How can you make $20k a month?

With the rising cost of living, many people have been asking that same question. Earning $20,000 a month equates to $240k a year — a healthy 6-figure income.

(That would you put in the top 8% of household income for the US.)

But whether you’re trying to make ends meet, pay down debt, or simply pad your savings, making $20k a month will definitely help you get there. 

In this post, I’ll break down some realistic ways to make $20k a month, both as an employee and as an entrepreneur.

These are based on:

Interviews with over 500 entrepreneurs
Feedback from the 50,000+ members of the Side Hustle Nation community
15+ years of side hustle experience

Ready? Let’s do it!

1. Software Consulting

Is there a software tool you’re an expert in? One you’re an early adopter of?

One popular side hustle is to “piggyback” on the popularity of a particular software tool, and provide training and support for it. My friend Brad Rice does this with Salesforce and earns over $200k a year part time!

As more people and companies use the software, there’s a growing demand for qualified training. This could be the perfect compliment to your tech job.

Plus, new software comes out all the time, which means even if you don’t have a software in mind today, it could be a side hustle idea for you down the road.

Check out this free challenge to see if a similar path is right for you:

2. Start a Recruiting Business

With low unemployment, finding top-quality candidates is a challenge for many companies. 

But if love playing matchmaker, you can help them fill open positions — and get paid. A typical placement fee is 20% of your candidate’s first year salary. That means a single recruit could earn you $10-20k or more!

Jon Chintanaroad from Recruiting Accelerator is a seasoned pro, and stopped by The Side Hustle Show to share how you can start your own recruiting business. 

3. Compare Products Online

If you enjoy writing, building an informative website can be an incredible side hustle. Gone are the days of making money “blogging,” but creating content that answers people’s questions is still a viable business model.

I’ve done this several times, including with this site and another project that earned over $500,000 over its lifetime. Websites make money in several different ways, but most commonly through:

advertising
affiliate partnerships
selling your own products and services

One trend that’s been successful recently is what I’ll call “the modern comparison shopping site.” This model involves creating in-depth content comparing and contrasting two or more products in your niche.

For example, Fin vs. Fin does this really well with direct-to-consumer brands. Similarly, Tami Smith employed the same strategy with fitness equipment.

Next Step: If you’re ready to get started, my free 6-part video course will walk you through how to set up your site for less than you might think.

4. White Label Software

Software businesses are some of the most profitable in the world, but it’s tricky to try and create your own software from scratch.

The alternative is to become a software reseller, like Chris Lollini. The self-proclaimed “recovering engineer” reported earning multi 6-figures a year white labeling reputation management software to local small businesses.

How it works is you buy “seats” to a software product at a discounted or wholesale rate, and resell them at retail prices. Start with an industry you’re familiar with and see what common pain points could be solved with existing software tools.

The advantage of this tech side hustle is you have almost no upfront risk or expense.

5. Residential or Commercial Cleaning Service

It may not be glamorous, but commercial cleaning is something nearly every business spends money on. And since it usually gets done in the after-work hours, it’s a good fit for side hustlers.

Anthony and Jhanilka Hartzog built their cleaning business to $25k a month — and contract with other pros to do the work!

6. Start an Email Newsletter

An email newsletter is a low-cost side hustle to start. (Tools like Substack, SendFox, and Beehiiv make it easier than ever.)

One model to consider is a daily or weekly “curation” newsletter. How it works is you source the most interesting stories in your niche, and share those with your subscribers.

A well-known example in the tech space is Dan Ni’s TLDR Newsletter. 

With over 1.2M subscribers, Dan earns up to $30,000 every time he hits send!

7. Web Design Service

You might be surprised, but many businesses have a really outdated-looking site — or they don’t have one at all.

My advice: pick a niche to specialize in, and become the go-to provider for businesses in that space.

For example, Ryan Golgosky from 180sites.com primarily builds sites for pressure-washing companies. (Really!)

