5 Side Gigs You Can Run From Home That Require Little to No Experience

Simple ideas you can start now while keeping your day job

People want more freedom, more work-life balance, and less 9-to-5 these days.

We hate Mondays but love Fridays; we don’t want to do things that make us feel miserable. Instead, we want to control our lives and our time, work from anywhere in the world, and get paid for our passion.

The reality is, that not every job is fulfilling and well-paid, and just a few people dare to shift from stability to uncertainty on the way to desired freedom.

If you keep doing the same things you’ve always done, in time, you’ll end up being in the same place where you are now!

Things won’t change unless you challenge your current self and find the right place in this world, whether it is another job, entrepreneurship, or freelance.

If you want to kick off a side hustle with little or no experience, but don’t know where to start, here are tried-and-true ideas for your inspiration.

1. Launch a Website

The best time to build your website was ten years ago, but the second-best time is now.

According to the Internet Live Stats, there are over 1.5 billion websites on the world wide web, and most of them were launched during the last ten years.

Siteefy reported that 380 new websites are created every minute! If you’ve ever wanted to build your website, the best time to make it happen is now.

Besides having personal digital space, there are numerous ways how you can monetize your website:

• Running ads through AdSense
• Affiliate partnership
• Sponsored content
• Paid guest posts
• Own services promotion
• etc.

An established mindset, “people have to work from 9 to 5,” prevents the majority from launching a side hustle. People are afraid of failing without even trying!

The good news, you don’t have to be a developer to create a personal website, nor do you have to be a sophisticated marketer. Everyone can build their website for under $100.

Last year, I helped a brand new hospital to move its local business online. We’ve built a website on Wix with basic functionality for just €75. I have an extensive case study about it, but in short, it took me several weeks to do keyword research, build a website in Wix, optimizes it for search engines, set up analytics, and run Google ads. The website has a few pages, but it attracts customers, and my client is happy!

If you are a translator, consultant, doctor, personal trainer, designer, photographer, or content creator, you too can successfully sell your services online through a single landing page!

Start small! There is no need for advanced functionality and fancy design to sell.

2. Create a Sponsored Listicle Page

Your tastes and likes are unique, and this is what brands worldwide are ready to pay for.

There are many curated lists on Google no matter what you search for, like “top 10 restaurants to visit in Rome,” “top 10 books to read this summer,” “best Japanese tea brands to try,” etc.

Companies and bloggers create curated lists of products and services to give you the best offers right away and … and find brands who are willing to sponsor such listicles!

If ranking high on Google, curated lists get lots of attention from avid users. Brands don’t want to miss out on this opportunity and are ready to sponsor their mention.

How do I know this? I am a marketer at a UX agency. I often stumble upon curated lists of best design companies and negotiate sponsored mentions.

Clutch, for instance, charges at least $200 per sponsored brand listing. However, you don’t need to have a dedicated website to write listicles. Nik Sundin, a UX designer, and writer used an open writing platform to publish many curated blog posts, like this one. His posts rank high on Google and generate lots of traffic every day. I even reached out to Nik several times to discuss sponsored agency listing, and I am sure I was not the only one who did it.

Here is what you should remember if you decide to build a listicle page:

People are ready to pay to market to a niche audience.

If you are familiar with certain products or services and have something to share with the world — go ahead! Write a curated list of suggestions based on your judgment. If your website is informative and SEO optimized, it might start ranking quite high in Google.

In time, companies will reach out to you and ask for permission to add their services to your page.

Your experience might solve someone else’s problems and generate extra income.

3. Sell an Ebook

Good ideas are worth spreading!

If you possess specific skills and experiences that might be interesting to other people, consider sharing your expertise through an ebook.

The ebook creation will cost you $0 if you write, edit, illustrate and market it yourself. However, if you outsource an ebook creation, the costs of a 5,000 words ebook can reach up to $3,000, according to Liam Moore, a director of client success at CrowdChange.

If you ask me what’s the best way to start, I would say — do it yourself! No one can explain things the way you do, and no one has the unique life experience you can (and should) share in your ebook.

Luckily, everyone can create an ebook these days. You don’t have to invent the wheel, nor do you need any special skills for it.

• You can write an ebook from scratch or repurpose your old blog posts into an ebook.
• Grammarly and the Hemingway app can help you find and fix grammar and spelling errors.
• Graphic design platforms like Canva will help you create custom visuals for your ebook without hiring dedicated designers.

Everyone is good at something; they just don’t always know about it. An ebook might become your side hustle that will continuously generate extra income, even when you sleep.

