17 Profitable Creative Ideas You Can Start Today To Make Extra Money

In the US, the average yearly wage is close to $48,000. But given that living expenses are steadily rising, it's not surprising that you're searching online for answers to the query, "How can I make atleast my first $100 or more on the side?" Finding innovative and creative ways to create money is a constant pursuit for people.

You are not alone, so don't worry. One in three individuals in American, UK, China and much more places run a side business, earning up to $2,000 a month, according to a 2021 Zapier poll. Even though those who had profitable side businesses may have responded more frequently, this shows that most full-time occupations can have a side business.

and now let us look at how you can make some side income at home part-time. 

17 Plus Creative Ideas to Make Money 

1. Receive cash refunds for submitting receipt scans

Do you regularly purchase groceries, cosmetics, and other staff? Why not use that to make some more money? Get the free Ibotta app, look around, and find out what rebates are available if you scan and upload your receipts for the products they ask for.

For instance, they will pay you 50 cents if you upload a photo of a milk receipt and will pay you $10 for a photo of a Best Buy receipt. Of course, it makes no sense to go out and deliberately purchase items with the biggest rebate, but it won't take much of your time to photograph and upload images of the items you frequently purchase in order to save some more money at the end of the month.

2. Offer your clothing

For ladies, this is a fantastic option. How many gowns do you own that you've worn maybe three times but are now stashed away in the back of your closet? You shouldn't let your old clothes pile up around the house when they can be sold for cash.

Either hold your own yard sale, which is a bit of a nuisance, or sell the items through ThredUp, which will pay employees from Gap, Banana Republic, H&M, and other brands between $2 and $25. 

You can look around to find out the prices of various goods. The nicest part of ThredUp is that all you have to do is package your clothes in a box and send them to them (shipping costs are covered by the company).

3. Market your images

Potential income: $0.35 per image on average. Every royalty-free sale can bring in between $0.10 and $99.5, or up to $500 for a picture sold with an extended license.

Smartphones today have excellent cameras. For instance, the triple-lens iPhone 13 Pro can shoot pictures that are incredibly broad and has optical zoom capabilities for macros.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the photography sector has been destroyed by the ever-improving quality of smartphone cameras. When your phone started providing the same quality with 10 times the convenience, mid-level cameras became useless. You always have a smartphone with you.

But rather of letting your pictures gather dust in the cloud, you might be able to transform them into money. All you need is a smartphone to express your creativity while earning some extra cash.

Like any other product, photographs need to be targeted at a market of potential buyers who desire or need them in order to be successfully sold. Consider the photography genre that most interests you, whether it be landscapes, portraiture, or animal photography.

Then, depending on how you plan to monetize (e.g., by selling prints or offering rights to stock photography sites), check if there’s a certain lane or specialty you can establish. 

For example, you may find that photographs of papercraft masterpieces are in demand on stock photography sites but that the present supply is limited. That might be an opening.

4. Print on Demand

Potential income: Variable depending on the goods you sell. The average t-shirt has a profit margin between $5 and $8.

In contrast to conventional dropshipping, print on demand is a low-risk option to earn money while letting you make use of your creative skills. Here’s how it works: To customize  goods like books, t-shirts, phone covers, or other stuff, you collaborate with a supplier. 

You customize a plain item with your design, and the supplier prints and sends your products to clients when they place orders. This eliminates the need for you to have inventory before you can begin selling.

Thanks to Shopify apps like Printful, Lulu Direct, and Printify, you can offload the majority of the logistics and operations work from your plate, giving you more time to concentrate on product design, branding, and marketing. 

If you have a full-time job, this business plan is highly doable. You can use your own creativity or hire a freelance designer to assist you with patterns or complete product designs.

You won't have to pay for the things up front because they won't be made until a consumer places an order for them.

For creatives who want to be active with their products but don't have the time to devote to developing or manufacturing them, print on demand is a fantastic concept. It's a good sandbox to start your side business in because it combines the freedom to be creative and the simplicity of dropshipping.

5. Examine/test websites for cash

You can get paid to provide comments on a large number of large organizations' websites' usability. Expect to make anywhere between 10 cents for a task taking under a minute and $10–$15 for longer quizzes requiring more of your time.

At the end of each month or once you have made a particular amount of money, all payments are normally made through PayPal.

Check out sites such as 

• TryMyUI
• Userfeel
• Testingtime
• Enroll
• Testingbird
• whatusersdo

6. Receive compensation for your friendships

People may rent their friendship (and nothing else!) through the 100 percent legitimate US service Rent a Friend for between $10 and $50 per hour. "Just to hang out with, go to a movie or restaurant with, or find someone to show you around an unfamiliar place," This is according to Scott Rosenbaum, the service's inventor.

This position can be ideal for you if you are friendly and outgoing. Some users assert that they work at it full-time and make over $50,000 annually! 

You must complete an application form defining your personality and email it to the community manager in order to become a buddy.

7. Make money by tweeting

You can get anywhere between $0.5 and $20 by tweeting sponsored content to your audience if you have a sizable Twitter following. The rate is influenced by your follower count as well as other variables, such as the age of your account.

You can make money with services like SponsoredTweets, PaidPerTweet, and a few others.

9. Try out match betting.

It is an entirely legal, risk-free, and tax-free method. The method utilizes the free bets that are frequently provided by internet bookmakers by "matching" them at a betting exchange. Since you are simultaneously betting for and against a particular outcome, matched betting reduces risk.

Here is a detailed manual to assist you in getting started with this. Remember that you must be at least 21 and in some case 18.

10. Drive people around 

You can earn precisely as much with Uber and Lyft. In many major US cities, users may simply connect from their phone and request a drive. Compared to calling a regular cab, it is faster and at least twice as affordable.

