Introduction:
Side hustles can get you really, really rich. And whether you already work a 9-to-5 or you’re looking to start working for yourself, everything in this article will be possible for you to start.
I’ve been doing side hustles my entire life. In this article, we are going to go over the best side hustles to make a lot of extra income in 2026. This is not going to be the boring stuff that everyone talks about. Rather, everything I picked here is quite unique and can pay a lot of money per hour. So, if you don’t want to work that many hours but still want to make a lot of money, this article is for you.
AI Social Media Creator:
This is, without a doubt, one of the best side hustles of 2026 and beyond because it’s a very high-value skill that a ton of companies and businesses are going to be looking for.
So, instead of being a traditional content creator talking in front of a camera, you’re actually going to be creating all the content just with a computer. You’ll use AI like VO, Sora, Nano, Banana, PGen, and more to basically create social media posts for businesses fully using AI.
Creating Content With AI Technology:
So yes, you’re one person behind a computer, making dozens of posts per day. And so if you really think about it, this is extremely valuable for companies because the hardest part for any business is lead generation, getting customers and clients. And social media will continue being probably the best way for most companies.
So instead of them hiring, let’s say, 10 different creators to create content for them and paying a lot of money, what they’ll do is they’ll funnel that money into one person who, with these platforms, can make really realistic-looking UGC content.
With that content that you create, they’re going to use it on their organic social media pages. They’re going to run ads on it. And yeah, it’s going to help them make a lot of money.
Earning Potential for AI Content Creation:
With a side hustle like this, you should easily be able to make between $50 to $300 per hour. The only thing is that it requires you to understand these AI platforms, learn how to actually use them, and also get good at creating really realistic videos.
Trust me, the tech will get there to where you won’t be able to see a single difference between AI-generated stuff and real stuff. So, yeah, this is a really cool side hustle or business you can create that can generate a ton of money.
LinkedIn Content Management:
LinkedIn is a platform that a lot of people use, but it’s not like the sexy platform that people talk about a lot on social media. However, the truth is that LinkedIn is a great place for a lot of business owners to actually get clients.
How LinkedIn Drives Business Growth:
And the way that they get clients is by creating organic posts and content, driving some type of engagement, and then generating leads. I’ve done this for one of my businesses, and we’re definitely able to generate a consistent amount of leads just by posting organic content.
Now, this is basically where you can come in, create organic content for entrepreneurs, and this is going to help them get more leads, right? So, if you’re helping them make more money, this is obviously very high value, and as a result, you can charge a lot of money for it.
Maximizing Revenue With Content Repurposing:
The great thing is that you can actually repurpose what you write or make and repost them on other platforms, and you can charge extra for this.
So, what I recommend doing for this type of side hustle is to get good at creating content, get good at copywriting,and do a lot of outreach to business owners who might be looking for this type of service. Really sell the get more organic leads angle and then charge some type of monthly retainer.
I would say anything between $2,000 to $5,000 per month. And they should get, let’s say, X posts per week, something like that.
As I said earlier, you can upcharge by repurposing this content for their other platforms because, yeah, if a business owner is doing LinkedIn, they’re probably doing Instagram as well. This is a very high-value service that you can offer. It doesn’t take that much time to become a good copywriter and content creator, and you should easily be able to generate thousands of dollars per month.
Website Building For Local Businesses:
I guarantee you, if you look around at a bunch of different businesses around you, a lot of them are run by people who are not tech-savvy at all. Meaning, they don’t have a website at all, or they have a really outdated website that isn’t helping them get more clients or show off their business correctly.
Using High-Level to Build Websites Quickly:
So, what you want to do is use something like High Level to create these websites for these businesses. With High Level, you can basically create a website super quickly just using AI, spend maybe an hour to tweak the websites and then reach out to this business showing them the actual website that you made with some type of monthly offer, right?
It could be something like $500 to $1,000 per month for you to give them this website. It doesn’t take that much time for you to actually maintain it. And I think that’s the best way to actually run this type of side hustle.
