How to Make Extra Income While Working Full-Time: The Art of Balance

Whether you’re putting money aside for an emergency, a down payment, or your next vacation, even a little extra cash can make the difference. Starting a side hustle is a great way to make more money and achieve financial freedom.

The right side hustle should ideally match your skills, passions, and lifestyle, striking a healthy balance between making money and maintaining your sanity. Sometimes, it’s a short-term solution—other times, it’s the beginning of a new career or business. No matter your reasoning, there are many options for making extra money while working full-time.

In this blog, we’ll explore 10 side hustle ideas for making extra income, covering all the bases so that you can find the most suitable option for you.

Sounds good? Let’s roll!

Assess your skills and interests

Before we dive into potential side hustles, you should figure out exactly what you hope to achieve—be realistic about your expectations.

Understanding your goals and motivation makes brainstorming easier. Start with what you’re most interested in. Think about what hobbies and activities you enjoy in your spare time and the types of tasks and projects you like best at your current or past jobs.

Source: Pexels

If you stick with a side hustle, it can become a profitable full-time career, but keep in mind that having a side gig can’t interfere with your current full-time job.

It can help if you answer the following questions before you begin:

1. Does the side hustle align with my interests?
   After a long workday, you’ll need extra energy to focus on a side project. The most effective way to muster the effort required for a side hustle is to select a field you’re passionate about. Perhaps you’re interested in custom apparel. Whatever you choose, look for something that’ll make you swap Netflix for side hustling.

2. Is the side hustle financially viable?
   Like any business, you’ll likely need to invest some time into your side hustle before it generates revenue. Initially, focus on establishing demand for your product or service to make your first sale. Once you’ve made some progress, step back and assess your business’s profitability. It’s important to consider whether your efforts are worth the returns.

3. Does the side hustle fit my schedule?
   Balancing work, family, and daily responsibilities can make it tough to find time for a side hustle. If your schedule is already busy, opt for a flexible business model that allows you to divide tasks into manageable chunks and finish them on your own terms.

4. Do you want a passive or hands-on side hustle?
   Side hustles demand different degrees of involvement, and even passive income streams need effort to initiate. For example, creating an affiliate marketing website can be demanding initially but requires less daily management compared to a hands-on activity like pet sitting. Determine whether you prefer a side hustle that requires your ongoing attention or one that allows you to be more flexible.

10 side hustle ideas for you to explore

Once you have your list of hobbies, interests, and skills written down, you can start researching ways to monetize them.

Side hustles are an excellent way to generate additional income, but like any new venture, they require initial setup work to gain momentum. If you don’t pick a niche that aligns with your current lifestyle, it’s easy for this extra work to slip to the bottom of your to-do list and eventually be neglected.

Now, enough planning—let’s dive into it.

1. Start an online store with print-on-demand

The print-on-demand business model allows anyone to earn money online without significant investments, inventory, or logistical challenges. This modern order fulfillment method enables you to create, design, and sell unique products from the comfort of your home.

Picking the right partner streamlines the whole process. Here at Printful, we allow you to focus on the creative side of things as we take care of all the logistics—printing, packaging, and shipping directly to the customer.

Here are some of the advantages of print-on-demand:

• Beginner-friendly: Print-on-demand is a straightforward business model to start, manage, and scale. With Printful anyone can design and sell products using dropshipping.

• Low investment, low risk: You only pay for the products after a sale is completed, eliminating the need for inventory investment, storage space, or financial risk.

• Simple passive income: After setting up a store and managing initial online marketing, the business can be sustained with relatively low effort.

• Big selection of products: Entrepreneurs can sell a wide range of products, from apparel to tech accessories, appealing to a broad audience and focusing on trending products.

• Endless personalization: Stand out by designing original products. Exclusive designs make it easier to attract customers and make money.

Source: Printful

To get started, think about the types of products you want to sell. Pick any of the 328 products available in our catalog, design, customize, and build your own online store today.

Looking for inspiration? Here are the best-selling print-on-demand products.

2. Create a blog

Creating a blog about a topic in which you are both passionate and knowledgeable is an excellent option for people who love to write, enjoy spending time online, and want to share their interests, experiences, and opinions with others. Once you build a loyal following, you can earn money from ads, affiliate marketing, and subscriptions.

