Make money working from home
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29 Ways To Make Money Working From Home

Author  Kimberley Smyth
Last updated: December 26, 2023

Are you tired of the same old 9 to 5 job? Or having to be at the office all day and spending hours each morning and evening commuting by car, bus, or train?

Would you like to spend more time with your spouse, kids, or pets and give them all the attention they deserve? Would you like to be able to decide when to take time off and go on vacation with your family or friends?

Or do you prefer the flexibility to get up an hour later or work a little bit while studying for your degree?

Do you want to make money from home? Then please read on.

At Financer.com we are convinced that working from home can become a reality for anyone. That is why we have already collected the most important information about working from home for you on this page.

We will discuss the pros and cons of working from home and give you 29 ideas for making money from home.

Our goal is to help you decide whether the switch to part-time or full-time at-home work is right for you.

Here’s how to make money working from home:

Quick jump to:

29 Ways to Earn Money From Home

1. Blogging

Earnings: UP TO $80,000+ PER YEAR

Do you have a passion for writing and do you like to share your opinion? Do you like to tell stories? Blogging can be a very lucrative way to work from home.

Platforms such as WordPress, wix.com, and Squarespace make it easier than ever today to create your own website where you can post your own articles, images, and videos on a wide range of topics. You could also use education, medical or real estate website design services if you work in a specific niche.

The best chance for success is to write about a niche subject that you are passionate about. After all, it is much easier to get noticed for quality content on specialized subjects than for large, saturated topics such as investment, health, or travel.

The easiest way to monetize the blog (i.e. get paid for it) is by placing relevant advertisements. An additional advantage of choosing a good niche is that you will be able to build a highly targeted audience.

This is extremely valuable for companies and they will be willing to pay a good amount of money for (relevant) ads on your platform.

Be aware that this process can take time. You will initially have to invest sufficient time into the project before your blog will start to generate money. You have to build an audience, and that takes time.

It is certainly not a quick fix, but once you regularly post quality articles, images, and/or videos and the blog attracts a sufficient amount of visitors, you can earn up to 80,000 dollars (or more!) per year, blogging from home.

  • Aflexible way to work from home
  • Building up a reputation takes time
  • Need to offer valuable content on an in-demand subject matter

2. Freelance writing

Earnings: UP TO $2,000+ PER MONTH

Are you a stay-at-home parent or student with a high school or college diploma, or are you someone who can naturally find errors in written texts and apply correct grammatical rules?

If you love to write and you want to work from home — but don’t have the time to start a blog — then freelance writing might be a great fit for you.

Via large online platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr, you can offer your services in exchange for money. You get paid per completed individual item, gig, or task.

The more assignments you complete successfully, the better your reputation on the platform will become and the more in-demand your freelance services will become. Ultimately, you can turn this into a full-time job with a salary of more than $2,000 per month.

Please note that the number of available assignments per month can often vary greatly. This means your income can potentially be very unpredictable.

Tip: If you’re looking to diversify your income stream, go take a look at our investments section.

  • Flexible way to work from home
  • Building up reputation takes time
  • Unpredictable income stream

3. Technical freelancing

Earnings: UP TO $2,000+ PER MONTH

Freelancing doesn’t have to just mean writing. You can also offer other services. Some of the most marketable include graphic design, administration, social media, programming, and marketing and web design are just a few of the many highly sought-after alternatives when writing doesn’t really appeal to you.

You typically get paid on a per-project basis. The following websites offer a platform to connect employers with freelancers: Upwork, PeoplePerHour, Lensa, Freelancer, and Freelance.com.

  • Flexible way to work from home
  • Technical knowledge required
  • Unpredictable

4. Be a Virtual Assistant (VA)

Earnings: $20 TO $100+ PER HOUR

If you’re wondering how to make extra money from home working for someone else – here’s how.

As a Virtual Assistant (VA), you help other people complete everyday tasks such as checking and sending emails, creating travel plans, completing Internet research or managing their calendars. Depending on your experience and expertise, you can earn $20 to $100+ per hour.

Some of the most active sites are Zirtual and Upwork.

Attention: Most of the VA work will be in English. Virtual assistants who speak other languages are scarce (especially native speakers), but you can also charge a higher rate per hour.

