With the rising cost of living, numerous people are turning to side jobs to earn extra income. Thanks to the internet and advancements in technology, there are a large variety of money-making activities you could start from the comfort of your own home, especially if you have a laptop and a steady internet connection.
Are you looking for a quick and easy business idea that you can practically start from your couch with almost no start-up costs? Here are 20 quick money-making business ideas for you to choose from.
1. Drive for Uber
Businesses like Uber and Taxify offer an opportunity to make some quick cash. You’ll require a clean driving record, a relatively new car and the authorisation to work in the city you live.
Once you have all the requirements, it’s up to you when you want to work. Whether it’s in the middle of the day, during rush hour, or in the late-night hours of the weekend.
Another option which is available to your, is driving for Uber Eats or Mr Delivery. Customers order food from their favourite restaurants and you pick the food up and deliver it to them. It’s similar to Uber and Taxify, except without having a passenger in your car.
2. Sell on Hello Pretty
If you’re an artist and enjoy creating all manner of things in your spare time, selling your wares on Hello Pretty could be the way to go. Hello Pretty offers everything from clothing, jewellery, art, food, digital and even pet related products.
Hello Pretty is looking for locally designed and made items, as well as creative services. You can create anything from printable templates to help people become organised, to natural fragrances or bath items. The marketplace can help you release some of that creative energy while earning some money on the side.
3. Rent a spare room on AirBnB
So you have a spare room that you don’t really use, it just collects unused furniture and bits and bobs. That spare room could be making money for you. Airbnb is a great platform to advertise your extra room. You can make some good money every month, especially if you live in a tourist destination, big city, or an interesting and desirable neighbourhood or home.
If you’re looking to make even more money, you can stay at a friend or family and rent out your entire house/flat. Right now, loft apartments in Maboneng are earning over R360 a night, with a studio apartment in upper Sea Point earning more than R396 a night, and beachfront accommodation in Durban earning more than R310.
4. Conduct a webinar
A quick and easy way to earn some extra cash is to teach skills you have to others online. It can be intimidating, but it’s fast and easy and you already have the knowledge. Keep in mind, you’ll need to position yourself and what you’re teaching correctly, if you can get that right, you can make a lot of money in a very short period of time.
Using a webinar, you can give a presentation, teach others how to use products and deliver world-wide messages to thousands of people at a time. Once you’ve created a bit of a following you can pre-record your webinars and release them at pre-arranged times. You could effectively be at work, while earning money from your prescheduled webinar.
5. Open a mobile food truck
Do you love to create unique and interesting culinary masterpieces? Why not sell them? Individuals between the ages of 18 to 34 are patronising food trucks and that’s why this industry is a rising trend. Whether at festivals or at popular tourist destinations food trucks are a low budget way to share your culinary expertise with the world.
This business idea appeals to a large group of entrepreneurs because it’s relatively inexpensive to start, if the location you choose doesn’t work you can easily move, and it can be profitably run as a part-time gig.
If you consider there are many South Africa franchises that started from food trucks, such as Vuyo’s and Crumbs and Cream. So if you’re looking for a side-hustle that has the potential to grow into a thriving food empire, this could be the place to start.
6. Activity tours
Do you enjoy doing local activities such as surfing, skateboarding, scuba diving and hiking? You can now earn money sharing your passion with others. If you know all the best places to go, where people can practise and where they can rent gear, you could turn this into a profitable side-hustle.
If you can organise everything needed for a trip like this, whether it’s rock climbing or white-water rafting, people will pay for it. Ensure you have the right safety regulation licences required to launch these types of ventures like this in South Africa. Create local experiences out of activities you love to do and know a lot about.
7. Teach a passion or a skill
You can teach people your mother-tongue, or if you’re multilingual you can teach multiple languages. There is a demand for people across the world teaching English. If you have above average English skills, you can go online and teach them from the comfort of your own home.
All you need is a computer, the internet, a webcam and microphone, and you’re ready to go. Keep in mind, if you’re working through an agency you may have to commit at least 20 hours a week.
Tutoring
Those ultra-competitive tiger parents want their children to get into the best schools and eventually the best universities. You can help these students, whether that means pre-school or university. Tutoring in person can be time-consuming, but once you get started, and you do a good job, you’ll find new clients via word-of-mouth.
If you did well in high school or university, you can even tutor students in specific subjects. This is no longer limited to face-to-face tutoring, you can help students across the world with their subjects. Udemy allows you to create any online course and get paid forever after as users take it up.
Music teaching
Can you read music? Can you proficiently play an instrument? Even if you aren’t accomplished you can still teach beginners. When starting out, offer your services to schools and after-school programmes.
8. Start your own website
If you’re good at creating content, you can launch your own website. Once you have a decent amount of posts on your website you can monetise it. To get your first visitors start-up a social media campaign, and there are plenty of ways to monetise your site from there.
There are numerous examples of successful websites that started as a part-time hustle and have now grown into full-time sustainable enterprises. Just remember to keep adding new and engaging content to your website to ensure your visitors keep coming back.
9. Design useful and trendy apps
Are you good with coding and technology? Have you seen a gap in the app market? You could design the next trendsetting app. This is harder than it sounds, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the income these apps generate.
By offering one or more apps on iTunes or Android app stores, you can increase your apps exposure to prospective clients. You can generate income by charging for the app, displaying in-app ads, or charging for in-app features and upgrades.
10. Educational blogging
Do you read blogs when looking for answers? You could be using your particular set of skills to guide others and teach them something new. Maybe you’re an expert in your field or you’re an experienced traveller or have a specific passion, such as eco-friendly living.
