How Much Income Can You Make From A Side Venture?

While money is not the most important part of deciding what path you want to follow for a side venture, it certainly is something to be considered. If your objective is to be able to transition into a retirement with an established business you can scale up, you do not to be stuck in a venture which require trading a lot of your time for little money. The purpose of starting the venture is to be able to
free up more of your time to enjoy life and not be tied down to the daily grind. So lets look at a some of the most popular side ventures people are starting up and see how much money you can realistically make at these and how much time is required. With this type of evaluation, you can make better informed decisions for what you really want to do and not be influenced by all the
marketing and hype out there. If there are other ventures not listed which you want to see on this list, please feel free to submit a
request here.

Blogger: Writing posts and articles about specific topics targeted to an audience. This can be your own
blog that you set up and manage or you can write for someone else’s blog and get paid for the content
you provide. If this is your own blog, income is generated by placing advertising on the blog or selling a
product or service to followers of the blog.

• Typical range of income (part time): Up to $800 / week for an established blog.
• Cost to startup: Less than $100.
• Time to get established: 6 to 12 months to build up content and readership.
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Up to 10 hours / week to get established, flexible
• afterwards.
• Time leverage: Yes, continue to earn income from advertising or royalties without continual hands-on
• work.

Book Keeper: Perform accounting tasks and keep track of cash flow (expenses / income) for clients.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $20-50 / hour.
• Cost to startup: Less than $500 (may need some training based on current experience level).
• Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to establish regular clients.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible hours, 15 hours / week average for part time.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.

Copy Editor: Read other people’s work to ensure it is correct in spelling, grammar and formatting.
Makes corrections and notes as needed.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $30 / hour for an experienced editor.
• Cost to startup: Average $2,000 (may need new computer and software).
• Time to get established: 3 to 6months to build up client list.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Average 10 up to 40 hours / week depending on deadlines and number of clients.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.

Dog Walker / Pet Sitter: Takes care of pets while their owners are away or at work. Keeps them fed,
safe, plays with them an takes them for walks.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $10 to 15 / hour.
• Cost to startup: Less than $199.
• Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up regular customers.
• Time required / week (after initial setup): 5 to 20 hours / week.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.

eBook Author: Writing, publishing and selling eBooks, reports and PDF documents on topics of interest
to specific audience groups.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $100 / month, up to $ 1,000 / month for an established author (part time).
• Cost to startup: Less than $100.
• Time to get established: 6 to 12 months to build up readership.
• Time required / week (after initial setup): 5 to 20 hours / week to get established (includes research, writing and marketing), flexible afterwards.
• Time leverage: Yes, continue to earn income from advertising or royalties once up front work is completed.

Freelance Writer: Complete writing tasks for clients to prepare articles, reports, blog posts, manuals,
advertising copy, sales material or books.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $20 to 50 / hour, depending on experience and content subject (technical subjects tend to pay more).
• Cost to startup: Average $1,000 to 2,000 if you need to purchase a computer and software.
• Time to get established: 0 to 6 months.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical 5 to 20 hours / week part time.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.

Graphic Artist: Utilize artistic and technical skills to create visual content for clients to use on websites,
apps, games, publications, blogs, etc. This includes logos and illustrations for manuals.

• Typical range of income (part time): $15 to 20 / hour.
• Cost to startup: Average $1,000 to 2,000 if you need to purchase a computer and software. Additional f you need training or take courses.
• Time to get established: 0 to 6 months if you already have the skills and equipment now.* Additional time if you need training or learning new software.
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical 5 to 20 hours / week part time.
• Time leverage: No if working for clients, income = rate X hours worked. But Yes, if posting images and  collecting royalties.

Life Coach: Mentor clients to achieve goals and increase their overall satisfaction with the direction of
their lives.

• Typical range of income (part time): Variable depending on experience. Typical average is $50 to 75 / hour, but some established life coaches make $300 / hour and beyond.
• Cost to startup: Less than $500.
• Time to get established: 6 months to a year to find clients.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible, typical average 5 to 10 hours / week.
• Time leverage: No if working for clients, income = rate X hours worked. But Yes, if writing eBooks, or  posting online training videos and collecting royalties.

Music Teacher: Teach students to play a musical instrument and/or fine tune their skills to be able to
play more sophisticated music and/or improve their performance playing in a band or orchestra.

• Typical range of income (part time): $15 to $35 / hour, depending on location.
• Cost to startup: Less than $100, if you go to client’s homes to provide the lessons.
• Time to get established: 0 to 6 months to build up clients.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible, typical part time is 5 to 10 hours.
• Time leverage: No if working for clients, income = rate X hours worked. But Yes, if posting videos and  online lessons with subscription fees.

Notary Public: Serves as an impartial witness to verify the signatures of individuals signing documents.

• Typical range of income (part time): Up to $25 per notarization. Can be higher, depending on the importance of the document.
• Cost to startup: Less than $500. Requires application, filing and passing written exam. Requirements vary by location.
• Time to get established: 3 to 6 months.
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical part time can be 2 to 5 hours per week.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X documents notarized.

Personal Shopper: Shop in stores or online for clients, based on their requirements and preferences, to
acquire desired items, to save time for the clients.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $18 to 35 / hour.
• Cost to startup: Less than $100.
• Time to get established: 0 to 3 months.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical 5 to 10 hour per week part time.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.

Photographer: Taking photos for clients or at events, themed photoshoots for clients (magazines,
articles, etc.) and/or creating artwork to be sold.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $18 to 50 / hour for an established blog.
• Cost to startup: Less than $2,000. May require professional photograph equipment and software.
• Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up clients.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Some flexibility, but may be dependent on events such as weddings, graduations etc.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked, or income = cost per job X number of jobs.

Tutor: Work with students to help them better understand specific material and improve their
performance in classes and on exams.

• Typical range of income (part time): Typical range is $15 to 50 / hour, depending on experience level and subject.
• Cost to startup: Less than $100.
• Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up clients.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical part time is 3 to 5 hours per week.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked.

Web Designer: Create layout and visual aspects of websites utilizing creative and technical skills.

• Typical range of income (part time): Average $20 to 35 / hour.
• Cost to startup: Less than $2,000. May require purchasing software or a computer.
• Time to get established: 3 to 6 months to build up clients.*
• Time required / week (after initial setup): Flexible. Typical is 5 to 20 hours per week. May need to work extra when deadlines approach.
• Time leverage: No, income = rate X hours worked, or income = cost per job X number of jobs.

​*Service offerings can be immediately posted at no cost on sites including Fiverr, Upwork and LinkedIn.