  • No diploma or experience required
  • Location-independent
  • Communication and work mostly in English

5. Customer service

Earnings: $1,600 – $5,000 PER MONTH

Many companies today offer a telephone or online customer support option to their customers. This is an excellent way to earn money from home while holding a relatively traditional position.

Most companies offer free training and only require you to be able to provide consistent, high-quality customer service, and to be able to deal with people in a courteous and helpful manner.

  • Low entry threshold
  • Relatively good earnings
  • Sometimes difficult conversations with customers

6. Transcription services

Earnings: $100 – $800 PER MONTH

Do you have a good sense of hearing and command of your language, and do you want to work from home? Then perhaps a position transcribing recordings and records could be a good fit for you.

Transcribing usually means that you are converting sound recordings into written form.

In several countries, including the United States, this is very popular as many healthcare professionals, legal professionals, and others take their notes verbally, but eventually, need a written record of them.

On websites such as Transcriptie.com, you can sign up and find assignments easily.

The advantage of transcribing is that you can work from home with a flexible schedule. All you need is a computer and a good network connection.

You decide when and how much you want to work. The rates for companies are typically $2 – $3 per minute of the recording material, depending on the assignment.

While the earnings are not very high, no training or experience is required, which makes this style of working very accessible for anyone looking to work from home.

  • No training or experience required
  • Location-independent
  • Earnings on the lower side

7. Write an E-book and sell it

Earnings: $5 – $25 PER COPY SOLD

Another way to passively earn money from home is to write an e-book.

However, to be successful, it is important that you publish and write enough valuable content about a subject that people are willing to pay for. Think, for example, of a problem that readers may run into and for which you offer a good solution.

You can sell your e-book via your own website, platforms such as Udemy (if you put together a curriculum, for example), or via Amazon.

  • Good source of passive income
  • Experience with writing required
  • Need to offer valuable content on an in-demand subject matter

8. Photographer at home

Earnings: $5 – $300+ PER ASSIGNMENT

Are you skilled with cameras and do you have a passion for photography? Making money from home as a photographer could be an option for you. With only a small initial investment and some free space in your house or garage, you can easily set up a (flexible) studio.

Start with small assignments and try to make a name for yourself locally through word-of-mouth and appealing to small businesses, shop-owners, and other potentially interesting parties.

Offer, for example, to take photos at important events (such as a marriage, graduation, first day at school, etc), or focus on portraits.

It can be beneficial to focus on a certain style and niche and really build your portfolio, so you can develop your own specific style (portraits, boudoir, events, interior, wedding, etc).

That way you’ll start making a name for yourself in a particular niche, which makes it easier to get assignments and enables you to charge more.

Building an online portfolio on your own website, Instagram, or Facebook page is crucial. This way you can easily show potential customers your work so they can immediately decide whether they like it or not.

  • Earn money from home with your passion
  • Initial investment is relatively high (camera, material, etc)

9. Host a meetup event

Earnings: DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU SELL OR YOUR ENTRANCE FEE

Do you like to organize events? Meetup is a platform where you can easily create an event that nearby people can go to.

You can organize a seminar, a reading club, or a networking event and sell event tickets. Do you have a passion for certain products (such as Tupperware) or do you make things yourself (clothing, handicrafts, clay work, etc)? Then you can organize a sales evening where people can test and possibly buy the products.

The possibilities are endless.

  • Social commitment
  • Relatively small earnings

10. Childcare Provider

Earnings: $15 – $20 PER HOUR

Do you like children? Then being a childcare provider might just be the ideal way to work from home for you. As a childcare provider, you can take care of children at your home for an hourly rate.

Make sure that you have enough space in the house and that you have the necessary certifications, permits, and insurances. You may also be required to register your business with state and local agencies.

For more information, please visit the government’s website.

  • Caring for and nurturing children in your care
  • Certifications, permits, insurances and registrations may be required

11. Web shop

Earnings: $500 – $8,000+ PER MONTH

Platforms such as Shopify and Amazon offer the possibility to create your own web shop. Through this shop, you then sell products to visitors.