All you need to do is set up a blog template and write regular posts. There are several ways you can make money writing about something you love. Some ways you could make an income include, but are not limited to:
- Using Google AdSense
- Starting an affiliates program
- Creating webinars
- Offering online courses
You could also write eBooks, this is similar to blogging but allows you to teach others a new skill through a digital book. It will cost your readers a fraction of the price of the printed version while offering them the same level of education. eBooks are free to create, and you can sell them on established platforms such as Amazon.
11. Become an Internet Life Coach
There is a growing interest in quality of life and managing the work-life balance, which creates an opportunity for life coaches to help guide and offer advice. Unlike the intellectual demands of becoming a technical or executive coach, you can be successful at life coaching relatively quickly.
All you’ll need is common sense, a respect for family and a commitment to enjoy life to the max every day and helping others do the same.
There are multiple online course and certifications you can take to add trust and authority to your services.
12. Sell your photos
Are you a professional photographer or do you just think you’ve got a good shot? You can upload and sell your photographs for free to stock websites. Consider Fotolia, istockphoto and BigStock as good starting points.
You can make more money selling photos on subjects with fewer search results, but you feel would still have some demand. You can even sell your work online on sites like Shutterstock and Unsplash, who pay for photos so people can use them online.
There is high competition, but if you’re persistent and skilled this could be a great method for earning passive income.
13. Transcribe audio
You can earn a decent amount of extra cash doing audio transcriptions. There are numerous companies around the world looking for users to transcribe South African speakers. Who better to transcribe the South African accent then South Africans?
The more you transcribe, the more you make, so it’s totally up to you how much you do on a daily/weekly basis. You can transcribe shorter clips that are only a couple of minutes long, or longer audio options for some clients.
For this particular side-hustle you’ll need an internet connection and a computer and you can get going.
14. Create an educational travel opportunity
More people around the world are saving their money so they can see as much of the world as they can before it sinks, melts, or is destroyed in some way by global warming. Not only this, but a significant portion of travellers are looking to get involved in community projects while they’re travelling.
If you already have connections to charitable organisations or this is a particular passion of yours, you can start an online travel company that:
- Educates people and offers insights about the country they’ll be volunteering in.
- Tells volunteers what equipment they will need.
- Shows travellers where they will be living.
- Offers all-inclusive packages (e.g., flights, accommodation options, food, transport, volunteering, etc.)
Not only will you be helping the community, but you’ll also be supporting yourself doing something you love.
15. Translate
If you’re fluent in your mother-tongue or in multiple languages you can get paid to translate either audio or documentation. There are many local and international online translator businesses that you can join part-time.
You can just upload your resumé and list your rates and services to get going. New jobs are typically posted every day and include projects like translating a tourism brochure or subtitling a movie.
You can also try an online agency like gengo.com and verbalizeit.com. This gives you the opportunity to select projects that will fit your schedule and abilities.
16. Handyman work
Not everyone has DIY skills or can hang shelving straight or even change a lightbulb. There is a growing group of people who would gladly pay someone else to do things like assembling a bookshelf or fixing a broken lamp.
If you’re highly skilled you could make custom furniture or do custom projects for your clients during your free time. If you have technological skills, you can help fix problems with people their devices, hook up their DVD players to their TV or even set-up their surround sound.
Fixing things is not everyone’s strong suit. If it’s yours, you could advertise your services and make some extra money fixing or maintaining clients’ properties.
17. Walking Tours
If you’re an avid explorer of the areas around you and enjoy finding the hidden gems in your city you can even offer guided walking tours on Voicemap. This app enables you to earn money by guiding tourists and visitors through areas using stories and facts of the area.
“I’ve had almost all of my best experiences when a local showed me their city. It immediately cuts through all the abstraction of being an outsider, because you become a participant, with a point of reference that helps you to identify with a place. You get to share somebody else’s feelings for their home,” explains Iain Manley, co-founder and CEO of Voicemap.
You can also offer in-person themed tours, such as: History, cocktail, architecture and food. You can advertise your tours in hotels and tourist information kiosks. Even if you don’t charge for the tour, many people will tip if they had a good experience.
18. Start a Podcast
If you’re charming and charismatic, and there’s a topic you’re passionate about, why not start a podcast? As your audience grows, you can land some lucrative sponsorship deals, which can help you make decent extra cash just for talking.
You don’t need a lot of equipment to get started, basically a laptop and an internet connection. However, the higher quality your equipment, the better you’ll sound, and the more repeat visitors you’ll start to get. So, you should probably invest in some microphones and editing software.
19. Cooking and Baking
If you love to cook or bake in your spare time you could share your love for the culinary arts with locals and travellers and make some extra money on the side.
Local markets are growing in popularity, you could sign-up and set-up a stand for a couple hours every weekend. Keep in mind, the more options you have the more people you can sell to. So, you should aim to have gluten-free and vegan options.
If you’d rather create bulk meals, you can offer your services to people in your area. You can supply them with healthy, home-cooked meals for the week. You could even create a menu and they can select what they would prefer.
20. Social media manager
Considering how much time people of all generations are spending on social media, why not create campaigns for businesses and make money while spending time tweeting or posting. There are numerous companies, especially start-ups, retailers and travel businesses, that are in constant need of people to help build their brands online.
In time, as you grow your ability to leverage various social media channels, you can add more services to your offerings like running high-return Facebook Ad campaigns or hosting lucrative sweepstakes competitions for the brands you want to work for.
There are numerous low capital business ideas that you can start, to earn extra money. Focus on your passion, or your skills and you can create cash out of something you already know how to do, or you love doing on a regular basis. Use these 20 quick money-making business ideas to earn a little extra money every month, or even to support you completely.