Commuting to work is one of the most exhausting aspects of any in-person job. Some people spend an hour or more in public transit during rush hour, and that’s just one way.
Many people complain that there are “no gigs near me.” But in reality, you don’t need to make that arduous journey if you want to make more money, as there are plenty of local jobs for quick cash.
In this post, we’ll discuss some of the best nearby gigs for side hustlers who need an additional income source, so let’s get started!
Figuring Out Your Skill Set and Target Gigs
Just because there are numerous gigs available in your area doesn’t mean that you should blindly search for all of them. After all, jack of all trades, master of none.
So, ask yourself what your specialty is. Are you good with computers and technology so you can handle highly technical gigs?
Or would you rather use your physical prowess to take laborious jobs? Maybe you’re just a caretaker whose best option is to work in another person’s home.
Another important consideration is the typical demand of your target gig in your area. For example, if you’re looking for snow removal gigs but you live in a place with sporadic snow, then your income will be limited.
Finally, are you looking to eventually expand this gig into an advanced career? Because there are many gigs that can fill your portfolio, such as photography.
In contrast, if you just need a quick source of income for the short term, then there’s no shortage of those gigs either.
Traditional Local Gigs Near Me
First, let’s start by looking at some traditional gigs you can find in your vicinity to make ends meet. These are the kinds of quick and relatively easy jobs that people have been doing for decades, if not centuries.
Many of these (but not all) involve doing “menial” or repetitive day-to-day tasks for people who are too busy or unavailable to perform them themselves.
Most of them also don’t require any qualifications and can be easily found even within your neighborhood.
1. Babysitting
Babysitting is a classic old gig. Plenty of parents lead busy professional lives whose work schedules often match up. As such, they need a babysitter to oversee their children and take care of their safety, nutrition, playtimes, and bedtimes.
2. Pet Sitting
Just like there’s a demand for babysitters, many busy people need someone to look after their pets when they’re away.
The duties of a pet sitter include feeding the pet, walking them, cleaning them, and keeping them company. Pet sitters may also take several days of consecutive work if the client is traveling.
3. Lawn Mowing
Lawn mowing is a tedious task that no one likes doing, and there are many people ready to pay someone else to do it for them and keep their yards looking pretty.
This is also a great gig for teenagers, as it allows for a high level of flexibility, yet is not incredibly hard to do. Personally, this was my first gig at the age of 10.
4. Tutoring
If you’re proficient in a particular skill, be it language, music, art, dancing, or anything else, you can get paid to teach it. And if you can find multiple people in your area interested in that skill, it can be a decent part-time job.
5. Cleaning Services
Cleaners are highly in-demand, not just for houses and apartments of busy people but also for office buildings, venues, cafes, and many other arenas. But if you can, stay within your neighborhood and build a small network for better working conditions.
6. Snow Removal
If you’re reading this in time for the winter season and you live in a particularly snowy area, then you’ll find many people who need someone to shovel snow away from their porches, gardens, and garages.
This was another of my personal favorites growing up. My brother and I would canvas the neighborhood house-by-house and leave flyers in every door. At our peak, we shoveled snow for 9 different houses - every time it snowed.
7. Handyman Services
Handypersons perform hands-on work at home, such as repairs or maintenance. This may include plumbing, carpentry, window repairs, drywall installations, or else. Some of these can also be more technical.
8. Cooking and Culinary Gigs
Talented chefs don’t need a restaurant front to sell their meals. You can find many people who don’t have time to prepare their own meals when they’re constantly on the go and offer to cook for them. Some may also have specific dietary needs that you can help them meet.
9. Sports and Fitness Coaching
Athletes can always use their experience and sporty finesse to find jobs coaching people in whatever sport they’re interested in. Whether it’s the gym or a sport like football, basketball, or swimming, you can start by coaching a small number of people and expand your career later.
10. Elderly Care
Older folks whose children (if they have any) are too busy need help with their day-to-day lives, whether that’s cleaning, driving, cooking, or else. Note that some older people with certain conditions will require more care than others.
11. Electrician
Offering electric repairs isn’t the right gig for everyone, as it requires technical know-how to avoid potential harm and damages. But if you’re good at it, you can get paid well by clients who need repairs or installations.
12. Car Cleaning
People like to enjoy their cars, but they often get too busy to have them regularly cleaned. And so, they resort to gig workers who offer car cleaning services to keep their interiors and exteriors shiny.
13. Gardening and Flowering
Gardening, flowering, and other botanical jobs require a lot of care and patience, and there are many potential clients willing to pay someone else to help them build a beautiful and colorful yard. Even after it’s built, your customers may need you for maintenance.
14. Moving
Moving is a tedious hassle for anyone, and they’ll often require help with things like packing, relocating furniture, and even driving. Some of these may take you a bit farther from home, though.
