I almost lost a dear friend to depression. This woman is one of the most diligent individuals I’ve ever met – dedicated and resilient. However, last year posed a significant challenge when the FinTech company she worked for encountered some issues, leading to widespread layoffs. Unfortunately, my friend who had only spent a year with the company and depended solely on the job for her income, found herself among those let go.

As you might have guessed, life became incredibly tough after the layoff. She had to dip into her savings, but it still wasn’t sufficient to cover all her expenses. In short, she was in a dire financial state a few months after. 

Layoffs are unexpected sometimes and happen to the best of us. But what if she had an additional source of income – a Side Hustle? It could have made a significant difference and helped her stay on her feet until she found a new job, right? 

Whether you are looking to diversify your income, develop your skills, and, most importantly, achieve financial security and independence, this post provides you with some remote side hustle ideas that can offer additional income and help you achieve financial freedom. First, let’s recap what side hustles are;

What Are Side Hustles?

As illustrated, side hustles are basically financial life-savers. They are work that you do in addition to your full-time job, especially in your free time, to supplement your income. Side hustles can take various forms, including pursuing your passion and turning it into money, engaging in freelance work, taking on consultation jobs, part-time jobs, and other online businesses. As long as it is legal and contributes to your primary source of income, it qualifies as a side hustle.

10 Side Hustles That Pay Well

Let’s look into 10 online side hustle ideas that pay well and are profitable in 2024. 

1. Freelance Writing or Blogging

At the top of my list is freelance writing. If you have a strong command of grammar and can get creative with stringing words together, then this is one of the remote side hustles that you should consider. With this, you get to do what you enjoy (if you enjoy writing, of course) while earning extra income seamlessly. Aside from it being a side hustle, freelance writing is one of the highest paying remote services out there, because good writers are always in demand in every industry. So if this is the side hustle idea you would love to consider, then you should get on these platforms or other remote job boards to kick off: Fiverr, Upwork, LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.

2. Online Tutoring

If you are very good in your field, and you have the patience to simplify complex concepts for easy understanding, then the only thing stopping you from having a side hustle to earn extra income is YOU! You have the skill already, all that’s required of you is to search for suitable platforms that provide opportunities to connect with those in need of your expertise. Platforms like Fiverr and Upwork could serve as excellent starting points to find potential customers. Simply sign up on the platforms and introduce yourself and what you do – all from the comfort of your room. Not only does this open avenues for additional income, but it also contributes to the enhancement of your skills. I understand that this might not be as easy or straightforward as it sounds, nothing is, but remember that every journey begins with a single step. You will be surprised to see the high demand for tutors when you take that first step.

3. Affiliate Marketing

If you’ve ever followed a link to make a purchase from a podcast, a social media influencer’s page, or even a website, chances are these creators might be affiliate marketers. It’s a popular and lucrative side hustle that allows you to earn commissions by promoting products or services for other companies. All you have to do is conduct your research on existing affiliate marketing programs, sign up, and start promoting their products or services. Once registered, you’ll receive a unique link or code to track the traffic and every customer that buys their product through your link.  The good thing about affiliate marketing is that it mostly doesn’t require any capital to get started. You simply need to put in the effort, and your money starts working for you. Easy!

4. Dropshipping

If you are a lover of e-commerce, then dropshipping is the ideal side hustle for you. With dropshipping, you don’t need to worry about inventory management and all that. All you have to be is a middleman, making the sales happen between a third party and the customer. The best part? It’s incredibly flexible, and you don’t need a substantial startup investment.

Once you’ve identified the types of products you want to deal with, all you have to do is to set up an online store on platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or others. From there, you can source for reliable suppliers that will get your business up and running.

5. Photography

This is another side hustle idea that allows you to make money from your passion. You shouldn’t let your full-time work stop you from pursuing your passion and even earn more income while at it. The approach is simple: promote your services on social media to get customers and, during your free time, offer your expertise at events or special occasions. If you would like a more passive approach, consider exploring stock photography to earn money online. Platforms like  Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, or Getty Images  provide avenues for photographers to upload and sell their images. Each time someone purchases or licenses one of your photos, you receive compensation.

6. Print-on-demand business

Print-on-demand (POD) business is an excellent side hustle if you are looking to dip your toes into entrepreneurship without the complexities of inventory management. With this model, there’s no need for significant upfront costs, or even any costs at all as the business model is structured around pre-orders. You simply collaborate with a third party supplier offering white-label products, allowing you to design and customize items that you then sell to customers on a pre-order basis.

7. Virtual Assistance

This is an online side hustle idea you should consider as a corporate worker looking to make extra income. Virtual assistance is a flexible in-demand opportunity you should pursue if you have the organizational and administrative skills to support businesses, entrepreneurs, or busy professionals. The tasks you will be involved with will range from managing emails, scheduling appointments, and handling data entry. You can check here to read more on how to become a virtual assistant.

8. Consulting

No matter your expertise, you can leverage your skills and in-depth knowledge to help others, particularly companies in search of seasoned professionals. Consulting is a flexible side hustle that can be done remotely, requiring nothing more than your expertise. It is a job that requires you to apply your professional experience and skills to provide valuable insights and solutions to businesses or individuals seeking your expertise. Acquiring clients can be done through code emailing, freelance platforms or by reaching out to firms on LinkedIn.

9. Fitness Coaching or Personal Training

Fitness coaching or personal training can be a rewarding and flexible side hustle for you if you are passionate about health and wellness. Coaching allows you to share your fitness expertise while still working your full-time job, seamlessly. To excel as a fitness coach, you must be willing to learn from experts, practice what you preach, and learn to make observations and necessary adjustments.  And the best part? You can even run this as a remote side hustle too. Simply establish an online presence through social media platforms, a website, or fitness apps to attract customers. Invest in quality gadgets such as a good camera, microphone, lighting equipment etc. Create a library of videos demonstrating different exercises your clients might need so that they perform their work outs even on days you aren’t present.  It’s also important to research the legal requirements needed to operate an online personal training business in your country before you get started. 

By sharing your fitness journey, client testimonials, and informative content, you can effectively draw in potential clients.

10. Social Media Management

In this present age, everyone relies on social media to promote their work and businesses.

If you possess the necessary skills to assist businesses or individuals in managing their social media accounts – engaging with customers, creating and scheduling posts – why haven’t you considered this as a potential side hustle? Social media management goes beyond just creating posts, there are other technical skills you need to have to excel as a social media manager. Nevertheless, I am confident that with the right dedication, you can acquire these skills in no time. 

Conclusion

Do you remember my friend from the beginning of this article? I’m glad you do, because it is the reason we have come up with this article in the first place. It is why we have outlined these side hustle ideas that you can pick up in 2024 for you to boost your income and be financially free. My friend now freelance as a writer and you will do yourself some good if you can do some extra research and also settle with a particular side hustle like she did. Taking the time to decide on the particular skill you want to pick up will give you a better insight and help you end up with something that is enjoyable, comfortable, and that can be accommodated by your full-time work.

So with these few points of mine, I think I have been able to convince and not confuse you that you need a side hustle even as a corporate worker… Scratch that. Good luck!