When we spoke, he shared how this strategy — and a unique pricing plan — built his web design business to $100,000 a month.

Even if you did a fraction of the business Ryan does, you’d still be crushing it.

8. Sell Digital Products

Selling digital products is another way to earn $20,000 a month online. For example, Becky Beach sells a wide variety of planners and printable bundles through:

Her own site
Etsy
Teachers Pay Teachers

In total, she was bringing in $30,000 a month when we recorded.

Even more interesting? She uses tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm potential product ideas and help build out the content for them.

“You can actually ask ChatGPT to give you product suggestions based on your niche,” she explained. When I tested it myself, the suggestions were actually pretty solid!

9. Content Writing Service

Gabe Arnold is the founder of Business Marketing Engine, a subscription-based article writing service.

In his early 20s, Gabe saw his construction business hit by the real estate crash. Facing a $1 million bankruptcy, he began freelancing to support his family.

As he started to build websites for clients, he happened upon a common problem: the companies had no idea what to post online! Gabe started offering monthly website article packages, and quickly took the business to $20k in monthly recurring revenue.

10. Create an Online Course

We’ve seen a number of music-related businesses over the years on The Side Hustle Show, but perhaps most inspiring is Jacques Hopkins’.

Jacques took his unique approach to learning piano, and built an online course business that does $30,000 a month in sales.

Customers connect with him through Google or YouTube, and a certain percentage funnel through to his paid course. He was able to quit his engineering job and focus on this course business full-time.

11. E-Commerce: Create Your Own Product

For Lou Rice, side hustle inspiration struck when she dropped her Kindle on her newborn’s head while breastfeeding late one night.

That led to her and husband creating the Strapsicle: a simple silicon device hold your Kindle reader with one hand.

Initial feedback on the product was positive, but sales really exploded when Lou discovered BookTok, a community of book lovers on TikTok. She reached out to influencers in that space, sent them free straps and affiliate codes, and they began promoting Strapsicle to their engaged followers.

In a little over a year, Strapsicle is now earning $50,000 per month in sales. 

12. Fix What’s Broken (and Film It)

Matt Bochnak is a mechanical engineer in Chicago. His original side hustle was a motorcycle repair service he ran out of his garage.

The business was going well, earning around $500 a month very part-time. Then Matt had the great idea to film himself doing the repairs.

That led to over 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, and created several new streams of income, including:

Selling digital products (full-engine rebuild videos)
Sponsored content
Affiliate commissions
YouTube ad revenue
Developing his own physical product

When we last caught up, his business was up to $20,000 a month in revenue!

13. Answer Questions on a Website

Google and Pinterest are what I call “answer engines.” People have a problem they need solved, so they ask the Internet.

(And if I had to guess, I’d bet that’s how you landed on this article.) 

If you can create super helpful answers, you can make money. 

For example, Debbie Gartner is “The Flooring Girl” online. Her site is all about flooring trends, products, and paint colors. 

Based on her years in the flooring and interior design space, she has an easy time writing those posts. She monetizes the traffic with advertising and affiliate partnerships — to the tune of $20,000 a month!

14. Rental Arbitrage

Rental arbitrage is a real estate side hustle that gives you a chance to make money from property you don’t even own.

How it works is you:

Sign a long-term lease on a property.
Turn around and list it as a short-term rental on Airbnb or other platforms (with the landlord’s consent, of course).
Profit on the spread between whatever you can collect in short-term rental fees and your fixed monthly rent.

For example, maybe your monthly rent is $2,500, but you can earn $200 a night on Airbnb. If you rent it out 20 nights a month, you’ll be brining in $4,000 a month in revenue, and roughly $1,500 a month in gross profit.

At that rate, it would take 13-15 units to earn $20,000 a month.

There’s an art and a science to rental arbitrage, and it’s controversial in tight rental markets. Still, some enterprising Airbnb hosts report bringing in over $200,000 a year in profit — all while traveling the world.

