17 Realistic Ways To Make $100 Per Day

With the current economic conditions of 2020, and with tens of millions of Americans out of work, there are plenty of people looking for creative ways to make money outside of a traditional job.

Regardless of whether you’re looking to supplement your existing income from a job, or whether you’re looking for something to replace a job, there are plenty of options.

While there are a lot of advertisements that promise quick money online or from home, not every opportunity is legit. If you want to avoid scams and actually earn money for your time and effort, stick to one of the proven methods that are covered on this page.

When it comes to side hustles or starting an online business, making $100 a day is a major milestone. While you’re not going to get rich at this level of income, it’s still a significant amount of money that can make a huge difference. And if you’re able to make $100 per day, chances are, that can be increased with the right effort.

Side Hustles To Make $100 A Day

If you’re looking for legit ways to make money outside of a job, here are some of the best possibilities that you should consider.

1. Freelance Writing

Working as a freelance writer is one of the best opportunities of 2020 and beyond. There are millions of websites and blogs that rely on new content, and a large percentage of that content is written by freelancers. Even aside from online business, there are other opportunities like writing for newspapers, magazines, and other publications.

Some freelance writers take a general approach and write about any topic of the client’s choice. Others choose to specialize in a particular industry in order to grow their profile and become a recognized authority on the topics that they write about. If you take the specialized approach, you can choose a topic that interests you and you’ll probably find that the work is more enjoyable.

Not only are there plenty of opportunities, but the pay can be quite good as well. Of course, there are definitely low paying freelance writing gigs out there, but many writers are able to earn a significant income while benefiting from a flexible work schedule.

Pros of Freelance Writing:

• Strong demand with lots of websites and blogs constantly in need of new content.
• Write about something that you enjoy by specializing in the industry of your choice.
• Excellent income potential.
• It can be done full-time or part-time, depending on your schedule and the amount of money that you need to make.
• Start making money right away, as soon as you land your first client.

Cons of Freelance Writing:

• Some gigs are low-paying.
• You’ll face more competition for the higher-paying gigs, so you may need to start with some lower-paying opportunities to get experience.

Getting Started as a Freelance Writer

There are a lot of different ways to find clients, including job boards like ProBlogger, Blogging Pro, and Freelance Writing Gigs. It’s also a good idea to use your existing personal or professional network to try to land a client or two.

For tips on how to get started the course, Freelance Writing 101: Build a Successful Career Writing, may be worth the cost of a premium Skillshare membership, or at least a free trial!

2. Self-Published Author

Another way to make money as a writer is to become a self-published author. Instead of getting paid to write for clients, you’ll write and sell books or ebooks.

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is the most popular platform, and anyone can become an author without the need for experience or piles of cash to spend on printing. Through KDP, you can sell ebooks and print-on-demand paperbacks, which means there is no inventory to buy.

While working as a freelance writer allows you to start making money right away, becoming a self-published author requires some patience before you’ll start earning significant money. Obviously, you’ll need to finish your first book/ebook before it will be available for purchase, and it will also take some time to build up your business. However, there is plenty of income potential if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to make it happen.

Pros of Self-Publishing:

• No need to find clients or deal with clients.
• Excellent income potential.
• Write about whatever you want. You’ll choose your own topics and the types of books that you want to write.
• Print-on-demand means that you can sell paperback books without the cost of buying inventory.

Cons of Self-Publishing:

• You’ll need to put in a lot of time and work before making money.
• Constant writing. Most people who make a significant income with self-publishing are constantly working on new books.

Getting Started as a Self-Published Author

From First Draft to Bestseller is a thorough course on Skillshare that will help you to get started. You can get access to the course free for two months with a Skillshare trial.

3. Virtual Assistant

Working as a virtual assistant (VA) has been one of the best ways to make money online over the past few years. And with many companies looking to reduce costs, it’s likely that even more work will be outsourced to VAs rather than hiring employees to do the same tasks.

Virtual assistant is a broad term and VAs can offer a wide range of administrative services. This could include things like managing email inboxes, moderating forums or Facebook Groups, managing social media profiles, writing or editing blog posts, designing images for blog posts or social media sharing, and much more.