You can choose to sell your own products and take care of the logistics yourself, or you can let the platform take care of the logistics (shipping, storage, etc). You then pay a small commission to the platform in exchange for these services.

This concept is called “drop shipping” and you can find a lot of information about how you can get started on YouTube and Google.

Again, it is highly recommended to define a precise niche and to sell specific products, instead of offering a very wide range of items. The competition is fierce, and it can take up to a year before your web shop really starts to attract visitors and take off.

  • High growth potential
  • Passive income
  • Somewhat technical knowledge required
  • Competition is ruthless

12. Buying and selling products at a profit

Earnings: DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU SELL AND THE PROFIT MARGIN

Do you have a real entrepreneurial spirit? Then you can also buy products and sell them back for a profit.

All you have to do is spot good deals and resell your products on websites like eBay and Amazon. One option is to buy things cheaply from abroad in large quantities (AliExpress, for example, is a good webshop for this kind of business) and then sell them for a profit. Examples of merchandise to sell are smartphone accessories or hobby articles.

  • Lucrative way of working from home
  • Finding the right deal can take time
  • Logistics

13. Ironing service

Earnings: $1 – $3 PER ITEM OF CLOTHING

Offer a local ironing service! Some people hate ironing or are looking to outsource this task. This is a perfect opportunity for you to offer this service.

Talk to some people, hand out flyers and business cards, and ask local shops if you can put up a small ad and if they want to help you advertise yourself.

Ask for a good price for your services. Depending on the garment you can generally ask $1 to $3 for each piece and earn a nice extra penny from home.

Check out the website of Life Without Laundry for a nice example of an ironing service.

  • Local company
  • Making a name for yourself can take time

14. Household coach

Earnings: $40 – $60 PER HOUR (pre-tax)

Running a household efficiently can require a lot of energy in these busy times. Are you talented at organizing events? Do you have a strong affinity with an order?

Then you can help people with their household and offer your services as a household coach.

As a housekeeping coach, you will bring an overview and tranquillity to chaotic living and office environments.

In practice, this means that you give support and advice to people who have difficulty with:

  • Tidying up: Cleaning up and reorganizing the home or workplace
  • Administration: Processing incoming mail and setting up a good archive and system to organize paperwork
  • Managing the agenda: The effective handling of projects and jobs
  • Keeping the home and office: Streamlining recurring tasks
  • Providing support to households
  • Sometimes needed to be on the move

15. Consultant

Earnings: $25 – $150+ PER HOUR

Do you have a lot of experience with a certain subject/expertise? Then you can work (online) from home as a consultant. People are willing to pay for a service that can efficiently solve a problem for them.

Individuals and companies are looking for expertise in areas including marketing strategies, investment advice, or entrepreneurship.

Use your knowledge and expertise as a consultant and earn money from home with consultations. This can be done via Skype as well as in person.

Don’t forget to advertise locally and possibly create your own website to attract customers.

  • Earn money with your expertise
  • Building a customer base takes time
  • Some knowledge of online marketing is recommended

16. Accounting

Earnings: $30 – $70 PER HOUR (pre-tax)

Are you good with numbers and do you like finance?

Lots of people hate accounting or are not very good at it. If you can remove this stress with competency and with a smile, your services as an accountant will be in high demand.

Note: Make sure that you always follow IRS rules and regulations, so that you don’t get in trouble with the government.

A self-employed accountant can charge between 30 and 70 dollars per hour.  Professional training or certifications will allow you to charge more than a less experienced accountant.

(However, a starting self-employed accountant does not earn this hourly wage immediately. After all, these are billable hours, i.e. hours of actual performance you can put on your invoice.

Usually, there’s a lot of additional work outside of the billable hours.)

  • High earnings potential
  • Strict and ever-changing laws and legislation
  • High probability of referrals over time if you are skilled

Additionally, be sure that your online presence as an accountant is secure. With the rise in cybercrime, it’s essential to take measures to protect your client’s personal data and sensitive information from prying eyes. This is where using the best VPN comes in handy. It can help you establish a safe connection over public networks especially if you’re not working every day from home.

