10 Side Jobs For Busy People -Start A Part Time Side Hustle Today!

Let’s face it: figuring out ways to make money on the side with a full time job can be pretty tough.

The thing is, a 9-5 job isn’t really just 9-5…between commuting, running errands, prepping for the work week, and generally being a functioning adult, it can sometimes seem difficult to find free time.

However, if you’re ever in a crunch for cash or are simply looking for some part time side hustles, a full time job doesn’t put you out of the running. In fact, you can still find plenty of opportunities to earn extra money that don’t completely destroy your social life or energy levels.

I’m going to make an effort to compile the best side jobs that meet the following requirements:

• Have no contractual obligation or offer a very flexible schedule.
• Only require a few hours a week at the most to start earning income.
• Have decent starting pay or the potential for long-term growth.

Let’s get to it!

1. Charge Scooters For Money

If there’s on thing I love about writing articles for This Online World, it’s discovering new side hustle ideas that are both lucrative and pretty out of the box.

If you live in a major city that has electric scooter rentals available from companies like Bird or Lime, you can actually start a decent part time side hustle by keeping these scooters charged.

The revenue model behind the electric scooter business is fairly straightforward. Users simply download a scooter app, setup an account/payment method, and can then rent electric scooters in their city and pay per minute to zip around town. It’s an effective transportation solution that is growing in popularity in many major cities in the U.S. and around the world.

As a scooter charger, you essentially scoop scooters off of the street, charge them at your home or office, and then return the scooters to a central hub once they are fully charged.

Payment per scooter varies on how long it’s been since a scooter was charged. Additionally, it only takes around $0.25-$0.40 in electricity costs to fully charge a scooter.

According to Kevin from Financial Panther, both Bird and Lime pay between $3-$5 per scooter charge.

Kevin is able to pick several scooters up during his commute, enabling him to earn anywhere from $10-$30 a day if conditions are right.

Kevin now currently earns anywhere from $150-$1,000 a month just by charging scooters, which is pretty insane…seriously, check out his blog post and the screenshots to see what I’m talking about.

If you live near a Lime or Bird hub, this could be a very lucrative part time side hustle to consdier!

2. Flip Books Online

In my recent Young Money interview, we heard from Kevin on how he started earning semi-passive income by selling books on Amazon FBA.

What struck me the most about Kevin’s story was the sheer speed at which he was able to generate revenue. A quick weekend trip to some thrift stores and a modest investment into inventory was everything Kevin needed to get his book flipping business up and running.

The process here is pretty simple: find under priced books at flea markets or thrift stores, cross-reference the price on Amazon, and profit from the difference by buying and selling books through Amazon’s FBA program.

This is a perfect example of a side job that can be started with just a few hours of work every couple of weekends, and it has the potential to turn into a decent stream of passive income once you build up your inventory.

3. Walk Dogs & Pet Sit

If you’re an animal lover, dog walking or pet sitting can be a great way to make extra money while working a full time job.

Companies like Rover or Tailster have created marketplaces where dog/pet owners can pay to have someone walk or look after their beloved furry friend.

Taking care of pets or walking dogs is a decent side job for a few reasons.

Firstly, companies like Rover allow you to set your own schedule and pay rate, and there is no minimum monthly requirement for how active you need to be.

Secondly, all pet sitter or walkers are insured under companies like Rover, so you are protected while doing your work. Considering that you can make upwards of $19/hour walking dogs with Rover and even more by pet sitting, there’s definitely money on the table (especially if you live in a major city).

4. Flip Items On eBay

In another one of my Young Money interviews, I got to hear from Nathan of Millionaire Dojo on how he makes hundreds of dollars every month flipping items on his eBay store.

As with Amazon book flipping, if you’re willing to put in some time on the occasional weekend or two and invest in a modest amount of inventory, you can start to earn extra income every month and diversify your income (without sacrificing all of your free time).

The proof is in the pudding. Nathan earns more than $500 from flipping on eBay every month, and he also interviews other successful sellers on his blog while documenting his own progress. It’s really transparent content and I highly suggest giving it a read!

A sneak peak at some of the items in Nathan’s store.

If you enjoy thrifting and can find a few hours a month to buy inventory, this might be a viable side job for additional income. Having a truck or larger vehicle to transport items around can help, but it definitely isn’t required for beginners.

5. Deliver Food

While food courier companies have gotten a lot of negative press in the last few years over worker wages and demands for better pay, I’m a firm believer that food delivery jobs can still be a viable part time side job.

Yes, earning an entire living wage from delivering food is an immense challenge. However, if you’re just looking for a flexible way to make extra money, I don’t think delivering food is a terrible idea.

In my post on delivering for DoorDash versus Uber Eats, I was able to interview one of my good friends to learn how much money he makes by delivering food in Toronto.

