We talk a lot about side hustles and making money on this site. While we have shared specific side hustles and strategies for people looking to start or improve their side hustle, what we haven’t done is talked about specific industries that are ideal for side hustles.
The reality is that there are some industries that are great for side hustles and there are some that aren’t so great. A lot of it has to do with how much of the work has to be done during 9-5 business hours compared to evening/weekend hours.
Today we will discuss a few industries that are perfect for people looking to side hustle.
1) The Wedding Industry
The Wedding industry is ideal for side hustles because weddings happen on evenings and weekends. Even if you are meeting with potential clients, these meetings can happen on weeknights or on weekends. There isn’t a whole lot of work that is done for weddings during “regular” business hours so it’s easy to keep a 9-5 while doing all the work for your wedding-related side hustle on nights and weekends.
We previously shared 10 Ways to Make Money in the Wedding Industry to help you start brainstorming what you might want to do if you are looking to start working a side hustle in the industry.
2) Online Publishing
It would be hard to write about industries that are ideal for side hustles without mention the online publishing industry, which is just a fancy word for the blogosphere. Whether you own a blog or just contribute posts to a blog, there is a ton of opportunities for side hustles that can be done completely outside of a 9-5 schedule.
I’m currently a blog owner, but I also contribute to another blog once a week. In the past I was employed by a blog to do social media management, SEO work, and marketing. There is a never-ending ‘to do’ list for blogs and content websites, and as the website grows there is a need to outsource tasks and content creation.
3) Graphic and Web Design
Graphic and web design is another industry where work can be shifted to evening and weekend hours. Another advantage is that graphic and web designers can take on as much or as little work as they want depending on their time availability. Each project has a definitive starting and ending point. It’s also easy to build up a sizable portfolio as you can add each job as an example of your work.
Graphic and web design can be done from anywhere in the world, which is an additional advantage to building your side hustle around it. Every day there are new companies being started that need logos and websites, as well as companies re-branding or re-designing their websites. The demand likely will only increase over time for graphic and web design.
4) Programming and Application Development
The world is increasingly being driven by data and software. Many jobs, like accounting, is becoming more and more IT-intensive. Being able to manage data and put it into usable formats is a necessity for every business. If you have programming or application development skills there are plenty of companies who are willing to pay you to do some side work for them.
One of the ways I’ve made side income is through spreadsheet consulting. A friend of mine own’s a small business and asked for help developing some of their financial applications in Google Drive. This is an example of work that can be done on nights and weekends and also has the dual benefit of being location-independent.
Another example is my friend who helped program a website that is centered around private jets. The initial coding was outsourced to India, then my friend was hired to clean up the code. These are just a couple examples of how you can get a little side work and develop your skills at the same time.
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I’d say the food and beverage industry is a great choice. There are many hotels and restaurants that employ on-call servers for special events, such as weddings, graduations and other big parties. In addition, there are staffing services that you apply to that will call you and just tell you where to show up in your penguin-like outfit for the evening. Another upside? Free food at the end of the event!
The entertainment industry has a lot of part time/evening and weekend work too! Great ideas though. I always thought owning one of those wedding photo booths would be a fun side hustle.
If you’re interested, you should totally link this post up at the FinSavSat blog hop. I bet lots of other personal finance bloggers would like to check it out too. I’m co-hosting it this weekend.
MichaelSaves Thanks for sharing, Michael! I know a few people who work in that industry as a side hustle and it definitely is accommodating to people looking for second jobs or part-time gigs.
brokeGIRLrich Hey thanks for telling me about the Blog Hop! I just added my post. I really appreciate you hosting!
Those photo booths definitely can make a lot of money! It seems almost like an “essential” for weddings these days. It might be a good thing to look into.
I do two of these! Blog + wedding industry. Certainly good fields to get in to right now. I agree with Mel that the entertainment industry is always hiring here and there for side hustles.
Hopping over here from Financially Savvy Saturday blog hop. I’m a little late due to the Easter Bunny visiting this weekend.
Interesting side options presented that could also be done part-time in retirement, I might add.
I think the wedding industry would be great (or awful, maybe?) to get into! I think I would make a great wedding planner because I’m a perfectionist!
fitisthenewpoor Nice! My wife really wants to do something in the wedding industry but I think we both are a little too busy to delve into another area right now.
debt debs Glad you found your way to my site! That was my first time being part of the blog hop and I think it’s a great way to connect people.
I agree and I think if I retired early I would still pursue some income part-time to keep myself engaged.
Holly at ClubThrifty My wife wants to be a wedding planner too!
A few months ago while I was posting my friends’ Wedding Tip Wednesday posts on my blog, I thought a lot about getting involved with the wedding industry. It just seems like so much fun! I also have experience being a day of coordinator for a friend’s wedding. It was stressful, but so rewarding.
Online publishing is my industry of choice. I have made a lot of money in it and I don’t plan on stopping now.
Love the Wedding Industry ideas. I’ve done tutoring in the past as a side hustle. It can be a lucrative one. So excited you joined the party this week!