When starting a blog, it’s important to have a niche. A niche helps you define and target the right audience when marketing. Your niche also guides your content creation, making it easier to develop topics and blog ideas.

Source: Unsplash

You can build your own website using a drag-and-drop website builder like Squarespace or Wix. Once that’s done, start publishing content and experiment with marketing and driving traffic to your blog through SEO, ads, and social media marketing.

3. Offer freelance services

Technology opens up a world of opportunities for making extra money online. From local businesses to big corporations, many are looking to hire freelancers in different fields. Whether it’s freelance writing, photography, or graphic design, multiple platforms help link freelancers with clients.

As a freelancer, you work directly with clients, negotiating your contracts, setting your hourly rate, and deciding how many hours you’re available each week. This flexibility is a major advantage, allowing you to work remotely and control your schedule.

Compared to full-time employees, freelancers typically specialize in specific niches, allowing them to charge more as their reputation and demand for their skills grow.

Source: Freelancer FAQs

Popular freelancing skills on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork include copywriting, editing, graphic design, web design, virtual assistance, translation, and transcription. Hourly rates for these skills vary, reflecting the demand and complexity of the work.

To get started as a freelancer, create a profile on your preferred platform and include a portfolio that showcases a range of past projects. Once your profile is ready, you can start bidding on projects and work on landing your first client.

4. Sell digital products

The beauty of digital products is their unlimited selling potential, especially if they don’t require customization. Marketplaces like Creative Market, Etsy, Gumroad, and Amazon KDP allow you to sell digital goods to customers hassle-free. These platforms automate the entire checkout and delivery process, making it seamless for both sellers and buyers.

Source: Unsplash

Some of the more popular digital products include:

• ebooks

• Stock photos (sell to Shutterstock or Adobe)

• Learning and training courses

• Spreadsheets

• Planners and journals

• Crafting plans (e.g., knitting or crochet)

• Fonts

• Templates (e.g., presentations or social media)

• Animations

• Graphics

Promote your products using social media by offering appealing incentives like complimentary samples or discount codes. By leveraging your skills and the right platforms, selling digital products can be a lucrative and flexible way to generate income online.

5. Create an online course

Keeping on track with digital products—create an online course. In a world where learning has transitioned from a luxury to a necessity, sharing your expertise is a rewarding means to increase your income.

Platforms like Skillshare, Udemy, and Teachable offer excellent opportunities for course creators. Skillshare is a learning community where creatives and experts can publish and promote classes on various topics, earning extra money. Udemy, one of the largest online learning marketplaces with 57 million students, provides resources for creating courses and a Market Insights tool to help instructors identify profitable topics. Teachable offers a platform to create courses, sell digital downloads, and host virtual coaching.

Source: Skillshare

The global e-learning market is projected to reach almost $400 billion by 2026, making it a lucrative field for knowledgeable individuals.

With these platforms and your unique knowledge, you can create courses that not only provide significant value to learners but also create a substantial income stream for yourself.

6. Become a language tutor

Teaching languages online has become a popular way to earn money on the side. Various platforms allow you to become an online teacher, specifically teaching English as a second language to people from other countries.

You can teach English to students from all over the world from the comfort of your home. Depending on the platform, you may need previous teaching experience, a TESOL/TEFL certificate, and a four-year degree from an accredited university. Some platforms even provide training and curriculum for their teachers.

Source: Preply

Platforms like Preply and Wyzant offer great opportunities to teach English online. Preply provides a steady stream of new students, convenient payment methods, professional development webinars, and a supportive community. Wyzant connects tutors with students worldwide, offering a hassle-free way to teach and get paid.

As a tutor, you have the flexibility to work on your own time and schedule sessions around your full-time job.

7. Affiliate marketing

Companies will pay you to promote their products if you can create a channel that attracts high traffic levels, whether it’s a blog or a social media site. This is called affiliate marketing.

For instance, if you have a travel blog as a hobby, you can join an affiliate program like Shopify, Amazon Associates, or Rakuten. These programs let you choose products to promote. You can select items that you think your readers would be interested in and incorporate them into your blog posts with shopping links. Every time one of your readers buys the product from your link or uses your promo code, you get a percentage of the sale.

