With a couple of banks going under and jitters spreading about the banking industry overall, fears of a recession are back in the headlines. So it’s only natural that with this economic volatility comes more personal financial uncertainty. For aspiring entrepreneurs, such uncertainty might provide more incentive to start a new side hustle.
Luckily, not only is the side hustle scene alive and well, it’s thriving!
If you’re interested in testing the entrepreneurial waters, consider what you might want to achieve with a side hustle and then look at the following recession-proof side hustles that you can start today:
Become a virtual assistant
This does not require any special experience, and all you have to do is handle scheduling, data entry, event coordination, website production, or social media blogging, amongst similar tasks. If this sounds like the right fit, try Upwork, Remote.co or TaskRabbit.
Teach your skills to others
If you have a skill, teach it to others! During quarantine, many of us got reacquainted with some of our old hobbies, so your services may be in greater demand that you think.
Teach what you know, be it cooking, piano, English, or yoga. Lessons can be taught over Skype, Zoom or a similar platform, and you can easily promote yourself and advertise your services online through social media.
Tutoring is also a great side hustle. You may find some interesting opportunities through Tutor.com, Brainfuse or Skooli. Wyzant lets you provide tutoring services to local students in virtually any subject. You don’t even need teaching experience for many of the courses, although a bachelor’s degree is sometimes required.
Related: 12 Keys to Choosing and Developing a Side Hustle
Provide online researching work
A business called Wonder links up those who need research done with those who can perform the services by a deadline, be it for a marketing campaign, research paper or business plan. Expect to get paid anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour, depending on the subject matter and your skill set.
Become a transcriber
If you’re a quick typist and a good listener, transcribing might be right up your alley. Transcription work requires listening to audio text (such as business meetings, podcast content, or video content) and accurately transcribing it to written text.
Speed and accuracy are key. Most gigs pay about $15 to $25 per hour. Check out Quicktate, TranscribeMe, Transcribe Anywhere and Rev for opportunities.
Take surveys
You can actually make money taking surveys online, providing brands with your opinion for their ongoing consumer research efforts. Check out InboxDollars, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, iPoll.com, UserTesting.com and OpinionOutpost.com. Some sites are offering as much as $10 per survey, and they don’t take a long time to complete.
Related: 11 Reasons You Need a Side Hustle
Provide freelance creative services
Freelancing has been on the rise for quite some time now, well before we were all subject to stay-at-home orders. Some of the most popular opportunities can be found in photo editing, graphic design, coding, software development, writing, proofreading, web design and social media marketing.
You can work with an array of groups, from small business owners and non-profits to large corporations and public entities. Start by creating a free website using Weebly, WordPress or Wix to showcase your skills to potential clients, and check out websites like Fiverr, Gigster and Guru for freelance opportunities.
Key takeaways
If you want to earn some extra money from home, there are a tremendous number of opportunities for you to pursue, many of which are fun, creative and a great way to network. There’s no time like the present to test the entrepreneurial waters!
Originally published May 14, 2021.
