Are you looking for a career change or maybe a side hustle? You have come to the right place!
Working from home doesn’t have to be boring. Side hustles and work from home opportunities can give us the chance to explore our creative side, meet new people, and set our own hours.
These are 12 legitimate ways to make money from home. This list is for a wide array of people and skill levels. Some of these can even been done while the kids are in bed. Allowing you to stay home with them but also earn the extra cash you need.
Customer Service:
Are you good with customers and solving problems? Do you have a quiet work space in your home?
A customer service or customer support could be the job for you. Some of these companies have night hours too.
Live Ops
Live Ops hires customer service and sales professionals as independent contractors.
Live Ops contracts with a variety of industries like retail, health care, road side assistance, in bound sales, customer service, insurance claims, insurance sales, food order taking, and payroll support.
When you click on the opportunities center; you will see the type of positions you can apply for and their peak hours, and how many hours per week you will work. The opportunity center also allows you to see the skills, experience, and personality that are thought to be right fit for that job.
Days, nights, and weekend work available.
Direct Interactions
Direct Interactions is an outsourced, home-based customer service company.
They employ independent contractors for their home-based customer service.
Direct Interactions encourages people with disabilities and deployed families to apply.
United Health Group
United Health Group is a health insurance company that posts loads of work from home jobs. Some of the jobs are completely work from home, some are partial, others will require a few office days.
United Health Group posts jobs for customer service positions, clinical jobs, medical coding, health care operations like actuaries and underwriters, corporate services like analyst and finance, consultants, sales, marketing, tech, and even project management.
When looking for telecommuting positions, on the right-hand side of the job search is a blue sort and filter. When you scroll down you will see the word Telecommuter Position, click Yes. Below that you can also narrow your search by shifts.
HR Services
Kelly Connect
Kelly Connect has been around a long time. Their focus is to help you find a job that fits your life and skills. They connect people with temp jobs, freelance gigs, various professional positions, teaching, substitute teaching positions, and work from home opportunities.
To find work from home opportunities, on the left-hand side, at the bottom, under Flexible Options click, and then click work from home.
Kelly Connect Global for seekers outside of the U.S.
Freelance:
Your words are worth something, like, cash. Thanks to the internet, the written word is just as in demand as ever. There are more opportunities than ever for someone who likes to write and can write for other people or businesses.
Freelance writing can be a side-hustle or a full-time job. In order to make it work, you need to be able meet client’s deadlines.
If you think a freelance writing gig might be the thing for you, I cannot recommend Elna Cain and Jorden Roper enough. Both women are encouraging and informative. These women have good, actionable advice that will help you decide if freelance writing is something you would like to do.
Elna Cain
Elna Cain has had her work published in the Huffington Post, Psych Central, and Entrepreneur, to name a few.
Elna’s namesake blog Elna Cain is her freelance writing informational blog. However, you may also know her from her other passion project, Twin’s Mommy, where she helps moms learn how to make money online.
Elna’s blog is going to help you learn how to create a portfolio, inform you as to where you can find writing gigs, improve your skills, and really so much more.
In addition to her blog, she has a YouTube channel where she continues to help freelance writers learn the skills they need to be marketable.
Jorden Roper
Jorden Roper of Creative Revolt is a firecracker and no-nonsense freelance writing dynamo.
Jorden’s big on helping her future freelance writers’ niche down and cold email. Cold emailing is something that she strongly believes in. Cold emailing took Jorden from jobless to making over $5000, four months after she had been fired.
Jordan has hustle and moxy. When you land on her blog, you are immediately greeted with her can do attitude. As a blogger, who dropped out of college three times and was fired from a call center job, she definitely tries to instill in her readers the sense of if-she-can-do-so-can-I. Jorden also has an equally informative YouTube channel that is worth checking out.
I should warn you, before you hit that play button on Jorden’s channel, that she does use the occasional cuss word. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case you have little ones around or those aren’t words you are a fan of either. 😊
Must Love Dogs and Cats
Walking dogs and taking care of other people’s pets can be a fun way to make extra money. There are places in the US where a dog walker/care taker is a full-time job. Dog walking isn’t just fun, and flexible, it’s also like get paid to exercise. Bonus in my opinion!
Wag
If walking dogs sounds like a fun way to earn some extra cash, then head to Wag and start the application process. References are strongly encouraged.
Once approved as a Wag dog walker, the Wag app will show you the available dog walks being requested in your area. Dog walking is flexible. It is your choice if you would like to take up the walking request. Wag is kind of like Uber or Lyft, in that respect.
Rover
Rover is a dog or cat sitting website although they do offer do walking services as well. To get started with Rover you will need to fill out a profile by taping Become A Sitter at the top of their page. Even if you would only like to walk dogs. In a way your profile is your application. If you are hired this becomes your Rover profile.
In your profile you will include your rates, the size of dogs you are willing to watch/ walk, list your own pets, and the space the boarded dog or cat would be staying. Although some clients may ask you to sit at their residence.
The jobs you choose to take through Rover are up to you.
