How To Build A Side Hustle With Little Money

Side hustles are a great way to boost your income, but some are more expensive to start and maintain. It’s possible to start a profitable side hustle even if you don’t have many funds. The key is to think about your skills and interests and turn them into tools for increasing your income. Here is how to build a side hustle with little money.

Senior Sitting Services

If you are passionate about helping the elderly, start a senior sitting business. You would offer companionship and assistance to seniors with daily activities such as grooming, bathing, dressing, meal preparation, and housekeeping. You can also offer errand-running services for clients. Visit elderly neighbors and offer your services for free at first to give them an idea of the services they’ll receive if they hire you. Then you will charge your regular rates. Reach out to families who may need your services for their loved ones.

Handyman Services

Many homeowners are not skilled at certain house repairs, and this is where you come in. You can build a side hustle that helps homeowners do minor repairs. All you need are the right supplies and good marketing skills. Create colorful flyers about your services and leave them inside neighbors’ mailboxes, local hardware stores, supermarkets, and with friends and relatives. Write down the skills you have and the services you can offer based on those skills. Research the average cost for your services and determine the price you’ll charge.

Resume Writing Service

So many job seekers struggle to create a well-organized resume and if you’re skilled at this, it can become your side hustle. You can obtain certification for extra training and expertise from the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches although it isn’t required. Prepare sample cover letters and resumes and build a portfolio website to showcase these samples to potential clients. Maybe you can offer additional services such as interview coaching and career counseling. Create or revise resumes for friends and loved ones and have them refer you to potential clients.

Housecleaning Service

It doesn’t take much money to start a housecleaning service. You’ll need cleaning supplies and some marketing savvy. Buy cleaning supplies in bulk from wholesale clubs such as Sam’s Club and Costco. Create a typed contract that details what your specific services will be, the rate you’ll charge per hour or job, payment terms, and other legal clauses that protect your business. Tell relatives and friends that you’re starting a housecleaning business and clean their homes. If they like your work, they may refer you to others.

Part-Time Job With Flexible Hours

If entrepreneurship isn’t for you, look for a part-time job in addition to your current job that offers flexible hours. You can work at this job after getting off your regular job, on your days off, and weekends. The extra income from your part-time job can go toward savings, investments, and paying off debts.

Wash Cars

Visit clients’ homes and make their cars look brand new with your car washing services. Purchase high-quality car washing supplies, a vacuum cleaner, and a portable pressure washer to bring to clients’ homes. Research what others charge for car washing services in your area and set pricing based on those rates and your level of experience and labor. Visit car owners in your neighborhood and tell them about your services. Create flyers and post them all around the neighborhood and at local car repair shops and car dealerships. Create an Instagram account with images of work you’ve done. Most importantly, do meticulous work and treat customers with respect.

Social Media Manager

If you’re skilled at social media marketing, you can work as a social media manager. Your duties would include content creation and scheduling, engaging with viewers on clients’ social media pages, analyzing social media campaign results, and creating and running targeted ads for clients. If you already work in digital marketing, then this is a natural side hustle for you. Educate yourself by taking courses on social media management if you’ve never done it before. Test your new skills with friends and relatives and do social media marketing for your website. Apply for remote social media manager positions.

Teach Etiquette Lessons to Kids

If you’re stellar at etiquette, teach it to kids and teens. Not all parents know formal etiquette and they would be glad to pay someone to teach their kids vital social graces. Contact local schools and inquire about visiting different schools to teach etiquette classes during the school day or after school. The principals can also invite the parents to participate in the lessons with their children and after the lessons end, pass out business cards to the parents. Create a few Instagram Reels that teach etiquette to kids and teens.

Special Events Hairstylist

You can build a side hustle by working as a special events hairstylist. Create an Instagram account and a few Reels of you doing loved ones and friends’ hair for events such as weddings, job interviews, birthday parties, proms, and graduations. Build a portfolio website where you showcase your previous work to potential clients. Leave brochures at bridal boutiques, formal wear stores, school events, and party supply stores. Ask relatives and friends if they can refer you to people who need to get their hair done for upcoming events.

Niche Tutoring

There is general tutoring and there is niche tutoring. If you always did well on standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and LSAT, look for potential clients who are applying to college and offer your services to help them excel on these exams. Another idea is to tutor kids in a specific foreign language such as Spanish, French, or Italian.

Dividend Stock Investing

Much of the investing you’ll do is long-term but you can also view investing as a side hustle that gives you passive income for bills, having fun, and building emergency savings. Open a brokerage account through firms such as Vanguard, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab. You can deposit between $10 and $50 into the account and buy a few stocks that will grow your money over time.

Start A Lawn Mowing Service

Some homeowners can’t stand lawn mowing and will pay you to mow it for them. Visit neighbors and offer to mow their lawns on a certain day each week for a fee. This is a neat side hustle for teens and college students needing extra money in the summer.

Design Websites

Many small businesses and freelancers don’t always have the time to design websites and you can do this for them as a side hustle. Start by designing websites for loved ones and friends and put these projects on your website for potential clients. If you’ve never designed websites before, take some courses in web design, graphic design, and digital marketing. Then do a few practice projects before you seek out paying clients. Consider specializing in a certain niche of web design. For example, you can work primarily with local businesses or with nonprofit organizations.

These are just a few of the many profitable and inexpensive ways to build a side hustle and grow your money for months and years to come.