17. Catering

Earnings: $3 – $50 PER PERSON

Starting a local catering business can be a tasty way to work from home. Prepare appetizers or full-fledged meals and sell your service services in the local community. Depending on the dishes, you can charge 3 to 50 dollars per person.

Be sure to pay an occasional visit when local events are organized and ask the organizer(s) if additional catering would be needed. This way you can build up a nice customer base and earn money at home by cooking.

Attention: Make sure that you always comply with food safety procedures and laws pertaining to food preparation. Also make sure you always ask for possible allergies from customers!

  • Creative way of working from home
  • Promoting yourself can take a lot of time

18. Give cooking classes

Earnings: $25 – $50 PER PERSON

Another way to earn money from home while cooking is to organize and give cooking classes.

If you work with small groups, you can give workshops in your own kitchen. If you want to accompany larger groups, you will probably have to leave the house, but other prep work can potentially be done at home. Just like with catering, make sure to research local laws and regulations pertaining to food safety procedures and preparation.

You can also enjoy cooking for staff outings or bachelor parties or give workshops for companies.

  • Give workshops at home
  • For larger groups you will most likely have to leave the house

19. Cupcakes and pies

Earnings: CUPCAKES: $2 – $4 PER PIECE / PIES: $15 – $50 PER PIE

Is baking cakes and cupcakes your passion? Then consider selling your local artisanal baked goods. You can offer all kinds of treats for special occasions, or just a tasty party.

Word of mouth is very important, so don’t be shy to talk to people and possibly offer them a tasting to convince them of your skills.

Don’t forget to calculate your working hours and raw material costs. Cupcakes can be sold for $2 – $4 each. Pies, depending on the number of people vary between 15 and 50 dollars each and could go up to $100.

  • Great way to make money from home
  • Possibility to bake with your children
  • Relatively low earnings per hour of work

20. Participate in surveys

Earnings: UP TO $250 PER MONTH

Do you like to offer your opinion? If so, then a great option to get paid for it is to answer online surveys for money from home. This way you can easily earn an extra $250 per month.

Below are some reliable websites for surveys:

  • TolunaPanel
  • WizardCountry
  • opinionMobrog
  • Swagbucks

Attention: If a survey site asks you to pay for access, it is most likely a scam. Never give out your credit card information without being sure that this is a reliable website.

  • Easy way to earn extra money
  • No diploma required
  • Beware of scammers

21. Testing websites

Earnings: $5 – $30 PER HOUR

Testing websites is a perfect way to work from home. You can test websites from home for up to $30 per hour.

A popular platform for this is UserTesting. This is how it works:

  • You’ll get $10 paid via PayPal for every 20-minute video you complete.
  • UserTesting pays you to visit websites or apps, perform a number of tasks and formulate your experiences.
  • When you visit a website, your screen and voice are recorded.

Big customers are Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Facebook, and other companies.

Attention: You will need to test the websites in English.

A second platform is WhatUsersDo. Here you earn about 5 dollars per completed test and you can have your money paid directly to your bank account on a monthly basis.

  • No diplomas required
  • Simply sign up
  • Testing often only in English

22. Pet Sitting Service

Earnings: $3 – $10 PER ANIMAL PER HOUR

Are you a real animal lover and do you like dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles? Do you have a large garden or a park nearby? Then a dog walking service or petsitting service is the ideal way to work from home.

You can charge an hourly rate between $3-$10 per dog.

Make sure that you always make good arrangements with the owners and take into account the individual wishes of your customers.

Tip: Obviously you can also look after other pets, such as cats, rabbits, hamsters, etc.

  • Making money from home with pets
  • Sufficient space required
  • Sometimes very chaotic

23. Music lessons

Earnings: $10 – $50 PER HOUR

Are you musically gifted and do you have a good disposition for teaching? Then teaching music classes can be a very creative way to further develop your talents and earn an extra income.

Moreover, music lessons in big cities and surrounding suburbs are often very expensive. Advertise and offer a cheaper rate. Over time you will be able to get a nice group of people together who will enthusiastically take music lessons either at their homes, your home, or studio space.

You may also consider offering private lessons at a premium rate.

  • Creative way to work from home
  • Finding enough students can be difficult

24. Sewing service

Earnings: $10 – $25 PER GARMENT

Handy with needle and thread? Repairing clothes can be a good way to make money from home.