The Power of Presenting a Finished Product:
Yes, it does take some time to actually create the website, but you can also hire people to help do this for you. And think about it. If you are a business owner and you have a bad website, someone comes up to you and says, “Hey, I made this fully built website for you.” Chances are, it’s going to convert extremely highly. I know I would definitely be interested.
With High Level, you can also help them run their client acquisition systems, right? So, if they have a bad website, they probably don’t have a good CRM. And since High Level combines both of these, you can also help run this and charge extra for it. And this can easily become thousands of dollars per month per client.
It’s a skill that doesn’t take that long to learn, and it can easily create really great recurring revenue.
Photography As A Side Hustle:
This is something that, you know, is not new. People have been doing photography for decades now, but I stand by this. I do think this is one of the best side hustles in the world.
I got my start with photography when I was like 13 years old, and I think anyone with any sort of desire to become a photographer should absolutely explore it.
Standing Out With Film Photography:
Nowadays, it’s definitely easier than ever to create good photographs because the tech is really, really advanced. So, what I actually recommend doing is going for a more retro route, right? Specialize in film, specialize in stuff that not that many people do, and have that be your thing.
If that is something that doesn’t really resonate with you, of course, you can still just go the normal photography route, but this is one of those little side routes that I recommend if you want to stand out from everyone else.
Building Your Photography Business:
Create a website for your business. Start doing test shoots for friends. And once you have a small portfolio, you should easily be able to charge between $100 to $500 per hour. This is a very, very high-value skill. And the more niche you get, the more you can charge.
You also don’t need that much money to start. $1,000 will get you a fantastic setup. And from there on, once you start making money, then you can start upgrading your equipment.
But again, as I said, try going the retro route if you can. Specialize in film. Film cameras can be pretty affordable. Print out the photos for your clients, charge for that. And this is a great side hustle that pretty much anyone with a creative eye can do.
Notion And ClickUp Setup Services:
There are tons of businesses out there that want to install something like Notion, AA, and ClickUp into their business. These are basically productivity platforms that allow businesses to automate, delegate, and communicate with their teams, right? I use Notion and ClickUp a lot for my businesses.
Why Businesses Need Platform Installation Experts:
But the thing is, it takes a good amount of skill and research to actually set up. As a result, there’s a huge demand for help in setting up these systems. And so if you take, let’s say, two to four weeks, learn one of these platforms really, really well, and yes, you can learn them completely for free online through YouTube, then you can start offering this as a service.
When done right, you should easily be able to charge $100 or more per hour. And yeah, not that many people are talking about this because it is quite boring, but a lot of the great money in these side hustles is in boring stuff.
Choosing Your Platform Specialization:
Focus on Notion if you want to work more with solopreneurs, and then focus on AA or ClickUp if you want to work with bigger teams. I’d say just choose one to learn for now and then just really focus on that.
To get clients, you’ll want to post helpful content on Instagram and TikTok. Give a lot of value to your target audience and clients, and they’ll come use your services when they’re ready. Again, a pretty boring side hustle, but one that can make a lot of money.
AI Consultant And Implementer:
Of course, in 2026 and beyond, AI is a huge part of everyone’s lives, especially in the business world. So, what you will want to do as an AI implementer is stay on top of trends in AI and figure out how AI can help businesses boost their productivity and just generate more output.
Acting as an AI Business Consultant:
You’ll act basically as a consultant for existing businesses. And your main goal is to help optimize the business and optimize the efficiency of the current team.
So I actually hired someone to do this for me. This was a full-time hire. And their entire goal is to basically help my team build AI tools, figure out how AI can fit into their current workflow to make them have more output. And this is a very, very high-value skill.
Pricing Your AI Consulting Services:
And so you should easily be able to make between $50 to let’s say $300 per hour. What I would do is some type of monthly retainer where you charge, let’s say $3,000 per month, and clients will get access to a certain number of calls with you, a dedicated Slack channel where you can talk to all their members, and yeah, essentially you act as an AI concierge.
Obviously, you need to know AI well. You need to spend time researching all the cool tools out there, and you have to be really smart at figuring out how these can actually go into their business.
Yeah, this is a super cool side hustle that no one talks about, and one of the highest paying skills you can learn today.
