Looking to make extra money in addition to your job? A work-from-home side business is a great way to increase your income, gain financial security, and turn a passion into profit.
Starting a side hustle doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive. With the right approach, you can launch a business in your free time, using the skills and resources you already have. Whether you want to sell products, offer services, or build a digital brand, there are plenty of ways to get started.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the key steps to starting a successful side business from home.
Why Start a Side Business at Home?
Many of us have dreamed of starting an online business that allows us to do what we love from the comfort of our homes. Maybe you’ve even been sitting on a few great work-from-home business ideas.
But as circumstances have changed for many of us, starting your side hustle idea at this time is even more tempting.
And wouldn’t it be considering these 4 major benefits to being a digital entrepreneur:
- Enjoy a flexible schedule
- Be your own boss
- Work from anywhere
- Get paid to do what you love
Putting yourself in a position where you get all four of those is like finding the professional holy grail. And while you’re probably working a full-time job from home right now anyway, there’s never been a better time for bringing one of your small business ideas to life.
Plus, it’s not nearly as time consuming or expensive as you may think. As you’ll soon see, you can have your business ideas become a reality in the next 30 days by working on your lunch break and on a shoestring budget.
All it takes is just 6 easy steps to learn how to start a business from home!
How to Start a Side Business at Home in 6 Steps
1. Choose a Niche for Your Small Business Idea
The first thing that you’ll need to do is write down a few side business ideas. Then, narrow that list down to the right one.
Fortunately, you probably already have one in mind.
But when you’re coming up with a few small profitable business ideas from home, you’ll want to ask yourself the following questions when making your business plan:
- Is this online business idea something that I love or just kinda like?
- Is there a need for this online business?
- Does this idea have the potential to make actual revenue?
- Could this small business build the kind of life that I want for myself?
- Do you find the work fulfilling?
That last one is particularly important. A side hustle should be something you’re passionate about that doesn’t feel too much like work. Now, let’s be clear:
Launching your business will definitely take some hard work.
But more often than not, the work you do for your online business from home should leave you feeling fulfilled and happy, not depleted and discouraged.
This is especially true if you’re juggling a full-time job, family, and other responsibilities at the same time.
If your business idea doesn’t give you a small twinge of excitement as you sit down to work on your next task, you may want to keep looking for a new idea.
2. Block out 30–60 Minutes per Day
Now comes the tricky part: finding the time to bring your small business (or small businesses) to life. Luckily, it’s not nearly as hard or time-intensive as you may think.
In fact, if you were to commit just 30–60 minutes every day for 30 days, you could have your new business up and running by this time next month.
Did You Know . . .
. . . that you can start a WordPress store online in as little as 30 minutes? Click here for a guide on getting started.
And more often than not, finding that time means 1 of 3 things:
- Waking up earlier
- Working through lunch
- Replacing downtime, such as watching TV, with working on your business
None of those options are super fun, and you should make sure that the change is sustainable. For example, it’s not sustainable to lose a significant amount of sleep or to not spend time with your family. You’ll want to make changes that won’t harm your health or happiness.
It’s important to remember that if you’re just learning how to start a side business from home, you need to be as persistent as you are patient. Because more often than not, companies take a while to gain traction.
So try working 15–30 minutes in the morning and 15–30 minutes before going to bed every night. A very small price to pay for a new, exciting career!
3. Do Some Basic Market Research
Our third tip on how to start a side business from home is pretty standard business advice: do a bit of market research.
Now, when some people hear the word “market research,” they think of small focus groups, expensive online surveys, and, for some reason, people in lab coats with clipboards.
But that’s not the type of in-depth research we’re talking about.
Take one of your 30-minute chunks of time to look into your new market. Keep your eyes open for the following:
- Are there any other companies doing something similar, and, if so, can I do it better?
- If there aren’t any other companies with this product, why not?
- Is there really a need for this product or service?