Some virtual assistants offer a very wide range of services, while others take a more focused approach and specialize. Those who specialize and are able to brand themselves as experts in a particular area are usually able to demand higher rates from clients.

Pros of Working as a VA:

• Plenty of opportunities as many companies and entrepreneurs hire VAs.
• Likely increase in demand due to more companies outsourcing work in the current economic conditions.
• Good income potential, especially for those who take a specialized approach.
• It can be done full-time or part-time, depending on your schedule and the amount of money that you need to make.
• Start making money right away, as soon as you land your first client.
• Use your existing skills to make money.

Cons of Working as a VA:

• Some gigs are low-paying and you may find yourself competing for jobs with people who charge very low rates.

Getting Started as a VA

Gina Horkey is an experienced and successful VA that covers everything you need to know to get started in 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success.

4. Transcription

If you have some typing skills (speed and accuracy), working as a transcriptionist is an excellent way to make money. There are plenty of opportunities to make money by transcribing audio or video, and those opportunities continue to increase as more and more audio and video content is being published online every day.

Transcription work is generally very flexible. There are a number of websites that provide transcription work and most of them allow you to work as much or as little as you want, whenever it’s convenient for you.

You’ll have the option to signup and use transcription websites, or you can look for freelance opportunities. Freelancing will take more effort but will offer higher income potential.

Pros of Transcription Work:

• Make use of a skill you already have (typing).
• It can be done part-time or full-time, depending on your needs and availability.
• Lots of opportunities available.
• Start making money right away.

Cons of Transcription Work:

• You need to be fast and accurate at typing. If you don’t already have those skills, you’ll need to practice.
• Some gigs are low-paying. Determining how much you’ll be able to earn can be tricky as most gigs pay per audio minute or per audio hour, not per hour of work.

Getting Started as a Transcriptionist

The easiest and quickest way to get started is to make use of websites that allow you to sign up and claim the work that you want. There are a number of these sites and you can find the best transcription jobs here.

Transcribe Anywhere has a course that will teach you to be a transcriptionist for general and legal transcription. You’ll learn everything you need to know to start making money. You can also check out a related proofreading course, Proofread Anywhere to see if proofreading might be for you.

5. Bookkeeper

Working as a bookkeeper is an opportunity that’s often overlooked or underappreciated. Some bookkeeping jobs can be done remotely, either part-time or full-time. But the better income-generating opportunity involves working as a freelancer or starting your own bookkeeping business.

You may already have some bookkeeping skills or experience that could be put to good use. And one of the reasons why bookkeeping is a great option is because the skills can be learned relatively quickly. You don’t need an accounting degree and many bookkeeping jobs are entry-level with no experience required. With a little bit of effort, you can learn the skills needed to work as a bookkeeper, either as an employee or freelancer.

Pros of Bookkeeping:

• Excellent income potential.
• Uses skills that can be learned relatively quickly.
• In-demand service that businesses will always need.
• It can be done part-time or full-time.

Cons of Bookkeeping:

• If you don’t have any bookkeeping experience, you’ll need to learn.

Getting Started as a Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers.com offers 3 free classes that show you how to start your own bookkeeping business and work from home.

6. Grocery Shopper

Grocery shopping and delivery services have been increasing in popularity over the past few years, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with more people staying home, services like Instacart have become more popular than ever, and that opens up new opportunities for making money.

Instacart offers two different ways to make money. One option is to work as an in-store shopper. Instacart’s in-store shoppers are part-time employees who are not responsible for deliveries. You would be getting a customer’s grocery list and you do the shopping for them.

The other option is to be a full-service shopper, which involves doing the shopping and making deliveries to customers. Instacart’s full-service shoppers are independent contractors and you must have your own vehicle.

Both options offer flexible hours, so you can make the work fit around your existing schedule.

Pros of Working as a Grocery Shopper:

• Start making money right away. Sign up now and as soon as you’re approved and cleared to work, you’ll be able to start earning money.
• In-demand service that provides plenty of work.
• No experience required. Almost anyone can do it.

Cons of Working for as a Grocery Shopper:

• Options for increasing your income will be limited.

