4 Easy Side Hustles You Could Try in 2023

These approaches could help anyone start a side hustle next year.

If you're looking for an easy side hustle in 2023, the trick is to find something that fits with your skills and lifestyle. There's no point in becoming a dog walker if you're not an animal person, nor is it necessarily a great idea to embark upon a side hustle in graphic design if you aren't good with computers. What's easy for one person could be a nightmare for someone else.

With that in mind, here are four easy ways that side hustles could boost your bank balance in 2023.

1. Use your skills

Next year may well bring a recession, and companies could start to lay off staff. This may present challenges if you're just getting a side hustle off the ground. But it could bring opportunities as well, particularly if you can establish yourself before an economic downturn hits. Layoffs often force companies to use more freelancers as they shift to different forms of working.

Think about what services you might be able to offer, and whether you need any extra skills to make your side hustle work. Popular freelance side hustles include:

• Digital marketing advice
• Graphic design
• Website development
• Voice overs
• Online tutoring
• Writing and editing services
• Virtual assistant services
• Accountancy

Browse freelance websites like Fiverr and Upwork to get a sense of what people need and where your skills might come in handy. Allow yourself time to build up a profile, particularly in terms of getting good client reviews. You may need to work for relatively low fees at first while your reputation grows.

2. Rent out your space

If you have a spare room, putting it on Airbnb or Vrbo could be a straightforward way to earn some extra money. But hosting people won't suit everybody, and there's a steep learning curve. You'll need to work out how to present the space online, decide what type of guests you might accept or refuse, and ensure the room is clean and welcoming. If hosting people isn't your thing, you could also use apps like Neighbor to rent out storage space.

Rooms aren't the only things you can rent out. If you have a car, sites like Getaround and Turo let you lease out your car just as you would a room. There are pros and cons to car sharing platforms, though, and it's particularly important to make sure your car insurance will cover any damage to the car.

3. Become an online seller

There are lots of different ways to become an online seller. The most straightforward is to sell items you don't use any more on sites like eBay to bring in some extra cash. The trouble is, there's only a limited number of things you can sell that way. If you're looking for a longer-term side hustle, creative types can make serious dollars by selling their craft creations on sites like Etsy or Shopify.

Other popular online sales options include secondhand or vintage clothing, handmade jewelry, soaps and bath bombs, T-shirts, and more. Think about what you might be able to make as well as what people might want to buy and how your products will stand out. Don't assume you need to have lots of equipment at home. Let's say you have some funky T-shirt design ideas; you can get them printed at a nearby print shop or online rather than doing it yourself.

Another common misconception is that you need to be super creative to make money as an online seller. You don't. I used to put together boxes of fairtrade chocolate that sold well at Christmas and Easter. I bought the chocolate wholesale and made a decent profit during holiday periods. Unfortunately, the idea didn't work as well year-round and I let it slide when I took a new job and moved to a new city.

4. Create content

Content creation is another popular side hustle. It may take the shape of a blog with affiliate links, a YouTube channel, or paid freelance work as a writer. Bear in mind that it can take time to make money from affiliate links, as you need to build a reputation and audience. Similarly, setting up a YouTube channel that generates revenue takes a fair amount of work. That said, one of the benefits of content creation is that once the content exists, it could carry on generating revenue without any extra effort from you.

Bottom line

If you're looking to put some extra money into your savings account or pay down debt next year, a side hustle could help. Make sure you understand the tax implications and you don't neglect your day job in favor of your extra work. Some companies have strict rules on side hustles, and others frown upon workers using office hours for unrelated activities. It would be counterproductive if your efforts to bring in some extra cash wind up costing you your main job.