Talk openly with friends and family about your idea. Get some initial feedback and tweak your business plan as necessary. Then, do a bit of research online. Look for any competitors and see how they’re modeling or pricing their product.
You can also go to social media sites that you’ll use for your business like Facebook or Reddit to post your idea in certain groups. Then you can gauge your idea based on their response. That said, be warned:
Many people on social media have a tendency to jump to the negative.
In other words, don’t let a stranger’s pessimistic outlook discourage you from pursuing your business. When it comes to using social media for market research, try to differentiate between good advice and needless negativity.
In our experience, you’ll likely get 2–3 rude comments for every 1 solid piece of advice. However, that 1 constructive criticism is usually worth a whole lot.
4. Build a Website for Your Online Business Idea
Now that you have your idea and a plan, it’s time to set up your website. For most businesses, WordPress is the best choice because it’s easy to use, highly customizable, and affordable.
We recommend using self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) instead of WordPress.com. Here’s why:
- You get full control over your site’s design and branding.
- You can install plugins to add more features.
- You can use a WordPress page builder plugin like SeedProd to create a beautiful site quickly.
- You can monetize your site however you want.
- There are no WordPress ads on your site.
A self-hosted WordPress site typically costs $50–$100 per year, making it an affordable option for starting a business. Read more about why we recommend self-hosted WordPress.org in our list of best website builders for small businesses.
To get started, you’ll need web hosting. We recommend Bluehost because it’s reliable, fast, and beginner-friendly. You can register a new domain or transfer an existing one directly through their platform.
Feeling a little lost? Don’t let building your first WordPress site intimidate you!
Just follow this step-by-step guide on how to build a WordPress site. And if you’re ever in doubt, check out the WPBeginner website. They have everything you need to become a WordPress pro!
5. Create a Marketing Strategy for Your Side Hustle
When you’re figuring out how to start your own business, you probably think of two things: building a website and making sales.
Most people don’t instinctually think about the fun part. Well, at least we think it’s the fun part:
Building a marketing strategy.
You’ll need to come up with a digital marketing strategy that suits your business. Here’s the good news: that’s definitely our wheelhouse.
So let’s look at a few basic things you can start doing to build your new business from home. We’re going to break down our advice into 4 sections:
- Content marketing
- Advertising
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
While there will be some overlaps between these sections, they can each arguably be used individually to drive traffic to your site. And at the end of each part, we’re going to create a curated list of articles we’ve written to help you along the way.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is exactly what it sounds like: using original content to drive traffic to your site and get more leads. But the kinds of content you choose to create are totally up to you.
One good place to start is by building a blog. Blogs are excellent because they help you do many things to move your business forward at the same time. Blogs can:
- Engage your audience
- Establish your credibility in your niche
- Open up doors for affiliate revenue
- Monetize your site through ads
- Drive organic traffic through SEO
- Show interested readers targeted campaigns for your product
- Force you to learn new aspects of your industry
Blogs are, in our opinion, the cornerstone of content marketing, especially if you’re just learning how to start a side business from home.
Need some help brainstorming blog ideas? Here are 130+ blog post ideas your readers will love.
But maybe you’re not big on the idea of blogging. That’s ok! You have so many different options for content creation, such as:
- Videos
- Infographics
- Images
- Memes
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Email series (which we’ll discuss later)
- EBooks
- Whitepapers
- Newsletters
- Press Releases
- Surveys
- Checklists
- Free apps
- Powerpoint Presentations
As you can see, when it comes to content creation, you’ve got loads of options.
We highly recommend spending a little bit of time per day working on some type of content to drive traffic. At the end of this post, we’ll get into more detail on how to convert that traffic into leads.
For now, check out our top 5 articles on how to master your content marketing strategy:
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing
- 11 Steps to Create a Content Marketing Strategy to Grow Your Business
- 25 Clever Content Marketing Examples With Amazing Results
- The Content Marketing Toolbox: 55 Tools You Need to Know
- 85 Content Marketing Statistics to Make You a Marketing Genius
These should be more than enough to get you started!
