8 Side Hustles to Look Into in 2021

When COVID-19 first struck in spring of last year, the employment situations of many were called into question: how long is this furlough going to last? When will the job market pick back up? Am I even qualified for a different role at this point?

While the economy has thankfully made big strides towards recovery, the initial shock still has yet to wear off for many. March 2020 showed millions of people just how precarious things can get in the blink of an eye — for many, relief will come in the form of a sustainable side hustle.

Of course, not all side hustles are created equal. Here are 8 of the best side hustles to look into for this year and beyond:

1. House Flipping

Flipping houses is one of the oldest side hustles out there, but that’s only because it’s allowed for big returns generation after generation. With the housing market reaching an absolute fever pitch, potential house flippers should look into buying wholesale homes that they can turn around and feed back to hungry buyers. It may sound difficult to the uninitiated, but a simple course or series of videos can set you off on the right path towards taking advantage of today’s housing boom.

2. Virtual Personal Assistant

Just because more people than ever are working from home doesn’t mean their responsibilities have decreased; indeed, many leaders and executives now find themselves more swamped than ever before. Being a virtual assistant generally means performing the tasks you’re used to doing for yourself — scheduling, expenses, responding to emails, and so on — but remotely for someone else. Virtual assistant gigs are plentiful and vary significantly in terms of the job requirements, meaning that you’ll be able to nab one that works perfectly with the amount of time you’re willing to devote to it.

3. Delivery or Rideshare Driver

If you’ve got a car, you’ve already got the ticket to a lucrative side gig sitting right outside your home. Delivery or rideshare drivers get to set their own hours, work where they wish, and engage with the clientele of their choosing — not a bad setup, right? It’s no wonder that the number of people driving for Doordash, a popular food delivery service, increased by 130% between January 2020 and January 2021. The opportunities are still there, but you’ll want to get in before the supply side becomes overcrowded.

4. Dog Walking and Sitting

With COVID-19 keeping most people cooped up for long periods of time, getting a dog was a no-brainer for those looking for new forms of companionship: a whole 16% of Generation Z and Thirteen percent of millennials welcomed a new pet during the pandemic. Now that the world is slowly creeping back to normal, people are going to have less and less time on their hands to take care of their dogs the way they used to — therein lies the opportunity.

Summer 2021 is looking to be a big season for travel, and those trip-takers are going to need somebody to walk and take care of their dogs while they’re gone. There are plenty of platforms and apps out there for connecting dog walkers and sitters with dog owners; all you need to do is sign up.

5. Be An Airbnb Host

Though summer 2021 is undoubtedly going to be a travel-heavy season, it still may not look totally “normal.” Last summer, more than half of Americans said that staying in a hotel would make them uncomfortable, and the same is probably true now. People want something more sequestered in order to feel safe, and your home may well be the perfect match. Putting part or all of your home on a popular hosting site like Airbnb or Vrbo is a great way to make additional income out of existing assets.

6. Take Up A Brand Ambassadorship

The world is full of social media users, that vast majority of whom do all of their posting for free — but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’ve got a sizable or dedicated group of followers on social networks, there will be brands out there looking to use your voice to promote their products. Becoming a brand ambassador can be as simple as posting your admiration for a certain brand or as in-depth as creating content strategies for a product line. Whichever route your opt for, you’ll be delighted to get paid for the effort you put into your social media accounts.

7. Transcribe

One of the things that makes transcription such a valuable side hustle is that you likely already have the skills required to succeed with it: listening, typing, and proofreading. Everything from court cases to online videos need transcriptions, and experienced transcribers can make up to 25 or 30 dollars an hour through their work — meaning that you’ll have no trouble generating a hefty second stream of income after just a while in the field.

8. Create YouTube Tutorials

Just about everyone is an expert on something, so why not share that expertise with the rest of the world at large? If you’ve mastered skills or solved certain problems in your life, chances are that others would like to do the same themselves. YouTube is an ever-popular medium for learning, so all you need to do is is develop and publish high-quality content in order to attract an audience. Whereas most side hustles require you to move into a second field, creating educational videos on YouTube allow you to generate a second stream of income by capitalizing on your existing expertise.

Side hustles have long been the most popular way to bolster income, but the gig economy has made getting and maintaining one easier than ever. There are too many platforms to name that can connect you with people who have tasks that need doing — all you have to do is choose your lane, find your clients, and get to hustling.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes