14 Best Business Ideas For Freelancers And Side Hustlers To Start Now

Dreaming of becoming a freelancer? We can’t blame you!

Whether you want to escape your 9-to-5, work remotely while traveling the world, or just bring in some extra cash on the side, finding the right freelance business idea is key to your success.

Freelancing is one of the fastest ways to start earning money as a side hustle. It can allow you to have freedom over your schedule, your finances, your work and your location. The rewards of freelancing and working for yourself are amazing.

Choosing the right freelance business idea is the first step on this path to freedom.

If you already know you want to start a freelance business, but you aren’t quite sure what kind of business you can start, you’re in the right place!

This list covers some of the best freelance business ideas that you can start right away with little to no investment cost. Most of these businesses can be run with a laptop and an internet connection.

There are so many profitable freelance services you can offer, from writing for a magazine to organizing remote teams. The best freelance business idea for you should match your skills and interests.

14 Freelance Business Ideas You Can Start Now

 

Social Media Marketing

Spend all your time on Instagram and Facebook? Put your knowledge to good use by helping companies understand how to reach their audience on social media.

You’ll spend your days creating and scheduling content (writing posts, designing graphics, even making videos), looking at engagement analytics, and actively growing a community.

Hear from a pro:

Dani Brufoldt – Social Media Consultant

What do you for your clients?
Create content and manage their social media presence

What do you love most about being a freelancer?
That it is fast-paced and always changing!

How do you get most of your clients?
My clients have always been through referral, and I feel fortunate that I’ve worked with all of my full-time social media clients for at least 4 years, most of them 6, 7 or more! Occasionally, I do small consulting projects to help people improve their feeds or oversee a big product launch — and most of those clients also come through referrals from my full-time clients or people I have previously worked with.

Learn Social Media Marketing Top Tips*

 

Virtual Assistant

Businesses need all kinds of administrative help. Whether it’s organizing projects for an entrepreneur or managing the email inbox and calendar of a busy startup founder, virtual assistants are in high demand. If you’re highly organized, love systems and processes, and you’re all about getting things done, a virtual assistant career might be right for you.

Hear from a pro:

Gina Horkey – Virtual Assistant

Gina started as a virtual assistant and freelance writer, her business has transitioned to teaching other aspiring freelancers to build a lucrative business.

What do you love most about being a freelancer?
Getting to know other really cool people with really cool businesses. That and the flexibility of working from anywhere and the unlimited income potential.

How do you get most of your clients?
Initially via job boards, social media and cold pitching. Now through referrals.

Learn how to start a successful VA business and get tons of VA resources from Gina’s site

 

Project Manager

Freelance project managers help startups and organizations keep projects of all types on track. Basically, a project manager’s job is to make sure things get done. Companies that have tight deadlines, multiple projects, and/or distributed teams can benefit from working with a project manager.

Similar to a project manager is on online business manager (OBM). An OBM helps entrepreneurs stay on top of their online business and make sure everything is completed on time.

If you’re highly organized, this type of gig might be a great fit for you!

Hear from a pro:

Carrie Smith Nicholson – Online Business Manager

I’m an Online Business Manager for Virtual Teams. I help project manage small online teams and keep projects on track.

My clients like to call me the “people and project manager”. I specifically work with online entrepreneurs who are drowning in the day-to-day part of scaling their business and are ready for growth! I reduce the overwhelm and help bring long forgotten ideas to life — finally!

What do you love most about being a freelancer?
I looooove working with teams all day, interacting with different types of people, and helping make progress on projects and big ideas! I’m a type “A” personality so I don’t always have the big ideas but I have the time and resources to implement them. I love when clients bring the ideas and I bring the organization so we can both see the ideas come to life!

How do you get most of your clients?
Nearly all of my client referrals are through word-of-mouth and through the contact form on my website. I only work with 2-3 clients at a time since it takes a lot of strategy and organization to properly manage everything. I like to offer a high level of service so I keep my client roster minimal!

Content Marketing

Content marketing is all about helping a business create value for their audience and customers through content like blogs, social media posts, ebooks, whitepapers, webinars, email marketing, infographics and more.

Content marketing has become so important that you’ll often hear marketers say “content is king!” Businesses of all shapes and sizes need content so if you love writing, marketing, strategy and creating, this is a good field to get into.

Hear from a pro:

Brittany Berger – Content marketing consultancy

What do you do?
Help clients better use the content they’ve already created through creating strategies and systems for updating, promoting, and repurposing content

What do you love most about being a freelancer?
Getting to help people who are exactly where I was years ago – exhausting themselves creating really great content but getting frustrated with the lack of impact it’s having

How do you get most of your clients?
Through networking and personal branding – I love doing interviews, guest blogging, joint ventures and collaborations, etc. So over the 8 years I’ve been in content marketing, I’ve definitely gotten out there a time or two and most clients are an indirect result of that.

 

Marketing Strategist

A marketing strategist helps businesses to prioritize and plan their marketing activities to effectively reach their customers and ultimately increase their sales. Marketing strategists can be general in their approach, or they can specialize in one particular area of marketing, like content or influencer marketing.

If you have a background in marketing – ie. you work in marketing or have a marketing degree – and you love mapping out plans and campaigns, freelancing as a marketing strategist could be a great gig for you.

 

Writing

Freelance writers are in high demand to write for websites, blogs, magazines, and email newsletters. Writing opportunities are pretty much endless online! But the competition can be stiff. That’s why it’s so important to make yourself standout.

Choosing a profitable niche is one of the most important things you can do as a freelancer. Once you choose a niche and become known in that industry, you can raise your rates and earn great money as a freelance writer. Jorden Roper from the Creative Revolt has excellent advice on choosing your niche and starting your freelance writing business.

