7 Business ideas that any Homeworker can start in the next 7 days even while holding down a day job

Extra income, second job, side hustle, nascent entrepreneur, evening ‘Del Boy’. All of these are terms for earning a little extra cold hard currency. Whether it is the dollar, euro or pound, we would all like some extra money in our lives to spend on treats, holidays and Christmas. 

As someone who has worked from home, I have tried and few, “side hustle” ideas and do research into others. Normally these take the form of hobby activities to give them ‘a go’. For instance, all four of my books have been written as hobbies and turned into books for my own amusement, but produce extra income.

Below, I have outlined seven side income ideas that can get you started in the next seven days (or less).

Before we begin a word of warning. All these ideas will require work, grit and perseverance. They are not getting-rich schemes, but great ways to get started on your entrepreneurial journey.

KDP - Kindle Direct Publishing

This is one of my personal favourite extra income ideas as it offers the chance to spend time prior to launch doing the work and once published a trickle of royalties will come in. KDP is Amazon’s platform for publishing ebooks and print-on-demand (POD) books. In the parlance of internet guru’s this might count as “passive income”. However, my belief still stands no income is ever truly passive.

I find it a great way to make extra income, express yourself, get that book that you have been looking to write out of your system. If you write the correct book or books that have a marketplace fit you can genuinely earn a good amount of money. I’ve not got to that point yet, but every month a nice payment turns up from Amazon.

Amazon Kindle keeps between 30%-70% of the sale price, so check the local rules before you set your price. I generally aim at the £9.99 paperback and £4.99 eBook price points as I feel that is a fair price for my knowledge, the time I have put into the book and gives me wiggle room to advertise if necessary. 

However, a word of warning is needed. Most Kindle books do not make even one sale (outside of friends and family) so make sure that when you write your book your expectations are low and the promotion you do is high.

I have published four works on KDP - Recruitment Hacks, Political Careers, My First eBay Sale and S-Curve. Feel free to check them out to get a feel for publishing at this level.

If you have any questions about publishing on KDP feel free to email me at joseph@homeworkinghenry.co.uk 

Publish T-Shirts on Redbubble

For me, this makes an occasional sale, so it is more of a hobby than a side hustle. Something that I occasionally dip into and out of.

Redbubble in a nutshell is a Print-On-Demand (POD) website that allows you to create funky, cool and exciting designs that they market, print and dispatch with you taking a small cut of the sales price.

You can upload your design to a whole host of product types from posters to pillowcases through to t-shirts, hoodies and backpacks. Whatever your tastes, whatever your style there is bound to be something that you are going to be able to design, upload and enjoy.

Redbubble also can be used as a way to make personalised presents for friends and family as well. If you are unsure how to design products, start playing around on Canva for a few hours, you will be surprised about what you can achieve. 

For a look at what I have created on Red Bubble - take a look at my store, my favourite design is the Crime University Gangsta.

Selling on eBay

eBay is like the old matron of the internet. So many big names from that initial era, have been and gone, and yet eBay is still one of the top places to find products on the internet. My partner has been selling on eBay for a while now, and this is a great way to get extra income and declutter the house of stuff you no longer need. Which I have to say is a rather good thing.

This initial decluttering has morphed into something far bigger and better and my partner’s store Firecats UK now has over 500 positive reviews. 
eBay is such an obvious route to make money, that it does get overlooked. The beauty and wonder of eBay is that it allows you to take an approach that suits you. 

• Want to sell items you want to declutter - great go ahead.
• Want to ship in product from China - great go ahead.
• Want to go bargain find in your local charity shops - great go ahead.
• Want to do some Retail Arbitrage - it is great fo ahead.

All of these options are open to the eBay seller. Making it the perfect entry-level work-from-home business.

If you want to see what our store looks like take a look, if you want extra help starting your own eBay store feel free to drop me a line at joseph@homeworkinghenry.co.uk 

We have also created a Profit and Loss tracker for those who want to start selling on eBay but hate doing accounts.

Freelancing websites

Freelancing is all the rage in some sectors and in others in a rare occurrence. However, freelancing websites like People Per Hour and Fiverr have brought freelancers and freelance work to the masses at the click of a mouse, or tap on a phone.

Personally, I have dabbled, but not engaged massively in the process of freelancing due to my skill set. However, I have used plenty of freelancers from People Per Hour and Fiverr in the past and have found the process to be very useful, helpful, easy to use and fills in the skills gaps that I have.
A word of caution, from my understanding it does take some time to create the accounts and win the work.

There is a great Udemy course on freelancing on Fiverr that you should consider if you are going head down this route.

Leading freelance websites include People Per Hour, Fiverr, UpWork and Guru.

Do your research to see which site might be the best fit for your proposed skill set.

Retail Arbitrage

This is an area that I have had some moderate success in, however, I am still under a year into this journey. So what is Retail Arbitrage? 
Retail Arbitrage is buying products from shops like Tesco’s, B&M, etc and selling them on Amazon, eBay, Vinted etc for a profit.

Personally, I focus on Amazon as that is the platform that makes the process both simple to figure out and reduces the time needed by Amazon fulfilling the entire order process.

I am going to write an article on Retail Arbitrage soon, in the meantime you should Google Retail Arbitrage Amazon for more information.

Selling on ETSY

If you have not come across Etsy before, it styles itself as an Amazon or eBay for crafty, unique and bespoke products. From handmade soaps to personalised art deco prints. Etsy has it all and much, much more.
If you love crafting and want to craft to your heart’s delight then Etsy might be for you.

Currently, my partner has a store on Etsy selling book gift boxes called Firecats Gift Club. These book boxes help keep books from landfills and provide a unique gift for bibliophiles. 

If you have creative passions and want to find a way to make money from them Etsy is the place to start.   

Creating UDEMY Courses

Creating courses should come with its own course. Well, actually Udemy does do that. However, yet again I am digressing on the important stuff and generally chatting nonsense.

Creating courses that highlight your skills is a great way to spend hours now, and over time make income in the future. Now, you are probably saying to me right now ‘But will pay small amounts every time someone goes online and buys your course.

I am only promoting Udemy as I have used Udemy both as a consumer of courses and as a creator of courses. 

Now you are probably about to say to me “Home Working Henry, I have nothing that I can turn into a course”.

And I would respond, no you fool, there are plenty of things you can teach other people. What seems obvious to you, is mindblowing and groundbreaking to another person.

Even if you are the world expert at using Excel spreadsheets to draw up Warhammer army lists, someone else may also want to know about this and much, much more.

Final Thoughts

Now, please do hear these final words in the voice of Jerry Springer. Creating a second income is not easy. Sorry for that bombshell. However, with time, diligence and perseverance you can slowly create a second income and then hopefully turn it into a first income so you can work from home forever if you so choose.

All the above ideas barely scratch the surface of what is possible out there on the big wide internet, so get them, tiger!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at joseph@homeworkinghenry.co.uk