Getting Started as a Grocery Shopper

Getting started is easy. Just sign up at Instacart’s website and you’ll be led through the process. You’ll need to decide whether you want to work as an in-store shopper or full-service shopper.

7. Rideshare Driver

Driving for Uber and/or Lyft has been a popular side hustle for a couple of years now, and it’s still a legit way to make money around your existing schedule.

As a driver, you can work as much or as little as you want. You can sign up today and start making money as soon as you’ve passed the background check and been cleared to drive (usually a few days).

Pros of Rideshare Driving:

• Start making money right away.
• No specific skills or experience required (aside from driving), so basically anyone can do it.
• It can be done part-time or full-time.

Cons of Rideshare driving:

• You’ll need to calculate the maintenance and wear-and-tear costs related to the extra miles on your vehicle.
• You’ll need a vehicle that will meet Uber or Lyft’s requirements. If your vehicle doesn’t meet the requirements, you’ll need to rent one that does.
• You’ll have strangers in your car, which can be uncomfortable for some people.
• Opportunities may be limited in rural areas.

Getting Started as a Rideshare Driver

To get started, fill out an application with Uber or Lyft. The application process is pretty straightforward and you should be able to start diving in about a week.

8. Delivery Driver

If you like the idea of making money as a driver, but you don’t want to give rides to strangers, working as a delivery driver may be a better option for you.

While rideshare driving can be a good option too, many people won’t have a vehicle that meets the requirements. But most delivery jobs, like DoorDash for example, do not have stringent requirements and you can use almost any vehicle.

Working as a delivery driver also allows you to start making money very quickly, and you’ll still benefit from a high level of flexibility. Many delivery jobs involve making deliveries from restaurants, including:

• DoorDash
• Uber Eats
• Grubhub
• Postmates

Aside from restaurant delivery, another legit option is to deliver packages for Amazon through the Amazon Flex program.

Pros of Working as a Delivery Driver:

• Start making money right away.
• No specific skills or experience required (aside from driving), so basically anyone can do it.
• Use any vehicle.
• No need to have strangers in your car (as opposed to rideshare driving).

Cons of Working as a Delivery Driver:

• You’ll need to calculate the maintenance and wear-and-tear costs related to the extra miles on your vehicle.
• Opportunities may be limited in rural areas.

Getting Started as a Delivery Driver

Choose the app or platform that you want to use, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, or Postmates, and sign up. Once you’re approved, you’ll be able to start driving and make money very quickly.

9. Start A YouTube Channel

Blogging is often mentioned as a way to make money online. While it’s definitely true that you can make money as a blogger, there’s much less competition if you decide to pursue video content instead of written content.

There are more than 500 million blogs online in 2020 (source), but there are only about 31 million YouTube channels (source). And despite the significantly lower number of YouTube channels, video content is increasing in popularity significantly. More people watching online videos lead to more opportunities to make money with YouTube.

Just like blogging, you can start a YouTube channel on any topic that interests you. With your own channel, you’ll have the potential to make more from advertising (YouTube Partner Program), affiliate programs, and sponsorship.

Pros of Starting a YouTube Channel:

• Unlimited income potential.
• Constantly increasing demand for video content.
• Start a channel on any topic that interests you, so you can incorporate your hobbies or things that you enjoy in your work.

Cons of Starting a YouTube Channel:

• You’ll have to build up your audience before you start making money, which can take a lot of work.
• The YouTube Partner Program requires you to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in order to monetize videos with their ads.

Getting Started with YouTube

Stand Out and Make Money on YouTube is a course taught by a YouTuber with more than 5 million followers. The course is on Skillshare and you can get access with a free two-month trial.

10. Create And Sell Digital Products

If you have a website or blog, or if you’re interested in starting one, one of the best ways to make money is to create and sell digital products. There are all kinds of possibilities here, it really just depends on the niche that you’re in and the target audience of your site. Some of the possibilities include:

• Ebooks
• Stock photos and graphics
• Music and audio files
• Printables
• Templates

These are just a few possibilities and some of them are very broad. For example, printables and templates could include any number of different products, and possibilities exist in just about any industry or niche.

