Some Side Hustle Ideas to Make Extra Income

Omolabake  Fasogbon

Amid soaring inflation rate hitting on basic necessities like food, shelter, education, healthcare and transportation, and others, the need to make extra income becomes a necessity. 

As of February 2024, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 31.70%, up from 29.90% in January 2024, which was a 26-year high.

Regardless, a significant number of Nigerians have had their monthly take home pay unchanged, with only few fortunate to get a meagre rise. Whichever way, the truth is that the take home pay of Nigerians no longer take them home in present economy. 

However, many, like Mrs. Paulina Izagaegbe, a contract staff in one of the new generation banks have been surviving through side gigs.

Financial analysts reckon that income diversification remains practical necessity of current economic reality. 

Indeed, earning passive income from side hustles has been a proven model in households for scalability.  Side hustle is defined as any legal business done outside a regular salary to generate a passive income is not peculiar to Nigeria, much more now that global economic crunch is a reality. 

According to the US Census Bureau, 20 per cent of American households earn passive income, with the median earnings sitting at around $4,200 (£3,390) a year, and estimates suggest that around 36 per cent of millennials already make passive income of some kind.

For instance, in Nigeria where unemployment rate is as high as five per cent, side hustle has come to the rescue of several unemployed youths, which to CEO of Jobberman, Ore Boboye was actually their main means of survival. 

Gone are those days when these gigs were mainly a preserve of the wealthy given that required resources, especially huge upfront cost, technology has broken erstwhile rigidity associated with it, such that one does not necessarily need to have money to make the money. 

Marketing expert, Joe McGoldrick said of diving into side hustle, “All you need is a great idea, a laptop, and an internet connection to start earning, however requires dedication, perseverance, adequate research, and a whole lot of guts.” 

As for Izagaegbe, she delivers fabrics and packaged food items on orders which she gets to advertise via WhatsApp and other social media platforms. With additional earning of not less than N50,000 monthly, she is able to cover up for household gaps her salary in the bank could not fetch. 

Beyond supplementing income, McGoldrick said side hustles are also harnessed by those who intend to increase living income, save more, or becoming financially independent someday as well as explore potential business ideas. 

Asides food and fabrics gigs taken up  by Izagaegbe, other side hustle ideas requiring little commitments and capital are  presented below as culled from Forbes et al; 

 Event Planning

Event planning is fast becoming a lucrative side hustle in Nigeria, as many events and celebrations take place throughout the year. As an event planner, one can help clients run and manage their events. This way, they can focus on relaxing and enjoying themselves while a professional handles all the work. With a talent for organising events, one can offer services to individuals and businesses looking to plan weddings, parties, and other events.

Personal Shopping

Personal shopping is a side hustle that involves shopping for other people. As a personal shopper, one goes out and buy stuff for different clients and earn extra money for it. One can offer services to busy people who don’t have the time to shop for themselves and earn a commission on each purchase. In return, one can get to shop at places not regularly visited and discover cool new stuff along the way.

Mobile Car Washing and Detailing

Car washing is another low-cost side hustle and an ideal gig for anyone who loves working outdoors. One can offer this service to individuals in their homes, or contract with local businesses that run fleet vehicles or that want to offer weekly car washes as an employee perk. Cleaning tools, a sturdy hose and nozzle are the primary startup costs for this side hustle idea.

Tech Setup Services

One who is skilled in setting up home networks, smart home devices, computers and cell phones can easily make extra cash by marketing these skills to community via social media and handyman apps. One may also seek tech certifications, and provide insurance and bonding to boost one’s credibility for in-home services. 

 Selling Goods via Dropshipping

Dropshipping means shipping of goods from a manufacturer or wholesaler directly to a customer instead of to the retailer who took the order. This lets one builds a robust e-commerce store without worrying about purchasing, stocking and shipping the items to be sold. With dropshipping, one only pays for the items sold when a customer makes a purchase. The dropship vendors take care of all storage, packing and shipping details, then charges the item’s wholesale and shipping costs per order. Dropshipping can be a time-consuming side hustle since one manages one’s website and customer service, but it is the cheapest and easiest way to break into e-commerce sales. To do this, one needs a good e-commerce platform that integrates with dropshipping vendors. 

 Selling Private Label Products

Many side hustlers create unique branded goods using private label suppliers. These are products that a factory already makes, while one packages them using one’s logo, labels and unique packaging specifications. This supplier method is especially suited to a side hustle since most private label sellers have lower order minimums than ordering proprietary goods direct from a factory. Private label products let one builds a complete grouping of items, such as a cosmetic line, kitchen tool collection or gourmet food brand, without a huge cost investment. One can also wholesale private label goods or sell direct via one’s website, social media profiles and marketplaces. 

 Selling Artisan Products

For someone that loves painting, woodworking, baking, sewing, knitting or crafting other handmade goods, one can cash in on one’s passion by selling artisan products during spare time. To earn money with this side hustle idea, one can sell ready-made or made-to-order handcrafted goods online and at local fairs and markets. This side hustle idea has upfront costs for supplies and tools, but can be marketed and sold online with little to no upfront costs. 

Take Online Surveys      

Many marketing research companies are happy to pay for opinion on various products, systems and topics. This side hustle idea doesn’t help one build one’s business, but an easy way to make extra cash during spare time. 

Virtual Assistant       

Virtual assistants provide personal assistant services in the digital world and handle tasks including appointment scheduling, customer emails, travel bookings, data entry and much more. For one who is organised and tech-savvy, this is an ideal way to make money from home during spare time. One will need a reliable computer and internet connection to execute this hitchlesslly. 

Sell at Local Markets and Festivals

Many product-focused side hustlers profit by selling unique goods that they source or create themselves at local markets and fairs. With travel time to markets and setup, this can be a time-consuming side hustle, but for someone who loves getting out, mixing and mingling with people, it can be the perfect way to make extra money on the side. Plus, one can use this in-person sales to build brand awareness and promote online store and social media platforms to attract sales between market appearances.

Digital Product Sales

Creating and selling digital products in one’s free time is another low to no-cost side hustle idea. Digital artwork, logos, music, photography, video and website design templates are a hot market. One can cash in by creating these digitally and selling via download on owned website, social media platforms and myriad digital product marketplaces.

Online Courses and Coaching

As an expert in this area, one can cash in on this by creating and selling online courses and coaching programs during spare time. Thanks to user-friendly, low-cost online course platforms, this is another side hustle idea that’s easy to launch. Plus, combined with social media marketing, ebooks, YouTube promotion and blogging, online courses and coaching side hustles can grow into a lucrative business.

 Local Handyman

One can cash in on handyman skills during spare time while helping neighbors and other acquaintances check home improvement tasks off their to-do lists. To protect self and clients as well as boost your credibility, one can become insured and bonded, but that’s not a requirement in most areas.