What do you do when the product you need simply doesn’t exist?

Alexandra Rutkay is the founder of Citymouse, a diaper bag brand that’s generated almost $2 million in sales in just a few years.

Before this, she was a serial side hustler who’d dabbled in jewelry, print on demand, and Amazon FBA, including one Amazon product she sank $8,000 into and had to liquidate.

The idea for Citymouse came from her own frustration. Heading to dinner with her husband and toddler son, she couldn’t find a bag that fit her diapers, wipes, and bottle without looking like a bulky, traditional diaper bag. So she decided to make one herself.

With no design background, she sketched a rough concept and brought it straight to Alibaba to find a bag manufacturer.

After a few failed samples, she ordered 500 units for close to $10,000, against her husband’s advice to stop investing in new products.

Tune in to Episode 769 of the Side Hustle Show to learn:

• how to go from a rough sketch to a manufactured product without design experience
• how to use preorders and organic TikTok content to fund inventory before it even lands
• how to use AI agents to run ads, PR outreach, and daily business coaching as a side hustle

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How the First Product Came Together

Alex’s first sample from the Alibaba manufacturer was “completely wrong,” too small, and the manufacturer itself questioned what it was even for.

She was 2 or 3 samples in before she landed on a design worth producing. She found her manufacturer by emailing 3 to 5 factories at once and going with whoever responded fastest and best understood her concept — a woman who related to her as a fellow mom.

Rather than researching competitor reviews or following a traditional product-research process, Alex leaned on her own intuition as a mom.

The closest existing product she’d found before launching was a discontinued Baby Bjorn clamshell bag — otherwise, nothing like it existed.

How She Pre-Sold Inventory Before It Arrived

While waiting on her first production run, Alex posted rough, unpolished TikTok videos talking about the bag and why she made it.

She hit her target audience of moms directly, and when people started asking where to buy it, she put the bag up for preorder on a basic Shopify site built with bartered photography and models.

That first run of 500 units took about 3 and a half months to sell through, helping fund the launch before inventory even landed.

She credits part of her early traction to timing: TikTok was in its “heyday” in late 2022, pushing videos out widely, and moms naturally share products that make their lives easier.

How PR and Press Built Credibility

Early on, some customers questioned whether Citymouse was even a real brand.

A publicist who’d worked with a major baby brand reached out, offering to do outreach within a budget Alex was comfortable with. That work landed early press and backlinks in outlets like Motherly, building trust for a brand that, at the time, only had a social media presence.

Alex’s approach to pitching: craft a story journalists want to read, not just about the product. She leans into personal details — she’s a cancer survivor and on her sixth business attempt — and keeps pitches short and concise.

The Numbers Behind the Business

Citymouse did about $136,000 in sales its first year, 2023.

Alex says the brand builds in healthy margins, roughly a 5x markup over cost, a lesson learned from past businesses where she didn’t leave room to grow as costs increased.

The current flagship “Classic” bag started at around $73 and now sells for $79. 2024 was the brand’s biggest year yet, though growth hasn’t been linear — spikes drop back to baseline as the algorithms and platform ownership shift.

The $50K Viral Moment

One of the wildest stretches in the business came when a publicist-gifted bag to a larger influencer and an organic viral customer post hit on the same day.

The result: $50,000 in sales in under 3 days, and a sellout that forced the brand onto preorder. Alex has been caught off guard by virality before, including once while on vacation in Portugal with no cell service.

Inventory forecasting remains one of the toughest ongoing challenges. Alex currently stores inventory in her apartment and storage units and is actively considering a move to a fulfillment center.

How the Product Line Has Expanded

Alex built her product decisions directly from customer feedback in TikTok comments and group chats.

When women kept asking for a bag with wipe access, she created the Park Bag, inspired by the popularity of Baggu-style crossbody bags, with wipe access built into the front.

It’s now Citymouse’s bestseller, though it’s also been widely copied.

Rather than pursue design patents, Alex has chosen to focus on brand-building instead, pointing to Sara Blakely’s approach with SPANX as inspiration: defending a design patent often isn’t worth the time, since competitors can skirt it with small changes.

