20 Great And Fun Ways To Make Money At Home

We all go through challenging times that sometimes impact our work and income. During these past several pandemic years, many were laid off or downsized, because some businesses failed during the lockdowns or employers had to make tough decisions to save their companies. And with inflation rising, the pressure is on to pull in a little more so that we can make ends meet.

Perhaps you don’t have a job right now and are looking for one. Or maybe you’re employed but it isn’t regular work, or you’re underemployed and the salary you’re getting isn’t quite enough. Or it may be that pandemic regulations restrict you from taking certain jobs.

Whatever the reason is that you want to augment your income, there are ways to make money at home through a home-based business or work-from-home jobs. With the power of the internet, you can create a livelihood or a business in ways previous generations could not. It’s actually easier to earn more at home now than it used to be!

Ask yourself: What are my skills?

First, you need to find out what are the best ways for you to make money at home. Take a piece of paper and write down your answers to these questions: What am I good at? Is there something I can make that people would want to buy? What can I do well that people would want to hire me for? List your hard skills such as carpentry, makeup, or video editing, and soft skills such as social and analytical skills.

Let’s say you’re good at cooking or baking. You can start a small food business. If you have great social skills, you can be a telemarketer. Or if you can write, edit videos, or create graphics design and digital art, you can offer those services to a wide range of clientele.

What are the opportunities in my area?

You should also look for gaps in products and services in your area and determine how to turn them into opportunities. Are there senior citizens and work-from-home people who could use some help? How about students who study online? Find out what they need that’s not readily available in your area.Once you’ve determined your marketable abilities and gaps in the market, or even if you haven’t quite figured out yet what you can do, you need to brainstorm to find out what would suit you best. It helps to find ideas of the most realistic and best ways to make money at home.

Here are some ideas for a home-based business you can put up, depending on your skills, inclinations, resources, and capital: 

Sell food online. 

Food sellers online burgeoned during the lockdown, and they are here to stay because they offer convenience and novelty. How about selling baked goods or kakanin? Perhaps you can use your lola’s delicious sukang sawsawan or your dad’s barbecue recipes.

Sell and deliver home-cooked food.

Try selling merienda and hot viands (ulam) for lunch and supper in your neighborhood. Those working from home could be your biggest customers.

Sell crafts. 

Some popular crafts are crocheted items such as amigurumi, or sewn items such as nightgowns, dasters, and baby dresses.

Sell personalized items.

People feel good when they see their name on their things; it makes the items a bit more special. They’re also great gift ideas. You can offer personalized items such as face towels, rubber stamps, and stationery. There’s no limit to the things you can customize! 

Sell plants and garden tools and equipment.

The quarantines turned a lot of folks into plantitos and plantitas. Fuel their passion by supplying plants, soil, pots, and other needfuls.

Create original content and become a Youtuber.

There’s still a lot of room out there for interesting and authentic content.

Stream your gaming or other activities on Twitch or Kumu.

These are apps with communities that support content creators, from gamers to singers and everyone in between.

Here are more ideas for a home-based business, especially if you have the space:

• Sell your creations or other merchandise on Lazada or Shopee
• Start a digital bills paying service
• Put up an e-loading business
• Turn your house into a wifi hotspot
• Open an internet shop with fast wifi for online students
• Start a sari-sari store
• Rent out a room to a student, employee, or as an AirBnb
• Rent out space in your home as a music studio or co-working space
• Open a small-space café 
• Put up a small daycare or babysitting business
• Offer a cooking (paluto) service to seniors and people who work from home 
• Provide cleaning services 
• Offer gardening and yard-work services
• Provide handyman services such as simple plumbing, electrical maintenance, and light carpentry and home repairs 
• Open a small laundromat 
• Start a sewing and alteration business
• Offer makeup and/or hair services (mini-salon)
• Provide car, bicycle, motorcycle, or scooter repair services 
• Sell car, bicycle, motorcycle, or scooter spare parts and accessories such as helmets
• Start a garden and sell your produce
• Establish a printing service for students looking to print their papers or homework.

Jobs you can do at home

Here are ideas for services you can provide from home:

Offer writing, video editing, or graphic design services.

If you’re a good writer, you can write and edit papers and manuscripts. If you’re a whiz at slide presentation apps, you can create Powerpoint or Prezi presentations. Great at graphic design? You can make logos, pubmats, and other marketing materials.

Become a Facebook live seller.

This is a popular way to get people interested in the goods you or others are selling online.

Teach English or Filipino.

English as a second language (ESL) and other language studies have become more popular and convenient with the internet. Your students can even be learning in a foreign country while you work from home! There are companies online looking for ESL teachers.

Tutor students in subjects such as Math or Science. 

Is math or science your strength? Again, the internet makes tutoring convenient and safe for everyone involved.

Help students review for board exams.

You can be an online reviewer and help someone study and prep for a board exam, civil service exam, or other important examination.

Write stories for Wattpad.

Some successful authors even have their stories made into movies!

Edit news, SEO, or marketing articles.

If you’re a writer, put your skills to good use in the digital world, where a lot of content is needed, as in the case of SEO articles.

Create content for social media.

As companies and personalities become more internet-savvy, there are opportunities for helping them create more marketing and news content.

Be a social media manager.

Social media manager work is a  great WFH job for millennials and Gen-Z digital natives. Of course, that is not to say that you can’t upskill to learn the ropes.

Transcribe audio recordings for researchers or lawyers.

It takes patience and attention to detail – if you have those soft skills, this could be the job for you.

Drum up sales as a telemarketer.

If you have excellent sales and communication skills, there are opportunities for doing this as a home-based job.

Teach yoga, Zumba, or other exercises online.

With the threat of coronavirus still very much present, the internet allows you to teach fitness and wellness classes online to help clients stay safe.

Become a data encoder.

There are data encoding opportunities along this line as the country speeds up and expands its digitalization efforts.

Create and maintain websites.

With many people going into freelance work, there is a need for them to have their own websites for clients. If you have the skills, you can help.Whatever you decide to do from home, make sure you have a comfortable and functional setup that will help you do your best.

Get started!

These are just some of the many ways you can make money at home. Be creative and observant of the opportunities that are out there for home-based jobs or businesses.Whether you are looking for a side gig or a full-time job, Jobstreet can give you helpful career advice. #LetsGetToWork by creating or updating your profile. For more jobs, visit JobStreet or download the JobStreet app on Google Play or the App Store. 

Need help with writing your resume or practicing for an interview? Check out our Career Tools. Then for more expert tips, head over to Career Resources.