Most people nowadays have no clue about how to repair ripped clothes, insert a zipper or lengthen or shorten trouser legs.

Draw up a price list for each item of clothing and tell the people around you that they can have their favorite clothes repaired at a special rate.

  • Make money with your skills
  • Not many people nowadays get their clothes repaired

25. Event Organizer / Planner

Earnings: $10 – $50 PER HOUR

Do you like to organize events? Do you have a natural ability to get things done? Then putting your skills to use as an event planner might be something to consider.

You can take on the organization of events for a fee. You can charge a fixed price per hour or per event.

Think of organizing dance parties, networking events, children’s parties, birthdays, and anniversaries.

Make as many contacts as possible within the event world. Tell everyone you meet what you do and that you always want to provide people with the best possible experience through your services.

  • Social commitment
  • Contacts
  • Sometimes very chaotic
  • Unpredictable (unstable source of income)

26. Home tutor

Earnings: $10 – $50 PER HOUR

Do you love helping people, and are you good at teaching? Then consider becoming a home tutor. You can then work from home and teach children or young adolescents about your favorite subjects such as Math, English or Art.

A second possibility is to offer computer lessons for the elderly, for example.

It is recommended that you complete a tutor training course to build sufficient credibility.

You can find more information about becoming a tutor on the website of learnhowtobecome.org.

  • Teaching children or the elderly
  • Tutor training is recommended

27. Electronics, computer, and smartphone repair service

Earnings: $35 – $500 PER DEVICE

Are you technologically savvy and do you have a knack for figuring out what electronics are all about? Consider offering a local repair service.

Electronics are expensive and can often be easily repaired at a minimal cost. Parts are normally inexpensive and with the right knowledge, most devices can be fixed rather quickly.

Calculate a rate per hour or per device and advertise in your area. A good tip is to leave flyers or posters at local businesses where device-dependent white-collar workers can be found. You can even use online tools to easily design posters with templates.

Spare parts can easily be ordered from AliExpress, eBay, or a specialized webshop.

  • Cheap parts / High profit margin
  • Technical knowledge required

28. YouTube

Earnings: $800 – $1500 PER MONTH (FOR 20,000 VIEWS PER DAY)

Earning money from home with YouTube has become very popular in recent years. However, it may take a relatively long time to create content and a large following. Howver, if you are passionate about what you have to share, however, this shouldn’t be an issue.

You can generate income by offering products or by placing advertisements. You will also receive a small fee per view.

For more information visit youtube.com/creators.

  • Creative way of working from home
  • High time investment
  • Saturation of the platform

29. Influencer

Earnings: $50 – $500 PER POST (< 100,000 FOLLOWERS)

Are you an eccentric person with a unique personality? Do you like to express your opinion? Do you have an impressive creative streak?

Becoming a “Social Media Influencer” is a hot topic these days. This means that you build a loyal audience through social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and for that you can use social media scheduler tools.

You can generate income through advertisements, sponsored posts, or affiliate programs. Building up an audience and learning how to sell on Instagram takes time, but loyal followers and fans are worth their weight in gold.

Marketing research suggests that an average influencer (< 100,000) can charge up to $200 to $500 per post.

  • High growth potential
  • Advertise your personality or skillset
  • Building the public takes time
  • Not suitable for everyone

Working from home: Advantages and Disadvantages

You have probably already heard the term ‘home office’. This means that you can work from home instead of having to travel to work every day.

Making money at home not only increases your quality of life, but it also helps your personal finances.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?

Working from home – Advantages

  • More free time – You’re probably very familiar with the phrase “Time is money”. We all have a limited amount of time to live our lives. Why should we have to travel to and from work every day? What would happen if you could use all that extra time productively? You could take up a sport, a new hobby, or simply spend more time with your family and friends. Working from home saves you the time you would otherwise spend on getting to and from work each day.
  • Save on transportation costs – In most cases, your employer does not pay for the time and transport costs associated with commuting to and from work. So working from home saves you all of your transportation costs. Depending on the distance you have to travel every day, you can easily save hundreds of dollars per month.
  • Enjoy more flexibility – Making money from home gives you more flexibility in your time management. You arrange your own work schedule and decide where and when you work. For example, if you have one or more small children, the home office is a perfect way to make money at home while taking care of your family.
  • Pleasant working atmosphere – You choose how you want to organize your workspace. Not everyone likes to work in an office. At home, you can perfectly adapt the environment to your needs. This will make you feel much more comfortable while working. Plus, you’ll probably feel way more relaxed if you don’t have to spend day in and day out in an open-plan office. This makes you calmer and — assuming you are not too easily distracted — more productive.

