Not everyone wants to create information products, build email lists or act as an affiliate. Frankly, I think those folks are crazy because all three of those things can be extremely lucrative. Still, each to their own because some folks just like to go in another direction, and more power to them.

That’s why I’ve compiled this list of proven side hustles that all have the potential to earn $5,000 per month, or more. 

There might just be a million-dollar idea in here for you. Or if you do enjoy creating information products, most of these would make an awesome how-to course, book or information product, too.

1: Niche E-commerce Store - Sell unique niche products that appeal to a specific audience. Imagine walking through a big store that sells everything – what’s the one product section that really catches your attention? Maybe it’s funny t-shirts, colorful socks, fishing lures or natural beauty products. Now imagine creating a niche store that sells just that single line of products.

2: Virtual Interior Design - Use 3D design software to create virtual models of rooms, and work with clients to create custom designs for their spaces. You could literally work with anyone in the world from the comfort of your own home. 

3: Online Course Creation Partnerships – Maybe you don’t want to create your own courses, but what if you teamed up with experts to create courses with them? They bring the topic knowledge, and you use your marketing knowledge to create fortunes for both of you. 

4: Subscription Box Business - Curate and send out monthly boxes of unique and interesting products related to a specific theme to earn a steady income from subscribers. For example, dog treats, cat toys, chocolates, craft kits, baby stuff, specialty foods, wines, beers… the list is endless. 

5: Online coaching or consulting - Provide personalized coaching or consulting services in a specific area of expertise, such as business, life, marketing, health or personal development. Use an online platform such as Skype or Zoom to conduct your coaching sessions.

6: Virtual event planning - Plan and manage events for clients, such as webinars, virtual conferences, and online workshops. The key here is choosing good software that does the heavy lifting for you and then targeting businesses that simply don’t want the bother of organizing these events themselves. You might even create all of their marketing materials for them, too, so they can focus on other things while you handle every detail of their event.

7: Customized meal plans - Offer customized meal plans based on individual dietary requirements, preferences, and health goals. Use software to enter their needs and restrictions and let it create the meal plans for you.

8: Language tutoring - Provide one-on-one language tutoring services to students around the world. For example, you might teach English as a second language. Or you can act as a go-between, putting language tutors together with students.

9: Listening – People need someone to really listen to them and they will pay good money for this. You could start a listening service that pairs listeners with people who need to be heard. 

10: Photography - Selling original and AI generated photographs to businesses and individuals for use in marketing materials, websites, and other media.

11: AI Art – Even if you’re not an artist, you can use AI to create art. Sell the prints online and even license them to others for their own use or to resell.

12: Online language translation -You can offer professional translation services for businesses and individuals, and even start a service that pairs translators with clients. Or you might create a service that connects language learners with native speakers for conversation practice.

13: Content creation – You can write and produce content for blogs, social media, and other digital platforms. You can use AI to help you gather ideas and do basic research to reduce the time it takes to create your content. 

14: Virtual bookkeeping – Using a program such as Quicken, you can provide bookkeeping and accounting services to small businesses and entrepreneurs. 

15: Social media management - Manage social media accounts for businesses and individuals to help build their brand and online presence. Start with just one social media channel and expand from there. Or specialize by focusing on social media management for just one type of business, such as accountants or restaurants.

16: Social media influencer – When you build a large following on social media platforms such as Instagram or YouTube, you can earn significant amounts of money by partnering with brands and promoting their products. Become a master at what goes over well on your social media channel to build your audience quickly. 

17: Online tutoring – If you have an in-demand and highly specialized skill, you can tutor professionals in that skill via Skype or Zoom. For example, you might be an expert at getting on TED talks. Many professionals would love to have the exposure and credibility a TED talk would give them, and they will pay you handsomely to learn how to get one.