A cargo bag, launched about a month before this recording, was her first official full product launch and, she says, exhausting.

Retail, Wholesale, and Amazon

Citymouse is now sold on Nordstrom.com and another retailer’s website via drop-ship arrangements, meaning Citymouse ships directly to the customer without the retailer holding inventory.

Getting there took persistence: Alex first pitched a buyer who passed, kept building the brand, did the NY NOW trade show to get into 10 small retailers, and finally landed the .com deal years later, right before that buyer was let go from the company.

Alex is also in the process of onboarding more products onto Amazon, currently selling just one SKU there, and plans to stick with Fulfilled by Merchant rather than FBA going forward.

How AI Agents Help Run the Business

Alex uses Claude-based AI agents to help run large parts of the business, including:

• analyzing Meta ad performance daily
• flagging wins and losses
• acting as a daily business coach tied to her goals
• handling PR outreach (which landed her a feature on entrepreneur.com)
• and assisting with wholesale and operations tasks

She still reviews and edits the output herself, but says it has “completely leveled the playing ground” for her as a solo operator.

For product photography, she uses ChatGPT and Nano Banana to clean up backgrounds and make photos look professionally shot, saving thousands of dollars on photo shoots.

Tools/Tech

• Shopify — website and ecommerce platform, including Collabs for affiliate/creator partnerships
• Klaviyo — email marketing
• Claude — AI agents for ads analysis, PR outreach, business coaching, and operations
• ChatGPT and Nano Banana — AI photo editing for product shots
• NewBook Models — a model website for finding photo shoot models by area and budget
• Intro — paid coaching sessions with established entrepreneurs in D2C and ecommerce
• Ecommerce Equation — a course Alex took to learn how to run her own Meta and Google ads

Mistakes or Surprises?

Alex has dealt with product quality issues, including items breaking or coming undone in shipping, challenges she says are hard to prepare for.

Customer service was difficult enough that it became her first hire.

And even with a now-stable business, she admits the fear of spending large sums on inventory never fully goes away: “I still get a pit in my stomach every time I have to spend a lot of money.”

What’s Next for Alex

Alex wants Citymouse to grow beyond the mom niche into a widely recognized bag brand, pointing to how Uniqlo’s crossbody bag went mainstream as the kind of appeal she’s aiming for rather than a luxury positioning.

She’s also working on marketing to a younger, Gen Z audience of upcoming mothers and hopes to eventually hire enough support to take Citymouse full-time and step back from her demanding day job in entertainment.

Alex’s #1 Tip for Side Hustle Nation

“Feel the fear and do it anyway. Just because you’ve failed in the past doesn’t mean that the next one isn’t the one that’s going to hit. So just keep going.”

Episode Links

• CitymouseNY.com
• Entrepreneur.com Article
• Alibaba
• Shopify
• Klaviyo
• Claude
• ChatGPT
• NewBook Models
• Intro
• Ecommerce Equation
• Nano Banana
• NY NOW
• Nordstrom
• Amazon
• Side Hustle Nation Deals

Looking for More Side Hustle Help?

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.

Between jobs, still in school, or just done with the 9-to-5? You can still bring in money without a traditional job.

The fastest ways to get money without a job are selling stuff you don’t need, delivering with apps like DoorDash and Instacart, and donating plasma, which can all pay the same day.

If you recently lost your job, apply for unemployment benefits right away, too.

Here’s how fast the quickest options pay:

Option	How Fast You Get Paid	Typical Pay
Selling your stuff	Same day (cash or app at pickup)	Varies by item
DoorDash	After every dash with Crimson, or daily with Fast Pay	Up to $20 an hour at peak times
Instacart	Minutes after a batch with Instant Cashout	About $14 to $18 an hour
Plasma donation	Right after you donate	Up to $800 for new BioLife donors
Odd jobs	Within 48 hours for 98% of Wonolo jobs	$15 to $100+ an hour on TaskRabbit

Below are 15 legit ways to get money without a job, from cash you can get today to income you can build over time. Need a specific amount? Here’s how to make $500 fast, $2,000 fast, or $5,000 fast.

1. Sell Stuff You Already Own

Selling things you no longer use is one of the easiest ways to get money today, and it’s one of my favorites.

