The Best Side Hustles for Remote Income
Most people want extra income, but the struggle is finding the time to do extra work. That’s why a side hustle is such a great option, especially a remote one that you can do from pretty much anywhere. Whether your goal is to pay off debt, save for something big, or create more freedom in your life, a side hustle can be a game changer. Here are some of the best side hustles that you can start right now, even if you already have a 9 to 5.
Virtual Assistant Roles and Earnings
The first side hustle is virtual assistant. This remote work has been very popular the past few years because this is a pretty easy side hustle to get into. As a virtual assistant, you usually help your client with scheduling, inbox management, some admin work or doing some research depending on what your client needs. There is a high demand for virtual assistant. No matter what your skill set is, chances are you can find a client who needs help with that.
A lot of people work full-time as a virtual assistant, but this is also one of the high demand side hustles because you can easily do virtual assistant work as a part-time job. Typically, with this type of job, you can earn from $15 to $30 per hour depending on what your client needs. To get started, first you want to determine what type of virtual assistant you want to be. You can be a virtual assistant that helps with marketing or social media. You can do bookkeeping or admin tasks like replying to emails.
How to Find Virtual Assistant Clients
Chances are you can use the current skill set that you already have and find a client who needs that specific skill set. To start finding work, you can offer your services on websites like Upwork or Fiverr, or you can also pitch directly to a small business owner via LinkedIn. You can start with a few hours per week or depending on your availability. Also, if you’re struggling to get started, one of the best ways to find VA work is to join a virtual assistant agency.
The agency will help you find clients, but the agency will also take a small percentage of how much you make. You should also put yourself out there by putting your profile on Fiverr, Upwork, and reaching out to people via LinkedIn. As a virtual assistant, you might spend a lot of hours replying to emails, taking notes, taking calls. If you want to maximize this side hustle so you can make more or onboard more clients, nowadays there are tons of AI tools that you can use. One of the favorites is Granola, which is an AI powered notepad for meetings.
Maximizing Efficiency with Granola
This notepad has been a game changer because it has streamlined work and saved hours in a week. It is also super easy to use. You just need to download the desktop app and connect it to your calendar and it will automatically pop up when your meeting starts.
Granola quietly transcripts everything in the background so there are no awkward bots joining your Zoom meeting. You can take quick notes during the call and at the end Granola combines all of your raw notes with the transcript and creates a clear structured summary. What makes it super powerful is its built-in chat function. You can literally ask your notes questions like what did I say I’d do this week or is there anything I should have asked the client but didn’t, and Granola will give you the answer instantly. That means you don’t just save time with Granola but it also makes sure that you don’t forget any important details. You can also think of it as your personal virtual assistant while you’re doing your virtual assistant work.
Content Writer or Copywriter
If you’re handling multiple clients, this is a game changer. You don’t spend hours relisting or rewriting important notes from your meetings. And it is free for up to 25 meetings per month, so you don’t have to spend extra money on your side hustle.
The second side hustle is content writer or copywriter. Every business needs a social presence, mostly with blogs, websites, Instagram, or even a newsletter. There is a lot of misconception that with AI nowadays, businesses don’t need a copywriter or a content writer anymore. But that is not true because AI cannot really replace the work of a copywriter. It can, however, help a lot with streamlining the workload. As a copywriter, you do need strong writing and grammar skills, the ability to research topics quickly, and it really helps if you understand SEO basics.
Building a Career in Copywriting
Things like keyword research or meta description. As a copywriter, you can usually earn from $20 to $50 per hour. This obviously depends on your experience. Copywriting is also one type of freelance job that is very popular and a perfect side hustle because many companies hire freelancers for this role. To get started, you can start with building a portfolio.
You can upload your portfolio on Upwork or Fiverr, or you can also reach out directly to potential clients. The goal is to eventually move into sales copy. This is where you help brands or businesses write their landing page or their advertisements because this is where the pay is usually significantly higher.
Customer Support or Community Manager
The next side hustle is customer support or community manager. Many businesses or companies hire part-time workers to help them with replying to email, live chat, or managing their online communities. If you’re organized, patient, and good with dealing with people, this role might be perfect for you. The skill that you need to have with this side hustle is clear written communication because mostly you’ll communicate with customers via email or live chat.
You need to learn about the product or the service that your client offers so you can give accurate answers or advice when the community or the customer are asking for something. The earning potential usually starts from $12 to $25 per hour. This is perfect for those who work or have previous work experience in sales and also customer support.
Getting Started in Community Management
To get started, you can start looking for this type of opportunity on We Work Remotely or even FlexJobs, and you can also get started with smaller gigs, for example part-time support on moderating Facebook groups or Discord, and you can eventually move to bigger community manager roles. One of the biggest challenges as a community manager or customer support representative is keeping track of endless meeting conversations and also updates.
Instead of manually typing notes during client meetings, you can use Granola to summarize everything. By the end of the meeting or the call, you have a clean recap of the things that you need to do or update. Since everything has been documented and summarized by Granola, you can respond to customers more quickly, which improves satisfaction and makes you look like a pro.
Online Side Hustles You Can Start Today! (After Your 9-5 Job)
Online Consultant or Coach
The next side hustle is online consultant or coach. This can be one of the most rewarding side hustles because you can share a skill or knowledge that people want to learn. It’s perfect as a side hustle because you can run your sessions during the evening or even during the weekends. The earning potential here is also higher. Usually with consulting you can charge from $50 to $100 per hour.
There are different types of consulting, but some of the popular ones are business consulting, where you help small businesses or startups with strategy, operations, and growth planning. Another popular one is marketing consulting. The goal here is to help companies attract their ideal clients and also grow their brand.
Specialized Consulting Fields
Some examples are social media marketing strategy or SEO consulting. Another huge one is financial consulting. If you work in finance, or have expertise in taxes or investments, then this will be a perfect side hustle for you. You can start offering your service month to month or even on platforms like Upwork. Over time, you also want to package your service.
Instead of just one-off calls, you can offer a six-week coaching program. This will help with higher earnings and recurring clients. More people are also becoming open to hiring a coach or consultant because this is the easiest and fastest way to learn something instead of doing all the research by yourself. You have an expert that will guide you and tell you what to do to get a result.
Sales or Client Outreach Assistant
With coaching and consulting, you’ll also spend a lot of time doing calls and meetings. You can use Granola to transcript and summarize your calls automatically. This will help you save a lot of time especially if you need to send your client clear action steps after the calls, and this helps with building trust and increasing client retention.
The last side hustle is sales or client outreach assistant. The job here is to help your client generate more leads, maintain relationships with customers, and also close sales. The earning potential usually starts from $15 up to $35 per hour. With a sales position, you usually don’t just get paid hourly — if you actually close some deals, you’ll also get a commission.
Responsibilities in Outreach
The typical responsibility is identifying or reaching out to potential leads or clients. This would mean sending emails or messaging them on LinkedIn, so you’ll do a lot of outreach and messaging in this type of role. Sometimes you also have to send proposals or schedule calls. If you want to find a part-time sales position, you can usually reach out to startups or small businesses that need help with generating leads but maybe don’t have a full team.
Coaches, consultants, or online course creators will usually need help with this as well. With this role, you definitely need strong communication skills, organization, attention to detail, and persistence because following up is key in sales.
Freedom Through Side Hustles
All of these side hustles give you the flexibility to work from pretty much anywhere. You can do these side hustles after your 9 to 5 or even during the weekends to generate extra income. The key is knowing how to use your time effectively, streamlining your workload with apps like Granola, and eventually charging more or onboarding more clients with these side hustles.