While startup costs are pretty low here, furnishing the property is one upfront expense to consider.

15. Level Up Your Skills / Get a Better Job

If you’re not happy with your current job prospects or earning power, there’s still good news:

You can change that!

And it may not require going back to school either. There are plenty of free or relatively inexpensive career training programs that will help you learn in-demand skills to improve your earning prospects.

Not all of them will realistically get you to $20k a month, so make sure you’re looking at options with the best upside. (And something you think you’d enjoy doing!)

One of the fastest ways to make more is to simply stack on a remote part-time job to your current employment — provided you have the time and energy to do it.

Our favorite resource for that is FlexJobs, the leading work from home jobs site.

With more than 50 career categories, you’re sure to find options here that match your expertise.

FlexJobs does charge a nominal monthly fee to access their listings, but you’ll easily earn that back — and then some — with just one job.

Pro Tip: Before you join, use their job search filter to see what part-time positions are currently being advertised for.

When you see something that’s a great fit, you can join the site to apply.

Serious About Making Extra 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.

If you’re a man looking to make extra money, a side hustle is the perfect way to increase your income.

Side hustles let you work on your own terms, around your existing commitments and lifestyle. With the right attitude and determination, anyone can find success with a side hustle.

In this post, I’ll share some of the best side hustles for men.

Side note: there’s no reason women couldn’t do any of these either!

1. Tutoring

If you got decent test scores, there’s a big market for test prep tutoring. You might find clients through your neighborhood newsletters, NextDoor, or local parent groups.

Matt Fuentes earns up to $1000 a week with his tutoring business, which focuses on SAT and ACT prep. This is a gig where you can set your own rates, generally anywhere from $25-100 an hour.

Tutoring can be done in-person or online via Zoom if you prefer a home-based side hustle.

2. Window Cleaning

Johnny Robinson started his window cleaning business as a full-time college student, and ultimately built it up to nearly $700k a year — before graduation!

Window washing offers flexible hours and the chance to work outside. Startup costs are low: a bucket, squeegee, and extension pole — and you’re in business.

To get your first customers, start with your neighborhood. You can go door-to-door, post flyers, or advertise in local community groups.

3. Car Detailing

A mobile detailing side hustle is a great way for men to make some extra money on the side, especially if you’re a “car guy.” Not only can you choose your own hours and work around other commitments, but the job itself is simple yet rewarding.

With the right set-up and some basic knowledge of car care, anyone can get started in this side hustle.

Typical rates are $200-400 per car, and you can stack 2-3 jobs up on a Saturday and make pretty good money. For example, Josh Belk reported earning up to $6,000 a month with the detailing business he started with his brother.

4. Email Newsletter

Email newsletters have become a great side hustle for many entrepreneurs.

There are several advantages to creating a newsletter:

start-up costs are low (or free w/ tools like Substack)
the technology isn’t overly complicated
it can be done from anywhere with an Internet connection

Newsletters are typically monetized through advertisements, affiliate partnerships, your own products or services, or even paid subscriptions.

One model I like is the “curated” newsletter model. This is where you compile the best resources in a niche every day or every week, and send those out to subscribers.

These are really valuable for readers because you help cut through the clutter. One cool example is Camron Stover’s Hunting Gear Deals, which, as you might have guessed, sends out the best hunting gear deals every day. When we spoke, the business was earning around $90k a year on the side from his day job.

5. Create a Helpful Website

Google is the world’s leading answer engine. If you can answer the questions people are typing in, you can build a great side hustle from it.

Side Hustle Nation has tons of examples of creative website businesses, but a few worth mentioning are:

Scott Keller’s bird watching blog
Raffaele Di Lallo’s house plant blog
Andrew Fiebert’s gift ideas website

All of those started as side projects and all are now 6-figure businesses.

Naturally, there’s a learning curve to publishing content online, but it can be extremely lucrative and time-leveraged.

