7 Best Side Hustles to Start This Year

Ever feel like your paycheck barely covers your life, let alone your goals?

🖥️ Reading time: 5 minutes

You're not alone. Five years ago, I was a public school teacher with zero side hustles. Today, I’ve got 10 income streams—and 7 of them didn’t even exist back then.

So if you're wondering what are the best side hustles I can start right now? Here are 7 side hustles that I wish I had known about when I was getting started.

💻 1. Start Writing for Money (with AI Superpowers)

Keywords: freelance writing, AI content creation, ChatGPT, remote writing jobs

If you love the idea of working from your couch in sweatpants (or beachside in Bali), this is for you.

Writing is one of the most beginner-friendly, AI-powered hustles out there. Tools do the heavy lifting. You just need to shape it, polish it, and deliver it.

The opportunity? Small businesses. Think about your local coffee shop. Their Instagram is either empty or ancient. You can step in, offer content help, and start charging right away.

🕐Time investment: 4/10
💪First $100 difficulty: 6/10

Pro Tip: Learn one tool well (ChatGPT is a solid bet), then niche down—like helping realtors, dentists, or coaches.

🧠 2. Sell Digital Products You Create Once

Keywords: sell eBooks, passive income ideas, digital product side hustle

Build it once. Sell it forever. Like my free Money Cheat Sheet here.

This is the most scalable side hustle in the game. Whether it’s an eBook, spreadsheet, template, or budget tracker—you create it, list it, and let it work while you sleep.

When I wrote my eBook, Invest Like A Millionaire eBook, I sold it for between $20 to $40. It was a great feeling to receive purchase notifications. That’s the power of digital products. I was walking Domino one day, my phone buzzed, and I found out that I made a sale. I wasn’t in the office. I wasn’t working. Someone just found my product online, clicked buy, and I got paid. The best part? I didn’t need any inventory or shipping.

🕐Time investment: 6/10
💪First $100 difficulty: 8/10 (harder to stand out, but totally doable)

Real Talk: Marketing is the make-or-break here. You don’t need millions of followers. You just need to be valuable to a niche.

🎓 3. Create an Online Course (Teach What You Know)

Keywords: sell online courses, Teachable vs. Udemy, passive income teaching

Courses changed my life.

When I realized I was answering the same math questions over and over, I started recording videos. Those videos fed into tutoring. Then my courses and that became coaching. And now? They're communities.

If someone’s asking you for help over and over—boom, that’s your course topic.

🕐Time investment: 7/10
💪First $100 difficulty: 7/10

Pro Tip: A course with no marketing is a billboard in the desert. Put it where people already hang out.

📚 4. Start Tutoring or Coaching (Monetize What You Know)

Keywords: online tutoring, coaching side hustle, active income stream

Tutoring was my first real side hustle. I started at $15/hr and scaled to $200/hr with referrals.

Here’s the kicker:
If you’re good at something—and you talk about it enough—people will start paying you to teach it. That’s how my first investment coaching client found me… through Instagram.

🕐Time investment: 8/10 (active income = trading time)
💪First $100 difficulty: 6/10

Pro Tip: Group sessions. You charge each student less but earn more in the same hour.

🎬 5. Become a Video Editor (Creators Need You Yesterday)

Keywords: video editing jobs, freelance video editor, YouTube side hustle

YouTube is on fire right now—66 million creators worldwide. Most don’t have time to edit. That’s where you step in.

My first editor didn’t pitch me—they just sent me a cut of my own video. Hired on the spot.

Real demand. Real money. If you can edit fast and make it pop, you can start making money ASAP. Fiverr, Upwork, or cold outreach all work.

🕐Time investment: 9/10
💪First $100 difficulty: 4/10

Pro Tip: Learn 2 things—short-form edits (for Reels/TikToks) and long-form storytelling (for YouTube).

🌐 6. Build Websites for Small Businesses

Keywords: freelance web design, small business websites, website side hustle

Web design is a sleeper hustle. Every business needs a site—but most don’t have the time or skills to build one.

🕐Time investment: 8/10
💪First $100 difficulty: 6/10

Low-hanging fruit: Local businesses. Pitch a redesign. Charge $300-$1,000. Repeat.

🎨 7. Get Paid to Design (Logos, Social Posts, Branding)

Keywords: Canva designer, freelance graphic design, beginner design jobs

If something looks outdated, people assume the product is too. That’s why design is in demand.

Social media graphics, logos, brand kits—every business needs them. And thanks to Canva and YouTube tutorials, you don’t need a design degree.

🕐Time investment: 6/10
💪First $100 difficulty: 5/10

Best way to get clients: Show your work. Share it on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok. Make your skills visible, and people will find you!

📌 Final Thoughts: Pick One. Go Deep.

Don't start all seven. Pick the one that excites you and go all in for 90 days.

The truth? You don’t need to be the best. You just need to start, get results, and stack skills as you go.

And hey—if you want a full roadmap with tools, platforms, and income calculators, check out my free Money Cheat Sheet here.

✅ Take advantage of my FREE Financial Freedom Faster eBook

✅ Get in touch

Let’s build this thing.

- Steve

Disclaimer:

The following article is strictly the opinion of the author and is not to be considered financial/investment advice. CTL Community LLC and the author of this article do not claim to be a registered financial advisor (RIA) or financial advisor. Please visit our terms of service and privacy policy before reading this article.  "Call to Leap may earn affiliate commissions from the links mentioned. Call to Leap is part of an affiliate network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites such as ImpactRadius, CardRatings, MyBankTracker, and more."