5 Things You Already Do That You Can Turn Into a Side Hustle, According to an Entrepreneur

What comes to mind when you think of a side hustle? It could be freelance writing, driving for a rideshare company like Lyft or dog walking through apps like Wag.

But not all side hustles are one-size-fits-all What happens if you don’t feel like a fit for any of these gigs? Should you give up on the idea of making some cash on the side altogether?

Stay with me. What if I told you that the typical tasks you routinely complete can also generate serious income — and become your full-time line of work? You’d probably want to know which ones they are right now. Take these five everyday duties and turn them into extraordinary jobs.

Stacy Verdick has always loved shopping at yard sales and thrift stores. Verdick is the owner of Peony Lane Designs, where she sells reused and restored thrifting items. Peony Lane Designs started off as a side hustle for Verdick, who spent years finding vintage items and furniture to repurpose at yard sales and thrift stores. 

“My home was overflowing!” she says, “I decided to sell some of the things I acquired. Several years later, my sales turned into a real business.”

Drawing is something that many individuals are skilled at doing, including Stacy Caprio who tapped into her skills to earn hundreds of dollars in passive income through artwork. Caprio, who is the founder of Accelerated Growth Marketing, recommends that those who enjoy drawing look into working with print on demand T-shirt platforms. 

“These platforms handle the printing, fulfillment, marketing, and everything else involved in the business side of T-shirt sales. All you have to do is draw a picture. Then, upload it as an image on their site. They handle everything else and send you a check with pure profit each month,” Caprio explains.

Wait… You can create a successful side hustle out of spreadsheets?! That’s exactly what Laura Briggs, owner of the Better Biz Academy, started doing in 2012.

Briggs got her side hustle start with spreadsheet data entry. She was surprised at the number of people that needed help organizing their online files and keeping track of spreadsheets. Briggs’ watched in delight as her freelance business exploded and left her day job in 2013. Now, she is fully booked as a virtual assistant and writer.

Julia Askin, a marketing coordinator at app development, design, and strategy firm Fueled, spent 10 months packing in 2018. She was helping her mother clean and pack up her home of 13 years — and it was no simple task. There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to packing, whether it’s a home of 13 years or an office you’ve occupied for six months.

“I spent a significant portion of that time actually planning the most intelligent way to maximize space, minimize costs and strategize on the most logical order in which to pack items,” Askin says.

The process Askin used to pack up her mother’s home made her realize that it was possible to replicate it for other homeowners. She decided to embrace a home organizer and packing specialist gig. Askin put together a basic website using Squarespace and advertised her services to her mother’s clients in residential real estate. 

“Before long, I had a steady stream of business and a healthy side hustle!” Askin shares.

Cleaning homes also became a legitimate side hustle for Trisha Lake. Lake, who owns TLC Cleaning in Fargo, North Dakota, started cleaning homes to earn extra income while in college nine years ago. She soon discovered she had a passion for helping others and took it to the next level by starting her own cleaning company. Today, TLC Cleaning is a multimillion dollar enterprise that employs over 40 employees.

Planning to take your ordinary yet extraordinary task turned side hustle full-time? I recommend incorporating or forming an LLC for the thriving new business. This helps protect your personal and professional assets through liability protection and also helps you to establish credibility with consumers quickly — proving you, and your gig, are the real deal!