With the rise of the great resignation, many people are now looking to be their own bosses rather than working for somebody else.
The good news is that anyone can start a profitable business if they are willing to work hard and take risks. These are some ideas to help you start a profitable side business that can make $500 a week.
24 Ways to Make $500 in a Week
1. Offer business plan services
Many newbie entrepreneurs have a hard time putting together a business plan. Through your service, you can help them create a complete business plan that includes market research and financial statements. You can easily make $500 dollars a week with just one client.
2. Become a consultant
You need to be a profound expert in a particular area to become a consultant. This will allow you to market yourself as an advisor to other people looking for work in the same field.
You might have managed large warehouses during your career, or been responsible for all marketing for a major shoe manufacturer for many years. Or you may have started a chain of beauty supply shops and take-out restaurants. This experience can be used to help others do the same things, without making the same mistakes.
3. Sell things on eBay
This is probably the easiest and fastest way to make $500 a week online. Are there items in your home that you don’t need anymore? Put them up for sell on eBay (or a similar platform).
And if you don’t have any personal belongings to sell, you can source cheap in-demand products on sites like AliExpress and then resell them for profit.
4. Become a freelance writer/proofreader
Offering editorial services is one of the most lucrative side hustles with tons of opportunities for work on platforms like Upwork. There are various routes you can take with this business idea. You could become an editor, writer, proofreader, ghostwriter, etc.
5. Start a cleaning business
This small business idea can be taken in many different directions. For instance, you can offer commercial cleaning services to restaurants and office blocks, or do home cleaning for wealthy individuals.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money marketing or advertising your cleaning services. Your customers will find you through word-of-mouth.
6. Become an event planner
Planning events is a nightmare for many people, so they prefer to just outsource it. You can focus your services on a particular niche such as weddings, birthday parties, or even festivals.
7. Become an accountant
Before starting this line of work, make sure that you know what area of accounting you want to specialize in. You may only want to do small-business bookkeeping, or create balance sheets and income statements on a monthly, quarterly and/or annual basis for companies. Tax accounting is another area that offers a lot of work.
8. Become a dog walker
Dog walkers take other people’s dogs out for their daily routine one to three times per day. They can do this individually or in small groups. You can also offer additional services such as training and grooming.
9. Repair bicycles
By starting a bicycle repair business, you can cater to Lance Armstrong wannabes all year. These road racers train through snow, sleet, and darkness at night. While some of these riders have their own bikes, many others don’t, which is another business opportunity you can take advantage of by leasing out bikes to them.
10. Become a financial planner
If you’re good with numbers, are great with people, and have fantastic analytical skills, then you can consider becoming a financial planner.
11. Become an energy auditor
Homeowners are always looking for ways to cut down on their utility bills. You could conduct an audit of their electricity consumption and then give a breakdown of how they could save money on heating, cooling, and electrical usage. You could even do the installation and maintenance of some of your ideas in their home.
12. Home inspection
This is a service that’s mostly used by people looking to buy new homes. To find success in this industry, you need to make some connections with real estate agents that can recommend your services.
13. Import/export specialist
If you have some experience importing or exporting things to other counties, then you could offer your expertise to other people. Through your services, you could help them navigate through the endless paperwork and clearance processes.
14. Interior design
Many people buying new homes get overwhelmed by the number of options in home decoration. If you’re great at interior design then you can come in to help them put their homes in order. The great thing about this business is that you don’t need to have any formal education to get started.
15. Become a personal concierge
This business idea is ideal for people who are highly efficient and can make things happen. Your clients will expect you to deliver what they need. You must be able not only to give them what they want but also with a personal touch.
Top executives are the most likely clients for personal concierge services. They are often at work by 7 a.m., and most nights until 9 pm. This leaves them little time to do all the things they need to do during that time.
16. Become a personal trainer
If you’re into fitness then could be the perfect side hustle for you. Many people are desperate to get in shape but don’t know how to begin. As their personal trainer, your job will be to give them guidance to help them accomplish their goals.
17. Solar energy consultant
A solar consultant conducts a home inspection, and then gives clients a report about their options. You can do everything from large-scale solar panels that produce electricity to simple lighting for your solar walkways.
18. Tax preparer
Tax preparation is a nightmare for a lot of people. If it happens to something you’re good at then you can start offering your services to individuals and even small businesses.
19. Teach music
Your music skills could make you up to $100 per hour! You have three options when it comes to running your music business. One is to be mobile and teach at your clients’ homes. The other is to run it from your own space, which can be a separate building or a designated area of your house. The third is by offering online classes.
20. Become a graphic designer
If you’re great with tools such as Photoshop and Canva, then you could become a graphic designer. In this digital age, the demand for design work is perennial.
Companies need graphics for their social media pages, websites, email campaigns, newsletters, etc. It’s one of the easiest ways to make $500 a week online. You could get started on freelancing sites like Upwork and Fiverr. Check out our guide on how to find graphic design clients.
21. Become a landscaper
A degree is not necessary if you are skilled in this type of work. People want their yards tidy in spring and their leaves removed in fall. They also want their driveways and shrubs ready for winter snow.
Landscaping is a great business to start if you’re looking to build recurring income since you’ll be providing care to your customer’s gardens on a weekly/monthly basis.
22. Start a moving business
Everyone needs some help when moving to a new place. With this business, you’ll never run short of work (as long as you’re advertising yourself well). Check out our guide on how to start a moving business in 8 steps.
23. Become a photographer
There are many ways to make money as a photographer. You ou can specialize in areas such as weddings, birthday parties, portraits, pets, etc. The possibilities are limitless.
24. Become a website developer/designer
There are many courses available online to help you build your skills as a web developer. If you’re not keen on learning how to code, you can become a WordPress website designer instead.
WordPress is a content management system used by more than a third of all websites globally. It’s so easy to use you don’t need to have any coding knowledge to master it. You can get started by taking an online course or even by watching YouTube tutorials.