Look around for old clothes, electronics, furniture, tools, or anything collecting dust. Then list it on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or OfferUp. Buyers can reach out within hours, and I’ve sold items in as little as 60 minutes!

Since local buyers usually pay in cash or with a payment app at pickup, you can have the money the same day. Here are the best things to sell to make money that are probably lying around your house.

2. Deliver Food and Groceries

If you have a car (or even a bike in some cities), delivery apps are the quickest way to start earning without an interview.

DoorDash drivers report earning up to $20 an hour during peak times. With DoorDash Crimson, your earnings are deposited after every dash, or you can use Fast Pay to cash out once a day for $1.99. Here’s our full DoorDash review.

Instacart shoppers pick up and deliver grocery orders. Side Hustle Nation reader Kevin LaCombe averaged about $14 to $18 an hour, or around $450 to $500 a week. With Instant Cashout, your earnings are available minutes after a delivery for $0.50. Check out our Instacart shopper review.

Want more options that pay right away? Here are more side hustles that pay daily.

3. Donate Plasma

Donating plasma is one of the fastest ways to get paid, since most centers load the money onto a prepaid debit card right after you donate.

Centers like CSL Plasma and BioLife Plasma Services pay donors for their time, and new donors usually get bonus pay.

According to BioLife, new donors can make up to $800!

Your first visit takes about two hours, including a quick health screening. After that, you can donate up to twice a week, which works out to around $30 to $50 an hour. Here’s what to know before you donate plasma.

4. Pick Up Odd Jobs

Odd job apps connect you with paid work nearby, no resume required.

On TaskRabbit, you can get paid to assemble furniture, help people move, mount TVs, or run errands. You set your own hourly rate and keep 100% of it, plus tips. Rates run anywhere from $15 an hour to $100+ for specialized skills.

Wonolo and Instawork offer short-term shifts at local businesses, like:

• warehouse work
• event setup
• catering

Wonolo says 98% of jobs are paid within 48 hours. 

5. Pet Sit and Walk Dogs

Love animals? Apps like Rover pay you to walk dogs, drop in on pets, or host dogs overnight.

On Rover, you set your own rates and keep 80% of each booking. Some readers report earning $1,000 a month, especially around the holidays and summer travel season. Here’s our full Rover sitter review.

6. Flip Thrift Store Finds

Once you’ve sold your own stuff, you can keep going by buying cheap items and reselling them for more.

Name-brand shoes, for example, often cost $5 to $15 at thrift stores and yard sales and can sell for $50 to $300.

One Side Hustle Show guest earned up to $4,000 a month just flipping used books.

The key is knowing what sells, so check sold listings on eBay before you buy. 

7. Join Paid Research Studies

Companies pay real money to hear from people like you in interviews and product tests, and it’s way better than surveys.

Respondent participants earn an average of $75 per 45-minute session, and some studies pay $100 to $750 an hour depending on your background.

I’ve been a participant for years and earned over $600 in my spare time. Here’s our full Respondent review.

8. Train AI Models

AI companies need people to review and rate chatbot responses, and you can do it from home.

On Outlier, you give feedback on how well AI responses answer prompts. I earned $15 an hour after getting through the onboarding process, and Outlier pays weekly. You’ll usually need at least a college-level background in your subject area.

9. Take Paid Surveys

Surveys won’t make you rich, but they’re an easy way to earn a little extra cash while you’re watching TV or waiting in line.

Survey Junkie lets you cash out once you hit $5, and payouts go to PayPal, your bank, or gift cards. Just keep your expectations in check, since surveys paid about $1 to $5 an hour in our testing.

Here’s our full Survey Junkie review.

10. Freelance Your Skills

If you can write, design, edit videos, or manage social media, businesses will pay you for it, no job title required.

Sites like Fiverr let you list a service as a “gig” and get found by buyers. I earned over $13,000 on Fiverr as a side hustle experiment!

Not sure what to offer? Here are the most in-demand freelance skills, plus how much each one pays.

11. Rent Out Your Car

If your car sits in the driveway most of the day, you can put it to work.