Aside from leveraging your own website or blog traffic to sell our products, you could also sell on marketplaces, rely on affiliates to send traffic, or use paid ads (like Facebook, Google, or Pinterest ads).

Pros of Selling Digital Products:

• Great way to monetize an existing website or blog.
• Unlimited income potential.
• Possibilities in any industry or niche.
• Potential for passive income.

Cons of Selling Digital Products:

• Some products will require a lot of time to create.
• You’ll need to get exposure for your products in order to make money.

Getting Started with Digital Products

If you’re looking to get started quickly and you don’t already have an existing audience through your own website or blog, one of the best options is to start selling on a marketplace that has an existing audience.

Etsy is known as a great place to buy or sell handmade goods, but it’s also an excellent platform for selling digital products. Build an Etsy Shop That Sells is a great introductory course at Skillshare that shows you how to get started. You can access the course with a free two-month trial of Skillshare.

11. Create And Sell Online Courses

Online courses could fall under the previous point about digital products, but I wanted to mention courses separately because this opportunity is different from a lot of other digital products, and because online courses are extremely popular.

While there are a lot of different types of digital products that you can sell, online courses typically have a very high perceived value, and so it’s possible to charge a premium if you offer a quality course. It’s not unusual for online courses to sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. In fact, the same information could be packaged in an ebook and it would probably be hard to sell it for more than $99. Customers perceive the value or a course to be higher than the value of an ebook.

That doesn’t mean that all courses will be high-ticket items. You could create shorter, simpler courses that sell for lower amounts. The price you’re able to charge for your course will also be impacted by your profile. If you’ve established an excellent reputation and a strong following, people will be willing to pay more for your course. If you’re just getting started, a high-ticket course will be harder to sell.

You also have a few different options when it comes to setting up and selling your course. You could use a WordPress plugin to handle the sales and provide students with access to course material. You could use a platform like Teachable that makes it easy to set up and manage your course. Or you could use a platform like Udemy or Skillshare that will help you to get exposure for your course (but may limit your earning potential).

Pros of Creating and Selling Online Courses:

• Great way to monetize an existing website or blog.
• Excellent income potential.
• Brand yourself as an expert in your field through the creation of a course.

Cons of Creating and Selling Online Courses:

• In general, courses will require more time to create, as compared to other types of digital products.
• Selling a course can be difficult if you don’t have an established audience or a reputation.
• Courses can require more maintenance than some other types of digital products (especially if you have a Facebook Group or some other community component to the course).

Getting Started with Selling Online Courses

Online Course Masters by Phil Ebiner will teach you what you need to know to create and sell your own course. This course is available on Skillshare and you get free access for two months.

12. Voice Acting

With so much audio and video content being created, there is a strong demand for voice actors to record voiceovers. You could be recording your voice for a commercial, a sales video, a podcast intro, or any number of other things. 

You’ll need a little bit of equipment (most importantly, a quality microphone), but it’s possible to get started with a modest budget and then upgrade as you go.

Fiverr and Upwork are popular platforms for landing work, or you may be able to find clients on your own.

Pros of Voice Acting:

• Excellent income potential.
• Lots of work available.
• Can be done part-time or full-time, depending on your situation.

Cons of Voice Acting:

• Finding your first clients can be difficult with a limited portfolio or no portfolio.

13. Pet Sitting / Dog Walking

You might be surprised by the income potential of pet sitting and dog walking. Making $100 a day is certainly a realistic goal, and there are plenty of people who are making a full-time income.

This can be an attractive option because it doesn’t require any specific skills or experience, and so just about anyone can do it.

In order to make money as a pet sitter, you’ll need a safe place to be able to host pets. That may not be possible if you’re renting a place that doesn’t allow pets, but you don’t need a huge yard or anything special in order to make it work.

While there are many different ways to find clients, apps/sites like Rover and Wag make it easy to create a profile so pet owners in your local area can find you.

Pros of Pet Sitting and Dog Walking:

• Start making money right away, as soon as you have your first client.
• No specific skills or experience required.
• Lots of work available from pet owners who travel, don’t have time to walk their own dogs, or aren’t physically able to do it.
• Good income potential.
• Can be done part-time or full-time.

