6 side hustle businesses you can start with $0

While a side hustle can be a great way to start a business or boost your income, many options do have start-up costs. However, there are several that you can essentially start with just the tools and materials you already have (assuming you have an internet connection).

“There are so many ways to get started with no money,” says Shaun Ghavami, founder of 10XBNB, which co-hosts short-term rentals and also offers courses on the topic. “You just need to get creative, and you need a niche.”

Ghavami started that way. He launched his co-hosting side hustle with no investment, reaching out to landlords that were not having luck renting their furnished properties and offering to handle their Airbnb listing and act as property manager. He started by charging 20 percent of the Airbnb revenue, but today takes a 35 percent cut. His Vancouver-based company has generated over $5 million in booking fees since its founding in 2020. 

If managing properties on Airbnb isn’t for you, here are six side hustles that don’t require any upfront investment but still have notable earnings potential. 

Social-media consultant

Companies are always on the lookout for people who can help them turn heads and capture people’s attention in a crowded market. There’s more to a social-media consultant role than just attracting attention, though—you’ll also need to monitor engagement metrics and increase interaction. This is a good choice for people who have their own experience building a following on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, or other social-media outlets. Sites like Upwork and Freelancer.com are a good place to start looking for clients.

Outbound lead generation 

B2B plays are often overlooked when people consider side hustles, which can be an opportunity for someone with the right skills. For this side-hustle business, you’ll identify, attract, and nurture prospective customers for businesses, along with gathering information like contacts, combining data from places like LinkedIn, X, and Meta. You can make the initial outreach to these places and book meetings for your client. You’ll need to be good at research to identify prospective leads. And if you’ve got cold outreach skills, that can be a deal sweetener for prospective clients. 

Copywriting

There are thousands of listings for copywriters on sites like Indeed and LinkedIn. Some companies need help connecting with customers through landing pages or social media. Others need someone to write video scripts. If you can turn around high-quality writing in a short period of time, you’ll quickly find demand for your services. The top niche areas for writers, as of last year, are digital marketing, SaaS/e-commerce, and health/lifestyle.

SEO auditing

If your skillset includes pushing web pages to the top of Google’s search rankings, there’s definitely demand for that from small- and medium-sized businesses. Launching an SEO audit side hustle involves reviewing client websites and recommending improvements that will boost their visibility. A key part of this gig (which could easily become a full-time startup once you’ve established a track record) is keeping up with changes to search algorithms from Google, Bing, and others. You could also expand into the growing field of generative engine optimization (GEO), which optimizes content to be discovered and cited by chatbots.

Industry trend reports

People who have strong researching skills can earn extra income by assembling reports focused on sector-specific news and analysis, as well as shifts in consumer preferences or relevant technology. Businesses rely on this sort of information to gain an advantage over their competitors but often don’t have someone on staff tasked to compile it. You’ll also want to create actionable bullet points to include in your report. Focus on a niche area and carefully source your information. AI can be a valuable assistant, but be sure to verify any data it provides, as your reputation is a critical part of running this sort of business.

Tours

You know your town’s hotspots and points of interest better than anybody, so why not capitalize on that? If you live in a vacation destination, starting a tour business is a great way to pick up extra income and can easily become a full-time business. The trick is coming up with an angle that professional tour companies aren’t already covering. Still, if you’re passionate about parts of your city, you can use platforms like Facebook, Upwork, and Viator to market yourself. Some guides say they average between $100 and $300 per tour, often earning much more. If you don’t live in a tourist town, consider guiding locals in everything from ghost tours to off-roading, depending on your area.

—Chris Morris

This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister website, Inc.com. 

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