You can sell an ebook on Amazon or offer it in exchange for an email sign-up. Jarod Dickson has a superb guide on self-publishing and marketing your ebook on Amazon if you are interested.

If you already have many published articles, you can keep making money from your old blog posts by repurposing them into an ebook.

Joel Friedlander, a blogger, and an author repurposed 40 achieved blog posts and created a new intro to self-publish a 222-page book offered for $14.95 (print) or $4.99 (ebook) on Amazon.

If you are concerned that no one will buy your ebook since it is a set of self-published works available online for free, here is what the founder of J. Scott & Company, Jeff Rohde, says about it:

“People are willing to pay for good content — even if it’s available on your website already.”

Humans are busy and impatient most of the time. We have neither time nor a desire to go through all the available information online. That’s why we are willing to pay for the curated lists along with the author’s tips and experience.

4. Sell an Online Course

An ebook is a door to opportunities. If you open it, you’ll start a long but insightful journey towards new.

An ebook can show you why you should do certain things, but an online course will teach you how to do it.

Many companies, entrepreneurs, and bloggers offer free ebooks in return for your contact information. An ebook is used as a hook to sell products and services to you.

An online course can be a longer, more in-depth extension of your ebook that will help your customers improve specific areas of their lives.

Krystal Wascher made $63,991 from selling her $97 online course on Teachable. She did not have a solid email list of users ready to buy it. Instead, she learned how to run Google ads to attract the right audience.

If you too dream of launching your course, here is what Krystal suggests:

“There is no “one magic way” to sell online courses. Some methods will work better than others. But don’t be afraid to test things out.”

Nick Malekos, a growth marketer at LearnWords, has a massive guide with a step-by-step process for those interested in launching a course or a B2B online training with strategies, tools, selling practices, and actual steps you can follow.

Don’t be discouraged by the fact that there are tons of online courses out there. So what? Everything has been already said or done before, but it’s not a valid reason to stop you.

It’s about value, unique viewpoint, and the experience you can deliver. When you teach people skills, they can actually use, you help them improve their lives while making good money.

5. Perhaps Old-fashioned, But Still Promising — Writing

No, I don’t talk about such side hustles as Instagramming, Tiktoking, or selling on Etsy.

Although many bloggers motivate readers to give these opportunities a try, I believe they require substantial knowledge, energy, and time before you’ll see any result.

Writing is perhaps one of the most beginner-friendly gigs anyone can do from home with a low entry barrier and many opportunities to grow.

According to the ProCopywriters survey results, you don’t necessarily have to complete copywriting courses to make a career out of it. Only 46% of respondents reported completing copywriting training!

It might be challenging to land your first gig because clients prefer writers with decent experience and work reviews. However, it did not prevent me from getting my first freelance job with a $20 hourly rate. I’ve submitted six proposals in total and landed two writing gigs. Not bad for a complete beginner!

I used to consider writing as my side hustle. Surprisingly, it is becoming my main area of work. Here is what I learned along the way:

Start small and build up your portfolio of works. Look for entry-level sites that will pay you to write while nailing your writing skills.

If you have some free time and vivid imagination, try creative writing, producing novels or fiction stories for clients.

If storytelling is not your passion, you could also try copywriting and blogging. Every solid business has a website and a blog, but someone has to fulfill it with content. Why don’t you do it?

You can help businesses create compelling website copy that speaks to the users’ deepest desires, agitates their feelings, and sells the solution to their problems. All you need is to understand what makes people buy things and how to create a persuasive sales copy.

Why should you care about writing?

Content is part of any digital marketing initiative. Every rising startup and solid enterprise employs content creators.

Perhaps, one of the fundamental things 2020 has taught us is the importance of the digital world. During the global pandemic, Internet usage has increased by 70%, while more and more businesses adapted to working online.

This shift is mind-blowing for content creators.

The demand for good content will continue growing. You never know which opportunities might arise on your way if you dare to join.

Final Thoughts

Tony Robbins, an American business strategist, coach, and author, once well-said:

“Business success is 80 percent psychology and 20 percent mechanics.”

This quote implies that you need dedication, persistent work, and genuine interest to run your side hustle. Otherwise, you might burn out in some time and fail.

Ask yourself how badly you want to succeed and how genuinely are you interested in your idea. Remember, your side hustle will start taking lots of time and energy every week. The time which you could spend with your family, friends and beloved ones. “Is this sacrifice worth it?” — make a serious assessment if it is something you are willing to do, apart from your full-time work and other duties, understanding all risks and efforts it will take.

Now, go ahead and make your dreams come true!

Remember, every new day can make a difference as it is a beginning of a new, hopefully, exciting journey.

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