You will receive a message as the driver and can accept a ride request. You decide your own working hours and how much you make. Of course, you'll need a car of your own to work with them, as well as some cash up front for gas.

11. Sell food scraps

Earning potential: Varies from $1 to $20 per pound.

We discard 931 million tons of food annually. This includes products that are out-of-date or don't look their best, such as those with minor marks or those are regarded to be the wrong size. 

This food can be gathered and sold if it weren't otherwise wasted.

Consider farm goods. Even though the vegetables are absolutely edible, farmers frequently cannot send them to a store for sale. This food is frequently thrown out with the trash. 

You may request their "wonky" vegetables and provide them to locals at a reduced price. At a farmers market, farmers can take care of this themselves, but you might offer to take care of it for them in exchange for a discount on the products. Farmers will also gain because they won't have to spend their own time traveling to markets and can instead focus on growing products.

Or you might utilize applications like OLIO or. Use the products that are on sale to manufacture something new, like a batch-produced recipe that you can sell at a weekly market stall. Give the discounted products a new lease on life.

This is a profitable side business concept. By selling food that you no longer need, you are preserving the environment. The food is used again and consumed rather than being thrown into a landfill.

12. Perform errands on Fiverr

You can start offering any kind of service on Fiverr for $5. Create an account, look through the gigs, and make a comparable offer. Seriously, you can sell and purchase anything at this internet market, including voiceovers, logo designs, and services like. 

Write a compelling gig description detailing exactly what you'll accomplish for $5, such as translating 200 words from French to English, adding extras for $5, delivering the order in just one day, etc. 

Add PayPal or Payoneer as a payment option to start promoting your gig and making money.

13. Sell your School notes 

You can sell your notes to less dedicated students through NoteSale if you are proficient at taking notes and attended all of the lectures. Free listings can be created, however the website will keep a percentage of your sales. 

The best-selling notes are those that are typed in PDF/Text format, but if you have excellent, legible handwriting, it may be worth trying with scanned notes as well.

14. The clever technique to sell used books

Try utilizing the BooksCounter app rather than simply taking them to the thrift store and getting peanuts. Using the app's system, scan the book's barcode and upload it to determine which of the more than 20 buyback companies offers the best payout. 

Once you have chosen the appropriate business, all you need to do is fill out some simple information regarding your preferred method of payment, obtain a free shipping label, and package all of the books for shipment.

15. Work in data input

Simple copy-pasting, light text editing, data categorization, translations, and staff are all examples of what this may be. A few hours every day of labor can get you a hundred dollars by the end of the month. Obviously, your speed and skill level will affect the final prize. 

If you can handle performing some menial activities in exchange for monetary payments, join ClickWorker.

16. Start a mystery shopping business.

Visit stores in your area while hiding, look around, make notes, and sneak pictures of things that aren't doing anything, then fill out the questionnaire to receive your money. 

You can sign up for an account with Marketforce, a more established website, where you'll need to carefully fill out an application form and pass a review process, or you can receive mystery shopping assignments via the Mobee app (typically the payments are not that big, yet the tasks you need to complete are also simple). The earning potential is substantially greater.

17. Dispose of your old CDs, DVDs, and video games.

You might be shocked to learn that some businesses will pay cash for your used CDs. Music Magpie will pay you anywhere from a few cents to more than 10 dollars. Additionally, it's a good method to finally declutter your house.

18. Hand out flyers

Although it can seem like a dull profession, certain businesses will pay well for door drops or the distribution of promotional staff. For example, if you put in 4-5 hours on the weekends, you may make $40–$60 for every 1,000 leaflets distributed.

19. Teach or Sell online courses

You can become an instructor at SkillShare if you are extremely skilled at something, like map design, and are capable of producing a number of video courses. 

You'll be able to make a successful video instructional with the aid of SkillShare tutorials and the 30-Day Teaching Challenge. Your income will depend on how well-liked your course is, but even with low enrollment, you can still make a respectable living.

You only need abilities and a passion for what you do; prior teaching experience is not necessary.

20. Work as an online language tutor.

Did you know that Asia has a significant need for English language training? Sites like Italki.com, VIPKID etc. give you the ability to conduct classes in real time while also allowing teachers to list their pricing and services. You can anticipate earning $15 to $20 per hour.

It's okay if English isn't your first language; italiki also welcomes native speakers of French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and other languages. 

You'll need to complete a thorough application form, have it approved, and then develop a profile that looks professional. You'll also need to construct a schedule that works for you and the many courses you offer. 

The rest, including scheduling and paying for marketing, will be handled by the service.

21. Use Etsy to market handmade and vintage goods

Located some vintage clothing in your grandmother's closet, or created some cool brooches that your friends love? Become an Etsy seller to be paid for your handmade goods.

It takes less than 30 minutes to open your shop and list your products and prices. Listing one item in your shop costs $0.20 for four months (or until it sells), and Etsy takes 3.5% of the proceeds from each transaction you make. When determining the prices, keep it in mind. 

Either you or the customer will be responsible for paying the shipping charges. You can determine the rates based on the buyer's location, for example, free shipping within the US; $10.99 shipping to Europe and other continets.

22. Get a job as a field agent

Create an account with Field Agent to start earning money for completing quick jobs for various clients around town. These typically involve using your phone to scan barcodes, verifying the costs at your neighborhood pharmacy, and conducting field research. 

Your pay fluctuates from job to job and is dependant on where you are located.

One listing, for instance, offers $9 for 4 images of any items in the Target store in Mission Viejo, California's toothbrush department, while another offers $5.50 for 1 picture of a video game display priced at $19.99 or less in any Toys"R"Us store in New York City.

The bottom line, you may quickly earn some additional cash with the help of this list of efficient and original ways to earn a living. Choose one or a few to start earning additional money right away!