Here’s my free guide to getting your site online quickly and affordably.

6. Real Estate

Real estate has always been a popular side hustle for men looking to make extra money and build long-term wealth.

Real estate side hustles come in many different forms, ranging from single family rental properties to commercial buildings and even raw land investing.

Dustin Heiner — a husband and father of 4 — started building his rental portfolio while working for the county government. He was ultimately able to retire in his 30s, generating $15k a month in cash flow from his properties.

But for every Dustin beating the “passive income” drum, there’s another burnt-out landlord sick of dealing with tenant drama and property maintenance headaches.

That’s why I tend to invest in real estate in a little more hands-off way, through REITs and services like Fundrise.

I give up some of the leverage and direct tax advantages, but it’s truly passive. And you can get started with as little as $10.

Disclosure: I’ve been a Fundrise investor since 2015. When you join through my referral link, I earn a commission. Opinions are my own.

7. Washing Houses

If I were to start a new business today, pressure washing would definitely be on my short list of ideas.

It’s a simple, low overhead side hustle that’s just plain satisfying to do!

Scott Anderson reported earning $3,000+ per month washing houses part time, and was able to recoup a good chunk of his equipment costs on the very first job.

To get customers, you can advertise online or put up flyers around your neighborhood.

8. Flipping Books

Flipping books is a popular side hustle idea for both men and women.

How this gig works is you download a barcode scanning app, like ScoutIQ (paid) or Bookscouter (free), to see what books are selling for on Amazon and other marketplaces.

You can source inventory from friends, local library stores, yard sales, and used book stores and thrift stores. For example, Charlie William reported earning up to $4000 a month from his book flipping business.

9. Reselling on Amazon

Reselling on Amazon is one of the most popular side hustles out there. The hours are flexible and the profit potential is high.

You don’t need a lot of money or any special skills to get started with reselling on Amazon. All you need is:

an Amazon seller account
places to find profitable inventory (I found some at Walgreens and Home Depot)
basic knowledge of how the system works

How it works is you find products that are selling for more online than they are locally. Popular items include hard-to-find shoes, children’s toys, seasonal food products, and more.

You can even do this entirely online with what’s called online arbitrage.

10. Car Rental Business

Renting out your car could a great way to earn extra money and start a side hustle. Platforms like Turo connect you renters and handle the insurance coverage.

You can set the price based the make and age of the car along with market demand. It’s important to keep an eye on market trends, mileage, and depreciation on the vehicle to make sure you’re still making a profit.

Kirtis Murphy started his rental car business by just renting out his personal car when he wasn’t driving it. Within a couple years, it turned into a full-time 6-figure business and a fleet of 13 cars in the Dallas area!

11. Flipping Shoes

I knew that flipping limited edition sneakers was a thing, but I was surprised to learn that flipping regular shoes could be quite profitable as well.

Beau Hunter of Houston used his shoe flipping side hustle to help pay off over $100,000 in debt! He recommended targeting gently-used name brand shoes at thrift stores, and mentioned that large sizes for men sell particularly well on eBay.

Customers that are loyal to a specific brand or hard-to-find style turn to the auction site to find their next pair.

Shoes are great items to flip for a profit because they’re relatively small and lightweight — making them easy to store and inexpensive to ship.

12. Cleaning Parking Lots

Blademir Hernandez started a unique side hustle sweeping parking lots. His initial goal was to make an extra $1000 a month, and when we caught up four years into his business, he’d built it up to a 6-figure operation. (And still on the side from his day job!)

It’s not glamorous or particularly exciting, but many property managers pay to keep their lots litter-free. Your startup costs are super-low and it makes a great side hustle since it needs to be done late at night or early in the morning when the lots are empty of cars.

After doing the work himself for a while, Blademir began hiring other sweepers to help him with his growing roster of clients.

