Jonah JacobsAn estimated 25 percent of people in the U.S. work from home. You can expect that number to grow, too, as companies close offices to cut costs. And if you need an extra nudge to become part of this work-at-home movement, here it is: 70 percent of home-based workers say they made the move to enjoy a better work-life balance.
Of course, working from home can be tough to jump into if you’ve never done it before. To help you get started, here are some work-at-home ideas to supplement your income or even replace your career.
1. Work as a local guide.
Do you know all of the best sights in your city? Do you enjoy being around people? If so, you can work as a local guide for ToursByLocals.com or Airbnb and make from $25 to $100 per hour.
2. Write book reviews.
If you read as a hobby, you can turn it into a decent chunk of change by writing book reviews of romances, mysteries, and more. OnlineBookClub.org will pay you $5 to $60 per review. They’ll even send you the books they need to be reviewed, so you don’t have to search for them.
3. Become a mystery shopper.
This method of earning extra income seems to have been around forever. If you head to BareInternational.com or SecretShopper.com, you can find gigs.
By evaluating services from cinemas, retailers, and restaurants in person or over the phone, you can earn up to $25 per hour.
4. Earn money as a freelancer.
If you think you don’t have the skills to earn money online, think again. Visit Upwork.com or Fiverr.com and look at the available gigs and categories they have. You’ll likely see that you have a skill that can be converted into cash since there are clients all around the world who need tasks completed.
5. Drive or deliver.
If you need extra cash now and don’t want to wait to get clients, you can become a driver for Uber or Lyft. Both platforms are so popular that you can begin driving customers from place to place to pad your bank account.
There are other ways to turn your car into a home office too. You can deliver various supplies via Postmates, or shop for others’ groceries and deliver them while working for Instacart. And if you want a fast-paced gig, delivering for DoorDash or Uber Eats may be your best bet.
6. Be someone’s virtual assistant.
You can earn up to $15 per hour as a virtual assistant. This job involves organizing other people’s lives, taking calls, scheduling appointments, answering emails, etc.
7. Perform random tasks.
You can see just how easy it is to earn solid money on the side by visiting a site like TaskRabbit.com. You may not want to turn it into a career, but you can find high-paying gigs for everything under the sun, from packing people’s stuff and preparing them for a move to helping with cleaning, planting flowers, doing deliveries, and much more.