Working from home – Disadvantages

  • You get distracted faster – not everyone manages to work efficiently from home. There are many factors that can quickly get you out of your workflow. For many, it’s hard to concentrate on working when you’re at home. You may be tempted to do other things at the same time, which causes you to be less productive at each of them.
  • Lack of social contact – At work, it is customary for you to have coffee with colleagues or have lunch with them during the afternoon. When you work from home, you are usually alone and so there is much less social contact.
  • Team cohesion is lost – This is only a factor if you work directly with others. Some teams work very well together remotely via Zoom, Teams, Slack, and various other communication media. But this is not for everyone. Some people don’t like virtual relationships and prefer direct contact with their team members.

What Skills Do You Need To Work From Home?

  • Self-discipline – this is one of the most important factors. If you want to make money from home, you also need to ensure that you work with sufficient concentration and that the work is done efficiently and qualitatively. If you prefer to sit on the couch and watch TV shows rather than work, having a defined home office space might be a requirement for you.
  • Good time management – you decide when to work. You will probably have to follow deadlines, but it makes little or no difference if you start working at 7:00 am or 9:00 am. This also depends on your task at hand. If you need to be available at certain times, such as for sales calls over the phone or certain online services, you obviously can’t ignore this. Having a go-to scheduling and calendar system is essential.
  • Location-independent job – Not every job is suitable for working from home. However, the number of jobs in which the working location has little or no restrictions is increasing every year. Many employers recognize that reconciling work and private life is becoming increasingly important for employees.
  • Appropriate tools – As an employee, you need to have the necessary tools to do your work at home. These usually include a laptop, mobile phone or landline, and various business programs.

If you spend most of the working day at a computer desk or on the phone, there is a good chance that you can do most, if not all, of your work from home.

Working from home is not yet fully accepted by many employers

While the COVID pandemic has shifted the overall perception of working from home, there are still many companies that do not support working from home. “You just don’t get the job done when you’re home.” is often used as an explanation.

Here are some arguments to help you change your manager’s ‘old-fashioned’ opinion.

  • Earning money from home saves your employer fixed costs, such as rent for your workplace.
  • You work more productively and can spend more time actually working, instead of traveling when you don’t have to commute to work.
  • Your employer’s reputation will improve as they offer flexible employment conditions and thus promote the work-life balance of employees.

Always show a willingness to compromise. Suggest a defined trial period to your employer in which you work from home. This way, your manager can evaluate your performance without having to make a major investment.

Prove your self-discipline and willingness to work and your employer will probably be a lot more enthusiastic about your proposal.

Earn Money Online from Home

Making money online, working from home is a dream job for many. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ‘quick fix’ methods and schemes that promise you quick and easy money online, but they are not all legitimate.

In most cases, you’re dealing with a scammer when someone asks you to spend money first before you’ll see any results. So be on your guard, and protect your personal and financial information when dealing with online employment options.

The Bottom Line

Working from home is not for everyone. It takes a lot of self-discipline, organizing, and time management to work efficiently from home. You may want to consider starting out on your own or approaching your employer.

There are several ways to discuss with your manager whether you could possibly do part or all of your job from home. Tasks such as administrative work or responsibilities that are mainly done via the computer are good options for work that can be done at home.

If you make this dream a priority, you will be able to work from home sooner than you think!

Do you have any tips for others or questions about this subject? Please share with us using the contact form below.

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AuthorKimberley Smyth

Kimberley is the US Country Manager for Financer.com. She has gained years of experience in small business management and has two successful start-ups under her belt. She now focuses her energy on helping others achieve financial freedom through smart money management and investment opportunities.

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