There’s no place like home, especially when it comes to jobs and side hustles. A recent study by Harvard Business School asked 2,000 employees if they would be willing to give up part of their salary to be able to work at least part time from home. Almost half of the people said yes, with 40 percent saying they would accept a pay cut of 5 percent or more.

Even as many companies are ramping up RTO, there’s a growing number of opportunities for home-based workers outside of their full-time jobs. Beyond the well-known benefits of telecommuting (no time spent going to and from the job, the ability to take care of everyday chores in downtime moments, and cost savings), home workers have a number of options to supplement their income. 

Here are some ways to supplement your income that don’t require leaving your living room.

Bookkeeping

If you’ve got a mind for math (and the proper certifications), bookkeeping can be done at any hour from the comfort of your home. To stand out, consider serving a niche or specialty market—and get to know the applicable regulations and best practices. From there, scan through LinkedIn or sites like Paro.ai to find customers.

You know your way around X, TikTok, and Instagram better than anyone—and you know how to create a post that turns heads. More important, you can monitor engagement metrics and increase interaction as you help a business grow. Social media consulting could be the side hustle for you. Sites like Upwork and Freelancer.com are a good place to start looking for clients.

Virtual assistant

Not everyone can keep a manager’s timeline on track or edit photos for an ad campaign. Regardless of the skills you bring to the job, you can earn up to $50 per hour with this side hustle. Apply on sites like Belay or Robert Half.

Résumé writer

As with bookkeeping, this is an area where, if you specialize in a niche, you’re likely to do better. (Writing an IT résumé is a lot different from writing one for, say, a dental hygienist.) If you’ve done a fair bit of hiring or recruiting in the past, that could make you even more valuable to clients. Check Fiverr and Upwork for opportunities.

Medical coder

Medical coders review records for accuracy and assist with data entry. And if you’re certified and know the job, it could be a good way to make a few extra bucks with a side hustle. Scan sites like LinkedIn, Fiverr, and Indeed for companies looking for assistance. It’s also a good idea to network at your local health care organizations.

Online retail

If you’ve got a great product idea, opening an online storefront could let you flex your creative muscle. Working with a dropshipping company, which makes and ships the product for you, lets you focus on the fun parts of the business.

Focus groups

A few years ago, being part of a focus group meant you’d have to head to a testing room at the local mall or a business park. Since the pandemic, though, more and more brands are conducting their user testing via Zoom-based seminars—and the jobs can pay hundreds of dollars. Another option is sites like Branded Survey, which pay $5 per survey. (Those will typically take just 5 to 15 minutes of your time.)

Website tester

Like focus groups, website testers help companies figure out what does and doesn’t work. Sites like Trymata and uTest are a good place to get started looking for this sort of work. You’ll earn up to $30 for each site you test.

Tutor

Teachers are, not surprisingly, the people most in demand for tutoring work, but they’re not the only ones. Anyone with expertise in select areas can tutor on sites like Wyzant. You set your hourly rate and, on Wyzant, collect 75 percent of that for each lesson. Top tutors, the site says, earn more than $50,000 per year.

Graphic design

There’s an almost endless demand for artists who can help with creating templates, doing book cover illustrations, packaging, and more. If you know your way around tools like Canva or Photoshop, try sites including PeoplePerHour and 99designs to find your client base. 

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