.

5. Set a Schedule

Finding the perfect time and schedule for an extra gig can be challenging. In fact, many people refrain from starting a second job because they’re afraid they can’t split their focus between two roles.

Setting up a schedule may be an ideal solution for this problem. It helps create a routine so that your freelance gig won’t distract you from your full-time career.

Here are some easy tips for scheduling your side hustle:

• Determine the working hours. Some freelancers choose the regular Monday to Friday working days to get things done. For example, focusing on their second jobs early in the morning or late at night. Some others prefer to make use of the weekends or you can also use a services scheduling software to organize your schedule with clients.
• Take the most out of your idle time. Catch up with your side job’s small tasks when standing in line in a grocery store and waiting for your meals at a restaurant.
• Don’t be afraid to say “no.” Make sure you don’t have too much on your plate. However, keep in mind to do it politely.
• Delegate some tasks. When overwhelmed with the amount of work you need to finish, you can always outsource some tasks. Actually, hiring a student to help with data entry has been becoming a common practice.
• Take eating, resting, and entertainment into account. It’s vital not to sacrifice your daily needs and mess up your sleep schedule. For that, always prioritize health over everything.

Side Hustle Ideas in 2022

Choosing the perfect job for a side hustle is one of the most testing steps when starting one. Whatever your reason is for getting that secondary job, it’s best to select the one that provides the opportunity to turn it into a full-time occupation.

Apart from blogging and launching an eCommerce website, here are four trending side hustle ideas in 2022.

Online Tutor

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If teaching is your passion, online tutoring is one of the best side hustle ideas to try. Some of the most popular tutoring subjects include:

• Maths. From elementary to high school grades, math tutoring is the most requested all over the world. The focus materials may include arithmetic, basic algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus.
• English. One of the most obvious reasons for taking an additional English class is to prepare for English proficiency tests, such as TOEFL and IELTS. However, some students are also interested in improving their speaking or writing skills.
• Physical science. The course can include Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. High schoolers may be the ones who need this most, as they may want to pursue their dreams in physical science.
• Foreign languages. As the internet enables businesses to expand globally, there has been a high favor in finding talents who can help them build good relationships abroad. Among the most popular foreign language courses include Mandarin, Spanish, and French.

The pay for this service is also considered high.

Depending on the subject, the price range falls between $30 and $60/hour. Unsurprisingly, tutors that help students prepare for proficiency tests acquire higher income: from $45 to $100/hour.

Additionally, coding, business analytics, and digital marketing are among the skill-based tutoring services in high demand.

Freelance Writer

With the rise of content marketing, finding a freelance writing job is relatively easy. If you have excellent writing skills, choosing such a job as a side hustle can be very beneficial.

Here are some of the best tips for how to become a successful freelance writer:

• Choose a niche. Writing about something that you love or know about can be easier. Having a specialty also helps build credibility and authority to your name. Thus, your potential clients won’t hesitate to work with you.
• Perfect your pitching strategy. Start small by approaching websites that offer guest posting services to spread the word about your service. Once you’ve gained enough portfolio, it’s time to pitch your writing gig to your favorite brands or companies.
• Watch your writing style. In the digital and content marketing fields, conciseness and clarity are among the most vital factors for creating a winning article. Also, make sure that your content pieces are original.
• Learn basic SEO skills. The aim of content marketing is to widen a company’s reach. Therefore, it’s crucial that their blog posts can rank on the first page of Google.

On average, freelance content writers can make about $24/hour. However, they may expect a higher income depending on what topic they’re writing about. For example, freelance writers focusing on IT-related subjects may earn $32/hour.

Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing allows associates to earn commissions every time they promote and drive sales for a company’s products or services.

Once registered as an affiliate, you will get a unique URL that tracks how many people click the link or buy the company’s products or services through it.

Writing or filming reviews are two of the most popular ways how affiliate marketers incorporate the advertiser’s links and generate revenue. Apart from reviews, here are some of the best content to make:

• Tutorials. Such content doesn’t have to be about the products an affiliate is promoting. For instance, filming a video tutorial for how to start journaling can be a great way to include affiliate links. Doing so makes the advertising less aggressive.
• Social media posts. Affiliates can also take advantage of social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, to squeeze their affiliate links. Conducting giveaways on social media can also boost traffic to advertisers.
• Product comparisons. Combining two or more products into a content piece is less time-consuming than making a separate post for each of them. If you’re signing up for multiple affiliate programs from a company in the same niche, this type of content may be the perfect one to make.

When it comes to income, beginner affiliate marketers may earn approximately $300/day, and high-level ones can get around $3,000/day.

Take into account some factors that affect how much an affiliate marketer can make, such as their knowledge about the product or the ability to choose the right one. Also, affiliates cannot assume that their profit will be the same each day.

Social Media Manager

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While most large companies and corporations prefer full-time social media managers, small to medium-sized businesses often opt for freelance managers to manage their social media accounts.

Let’s see some of the most common social media managers’ job descriptions:

• Content creation. This process often includes campaign planning, taking photos/videos, content publishing, and copywriting.
• Content calendar building. It’s about scheduling what content and when to publish it. Creating an editorial calendar also shows how the series of upcoming content will appear on the business’s social media feed.
• Community management. Refers to some processes that boost engagement. Replying to comments and direct messages is part of this strategy.
• Social listening. Tracks how a business’s target market interacts with the company. For that, social listening tools can help identify online conversations and current trends in a specific industry.
• Reporting. This process summarizes how a business’s social media marketing campaign performs to help business owners plan ahead. Social media managers can craft the rapport based on the campaign goals, strategy, and success metrics.

Conclusion

Throughout this article, we’ve provided some answers for why you really need to start a side hustle in 2022. Here’s a short recap:

• Encourage personal and professional growth.
• Hone creative skills.
• Reach a global audience.
• Open up multiple streams of income.
• Doesn’t require much to start.

Further, you’ve learned five easy steps to start a side hustle in 2022. Identifying your skills and interests is probably the most vital stage. This is to make sure your freelance gig doesn’t stress you out and brings you joy instead.

On the last note, starting a side hustle means less time outside of work. However, we hope you can get the perfect one that won’t hold you back from spending some time with your loved ones. Good luck!