The Top 10 Part-Time Business Ideas That Will Make You Money

If you’re like most people, you don’t have enough hours in the day to make money on your full-time job, let alone make extra cash on the side as well. Luckily, with these 10 part-time business ideas, you can do just that! From making and selling products to offering your skills as a service, there are plenty of ways to earn some extra money from home even if you only have an hour or two free per week. It doesn’t take much to get started—just be sure to get it in writing before you accept any money!

Dropshipping

If you have a knack for finding great deals online, there are lots of opportunities to make money online as a drop shipper. We’ve partnered with several companies that will ship products directly to your customers so you don’t have to deal with an inventory. This saves you time and money because you aren’t operating a warehouse or fulfilling orders yourself.
When you partner with a drop shipper, you create an opportunity to make money with your existing customer base. For example, let’s say you run a pizza parlor. If you sign up for Shopify’s Partner Program and partner with Shippo, when someone places an order on your website, Shippo will ship that order to them for free.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is an arrangement between a brand and a publisher, often an online publisher. The brand will pay to send traffic to a publisher's website, and if those people buy a product or service through that site, then that publisher earns a percentage of those profits. It's not easy making money with affiliate marketing, but it can be very lucrative once you get going. Thousands of companies are willing to pay affiliates for promoting their products online, so there's certainly some low-hanging fruit out there waiting to be picked!

eCommerce

eCommerce (also known as online shopping) is one of the most popular ways to run a business from home. Creating your online shop is as simple as setting up an account on a site like Etsy, or it can be more complex, depending on what you want to sell and how you want to customize your shop. It’s up to you. Check out these steps for starting an eCommerce store.
If you want to sell products through an online store, but are worried about being charged too much for a domain name, don’t fret. Most websites will let you have a free site as long as you put ads on it and pay for some extra features.

Sell Your Photos Online

If you’re an avid photographer, why not sell your work online? Websites like Shutterstock and Fotolia accept all types of stock photo submissions. To get started, sign up with a reputable photo agency and submit your best photos. Your photos will then be reviewed by editors before they’re published on a photo website. And don’t worry, you won’t have to give up all your rights when you submit pictures.

Consider your goals when choosing a website to sell your photos. Shutterstock is geared toward individuals, while Fotolia is more business-oriented. If you’re also looking for photo storage, consider Dropbox. This cloud storage company has free and paid options that allow you to store your pictures privately in an online account or publicly share them on various websites, including Fotolia and SmugMug.

Selling on eBay

On eBay, there’s a buyer for practically everything you could ever imagine selling. There are two ways to sell on eBay: you can create an auction, or you can create a regular Buy It Now listing. One of your best options is to create an auction and set it to end right before that big event you already have planned, like a birthday party or wedding anniversary celebration. On top of boosting sales at your real event, people will be exposed to your brand and get used to seeing it—which means they may end up buying from you in real life! But if that doesn’t work out, keep trying new tactics until you find one that does work for you!

It’s also a good idea to have lots of pictures, descriptions, and even videos for your eBay listings so that buyers can get a feel for what they’re getting into.

Become a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants will help you make money while still working your full-time job. Companies hire virtual assistants to handle administrative work, run errands, book travel, and generally help you out. As long as you have a computer and an Internet connection, companies are looking for part-time employees like you.

Many people choose to become virtual assistants to make money while still working a full-time job. The hourly pay isn’t high, but you can earn some decent extra cash if you put in enough hours. Other freelancers offer their services on websites like oDesk and Elance, which act as marketplaces for small business owners and part-time workers to connect.

Website Flipping

Making money with website flipping is pretty simple. Find a popular site in need of repair, buy it at auction for pennies on the dollar, then spruce it up and resell it for a nice profit. Your investment will only be as large as your reserve price; if you get outbid, that’s okay because there are thousands of sites available every month—you just need to look around a bit.

This is an excellent way to get started in business and make some extra cash on the side. If you've got a background in web design, it's even easier.

Paid Surveys & Focus Groups

A lot of big companies out there, like Sony and Apple, pay users to complete online surveys and focus groups. They want your opinion on new products and services that they’re launching or current ones that need tweaking. This isn’t a strategy we’d recommend for everyone—it can be time-consuming and it pays pretty little—but it might be worth a try if you have nothing else going on at the moment.
If you can make a few hundred dollars every month from paid surveys and focus groups, it’s worth putting in a bit of time.

Sell Art Online

If you’re good at drawing or painting, set up an online shop on a website like Etsy or eBay. Put your creative talents to work for other people by doing custom illustrations of their pets, logos, photos—whatever they need. Just be sure to not infringe on any copyrights and provide high-quality images so people can use them in print materials such as signs and postcards.
If your artistic talents are more along the lines of graphic design, try to find companies that need help designing their logos or brochures. Then, reach out to them about selling those services for a fee.

Sell handmade items online.

One of my favorite ways to earn a little extra cash on my own time is to sell handmade items. If you’re an artist, you can put your paintings and drawings up for sale on Etsy or at craft fairs and festivals. If you have sewing skills, look into selling your homemade crafts at local boutiques or specialty shops. Even if you don’t know how to sew, there are online outlets that will sell items without requiring too much crafting experience.

If you’re not an artist or don’t have crafting skills, there are still plenty of options to earn a little extra cash while working from home. Think about what talents and passions you have, and look for products that can be sold online with those specific abilities. For example, if you love to cook or are known for hosting great parties, consider selling your party planning services. If you know how to make jewelry or dress well, take your flair for fashion to an online clothing boutique.

Conclusion

The Top 10 Part-Time Business Ideas That Will Make You Money. There are plenty of ways to earn some extra money from home. From making and selling products to offering your skills as a service, there are lots of opportunities online for a part-time job that will pay off. Creating your online shop can be as simple as setting up an account on Etsy or more complex. If you're an avid photographer, why not sell your work online?

Websites like Fotolia and Shutterfly accept all types of stock photo submissions. If you're looking for a new way to make extra cash on the side, here are some ideas. Other options include becoming a virtual assistant or a website-flipping freelancer. Both can help you make money while still working a full-time job. If you're good at drawing or painting, set up an online shop on a website like Etsy or eBay.

If you're better at graphic design, try to find companies that need help designing their logos. Sell handmade items online to earn a little extra cash on your own time.