5 low-lift side hustles to start in 2024 that take only a few hours a week

1. Etsy digital products

Desiree Sandison, a stay-at-home mom of two, said she was looking for a side hustle to fit around caring for her newborn.

She said she tried working as a virtual assistant and managing social media but found they took too much time out of her day.

“I realized I was having to sell my time. That wasn’t the right fit for me with a baby at home,” Sandison said.

Sandison said she wanted to find a side hustle that wasn’t dependent on how much time she put into it. She decided to create digital templates on Canva and sell them on Etsy in May 2022.

Businesses could use her templates for different types of products, from Instagram posts to service pricing guides. She made templates into bundles, which meant customers could download a range of products for a set price.

She sold the bundles for 172 Canadian dollars at first. In four months, her monthly sales increased from CA$101 to CA$2,300.

Sandison started another Etsy shop selling digital products in September 2022 and made $34,400 from both stores from January to November last year. She told BI she worked about one hour a month.

“It was important that I found a way to contribute to our household but still be at home with my kids,” she said. “My income has meant we can do more fun things and save up.”

2. Etsy print-on-demand

Heather Johnson was a hospital worker who started looking for a low-lift side hustle when her work hours were reduced.

She told BI she needed the money as she was working only half her previous hours a week. “The money wasn’t coming in. I’d just bought a house, and I needed to pay my bills,” Johnson said.

She started a shop on Etsy in January 2021, selling sweaters with designs printed on them through a print-on-demand company.

She replicated her designs across multiple themes, such as different occupations.

“I started getting days where I’d receive up to 30 orders. I realized that was more than I was making in a day from my job,” she said. Initially, she spent 30 to 40 hours a week on her side hustle on top of her hospital job. She made $250,000 in revenue in 2021.

But, in the second year of her shop in 2022, she only spent five to 20 hours a week on it. She made less money than in her first year — $181,000 in revenue — but the income is now more passive.

3. Selling products on Amazon

Ben Alistor started his dropshipping business alongside his job in recruitment. He said he decided to sell products on Amazon FBA because it required minimal upfront costs.

He tested out different price points to find the maximum he could sell products for while also making enough sales for a profit, he said. Alistor spent about 20 hours a week working on his side hustle alongside his 9-to-5 for two years.

But when he was laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, he began spending 50 hours a week on the business.

In 2023, Alistor decided to reduce the hours he spent on his business to 10 hours a week. He made $800,000 in sales between January and August last year.

“Amazon sellers don’t always see results right away, but if you put the hours in, it can become a relatively passive source of income. If I can do it, anyone can,” Alistor said.

4. Cohosting on Airbnb

Seth Sutherland was working as an ICU nurse in Reykjavík, Iceland, when he decided to start cohosting Airbnb units.

He said he knew very little about cohosting when he came across an investor on Facebook looking for someone to help him manage Airbnb units across the US. After a video call, Sutherland agreed to cohost three units in September 2022.

Sutherland said cohosting involved managing all aspects of the short-term rental, such as communicating with the cleaning team and setting up new listings. He said he charged 20% of the owner’s revenue but would customize the pricing based on the owner’s needs.

He spends three hours weekly as a cohost, making up to $1,500 monthly. “We’re making way more cohosting than we did as hosts ourselves,” Sutherland said. “The investor loves it because he’s able to step back and focus on other parts of his business.”

5. Writing Amazon product descriptions

Gaurav Shrishrimal was working as a nuclear-safety consultant in India when he heard about Fiverr, a freelance jobs platform, from his brother.

Shrishrimal set himself up on Fiverr, offering to write Amazon product descriptions for clients. Initially, he set his price at $5 but quickly increased it to $15. At this price, he found he “felt I had to be continuously working in order to make money.”

He increased his prices to $35 for a basic product description and $75 for a premium description. He limited himself to only taking on two jobs a day.

After that, he spent only two hours a week writing Amazon product descriptions on Fiverr and made $19,000 on the platform in 2022.