With the rising cost of living, and the opportunity to work flexibly in all jobs, there has not been a better time for women to take on a side hustle than now. The idea of earning a little extra cash on the side might sound appealing, but getting bogged down in the how’s and where’s of starting is easy. Luckily, there are an ever-increasing array of side hustles for women.
This article takes you over the five best and most lucrative side hustle ideas and how to get started in making your side hustle dream a reality.
1. Sell Books for Profit with BookScouter
We all have books lying around the house, and very often, we don’t give them a second thought. If this applies to you then it could pay to seriously consider using BookScouter.com to sell these books for profit. Many books, especially hard-to-find ones, rare collector’s edition books, or course textbooks, can be worth quite a lot of money. The issue with selling books online is that unless you are an expert in this field, it can be difficult to understand exactly how much cash you could get for your unwanted literature.
BookScouter simplifies this process by collating book ISBN numbers with the ISBN lookup tool and providing accurate valuations that help you understand exactly how much to sell your books for and the best places to do so. BookScouter’s simplified approach to book valuation and selling can turn your unwanted book collection into an incredible–and unexpected–side hustle! (Feel free to read our articles on How to Determine Book Condition and How to Sell Books on BookScouter).
2. Offer Freelancing Services
One of the best and most flexible side hustles for women is offering freelancing services. The best thing about this is that there is no end to what can be termed as a freelancing service, so more often than not, you can pick one of your many talents and put it to work! The nature of freelance work means that you are effectively your own boss and can pick and choose your own working hours.
Some of the most popular fields of freelancing include article writing, design, marketing, CV or résumé writing, copywriting, photography, or data entry. Some of these fields require little experience for you to get started, but if you have a prior work history or professional exposure to them, you might be able to command higher prices from the outset.
Getting started as a freelancer is quite straightforward. Websites such as Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, or Upwork make the process of setting up a freelancing side hustle really simple and will handle a lot of the marketing and earning process themselves (for a small cut of each order). After this, it’s up to you to build up your reputation and client base and offer great service so people keep coming back!
3. Blogging
Everyone has an interest in or is a subject matter expert on something. Bloggers put these interests to work by writing regular and engaging posts for their audience to read. Women looking for a side hustle and who love to write should seriously consider blogging. Typically this will be in the form of writing on publishing platforms like Blogger or WordPress. Still, video blogging, or ‘vlogging’, is another excellent way to share what you love, typically on video-sharing services like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram.
Turning your blog into a side hustle does take time and effort. It’s easy to set up a blog or vlog to the point that many people are doing it. The trick is to ensure you stand out from the crowd. Start small and test the waters with what you want to talk about. The first rule of blogging is consistency, by releasing posts often and regularly. You can only do this if you love what you are talking about. If you’re interested in starting your own book blog, we recommend reading our article on the Top 10 Book Bloggers and Book Review Channels on Youtube. This will help you get started and understand the best practices in the field.
Afterward, you will need to promote your content. This can be through engaging with those commenting on your posts, creating a network with like-minded bloggers and promoting each other’s work, and tirelessly marketing what you do. You can add click-based adverts to blogs and vlogs, which can really start to make the money roll in.
4. Offer Tutoring Services
One of the most lucrative side hustles for women is tutoring. You don’t need to be an aspiring or experienced educator to start tutoring online. It would be best to have a good knowledge of what you want to teach and understand how people learn.
Some of the best subjects to tutor in are areas such as language (including English), basic STEM knowledge, helping children with homework or coursework, and online programs such as Microsoft Office. Individuals and parents are always looking for freelance tutors who can offer some advice and support in these subject areas. Languages are particularly sought-after, and overseas parents are known to pay generously for native English speakers who can tutor their children.
Tutoring as a side hustle requires some pre-work to get started. Using a website like Preply, Tutor.com, or Upwork welcomes freelance tutors and will support you in setting up your side hustle. From here on, start out with a few smaller or lower-paid tutoring gigs and work on your reputation from there. Clients – especially parents – will only entrust you to tutor them or their children if you have some credibility or reviews, so the key task here is to get your name out there and ace that first assignment!
5. Monetize Your Creativity
Websites like eBay, Etsy, or Shopify make it easier than ever before to sell handmade crafts. This is the perfect way to turn your passion or hobby into a lucrative side hustle.
Many of us love creating things, whether it is paintings, sculptures, or other crafts such as making stuffed toys or decorations. If this applies to you, hone your skills to ensure that what you produce is marketable and likely to be appreciated by a wide audience. Also, if you want to turn this craft into a side hustle, then it pays to do some research to figure out what other like-minded people are offering and how much they are selling their products for.
Begin by listing a few simple products and build an online presence and reputation from there (it also helps offer a few free items to family and friends, provided they review you!). As you gain reputation and reviews, you will begin to find that marketing your creativity is not just a lucrative side hustle but an enjoyable one too!
Conclusion
These five best and most lucrative side hustle ideas are a great place to start in your journey to earning a little extra money. Though they are only five ideas, these options present a flexible and varied series of hustles that can help you turn your skills and talents into money.
If you’re a college student looking for a side hustle, we’ve got you covered. Check out our articles on the Top 10 Best Side Hustles for College Students and 8 Legit Side Hustles to Make Money Online for some great ideas and inspiration.
Getting a side hustle started will take effort and time to build up the necessary reputation and experience to earn serious money. That said, if you put in the hard work to your side hustle, not only will it become an engaging labor of love, but it will also mean that you become generously rewarded for all your efforts. Good luck!