On Turo, owners can make $50 to $150 a day renting out a car or truck, and Turo provides liability insurance coverage for trips. Even if you rent it out just a few days a month, it can be an easy way to make $500 quickly.

Here’s our Turo review from the owner’s side.

12. Rent Out Your Space

Got an empty garage, driveway, or fenced yard? Other people will pay to use it.

Neighbor lets you rent out a driveway, barn, or other spare space for storage, and RV, car, and self-storage spaces are in high demand. Here’s our full Neighbor review.

Sniffspot lets you rent your fenced yard to dog owners who want a private place for their dogs to run.

Hosts set their own prices, and the average is about $10 per dog per hour. Sniffspot takes about 25%, and top hosts earn over $3,000 a month.

13. Start a Local Service Business

You don’t need a boss to earn real money. Plenty of people skip the job search and start a simple local service instead.

College student Jack Leimbach started a window washing business. When door knocking wasn’t working, he spent $600 on local Instagram ads, and the business grew to about $10,000 a month.

Pressure washing, lawn care, cleaning, and junk hauling are all great options with low startup costs. Here are more blue collar business ideas that pay $20 to $100 an hour.

14. Sell Digital Products

This one takes longer to get going, but it can turn into money that keeps coming in.

Digital products like printables, planners, and spreadsheet templates cost almost nothing to make, and you can sell the same file over and over on Etsy.

Rachel Jones started selling printables on Etsy in 2018, and when we spoke, she was averaging over $10,000 a month in sales.

You can design your first products with Canva’s free plan, and Etsy charges just $0.20 to list each one.

15. Apply for Unemployment and Assistance

If you recently lost your job, don’t skip this one. Unemployment insurance exists for exactly this situation, and the sooner you file, the sooner the payments can start.

You file a claim with the state where you worked, either online, by phone, or in person. The U.S. Department of Labor’s unemployment insurance page links to every state’s program.

Need help with bills, food, or rent while you get back on your feet? Call 211 or visit 211.org to find local assistance programs near you.

Ways to Get Money Without a Job as a Teen

Most delivery apps, plasma centers, and gig platforms require you to be at least 18. But if you’re younger, you’ve still got plenty of options:

• Neighborhood jobs: Babysitting, dog walking, lawn mowing, and snow shoveling are all great ways to start.
• Selling your stuff: With a parent’s help, you can sell clothes, games, and gear you’ve outgrown.
• Starting a small business: Harrison Nott started an online store at 13 and grew it into a $100,000 business. Jack Leimbach’s window washing business was bringing in about $10,000 a month by college.

Here are 30 more side hustles for teens by age, plus business ideas for kids and ways to make money in college.

Serious About Making More Money?

• Start Your Free $500 Challenge. My free 5-day email course shows you how to add $500 to your bottom line.
• Join the free Side Hustle Nation Community. The free Facebook group is the best place to connect with other side hustlers and get your questions answered.
• Download The Side Hustle Show. My free podcast shares how to make extra money with actionable weekly episodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I get money fast without a job?

The fastest options are selling things you no longer need on Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp, delivering with DoorDash or Instacart, and donating plasma. All three can put money in your pocket the same day. Odd job apps like Wonolo also pay most jobs within 48 hours.

How can I make money from home without a job?

Try paid research studies on Respondent, training AI models on Outlier, freelancing on Fiverr, or selling digital products like printables on Etsy. Survey apps work too, but they usually pay only $1 to $5 an hour.

Can I get free money if I don’t have a job?

If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you may qualify for unemployment benefits through your state. You can also call 211 to find local programs that help with food, rent, and utility bills. Beyond that, be wary of anything promising “free money,” since those offers are often scams.

How can a 13- or 14-year-old make money without a job?

Teens can start with neighborhood jobs like babysitting, dog walking, mowing lawns, and shoveling snow, or sell things they’ve outgrown with a parent’s help. Most apps and gig platforms require you to be at least 18, so local work is usually the best place to start.

What can I do for money if I can’t work a regular job?

Flexible options let you work on your own schedule, like renting out your car on Turo, renting your yard on Sniffspot, selling digital products, or freelancing from home. Choose something that fits your energy and schedule, and start small.