Less than 5% of the 500+ side gigs reviewed on SideHusl.com earn 5-star ratings. To a degree, that reflects shortcomings in the side gig industry, that frequently pass all of the risks and only a portion of the rewards to the freelancers who do the work. (And SideHusl.com’s ratings are focused on how the sites serve freelancers, not customers.) But it also reflects our view that a 5-star side hustle ought to be outstanding.
5-Star Side Hustles
What makes a side gig a 5-star hustle?
- The potential for exceptional earnings.
- Reasonable fees that are only triggered when you make money — or are paid by the client, not the freelancer.
- Rewards that far outweigh any risks.
- Geographic reach that gives our readers a good chance to participate, no matter whether they live in a small town or big city.
- Enviable working conditions.
- A set-up that allows freelancers to make the gig their business, if they want to.
Gigs that make the grade
Although these side hustles are outstanding, they aren’t for everyone. Some are exclusively for homeowners; some enlist specialists; and some require a learned skill. That said, almost anyone can find at least one viable gig from this list. Since they’re all equally great, they’re listed here alphabetically. But when one great gig is similar to another, they’re grouped together.
Airbnb
The ubiquitous peer-to-peer home rental site is consistently sited as a top money-maker in side-gig surveys. And while there are some rental horror stories, they’re far less common than consumers who say they earn thousands renting out spare rooms and vacation homes.
Array Crew
If you’re lookong for work in the film industry, ArrayCrew offers a free way to get introduced to producers in need of everything from camera operators to art directors and production assistants. Although the site specializes in getting under-represented groups into the film industry, anyone can sign up.
AVVAY, Giggster & Peerspace
All three of these sites help you rent your home by the hour to film crews, photographers, and event planners. SideHusl.com editors personally tested both Giggster and Peerspace to see if they were too good to be true and they work as well as advertised. With Giggster, our tester earned $1,455 in one day. With Peerspace, she rented her house for several shorter events, earning between $700 and $900 per event. AVVAY, which launched in the South, is now the fastest growing of the three platforms and operates in more than half of the country.
BeatGig
If you’re a comic, speaker or musician looking for an inexpensive way to advertise your services, you should know about BeatGig. This artist-friendly site can help you connect with venues and organizations looking for entertainment. Artists pay nothing to find gigs here. All the costs are shouldered by clients.
DoulaMatch
Do you have vast experience and compassion for the child birth process, either because of personal circumstances or your profession? You may want to look into becoming a doula. Doulas advise and assist expectant parents on everything from pregnancy aches and pains to the birth itself. They can also offer babysitting, lactation consulting, sleep training advice and a variety of other services to parents of newborns. To help people find these jobs, DoulaMatch provides a national directory, where doulas can get matched to clients that fit their geographic service area and have due dates that correspond to your availability. The cost? Just $25 annually.
EatWith
If you love to entertain people with your wonderful cooking, you can turn your penchant into a profit center with EatWith. EatWith is an international dining marketplace that encourages home cooks to offer authentic meals in their own homes to traveling diners. You determine what to cook, whe, what to charge, and the maximum number of diners. You get the full amount that you set, but EatWith will tack on a 20% fee to customer bills to pay for their marketing and administration.
eBay
This popular selling site gives everyone from professionals to housewives the opportunity to trade goods on an international scale. eBay’s fees are reasonable and its reach is astounding. There are some comparable sites for selling select goods. But none are better and none sell as wide an array of products.
Expert Institute
Expert Institute is a legal services firm that connects attorneys and subject matter experts for legal cases and legal consulting opportunities across North America. By signing up as an expert here, you’ll be put into the site’s directory, which is used by Expert Institute’s researchers to match experts with appropriate client requests. While jobs are infrequent, pay is substantial. Nurses, for example, charge between $250 and $400 an hour.
This site charges nothing to experts. All fees are paid by the law firms seeking the expert witnesses.
FineArtAmerica
FineArtAmerica is the best of dozens of print-on-demand sites that help artists sell their work, both as prints and as puzzles, quilts, t-shirts and mugs. Artists set their own mark-ups. The only downside? Artists love the site so you have tons of competition here. So plan on doing some outside marketing to make your products stand out.
HigherEdJobs
Would you like to work at a college or university? Whether you’re a teacher, custodian or a parking administrator, a site called HigherEdJobs might have just the job lead for you. HigherEdJobs is a free job search site that specifically targets positions at colleges and universities. However these are not just teaching positions. The site posts openings for faculty, executive leadership, administration and non-academic support services.
Indeed
Like HigherEdJobs, Indeed is a job search site that provides a valuable service at no cost to job-seekers. And its reviews help applicants know the charachter of the companies they hope to work for.
IntelyCare
IntelyCare is a rapidly growing nurse staffing company that hires nurses to work in post-acute care, such as skilled nursing and rehab facilities. Nurses sign on for per diem work, picking and choosing among available shifts, facilities, hours and pay.
Unlike most gig jobs, the site actually hires its nurses, which makes them eligible for a wide array of employee benefits, including overtime and retirement accounts. But nurses also report that the site pays considerably better than many of its competitors. Specifically, certified nursing assistants earn between $21 and $62 per hour; licensed practical nurses earn between $33 and $80 an hour; and registered nurses earn $62 to $146 per hour.
LessonFace
If you’re looking for an opportunity to make some money with music or acting, you may be able to teach these skills through Lessonface. The site provides an online interface where students can find people teaching everything from how to sing to how to play the violin. Registration is free, but teachers must have teaching experience or extraordinary skill to pass the site’s rigorous vetting system. You set your own pay. LessonFace takes a 5%-15% commission, depending on who found the client.
Outdoorsy
Got an RV? Outdoorsy can help you rent it out and potentially earn thousands. Fees are reasonable and the sites rules and insurance do a good job at protecting your property when bad things happen.
Outschool
Outschool is an online teaching platform, for kids age 3 – 18, that takes a different approach to learning. Instead of teaching a set curriculum and testing against a grade standard, the site encourages teachers to offer classes that spark the imagination. Teachers set their own rates, limit their own classroom sizes and simply pay a fee to the site for marketing and collecting payments.
Rover
Rover is a marketplace to connect animal lovers willing to walk, watch and groom animals with people who need help with their pets. From grooming to dog-walking, pet boarding or housesitting, this site connects freelance pet-providers with clients. It is also one of a handful of sites were freelancers say they can make great money while enjoying themselves.
Rare Patient Voice
Do you have a chronic ailment — or care for someone who does? You could make good money helping health care companies improve how they serve you and people like you by signing up with a site called Rare Patient Voice. This site connects patients and caregivers with medical researchers. And it pays an average of $120 an hour for patients to consult on making care better. It’s a win-win all around.
Wyzant
If you’re a talented tutor, who’d like help finding new clients, you should know about Wyzant — one of the oldest and largest tutoring services. Wyzant is our number one pick for finding an academic tutor and for offering academic tutoring services. This well-established site elegantly balances the needs of students and tutors, making it easy for both sides to find the right fit. Tutors set their own rates and schedules and simply pay a commission for Wyzant’s help with billing and finding clients.
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