15. Photography
If you have a solid camera and some photography skills, you can find plenty of relevant gigs to test your expertise and make extra money. Having a good portfolio can help a lot here, but even if you don’t, you can use these gigs to build one.
16. Pool Cleaning
There are many clients who have neglected their pools for years, allowing them to build up dirt to the point where the pools are unpleasant or even unusable. As a pool cleaner, you can spend days with one client, but the pay is often excellent.
17. Computer Repair
Many people still get stumped when their computers run into technical problems. That’s why if you’re good with electronics, you can make money for troubleshooting and repair services to help your clients recover their devices.
18. Bartending
Mixology experts can find lucrative jobs making side money to mix and serve delightful drinks at parties or events. You can also build your experience as a gig worker before advancing your career as a professional bartender.
19. House Painting
House painting, whether it’s the interior or exterior, is a fairly easy gig to learn. However, you’ll need a lot of physical stamina and patience since it’s a slow and delicate process, and you wouldn’t want to mess it up for your clients.
20. Errand Services
Many people lead busy lives and don’t have the time to run certain errands, such as getting papers stamped or even buying groceries. This is where gig workers with more free time can chime in and get paid to do them.
Modern and Systemized Gigs
The advent of technology and the internet have allowed more gig opportunities to rise up. As such, there are many applications and platforms that facilitate communication between workers and clients for a fee.
For these gigs, you’ll need to download an application and register as a worker (such as a driver, host, shopper, etc.) before you can find clients.
Note that these jobs aren’t restricted to the following platforms, but unless you have a wide network where you can find clients, you’ll need to rely on them for that.
1. Ride-Share Taxi Driver
Ride-sharing with apps like Uber and Lyft is the new way to take taxis, especially for younger people.
And it’s no surprise, as calling a cab from your phone where the fare is calculated and you know the driver’s personal details is a safer and more convenient option than hailing a traditional taxi.
So if you have a car, ride-sharing can be an attractive side gig.
2. Airbnb Host
Whether you have an extra room, flat, or house, you can make very good money by renting it for short-term stays to travelers through an app like Airbnb. There are some competitors like CouchSurfing, but Airbnb is by far the most dominant.
3. Instacart Shopper
Delivering groceries with Instacart is another way to drive your vehicle for money. As a shopper, you must have a vehicle to deliver groceries; a car is the best option as it allows you to deliver more (and make more money) in one go.
4. TaskRabbit Tasker
TaskRabbit is similar to the gigs page on Craigslist but specific to doing small tasks or running errands for customers. You can get paid plenty depending on the gigs you land, how much you work, and where you live.
5. Postmates Courier
If you don’t have a car but still want to drive (or, in this case, ride) a vehicle to deliver, then Postmates can be a good option for you if you live in a relatively small town or city. Through this app, you’ll deliver groceries and food for your clients.
6. DoorDash Driver
Driving for DoorDash can be the peak of food delivery jobs if you’re in the right conditions. A busy city with high demand for fast food is the most fertile ground to deliver food in.
7. Turo Host
Another way to make money if you have a car is to simply rent it to someone who needs it. This is an excellent job for passive income, and depending on your car, it can be highly profitable.
8. Care.com Carer
Care.com is a good place to find customers for a caregiving side job, whether that’s caring for children, elders, or pets.
Online Gigs
What’s even better than a job that’s close to home? A job at home, of course.
The internet is a wonderful breeding ground for the gig economy, as it’s allowed the rise of many side hustles and even full-time jobs where people build an entire career and make a decent living without leaving the comfort of their homes.
The catch is that most of these jobs require more technical skills than traditional gigs. Add to that, competition is often stiff because you’re competing with a much larger pool of potential workers worldwide.
However, if you have a laptop and internet access, then these opportunities are definitely worth checking out.
1. Content Writer
As a freelance writer, you have to write content for your clients to maximize their reach and grow their business. You’ll need peculiar language, grammar, and writing skills for this job, as your success depends on being able to write in a compelling tone.
2. Virtual Assistant
Working as a virtual assistant is like running errands for a company, except it’s entirely online and the errands are various administrative tasks, such as scheduling meetings and appointments, answering phone calls and emails, and data entry.
3. Graphic Designer
Graphic designers are in peak demand for their ability to create beautiful designs for various products, such as logos, banners, advertisem*nts, and website landing pages. It’s highly technical and you’ll need a decent portfolio, but the money is worth it.
4. Software Developer
There are many subfields where you can make decent money writing code, such as web development (especially backend), mobile development, data science, cloud computing, AI engineering, and more. Again, this job is highly technical and very well-paid.
