In the world of working from home, we call our multiple jobs with home-based employees our “eggs”. This article is going to cover various work at home “eggs” or side hustle ideas that you can use to earn money when work at your main job dries up. And if you’ve been working from home for any length of time, you know that this happens sometimes!
It’s never a good idea to settle for just one job as a home worker because you never know what will happen.
I have personally seen companies lay off or furlough workers, changes in available workload, and pay rates suddenly drop so low that the work was no longer worth my time. So you have to be prepared.
A while ago I surveyed my readers on Facebook and asked on forums which sites and industries most people use to back up their work from home. Below is a collection of some of the specific sites mentioned by readers.
Note – Keep in mind that some of these are just for bringing in extra money, and others can amount to as much as part-time jobs from home.
Before you begin, take a minute and sign up here for FREE to receive my weekly work from home emails! I’m sending out new information about working from home, paid apps, side gigs, and more. Do you prefer to get all your information at once? My e-books which you can download here are a great option with everything you need, there when you want it.
Secondary Ideas – 12 Legitimate Options
1 – Create and sell books with low or no content
You can sell books online without having to write them yourself!
Some books have no written content (diaries, journals, coloring books, etc.), but still sell for crazy prices on sites like Amazon. Low content school teaches you how to make them and start selling them.
This can be a real passive income for you because once you create the books, they can sell over and over again without you having to work on them any further.
2 – PorteDash
If you’re OK with working outside the home as long as it’s flexible, you could deliver food orders for DoorDash! This is actually something my own sister does in her free time and occasionally uses to make money.
Earning more than $20 per hour is possible and you keep 100% of your tips.
Go here to sign up for DoorDash, or read our DoorDash Review First of all.
3 – Rover
If you love animals, you might consider signing up with Rover as a pet sitter. Basically, Rover is a middleman that helps connect pet sitters with people who need the services in your area.
Although they take a cut of your income since they offer the platform to help you find clients, it can still come in handy if you have had difficulty finding clients to sit for in the past.
Pet sitting can definitely be considered a “side hustle” because it’s up to you. You decide which appointments to accept, when to work and, according to Rover, making $1,000 a month is entirely possible.
Obviously, $1,000 a month isn’t going to be enough to pay someone’s bills to qualify as a full-time job, but it’s certainly a substantial amount of money.
Go here to sign up for Rover or read our Rover Review First of all.
4 – Fifth
So many people are list of side gigs on Fiverr and earn an income.
For many, it’s just a little extra money here and there. But for others, Fiverr pays the bills!
If you don’t know what to list there, check out this article with ideas on what to sell on Fiverr. I also received some Fiverr Pro Tips in another post after interviewing people who have successfully made money with the site.
Go here to try it.
5 – Cambly
This is a work-from-home job for people who want to teach non-English speakers to speak conversational English.
Basically, you do the work via webcam, interacting with people who have the Cambly app installed. You don’t need any work experience, but you must be a native English speaker.
Go here to find out more about Cambly Or here to register.
6 – Slice the pie
This is another project I’ve personally kept on the back burner to get some extra money, and it was mentioned by a few people I interviewed.
It’s very simple: you just have to listen to snippets of songs, then write down/revise them in a few sentences. You can get paid once you earn $10.
Payments are made on Tuesdays and Fridays. Again, this is just extra money. However, remaining active on the site means regular withdrawals are possible.
Go here to learn more about Slice the Pie Or here to register.
7 – Fancy hands
Many people have suggested Fancy Hands, and it’s a site I’ve used myself. Basically, it is task-based virtual assistance. Each task pays a different amount, and you can do anything from checking if a store is open to booking plane tickets.
Go here to learn more about Fancy Hands Or here to register.
If you want to earn a full-time income as a virtual assistant, I have a very inexpensive e-book that explains in detail how it works! You can consult Your guide to working from home as a virtual assistant here.
8 – Quicktate
This company hires remote transcriptionists, and it’s ideal for beginners in transcription because the job is quite simple and you don’t need any real experience to get into it. All you need to do is take a test.
This is a company that has been around for a long time and I have never heard anything bad about them. The salary is low, so most people only rely on it to earn extra money.
Go here to learn more about Quicktate Or here to register.
I also have a lot more detail about working from home as a general transcriber in my e-book, Your guide to working from home as a general transcriber. It also includes a huge list of over 70 other companies that are hiring.
9 – Text Broker
I admit that it has been a go-to site for me to earn extra money for some time. You get paid to write articles for Textbroker’s many clients. It’s not difficult at all to get accepted, but unfortunately, unless you can move up to the 4-star level, there isn’t much work to be done.
Textbroker pays reliably every week on Friday, provided you have the minimum $10 in your account required to make a withdrawal. I found writing quite easy.
As of this writing, they are closed to new applicants but applications should be open again this spring!
Go here to learn more about Textbroker Or here to register as a writer.
10 – Amazon MTurk
This is a short task site with a variety of jobs available at any time. You can find everything from data entry to transcription and even article writing.
I myself have used this site several times in the past and occasionally like to log in and do some small jobs. For some, it’s just extra money, but many get more than just extra money.
Go here to learn more about Amazon Mechanical Turk Or here to register.
11 – Click worker
My personal experience with Clickworker is very limited, but it is mentioned quite frequently on the forums as well as by my followers on Facebook. It is task-based work. The salary varies depending on the project you are carrying out.
Go here to learn more about Clickworker Or here to register.
12 – Humanitarian
Work from home to review calls for Humanatic. Basically, you listen to recorded phone conversations and mark them based on whether or not the call you heard was sales related.
I’ve done this a little bit and the pay is extremely low (less than $5 an hour for me), but it’s pretty fun and I loved going up and reviewing calls here and there between other jobs. This accumulates over time and they pay weekly.
Go here to learn more about Humanatic Or here to register.
Best job types for fill-in/back-up work from home
The best type of work from home relief is almost always it will be something flexible so you can pick it up or drop it off as needed depending on how other work you are doing changes.
Independent writing is still very flexible, just like transcription. These are also two areas you can jump into with little to no experience!
Someone on my Facebook page also suggested mystery shopping as a good industry to get involved in to make some extra money. Even if mystery shopping is not done at home, with the exception of mystery shopper work over the phone — it’s a very flexible and independent job.
Good luck whatever you choose to pursue!
Anna is a work-from-home blogger and mom of two. She has been researching and reviewing remote jobs for over 15 years. His findings are published weekly here on Real Ways to Earn.