My friend able to make upwards of $20 an hour by delivering during dinner rushes or late night bar hours, and he also avoided putting mileage or wear and tear on his car by solely delivering via bike.

If you want to make money on the side, get some exercise, and work 100% on your own schedule, I’d highly suggest checking out some popular food delivery companies in your area.

6. Referee Sports

While this money making idea is slightly less flexible than the other jobs I’ve mentioned in this post, I think it’s still worth mentioning since refereeing a game for a sport you enjoy is actually a pretty enjoyable use of time.

Refereeing soccer matches was how many of my friends made money as teenagers, but I also know several older people who have been refereeing matches for as long as I can remember/have been playing.

Now, becoming a referee generally requires you to complete a course and have some understanding of the sport you’re officiating, and you don’t set your own hours. However, if you can find a gig officiating a summer game every now and again, it’s pretty decent money.

Refs can easily get paid $50+ per game, or even more if you make it to higher levels/age groups of play.

Besides, who doesn’t want to get paid to enjoy some outdoor weather and a sports game? If you don’t mind angry parents yelling at you, it’s an absolute walk in the park!

7. Rent Out Assets

I’ve already written a pretty comprehensive post on ways you can rent out your assets for cash, and this would probably be my go-to for extra money right now since I’m pretty swamped with a full time job and blogging these days.

It doesn’t matter if you’re using AirBnB to rent out a spare room or rental marketplaces like Fat Llama to rent out gear or gadgets; this is a fast opportunity for semi-passive income you can start immediately if you own the right asset.

Living in a major city will probably make this side gig more viable, granted, but I still think it is worth exploring if you want to earn extra money alongside your full time job.

8. Teach Music Lessons (In-Person & Online)

If you play an instrument or can sing, you are actually sitting on a money making opportunity.

Growing up, I was fortunate to have parents who were able and willing to enroll me in guitar lessons.

Back then, taking in-person lessons with an instructor was pretty much the only option out there, although a lot has changed since then.

However, thanks to the internet, it’s now possible to make money by teaching music lessons online thanks to companies like TakeLessons or Live Music Tutor.

Online music lessons are appealing to parents because they offer flexible scheduling, don’t require any driving, and are often cheaper than private lessons.

However, teaching music lessons online is still an awesome at-home side job that pays well.

The average cost of an hour long lesson on TakeLessons is $65, and teachers earn 90% of lesson fees after they’ve taught 15 lessons or more. Plus, teachers with more accreditation can tutor higher level players and charge a higher hourly rate.

Teaching lessons in person is still a great way to earn extra cash outside of your full time job, so consider posting flyers in your area or posting ads on local classifieds.

9. Contractless Gig Jobs

Thanks to the power of the gig economy, it’s never been easier to make money on the side whenever you find some free time and motivation.

Now, while many of these sorts of jobs have some requirements or are less flexible than I’d like for this post (like many online tutoring jobs, for example), there are still plenty of contractless side jobs out there.

A few of the ones that come to mind include:

• Task Rabbit or Thumbtack – get paid to assemble furniture, do yard work, help with moving, or complete other odd jobs as you see fit.
• Handy – make money assembling furniture or cleaning.
• Bellhops or Dolly – help people with their move for some side cash.
• HelloTech – get paid to help people with their tech problems and installations.

These are all manual labor jobs for the most part, but hey, they pay very well per hour and leave the client booking process entirely up to you!

10. Try Various Micro Jobs

While I’m not a huge proponent of micro jobs sites like Amazon MTurk or any GPT platform, these platforms can work if you’re only looking to earn some extra grocery every month while doing mindless tasks like watching TV.

Some beermoney experts rely on micro work to sustain themselves, but I think this is quite extreme. Realistically, you can probably earn an extra $100-$200 per month if you take a bit of free time to complete short tasks online…more if you grind a bit harder or can get a job with companies like Appen or Lionbridge.

Micro tasks generally include stuff like surveys, identifying objects in photos, transcribing audio, or completing data entry tasks.

It isn’t glamorous work, but between the assortment of sites I’ve covered in some of my posts on This Online World you should be able to find some work!

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, balancing a social life, personal health, and a full time job can seem quite hectic at times. If you tack on the need or desire to make additional income and improve your financial well-being, things can get seem even tougher.

However, I’m a firm believer that there has never been a better time to be alive or been as much opportunity to succeed as there currently is.

Between the power of the internet/technology and the drive to improve one’s own finances, the world is flush with opportunity.

Play to your strengths, pick a side job, and put in the work to get the result you want! It might take some time, but the rewards are always worth it in the long run. Just never forget to also enjoy life and to live a little!

That’s all for this one! I hope this list of the best side jobs helps you to earn a bit of extra income in addition to any full time job you might have.

Catch you guys in the next one.