Cons of Pet Sitting and Dog Walking:

• Opportunities are better in some areas (like big cities).
• Pet sitting requires you to have a place to keep the animals.

Getting Started with Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

The easiest way to get started is to create a free profile at Rover and/or Wag.

14. Become An Influencer

Do you spend a lot of time on social networks? If so, wouldn’t it be great if you could get paid for sharing new products or brands with your friends and followers? 

Influencer marketing allows you to get paid to post sponsored content to your social profiles, and some people are making a lot of money with it. 

In order to make money as an influencer, you’ll need to have a responsive audience, and the larger, the better. You don’t need to have millions of followers, but you do need to be able to get engagement from your followers when you share something.

Pros of Becoming an Influencer:

• If you already have a large, responsive following, you can make money from it.
• There are plenty of brands looking for influencers to work with.
• You can make money doing something that you enjoy.

Cons of Becoming an Influencer:

• Not everyone is an influencer. You’ll need to be able to elicit a response from your followers.
• You may need to dedicate a lot of time and effort to grow a following before you start making money.

Getting Started as an Influencer

If you don’t have a strong following yet, building up your social profiles and attracting followers is where you’ll need to start. If you do have a following already, check out this list of 25 influencer marketing platforms.

15. Sell Handmade Crafts

Etsy was mentioned earlier as a great place to sell digital products, and of course, it’s also the leading platform if you want to sell handmade crafts or vintage goods. If you’re crafty, you may enjoy making things that you could sell on Etsy.

This side hustle generally works better part-time, but if you’re successful, there is a chance to turn it into a full-time business.

Pros of Selling Handmade Crafts:

• Make money doing something that you enjoy.
• Etsy offers exposure to a massive audience of buyers.

Cons of Selling Handmade Crafts:

• You’ll face a lot of competition on Etsy.
• It can be difficult to scale as you’ll need to find efficient ways to make the items.

Build an Etsy Shop That Sells is a great introductory course at Skillshare that shows you how to get started selling on Etsy. Definitely worth checking out.

16. Start A Rental Business

It’s not the first side hustle that comes to mind, but there are plenty of ways to make money by renting out your stuff. You could rent out a room in your house, rent your car when you’re not using it, rent storage space, rent your parking space, rent baby items, and more.

Of course, the amount of money that you’ll be able to make will depend on the items that you’re renting out, but there if you have the right items, you can make good money. For example, if you have a house with a separate unit, you can make a lot by renting it out. RVs are also excellent for renting.

Pros of a Rental Business:

• Your income isn’t directly tied to the hours that you work. You’re making money based on the things that you have.
• Turn ordinary things into income-generating assets.
• Lots of different options.

Cons of a Rental Business:

• You may or may not have the right things that people want to rent.
• Your income may be inconsistent.

Getting Started with a Rental Business

Think about the things that you already have that you might be able to rent out. There are online platforms for renting all kinds of things. I can’t cover them all in this article, but Fat Llama is a nice option because you can rent just about anything there.

17. Use Your Existing Skills And Experience 

Depending on the work experience and skills that you already have, you may be able to make money on the side as a consultant or coach. There are consultants and coaches in just about any field you can imagine, so it could be a great opportunity for a lot of people.

Not only are there clients who are hiring consultants, but in most cases, the hourly rate that you can earn is very attractive.

Pros of Consulting/Coaching:

• Make use of the experience you already have.
• Excellent income potential.
• It can be done part-time or full-time.
• Possibilities exist in many different industries.

Cons of Consulting/Coaching:

• It may take some time to build up your client base.

Getting Started with Consulting/Coaching

The Complete Master Class on Starting a Consulting Business covers all of the basics. This course is available on Skillshare and you can get free access during the trial.

Making $100 A Day Online Is Possible

Earning $100 per day with a side hustle or online business is a great goal that marks a significant milestone.

As you can see, there are a lot of different ways to reach this milestone. The ideas covered in this article give you plenty of options, so find the one that’s a good fit for you and get started.

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