13. Laundromat

For Jono Santamaria, a laundromat met his criteria for a side hustle:

It was already operational and profitable (he bought it from the previous owner)
Is relatively automated (the machines do the work for you)
He could improve the business (by applying some digital marketing skills)

The purchase did require an upfront investment, but was somewhat secured by the business’ track record of revenue, equipment, and remaining lease. Then Jono set about improving the laundromat’s online presence and making other tweaks.

Those optimizations ended up tripling the business in 12 months!

Is there an opportunity to buy a similar business near you?

14. Knife Sharpening

Matt Rowell was looking for a side hustle that let him work with his hands, and ended up with a great knife sharpening business.

Knife sharpening has low startup costs and every house in town is a potential customer! Matt said once you learn how to do it, you can easily earn $30-50 an hour in your spare time.

There’s probably not a ton of local competition, so a simple website and Google Business listing could start to attract customers.

15. Flipping Phones

The concept of flipping phones is simple—people buy used mobile devices and resell them for a profit.

For professional flippers like Jeff Duhon, it can turn into a full-time income stream. He targets $100 in profit per flip, and does dozens a month.

As with other niches, there’s a learning curve to figure out the different models and carriers to know which phones have the highest resale values.

16. Furniture Flipping

Side Hustle Nation member Ryan Cron earned extra money restoring and flipping furniture in his spare time.

His advice was to start with dressers — “it’s basically a rectangle.” That way, you can practice sanding and painting a relatively straightforward piece before tackling more challenging projects.

Look for inexpensive furniture at moving sales or on Facebook marketplace and clear out some space in your garage to do the work. The other key is taking attractive pictures when you go to list the item for sale — make the piece look good!

17. Reselling Furniture Returns

If sanding and painting sounds like a lot of work, this furniture flipping side hustle is a lot easier.

As a part-time Sharetown rep, you’ll pick up gently-used furniture returns from direct-to-consumer brands.

Since the items aren’t new, the companies can’t really take them back and resell them — but you can. For example, Chris Torres reported earning $150-400 per item.

And the cool part is the inventory doesn’t cost you anything until it sells.

Check out our full Sharetown review to learn more.

18. Paid Research Studies

Companies and brands are often looking for feedback on upcoming products, and will pay you for it. I’ve done several paid online research studies, and even a couple in-person focus groups.

These are actually a lot of fun and often pay in the $60-100 an hour range.

One of my go-to sources for these gigs is User Interviews.

Check out our full User Interviews review to learn more.

19. Delivery Gigs

Delivery side hustles are pretty straightforward to get started with, and usually require:

Reliable transportation (car, bike, electric scooter, etc.)
Being 18 or older
A background check

These apps typically have you picking up and delivering take-out orders or groceries. Your earning power is typically in the $14-25 per hour range, and you can set your own schedule.

Here are a few delivery apps to consider:

Instacart – Full-service Instacart shoppers pick up and deliver groceries around town. Check out our full Instacart shopper review for more.
DoorDash – Make up to $25 an hour as a food delivery driver for DoorDash. For more, check out our full DoorDash review.
Uber Eats – Deliver takeout meals around town like my friend Jason, who reported earning $25-30 an hour.

If these gigs appeal to you — or you’re already a rideshare driver — you might consider adding Hurdlr to your arsenal. The Hurdlr app helps you automatically track your mileage to save money on taxes.

20. Unconventional Rentals

I love business models where you can get paid over and over again from something you buy once. One of my favorite examples of that is Steve Nadramia’s portable hot tub rental business.

When we spoke, he’d built a “fleet” of 25+ hot tubs that he rented out on a weekly or monthly basis. The business was generating thousands of dollars a month in profit, on the side from his day job as a teacher.

Other rental ideas include photo booths, bounce houses, or even extra space around your house.

21. Self-Publishing

Self-publishing is one of my favorite and longest-running side hustles. I remember my first royalty payment from Amazon of something like $42 and being thrilled, thinking “I did it! I’m a professional author!”