5. Online Tutor
Tutoring is an excellent traditional gig, but you can also perform it online and try to reach a wider audience globally. The tradeoff is that you have to compete with more tutors, but if you market yourself well or use the right platforms, you can turn it into a decent side job.
6. Social Media Manager
Social media managers are marketing experts who overlook their customers’ entire social media appearance to maximize reach and grow the brand. This includes planning the content calendar (what will be posted on what day), engaging with the followers, and pushing ads.
7. Transcriptionist
People with a good eye for various accents can work in transcription and get paid for converting audio files into text format. There are numerous online platforms where you can find this work, such as TranscribeMe and Rev.
8. Remote Customer Support
Customer support agents are trained in a field (typically with an outsourcing company) to handle calls and complaints from consumers and help them solve their problems. It can also be done remotely if you have a quiet space and fast internet.
9. Voiceover Artist
Voiceover artists, also known as voice actors, are people who lend their voices to narrate media like commercials, audiobooks, animated videos, and more. This requires a naturally attractive voice and the ability to control your vocal tones.
10. Online Translator
If you’re proficient in another language, you can combine it with English (or any third language you know) to work as an online translator. It’s a quick and relatively easy job, but landing clients depends on how rare and in demand your languages are.
Shop Gigs and Craftsmanship
If you have an eye for design and an artistic touch, then you can also make money by selling your products. Many people prefer cute and relatively affordable handmade goods that were made with love over expensive branded luxuries or cheaply made and mass-produced knockoffs.
So, for all the craftspeople out there, here are some interesting products you can make and sell:
1. Jewelry
Many people love to wear handcrafted jewelry because you can feel that someone poured their heart and soul into them. Besides, you can make cute and colorful designs that go with various themes and seasons.
2. Clothes
Crafted clothes are more laborious, but there’s definitely a market for handmade items. The most popular searches are for dresses, lingerie, and sweaters, but you can throw hats into the mix.
3. Crafts
Handmade crafts cover miscellaneous items, such as home decorations, ornaments, ashtrays, or boxes. These are highly sought after by many people.
4. Art
You don’t need to be a world-renowned artist to sell your paintings, as there are many people who buy beautiful pieces for good prices.
5. Bags
Tote bags and leather purses are particularly popular on crafty websites like Etsy. You can also use your painting skills to create beautiful totes and sell them.
6. Woodwork
If you’re skilled with woodwork, you can create beautiful and functional products or tools to sell. You can even take custom requests for bigger pieces, such as furniture.
7. Pottery
Potters can create diverse ceramics like mugs, bowls, and vases and sell them in flea markets or online. You can also paint beautiful shapes and designs on them to increase their value.
Gig Platforms: Best Apps and Websites
There are many platforms that connect prospective gig workers with their target clients (or vice versa), making it easier for side hustlers to find consistent work. And although they may not be a direct substitute for building and expanding your network, they’re excellent and shouldn’t be disregarded.
1. Craigslist
Craigslist is the oldest inclusion on this list. And although it’s a general “everything” website, it has a very active gigs section where you can find people who need workers.
2. TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit is similar to the gigs section on Craigslist if it were a standalone platform. On it, you can find customers looking for someone to perform various tasks for them, such as furniture assembly, snow removal, or wall painting.
3. Instacart
Instacart allows you to deliver groceries in bulk to customers in your area with your car. Customers order online, then you receive the order, pack it, and deliver it.
4. DoorDash
DoorDash is one of the most popular food delivery apps in the U.S., so you can expect to find high traffic on it during lunch and dinner times, which makes it a great choice for prospective delivery drivers.
5. Ride-Share Apps
Apps like Uber and Lyft are the modern way to hail a taxi, widely preferred by youth over traditional cabs. Plus, it’s easy to sign up as a driver and get started.
6. Airbnb
Airbnb allows you to rent a place to stay for short-term travelers. Similar apps include Booking.com (better for hotels) and CouchSurfing (if you’re renting within your home).
7. Etsy
Etsy is the best online store to sell your handmade crafts on. Anything from jewelry and accessories to clothing and home decorations can be sold here.
8. Turo
You can rent your vehicle through a traditional rental company, but Turo allows you to do that easily and connects you with clients online.
9. Freelance Websites
Freelance websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com are massive platforms where numerous clients connect with the workers they need every day. If you’re looking for online gigs, then you should definitely consider signing up for them.
Conclusion
You can find numerous gigs in your location with varying degrees of difficulty, technical requirements, and qualifications.
For most in-person quick gigs, such as caretaking, cleaning, or cooking, the barrier to entry is fairly low and you can start as soon as you land a client.
There are also many online gigs you can do, but those often require more technical skills and experience.
Lastly, remember that building a network and expanding it can be the key to finding more clients quicker, especially through word of mouth.