Affiliate Marketing In 2026:
If you’ve explored online business models, you’ll know that affiliate marketing is one of the best business models in the world. And essentially, what you’re doing here is you are creating some type of content, offering value to people. You’ll sign up for different affiliate programs. And when someone uses your link to purchase a product, buy a service, whatever it is, you’ll make some type of commission.
Why Affiliate Marketing Has Unlimited Potential:
Now, the reason why I think this is one of the best side hustles in 2026 and beyond is that the earning potential is basically unlimited. This is definitely one of the riskier and not guaranteed businesses on this list. Meaning, you’re not really guaranteed results, but if you can do it correctly, this can make you a ton of money.
I’m doing about $3 million per year just in affiliate marketing.
The Reality of Building an Affiliate Business:
Now, this is one of those businesses where it does take some time to actually start up. So, you’re not going to make money right away, but if you can get the content strategy correct, you start building up an audience, then if you do it correctly, you can actually make a ton of revenue by promoting affiliate links.
Definitely one of the harder ones to actually become successful at in this article. That’s essentially because you’re not doing any type of service, right? You’re not trading your time for money. But yeah, if you can figure affiliate marketing out, it’s by far one of the best business models in 2026 and beyond.
Selling Digital Products:
Making digital products, specifically focusing on a very, very specific niche. Now, I’ve done a lot of research on this right now, and I think currently doing workout guides is one of the smartest digital products you can make. If you don’t like working out, then you can start doing guides for something else, but it should be really, really specific.
The High Rocks Training Opportunity:
Let me take you through exactly what I would do with a digital product right now. So, there are always new training styles that are getting really popular, and as of 2026, High Rocks is definitely blowing up. A lot of people are getting into the sport, and as a result, there is a huge demand for High Rocks training and education.
This is basically where you can come in. You can get very specific with this type of audience, and you can create workout guides that they can actually purchase.
Creating Low-Ticket Digital Products:
What I envision for this is making some type of low-ticket training plan. Maybe something like $17, $27 and selling this, right? So it’s essentially a PDF that costs $0 to fulfill. And so every sale you make is pretty much 100% profit.
Pair this with some type of social media strategy where you create organic content about High Rocks. And once you build up a very specific audience, people who are into High Rocks, you’re going to see a really high conversion rate on your training plans.
Why Digital Products Are Perfect for Beginners:
Digital products are one of the easiest businesses to start. And the reason is that it basically costs zero. Plus, the profit margins are just insane.
Now, some other ideas are going to be maybe triathlon, doing marathon training guides, Iron Man, any type of very focused sport that has very diehard individuals following.
Platforms for Selling Digital Products:
There are tons of different ways you can sell your digital products. You can build your own website using something like Hostinger. You can use something like Kajabi. You can use High Level to actually do all this for you.
And I’d say the hardest part is just getting the audience in the first place. But I see a lot of people with great audiences who don’t monetize correctly. And oftentimes, one of the best things that they should be doing is just creating a digital product that fits really well with their current audience.
So if you have an audience right now in a very specific niche, please, please, please create a digital product. Try selling it. It’s going to do really well, or if you don’t have an audience yet, build a very niche-specific audience. It doesn’t need to have a lot of people and then start selling a digital product.
Choosing The Right Side Hustle:
So yeah, in my opinion, these are the best side hustles to start in 2026 and beyond. Screw the low-paying side hustles that everyone can do. You don’t want to do those.
You want to do something that’s very specific, something that involves a very high-value skill. And when you do that, you can actually create a side hustle that generates a ton of income. So much so that you could probably leave your 9-to-5 job.
Hopefully you can tell, but I’m absolutely obsessed with side hustles. I got my start in entrepreneurship just doing a ton of different side hustles myself, and these are the ones that I really think are the best you can start in 2026, especially if you want to make a lot of money.
The key to success with any of these side hustles is choosing one that aligns with your skills and interests, then committing to mastering it. Whether you choose AI content creation, LinkedIn management, website building, photography, platform installation, AI consulting, affiliate marketing, or digital products, each offers genuine potential for significant income. Start with one, build your expertise, and scale from there.
