The concept of the side hustle has gained tremendous popularity in recent years, as more and more people try to find a way to make ends meet or to get ahead. If you are interested in supplementing your regular income with a side hustle, pursuing a seasonal opportunity may be the way to go.
With a seasonal side hustle, you won’t have the commitment that comes with doing extra work throughout the year, and in some cases, you may face lower competition than in evergreen markets. Let’s take a look at ten great options for a seasonal side hustle that could pad your bank account.
1. Delivery Driver
Along with the rapidly increasing popularity of delivery services has come the opportunity for countless individuals to start up a productive side hustle. Many delivery drivers do this kind of work on a part-time basis, as it’s a natural fit for working as little as an hour or two at a time. For side hustles that have a very low barrier to entry, it’s hard to beat what is offered by working as a delivery driver.
So, where do you get started? The sign-up process is quick and easy with any number of various delivery services. You might want to start by visiting the websites of such players in this market as DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates. The one that is the best fit for where you live and the hours you plan to work will vary, so it might take a little experimenting with various platforms before you find the niche that will serve you well.
2. Remote Customer Representative
While working as a delivery driver will usually keep you pretty close to home, looking into a remote customer representative role will keep you in your home. If that sounds like a good fit, these types of positions generally require very little experience or training, so you can get started almost right away.
As another benefit of this type of side hustle, you can keep up with your work while traveling. Just be sure to have access to a reliable internet connection while away from home and you can easily perform the duties of this position from a hotel or rental home.
Most online job boards will have plenty of opportunities in this category, so a few quick searches should reveal plenty of places to apply. If possible, apply with companies that you have heard of, otherwise, you should take a moment or two to research any company you may apply with to confirm their legitimacy.
3. Pet Sitting
Do you love animals? For the right person, getting paid to watch a dog or cat can feel like a dream job. Often, people will need help with their pets on weekends while they are going to be away from the house, so this type of side hustle can fit nicely along with traditional Monday – Friday employment.
You’ll have a couple of options available to start your side hustle as a pet sitter or walker. For one thing, you can use an established platform like Rover.com, where you’ll sign up as a provider and seek work.
Alternatively, you could take the DIY approach and create your own website or use other means of marketing to promote your service in the local area. It might even be as simple as printing some fliers and walking around the neighborhood to talk to people who might be interested.
4. Event Staff
If you live in or near a big city, working as event staff at a stadium or arena could be an appealing pick for a side hustle. The inconsistent nature of this kind of work lends itself to a side job rather than full-time employment. Also, most of these events will be held at night or on weekends, so it’s another idea that could fit in conveniently with your existing job.
You might also find that you enjoy the experience of working these events, especially if you have an existing interest in the events. For example, you may be able to find work at the stadium of your favorite sports team, meaning you’d get to be in the building for many of their home games. Even though you’d be working and not just sitting in the stands, the experience of being with the crowd could bring another level of satisfaction beyond just a paycheck.
5. Lawn Care and Landscaping
This is what you might call a “classic” side hustle, as it is one that’s been around for many years and has been used effectively by adults and teenagers alike. It’s a great way to leverage the value of equipment you may already own – such as a lawnmower – but even if you don’t own the equipment already, it’s pretty inexpensive to get started.
To find work, look close to home. Going door-to-door might be effective to get your first customers, and word-of-mouth promotion may take over from there if you do a good job. Of course, in most areas, this is going to be a seasonal side hustle, as there won’t be much lawn care or landscaping work available in the winter months.
Older homeowners often hire help to keep up with their landscaping work, so you might want to focus your marketing efforts on communities that have a high percentage of retired residents.
6. Tutoring
Another interesting side hustle opportunity is tutoring young people to help with their education. Tutoring is often in high demand and this can be a great part-time fit for someone with strong skills in one particular area like math, reading, or science. Thanks to the prevalence of digital communication tools, it’s easy to do remote tutoring from home, or you could look for work at an in-person tutoring business near you.
If you want to go the online route, consider using an existing platform to find customers rather than striking out on your own from the start. This will let you get up and running quickly to see how you like it and if this is a good fit for you as a side hustle project. If things go well, you might decide later on to build your own online presence and search for customers outside of the existing platforms so you can exert more control over your business.
7. Send Handmade Gifts
For this side hustle to pay off, you will probably need some sort of pre-existing skill that you can leverage to start a business. If you don’t have such a skill currently, you might need to spend some time developing it before you can start to sell your work.
However, this side hustle is appealing because it can become a valued source of recreation in addition to an income stream. If you find something you love to make, the process of producing those items might mean as much to you as the money they create.
In the only world, Etsy is the dominant platform for selling this kind of work. There is a ton of competition on that platform, but it might be a starting point. On the other end of the spectrum, there are local fairs in virtually every area where you can rent a space and sell to an in-person audience. Experiment with both of these approaches to see where your work tends to gain traction. You’ll love how this side hustle allows you to work independently.
8. Professional Handyman
If you have existing skills and knowledge with handyman work, getting a license to do this type of work for others can be a great side hustle. It’s easy to scale this type of business up or down depending on how much time you have available from month to month.
Considering the nature of this work, it’s important to have your legal ducks in a row before you get started. Pursue a professional handyman license to get your construction business started, and look into contractor insurance to protect both yourself and your customers.
9. Home Cleaning
This is a side hustle that nearly anyone can start because we all have at least some experience cleaning our own homes. You could opt to seek employment on a part-time basis with an existing cleaning service, or you might be able to find customers on your own by asking around with friends and family members as a starting point.
You will need to have some equipment to bring with you to your home cleaning appointments, and this is the type of business where the quality of the work you do will have a profound impact on how many future customers you are able to secure.
10. Personal Shopper
A personal shopper does more than just take a list of items and head to the store to pick them up. Instead, this type of side hustle provides a service that actually brings some critical thinking to the process, determining what the customer may need or want to buy based on a variety of factors. So, being “good at shopping” is an important starting point, as well as having strong people skills to develop relationships. It’s possible to freelance as a personal shopper, or you might opt to work for an upscale store or shop that offers this service to customers.
Getting started with a new side hustle can be a bit intimidating, but don’t be afraid to jump right in even if you aren’t sure that you have picked the perfect opportunity. Trying something out – even if it doesn’t end up being a great fit – is better than just sitting on the sidelines. Good luck!