If you’re ready to dive into freelance writing, take a look through these 231 publications that pay and start pitching yourself to clients.

Hear from a pro:

Locke Hughes – Freelance Writing & Content Consulting

 

What do you do?

Mostly, I pitch and write articles for health, wellness, and lifestyle publications, such as Shape, Women’s Health, NBC News, Today Show, Greatist, Real Simple, The Huffington Post, and Thrive Global. I also have worked as a content marketing consultant for health-focused brands and businesses.

What do you love most about being a freelancer?
Well, I love to write, so I’m psyched that I get to write every day and get paid for it! I’m also a very curious person by nature, so I love learning about new topics every day — no two stories are the same.
But I think that my absolute favorite thing is when I hear from readers who reach out and say that my writing inspired them. Usually, these comments stem from personal pieces that I write, so it’s pretty cool that my words and my experiences have meant something to a complete stranger.

How do you get most of your clients?
Truthfully, most of my work comes from editors who I had existing relationships with when I lived in NYC. When I went freelance, I made sure to list about 10 editors I knew personally who I could pitch — and that’s how I started out.
Since then, my clients have definitely expanded to some people I don’t know personally — but I still make the time to travel to NYC and meet with editors in person to form connections and put a face to a name, which always helps.

Learn How To Build A Successful Freelance Writing Career*

Copywriter

A copywriter focuses on writing that makes sales. Copywriters create content for sales pages, landing pages, social media posts, ads, and email marketing campaigns. The whole point is to get readers to click or buy, and become a happy customer!

Because copywriters can have a direct impact on a company’s sales, good copywriters charge a premium! A great resource to get started and learn all about conversion copywriting is Copyhackers.

Kayleigh Moore – Freelance writing

I create blog content for SaaS (software as a service) and eCommerce clients.

What do you love most:
The flexibility! I love creating my own schedule every day, not having to worry about how much time off I have left, and getting to make time for things that are important to me throughout the day (like walking my dog, eating a healthy lunch, exercise, etc.)

How do you get most of your clients?
Referrals from other happy clients and other freelancers who know my work. Start making friends in the niche you want to work in. Connections/relationships are everything and lead to new opportunities.

Editing & Proofreading

All those writers need to make sure no spelling errors slip through the cracks! If you love reading, writing, and you can spot a grammatical error a mile away, proofreading and editing could be the perfect freelance business idea for you. Like writers, editors can charge a decent rate when they get known in their niche. Get started by looking at job sites like Problogger and UpWork.

 

Graphic Designer

Thanks to social media and the internet, businesses need more graphic design than ever. There is a constant demand for social media graphics, blog images, infographics, ad creative, and content design.

If you studied graphic design, landing clients on the side could be an easy transition.

If you haven’t studied design, there are plenty of resources to help you get started. Plus, with tools like Canva you can create simple designs for social media and blogs easily and learn as you go.

 

Web designer

Web designers design the beautiful websites we use. Web designers can be very valuable to businesses and entrepreneurs who lack the skills or the time to create or update their websites. Every business needs a website, so there is no shortage of work in this field. If you’re just getting started, there are plenty of courses and resources out there to help you learn the ropes.

Hear from a pro:

Chloe Leonard – Branding + Web Design

What do you do?

I specialize in web design, logos, branding, prints, eBooks, decks, labels, and social media management.

What do you love most

The freedom to create my life however I want and to build my business with no caps. In addition, meeting amazing clients that remind me why I’m doing this. “

How do you get most of your clients?
Word of mouth = KEY. One good experience with a client could snowball into a whole network of clients.

Learn Web Design Essentials* 

Developer

Freelance web developers are in high demand to build websites and applications. If you have no experience in web development, there are loads of resources to help you get started. Here are 71 places to learn to code for free. Once you’ve built up your coding skills, you can start doing small freelance projects on the side to build up your knowledge and your portfolio.

Learn to code at Skillcrush!

UX designer

UX design isn’t necessarily a new field, but it is certainly getting a lot of attention these days. UX stands for User Experience, and UX designers work to create positive experiences for users of websites and applications. UX designers do everything from user research to designing interactions and interfaces. This field is in high demand, and there are plenty of great courses to get you started.

Learn UX Design at Interaction Design Foundation*

Photographer

If you have skills behind the camera, starting a photography business could be a creative and fulfilling freelance business to start. There are a variety of types of photographers – wedding, portrait, product, commercial, lifestyle. Figure out what you like best and take a few online courses to hone your skills in your niche.

Learn How To Run A Successful Freelance Photography Business*

Videographer

Video marketing is becoming increasingly important for businesses. There’s YouTube, Instagram, IGTV, and Facebook that businesses have to worry about creating content for, so they’re turning to videographers to help them tell their story. Videographers can earn a great living, get paid to travel, and do insanely creative work. The downside – the startup costs are quite high because video equipment is very expensive.

How to know which freelance business idea is right for you

There are loads of great options to start a fun and profitable freelance business right away.

Chris Guillebeau, host of the Side Hustle School podcast, says the right business overlaps in 3 areas:

• Flow – What you’re really good at. What skills do you have now, and what skills are you interested in mastering? What kind of work do you do that makes it feel like time just flies by without you even noticing?
• Money – What pays and sustains you. What is there is demand for? You might love building lego models of cities but is anyone going to pay for them?
• Joy – What makes you happy. What kind of work do you love doing? Hopefully this overlaps with the kind of work that puts you in a flow state.

If you can find an idea that hits on all three of these areas, you’ve got a winner!

Which of these freelance business ideas sounds best to you?

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