If you're looking to start a side hustle, affiliate marketing often comes up as one of the most straightforward paths. You don't get bogged down with inventing a product, managing development, or handling customer service. Your job is simple: promote something that already exists. But getting that right involves a bit more than just dropping a link.
If you’re running an affiliate marketing program, you're working through an affiliate network. Think of these networks as the essential middleman connecting you (the merchant) with your affiliates. They handle the heavy lifting: hosting your banners and links, managing all the tracking and reporting, and making sure commissions get paid out correctly and on time. They can even open up your program to a whole new pool of affiliates who are already members.
If you're looking to start a side hustle, affiliate marketing probably sounds like a great deal. You get to earn commissions by selling other people's products, which means you don't have to deal with creating products, managing inventory, or handling customer service. It’s a popular online business side hustle because it can supplement your income and you can do it from home, fitting it in around your main job.
If you've ever thought about starting an online business, you've probably heard of dropshipping. At its core, it’s an where you act as a matchmaker, connecting a customer who wants a product with a supplier who has it. Unlike a typical retail business, you never have to hold any inventory yourself. Your job is to find a buyer, connect them to a supplier, and facilitate the sale.
It’s tempting to look at dropshipping as a shortcut to launching a business, especially if you’re short on cash and experience. But let's be clear: it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. To have any real shot at success, you have to treat it like any other serious business venture—with a professional mindset. This starts with having a solid plan and setting goals you can actually hit.
If you're running an online business, your storefront isn't on a physical street—it's on the web. And in today's digital world, that means you need to show up where your customers are spending their time: social media. Think of it as the modern-day version of word-of-mouth, a way to build real connections with people and give your online shop a global presence. For an , combining your online store with a smart social media plan is a perfect match.
When you think of an , Amazon is probably the first name that comes to mind. As the biggest player in online retail, it offers some serious advantages. Starting a on their platform gives you instant access to a massive market—over 300 million users—and lets you borrow from their rock-solid reputation. Because Amazon buys in bulk and has warehouses worldwide, partnering with them can help a small shop scale globally, fast.
When you decide to in dropshipping, one of the first big questions you’ll face is where to actually sell your products. There are a ton of e-commerce platforms out there, and choosing the right one for your new is a critical step. If you don't do a little homework first, you could end up on a platform that isn't a good fit for what you’re selling.
When you’re first setting up a side hustle, especially an online business side hustle, the initial excitement is powerful. But once you’re past the setup phase, you run into the first real challenge: what, exactly, are you going to sell? Even with a clear niche, you could be looking at hundreds of products, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.