Since then I’ve earned over $80,000 in author royalties, and I think books are a pretty awesome way to both build authority in your niche and earn passive income along the way.

Related: My Amazon author profile and book listings

22. White Label Software

Software businesses are some of the most profitable in the world, but it’s tricky to try and create your own software from scratch.

The alternative is to become a software reseller, like Chris Lollini. He reported earning multi 6-figures a year white labeling reputation management software to local small businesses.

How it works is you buy “seats” to a software product at a discounted or wholesale rate, and resell them at retail prices. Start with an industry you’re familiar with and see what common pain points could be solved with existing software tools.

The advantage of this side hustle is you have almost no upfront risk or expense.

23. Create a Walking Tour

Walking tours are a great side hustle to make some extra cash. Not only do they allow you to showcase the sights and sounds of your city, but they also let you learn more about its history and culture — and get some exercise at the same time.

For example, Rob Pitingolo created a popular walking tour of the Washington, DC monuments. The business earns thousands of dollars a month on the side, with most customers finding him through his YouTube channel.

He creates content aimed at DC tourists, and introduces himself as a local tour guide. Smart!

If you do small group tours of 5-10 people, you could earn $250-500 for a few hours of work.

24. Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube is an exciting side hustle for men because it’s both a search engine and a viral discovery engine. That means you can create content targeting specific keywords and gain viewers from the YouTube algorithm itself.

As your viewership grows, you can monetize with YouTube’s built in advertising program, affiliate relationships, or your own products and services.

For example, Craig Odem, a dad and pastor in Tennessee, began creating videos about his backyard nursery. Thanks to his consistent effort and compelling content, he expects the channel to generate at least $10,000 in extra income!

25. Pallet Flipping

One of the most surprising side hustles I’ve come across is pallet flipping. In this business, you connect businesses that receive items on pallets with other companies that need the pallets to ship out their products.

It’s a simple “middle man” operation, but can be super profitable. For example, I connected with Varnie Sambola of Baltimore who reported earning $1,000 a day as a pallet reseller.

The course Varnie mentioned is offering Side Hustle Nation readers a special discount on his course through this link.

26. Freelance Writing

Thousands of websites pay freelance writers to help create great content. If you have a knack for quick research and writing, this could be work from home side hustle worth considering.

Typical rates range from $25 to $250+ per article, depending on the topic, length, and your experience.

In this interview, James Johnson broke down how to start a freelance writing side hustle that brings in at least $1000 a month.

27. Software Consulting

Is there a software that you’re a relative expert in?

One of my favorite angles is to piggyback on the popularity of a particular software tool, like Brad Rice did with Salesforce (earning over $200k a year part time!). As adoption of the software grows, so too does the demand for qualified support.

Check out this free challenge to see if a similar path is right for you:

The Best Side Hustles for Men: Your Turn

So what’s the best side hustle for men? The good news is there are lots of options to choose from.

The bad news is I can’t pick for you!

Now it’s your turn to choose a side hustle that aligns with your interests and goals, and take the first steps.

Serious About Making Extra 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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make an extra $500 a month?

To earn more money fast, flipping or freelancing are your best options. If you make $50 per flip, you would only need to flip 10 items to get to your goal of $500.

How can busy dads make more money?

Flipping, real estate investing, self-publishing, and white labeling software are all less time-dependent side hustles. The work can be done when you have time, and can also be set up to run without you.

What are the most profitable side hustles?

The side hustles that are the most profitable are ones that are scalable without more time being consumed. A few examples include software consulting, building websites, or reselling products.

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Big thanks to Zach Larsen for helping draft this post. Zach is a small business owner, finance and investment expert, and co-founder of PineappleMoney.com. He has been featured in publications including MSN, GOBankingRates, Yahoo Finance, and Credit Sesame. He enjoys teaching others about personal finance and spending time with his family.