Five side-hustles to try in Canada

American rapper and record exec Rick Ross once said, “Everyday I’m hustlin’, hustlin’.”  

What he probably didn’t realize back in 2006 was that he was describing the Canadian side-hustle culture that has emerged (and shows no signs of stopping) over the past few years.  

Nicely done, Rick.   

In fact, tax preparation company H&R Block found that—as of 2023—28% of Canadians are taking part in side hustles—a 13% increase from 2022!  

So yes—there are plenty of extra loonies and toonies to be made as well, with more than a quarter of Canadian side hustlers reporting making $10,000 or more per year.  

If you’re totally new to the idea of side-hustling, you may not know where or how to start. But fear not, for we’ll put you on the path to Canadian side-hustle savvy with this list of five hustles that you can do from the comfort of your own home.  

Before you hustle…ask yourself:   

• How much time do I (realistically) want to devote to my home side hustle? Are you prepared to invest 20-plus hours, or is four to five hours a week more your speed?  
• What do you like doing most in your spare time? Are you happiest in your basement hand-crafting greeting cards, or is woodworking more your jam?  
• What marketable skills (or areas of expertise) do you already have? Can you play all of Alex Lifeson’s lead guitar parts flawlessly? Are you one of the smoothest salsa dancers around?  
• Why haven’t I built a website for my hobby yet? Seriously, though.  

Five side hustle ideas for you to try  

1. Online tutor  

If you’re the type of person that loves to teach, then online tutoring is a fantastic way to share your passions with others…and put those years of classical piano or vocal training to good use! Of course, music is just one possibility. You could provide anything from language lessons to advanced chess tactics.  

How to get hustling: the most straightforward way would be to join an online tutoring agency, like Super Prof, where you can set your own hourly rates ($20 – $80 an hour), as well as your schedule and get matched up with students.  

However, if you don’t want to attach yourself to any one platform, you could register a .CA and then create a simple website that allows students to browse your course offerings.  

2. Freelance writing 

If you’ve got a decent set of writing chops, we have great news for you: there’s plenty of work out there for you—including news articles, email copy, social posts, blogs—and more.  

How to get hustling: one way to catapult yourself into the freelance writing world is by scouring job boards—like LinkedIn or even the Canadian Freelance Guild for potential gigs. Then, create a .CA portfolio website to showcase your wordy works in all their glory!  

3. Sell handmade crafts  

Here, you can choose your own adventure. There are many-a-Canuck that have made a successful go of their crafting talents! For instance, you could create whimsical, custom greeting cards, design gorgeous decor from recycled wood—and more.   

How to get hustling: yes, you could hitch your virtual wagon to a site like Etsy…but it’s not really your own storefront, is it? Consider setting up a Shopify store (with a custom .CA) to sell your products.  

4. Graphic design 

If you have a passion for making things look beautiful—good news: your skills are in high demand and there are plenty of different avenues to explore.  
 
For instance, you could create and sell design templates for presentations, websites and social media (as well as other printable pieces), or take dull corporate slides and turn them into compelling presentations. Another potential area to explore could be custom logo and branding design for other small businesses.  

How to get hustling: create yourself a website that shows (and tells) potential clients about your work, design philosophy, rates and more. Think of it as your digital portfolio book—where all your best material can be easily discovered and flipped through.  

5. Virtual assistant

Look—Alexa, Google and Siri can do lots of cool stuff. But there are plenty of companies out there that need a real-life human taking care of business. As a virtual assistant, you could be doing anything from scheduling meetings and managing projects, to graphic design and writing tasks.  

How to get hustling: for starters, you could scour job sites, like Indeed and LinkedIn for part-time virtual assistant gigs. But we’d also recommend that you build a .CA website that clearly lays out all your skills (i.e., project management, graphic design, etc.,) rates and how to contact you.  

Side hustle next steps  

So, where to from here? Well, your first step should be to find and register a .CA for your freshly-launched side-hustle. Then, to help get everything rolling, dive into our ultimate guide to starting a business. Oh, and don’t overlook these half-dozen side-hustle friendly tools to keep your part-time productivity at its peak!