1. What Is a Side Hustle?
A side hustle is a type of job that a person does along with their regular job. Also known as side gigs, most people take up these jobs to earn an extra income or to test a different career path.
It should be noted that side hustles are often less stable than a full-time job, although they are a good means to supplement your income.
2. Why Should Women Take up a Side Hustle?
2.1. To Gain Financial Stability
Side hustles for women can help them earn extra income and build a substantial amount of savings. These savings can go a long way in helping them become financially independent, plan for future investments, or get them through financial hardships.
2.2. Develop New Skills
Side hustles are different from your regular full-time jobs, so they require you to learn and develop new skills. Not only can it be a great confidence boost, but it can also offer you a chance to gain new experiences.
2.3. Build More Connections
Side hustles make it easier for women to build meaningful industry connections with people in the same industry they’re passionate about. These connections can later prove useful if they decide to make their side hustle their career.
3. Things Women Need to Do Before Starting a Side Hustle
3.1. Identify Your Interest Areas
Identifying the industries and areas you’re passionate about or interested in will help improve your chances of success. It’ll also help you set up your hustle sooner and more efficiently as you will already have some knowledge about the field.
3.2. Do Market Research
Market research, whether through surveys, customer observation, or online tools, is necessary to gain a better understanding of your audiences, the industry, and your competitors. This research will also help you during the initial stages of product development and marketing.
3.3. Set Achievable Goals
A clear goal plan will help you develop an effective strategy, stay on track, and analyze your progress. Make sure your goals follow the SMART parameters, so they should be Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
3.4. Plan Your Budget
Before you start your side hustle, you want to create a budget for your initial investment. It will give you a clear idea of how much the setup will cost you. Having a defined budget will also help you track profits and losses in the future to determine whether the side hustle is a worthwhile investment.
3.5. Create and Promote Your Brand
Creating your brand and promoting it online is crucial before you start selling your service/product to audiences. It’ll help build the audience's trust in your brand and allow you to connect with potential customers in a more organic way.
4. 12 Best Side Hustles for Women to Know
4.1. Baking
Baking is one of the easiest side hustles for women that you can start right from your kitchen. All you need is a solid business plan, some baking supplies, a license, and of course, a knack for whipping up delicious baked goods.
Depending on your market research and budget, you can run a baking business both online and offline and earnings can range from $20 to $35 per hour.
4.2. Fashion Designing
Fashion design can involve creating clothing, accessories, and even shoes. It’s one of the best side hustles for women who love all things fashion.
You can get started by simply undertaking an online course or getting a fashion degree. However, you will need to dedicate some time to learn all the creative and technical skills involved in the job.
Start by looking up fashion designing gigs on sites like Upwork. Depending on your niche you can expect to earn between $20 and $50 per hour.
4.3. Food Delivery
Food delivery is one of the flexible side hustles for women, one that doesn’t require you to deal with customers directly either. Some of the popular food delivery gigs you can work for include Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, and DoorDash.
And if you’re okay with a little variation, you can also try delivering groceries via Instacart.
It pays between $15 to $30 per hour, but the pay varies depending on the time you’re working, customer tips, etc.
4.4. Home Tutoring
Home tutoring is a viable option if you’re good at teaching and are skilled in a subject that’s in demand. Although you may want to consider getting a certification for the subject you’re planning on teaching to attract students.
An added advantage is that there are no setup costs, and you can take this gig online or do it in person. The only consideration to keep in mind is that your schedule will be decided based on your students’ availability.
You can find tutoring gigs on Care.com, TutorMe, Coursera, or Udemy. You can expect a steady income between $20 and $100 per hour.
4.5. Freelance Writing
If you’re someone with good writing skills, you can try out freelance writing hustles. From writing essays and blogs to creating PR materials and resumes, there’s a lot of variety in the type of work available. You can do it from your home or anywhere in the world. All you need is a laptop and a stable internet connection.
Such writing-related side hustles for women on average pay between $20 and $70 per hour. And more importantly, finding work is easy with the help of sites like Fiverr, Upwork, or LinkedIn.
4.6. Beauty and Makeup Services
Consider taking up part-time gigs for makeup services if makeup and beauty skills come naturally to you. The setup is simple and easy, and there are multiple resources online to educate yourself on the latest makeup trends.
You can promote yourself on social media or rely on word-of-mouth marketing. Joining a professional makeup association is also a great way to both establish contacts and find jobs.
Makeup artists can earn up to $500 for a single look, depending on whether they’re working at weddings, studios, or proms.
4.7. Fitness and Health Coach
Side hustles for women in fitness and health coaching can involve helping others achieve their fitness, health, lifestyle, or diet goals. The work is pretty flexible and allows you to work online or offline.
You will, however, need to have a professional certification along with good interpersonal skills. The pay for this role ranges between $27 and $34 per hour.
4.8. Cooking Specialty Food
If you have mastered the perfect jam recipe, delicious gourmet cookies, or a unique take on classic cuisine, you can sell them as a side hustle.
While you’ll only need some supplies to get started, you want to develop a solid business plan first. It’s also a good idea to learn all you can about various aspects of the business, such as food safety, packaging, and relevant aspects.
The profit margin in this business can vary widely depending on what product you’re selling, where you’re selling it, and its demand.
4.9. Monetize Crafts
From paintings and jewelry to customized knits and journals, if you can create different kinds of durable craft items, you can sell them. Depending on whether you’re planning to run an online or offline store, you can even plan on selling digital products and printables.
You will, however, need to do more research and plan your budget better for this hustle. You’ll also need to buy supplies to make your crafts and plan how you’re going to offer deliveries, market your products, and more..
While, there’s no fixed income, the profit margin can be pretty high based on what you're selling, how your pricing model works, and demand for the items. You can make the crafts in your spare time and list them on Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, or Facebook Marketplace.
4.10. Virtual Assistant Services
Women with organizational skills can opt to work as virtual assistants for someone. It only requires a laptop and internet connection and can be done from anywhere in the world.
You’ll be handling tasks such as taking messages, answering calls, scheduling meetings, email monitoring and organizing, and making travel arrangements. But you can also offer niche virtual assistant services like social media management, content creation, etc.
The role on average can earn you approximately $15-$35 per hour. But you can charge more for in-demand skills such as video editing. You can look for jobs on freelancing sites like Freelancer.com.
4.11. Customer Service Representative
Customer service representatives work for companies to help assist customers with their problems via email, call, online, etc. It’s an ideal role for women looking to work remotely but those who lack any in-demand skills and qualifications.
The role typically pays $10 to $50 per hour. You can find customer service representative jobs on freelance sites like Freelancer.com, Fiverr, Upwork, etc.
4.12. Tailoring
Tailoring is another one of the side hustles for women that can be done from home. You can keep it limited to mending and alteration tasks or offer custom tailoring and dressmaking services.
The best part is the work is flexible and allows you to take on projects depending on your availability. On average, tailoring can help you earn up to $15 per hour.
Read our article on side hustle for college students to earn in their free time.
5. FAQs
5.1. How can I make $2000 a month with a side hustle?
You can make $2000 a month by working side hustles like affiliate marketing, virtual assistance, blogging, selling online courses, etc.
5.2. What are some quick side hustles to earn easy money as a woman?
Freelancing, personal assistance, pet sitting/walking, babysitting/childcare, and senior sitting are some quick side hustles for women to earn easy money.