Teaching English:
No need to travel any further than the comfort of your own home for this teaching opportunity. Teaching English to people in China can be a rewarding experience.
The ages of the children and skill level can vary. At times, you the teacher, maybe be there to, primarily, help correct the student’s pronunciation, context, and to help work on their accent.
The lessons are booked in 30-minute time slots. You choose your hours.
Two things to keep in mind with this kind of gig:
- You will be teaching during Beijing hours, so that may mean starting very early in the morning your time.
- Secondly you will need a quiet space to teach from.
VIPKIDS
VIPKIDS is based in China. The students are between the ages of 4-12 years old.
VIPKIDs requires at least a bachelor’s degree (University degree). They also have an application process that involves a live video interview, which will be done with their time zone.
It is highly recommended that you have some experience working with children, such as helping in a Sunday school class, babysitting, volunteer at some point with children, mentoring, or homeschooling, to name a few.
VIPKIDS also encourages applicants to study their VIPKID Teacher Applicant Performance Indicator online handbook prior to their interview. It’s a 5-page pdf.
Once approved, you do not have to make a lesson plan. They provide it for you. VIPKIDS also recommends that you be available to work 7.5 hours a week. They encourage their teachers to be available during their peak hours, which are M-F 6-10 pm and Saturday-Sunday 9am-10pm, all Beijing time.
Qkids
Qkids is another popular Beijing based English teaching company. Like VIPKIDS, the children you will be working with will be between the ages of 4-12 years old.
Qkids hires North American teachers only. They require their teachers to have a college degree.
It is highly recommended that you have some experience working with children, such as helping in a Sunday school class, babysitting, volunteer at some point with children, mentoring, or homeschooling, to name a few.
If you have a TESOL, TEFL, CELTA certificate it is seen as a bonus, but not necessary.
When you apply to Qkids submit a resume. Then, they will also have you record an intro video of yourself.
Once you are approved, they offer paid training. As a teacher, like VIPKIDS, Qkids requires no lesson planning. Simply review your lessons before teaching, so that you are familiar with the material. Unlike VIPKIDS, Qkids classes consist between 1 to 4 students.
Qkids suggest that you be available to teach 6 hours a week.
Resell
Got stuff laying around your house, that still has some life left? Why not sell it!
No computer? No problem. Download the apps and list your items from your phone or tablet.
There are four popular sites to help you resell your unwanted items:
The tricks to reselling:
- Clean up the item. If clothing: iron or steam them.
- Good pictures- natural lighting. Today’s cell phones take great pictures. If a flat lay, lay the item on a white sheet (or something like it. No patterns, too distracting) Todays cell phones take great pictures.
- Honest, accurate descriptions. If you are a non-smoking home, tell them. Pet free home, add that too.
- Measurements- include them in your listing. Especially for clothing!
Creative
Are you artsy? Do you doodle or dabble in design? Maybe you have an eye for good puns.
Selling print on demand shirts, totes, stickers, and other fun bobbles might be the side hustle for you.
The great thing about print on demand is that you come up with the designs. You decide what apparel, note-books, totes, mugs, merch, ect. you would like it to appear on. They handle everything else!
It goes like this: Someone purchases one of your products and the company you are working with, Amazon or Redbubble in this case, handle the printing, shipping, and collection of money for you.
Tee Shirts Only
Merch by Amazon
Merch by Amazon is a very popular medium for selling independently designed t-shirts. Amazon’s reach is insane. Being the power house that it is, Amazon can afford to have a few rules such as being invitation only.
While Merch by Amazon is invitation only, DO NOT let that deterred you. Amazon offers an invitation on their site, which I have linked. Before you fill out your application, you will need to have 10 designs ready.
Go to Merch Informer blog and read his post: Merch by Amazon Signup Page – How To Sign Up And Get Accepted. Neil walks you through the process, complete with screen shots.
Another helpful post, by Neil, is Finding Trends and Unsaturated Niches Is EASY – Over the Shoulder Merch Research. It’s a 35-minute video but he walks you through the whole research process. I would recommend it even if you don’t sell on Merch by Amazon. He gives good research information that could be used for other print on demand business.
Redbubble
Redbubble does not limit itself, or you, to just t-shirts. Your designs can be placed on leggings, notebooks, home decor, baby one-pieces, wall art, card, totes, phone cases, lap-top skins, stickers, mugs, the list goes on and on. Don’t be intimidated if you do not have any design experience. Redbubble’s help page shows you how you can “start designing like a pro”. They list graphic software they recommend (GIMP is free), design dimensions and formats. Redbubble explains design terminology and they have videos too.
Redbubble is a great place to let your imagination run wild while also making some extra cash.
All You
Every year there seem to be more opportunities to make money from home. More companies and entrepreneurs are taking notice of the amount of people who are willing to give up the commute and work from home. The latest statistics say that 56% of jobs in the U.S. are telecommute compatible.
Those of us working from home or working side hustles are not alone. It looks like we are part of the future.
Do you have any work from home or side hustle tip? Why do you hustle?
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