How much you can make as an affiliate depends on the company and product. According to Shopify, you could earn 5% on the low end and up to 50% with some partners. Affiliate marketing is how many influencers make money on social media.

Source: Shopify

If you want to start promoting products on your website or social media, you’ll need to make sure they’re “on brand’’ and make sense for your niche. Choose products you believe in and think your followers will like, and create content around that. You can incorporate SEO principles and run ads, but having high-quality and niche-specific content is key.

If you have a noticeable following, consider affiliate marketing. It’s a great way to gain passive income while working or pursuing other interests.

Interested in fashion and ecommerce? Discover Printful Affiliate program— it’s a good match for a wide spectrum of affiliates. We work with fashion influencers, bloggers, and ecommerce entrepreneurs.

8. Photography

With smartphones making everyone feel like a pro photographer, if you’ve got legit talent, why not use it to make money?

Explore the option of offering your photography services. Capturing weddings alone can be a full-time commitment, and opportunities abound, including photographing concerts, graduations, baby announcements, or annual family portraits. The possibilities are endless.

If you’re passionate about photography, selling photos online is another side hustle idea to explore. Many companies need photos for social media, ecommerce stores, and advertising campaigns. That said, don’t expect to start making pro rates right away. Begin by offering lower (but not too low) rates to build your skills and client list. You can even ask friends to pose for you to get shots for your website.

Source: Unsplash

To gain recognition, build a reputation, and connect with potential customers, you can leverage Shutterstock, Getty Images, and iStock. These platforms are always looking for new photos as websites and ad campaigns constantly need fresh content.

9. Pet sitting and dog walking

Pet owners often need reliable care for their furry friends when they’re away. If you’re an animal lover, pet sitting and dog walking can be a rewarding side hustle.

Platforms like Rover and Wag! make it easy to find pet-sitting gigs in your neighborhood. Pet sitting involves feeding, providing affection, and sometimes administering medication to pets while their owners are away. It’s ideal for those who enjoy spending time with animals, although the work can be irregular.

Source: Unsplash

Similarly, dog walking is a popular service for pet owners with busy schedules. It keeps you active and can turn into steady work, offering a reliable source of extra income. You can even walk dogs for multiple clients simultaneously, maximizing your earnings.

With apps like Wag!, Rover, and PetSitter, finding pet-sitting and dog-walking opportunities has never been easier. As pets are cherished members of the family, there’s a demand for reliable professionals who can care for them when needed.

10. Sell handmade goods

Starting a home business can be rewarding, especially if you have a knack for crafting handmade products. Whether you’re passionate about jewelry making, crocheting, or any other craft, turning your hobby into a side hustle is a viable option.

You can opt for setting up your own website or utilizing existing marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, or Amazon Handmade. Marketplaces handle the back-end operations, including shipping, payment processing, and sales tax, allowing you to focus on creating your products and managing listings.

Source: Unsplash

The global arts and crafts market has grown substantially in recent years, presenting lucrative opportunities for crafters.

While it requires dedication and skill development, crafting handmade products allows you to stand out in a competitive market, offering unique and personalized items to your customers.

Printful: your side hustle partner in crime

Embarking on an ecommerce journey and establishing a dropshipping side hustle may appear daunting, especially in today’s saturated online marketplace. From navigating fierce competition to the complexities of selecting suitable dropshipping products and niches, the path can be intricate.

Platforms such as Printful streamline the process, allowing you to concentrate on marketing, customer service, and staying agile in the ever-changing ecommerce landscape. Take advantage of our free and easy-to-use editing tool to unleash your creative skills while our in-house team makes sure your products meet the highest quality standards.

With the right strategies and tools at your disposal, dropshipping can become a gratifying side hustle, offering both financial rewards and a sense of achievement.

What’s your pick?

If you want to work on your own schedule and make good money at the same time, then side hustling is a great avenue to explore.

A side hustle doesn’t have to take up all your free time. With the online resources available, side hustling can take up as little as an hour a day—you’re the one who sets the pace. That said, if you want to evolve your side hustle into a full-time gig, it’ll require the extra hours.

Assess your skills, pick your niche, and get paid for something that aligns with your interests.

Are you ready to make extra cash?