Paid Advertising
This solution is less appealing for small to medium-sized businesses because let’s be honest, most of us don’t have tons of money to spend on paid ads.
But, if you have a few hundred dollars extra per month, paid advertising is a really good option. Right now, here are the 4 most popular platforms for running ads:
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Instagram Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
You’ll want to do some research on the best place to run ads for your specific business. Unfortunately, there’s no “right” or “wrong” answer here. It really depends on your products, your offers, and your audience.
Whichever platform you choose, we highly recommend that you run an A/B split test for your paid ads. Well, to be honest, we recommend A/B split tests for most areas of your marketing strategy but paid ads especially.
That’s because you want to be sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. The most efficient way to do that is to test, tweak, and wait.
As we like to say, successful advertising on paid platforms is a healthy mix of creativity, cold hard data, and patience.
Check out these 4 helpful articles on improving your paid ads on various platforms:
- What’s a Good Click-Through Rate (CTR) on Google Ads and How to Improve It
- Optimize Facebook Ads to Drive Conversions
- Generate Leads With Instagram (specifically tip #1)
- Boost the ROI of Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaigns With Targeted Optins
Social Media Marketing
Social media is a great way to reach potential customers, but not every platform is right for every business. The key is to focus on where your target audience spends their time.
Here are some of the most effective platforms right now:
- Facebook & Instagram – Best for broad reach, community building, and visual content.
- LinkedIn – Ideal for B2B businesses and professional networking.
- TikTok & YouTube – Great for video marketing and engaging younger audiences.
- Pinterest – Works well for product-based businesses, DIY, and lifestyle content.
- Reddit – Useful for discussions, trends, and real-time engagement.
Instead of trying to be everywhere, pick 1–2 platforms where your audience is most active. Engage consistently, share valuable content, and interact with your followers to build trust.
Read through these helpful articles on how to improve your social media marketing strategy:
- The Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business
- The Best Time to Post on Social Media for the Highest Engagement
- 33 Social Media Marketing Tools That Will Give You an Unfair Advantage
- 9 Ways to Grow Your Email List With Social Media
- Email Marketing vs. Social Media: Is There a Clear Winner?
Email Marketing
Email marketing has one of the highest ROIs (return on investment) of any marketing, earning as much as $36 for every $1 spent.
We love email marketing because it’s:
- Inexpensive
- Reliable
- Customizable to your brand and your brand’s voice
- Automated
- Targeted to an engaged audience
- Suited for nurturing long term relationships
- Impressively effective for building revenue
Learn more about the benefits in our list of 40+ email marketing statistics.
More than any other platform, we believe that email marketing is the key to a business truly thriving and reaching their potential. Like the other sections in this article, we’ll finish up here by adding a short resource list to help you out.
But first, let’s look at the basic 6-step formula for a solid email marketing strategy.
- Create a killer lead magnet
- Drive traffic to your site
- Use lead generation software like OptinMonster to grow your email list
- Segment your list to personalize your emails
- Automate your email series
- Sit back and watch your sales go BOOM 💥
Seriously, email marketing is just that simple. It’s not always easy, but it’s simple.
Now use the following resources to take yourself from amateur to email marketing master:
- Email Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How to Run a Successful Email Marketing Campaign
- 17 Tips for Writing Email Copy That Converts
- 6 Email Marketing Templates You Need to Try Right Now
- 13 Ways to Improve Your Email Click-Through Rates
- Is Email Marketing Dead? Statistics Say “Not a Chance”
- Email Scrubbing: Why and How to Clean Your Email List
6. Monitor Your Success
Ok, now comes the really, really fun part. Earning your first few customers.
There are few thrills in life greater than creating something and watching it bring value to people’s lives. As you build out your marketing strategy, you’ll soon see customers engage with your business.
One thing you need to be doing is monitoring and tracking that influx of traffic. For that, there’s no better tool than MonsterInsights.
MonsterInsights is the best plugin to monitor everything about your site’s performance and traffic. It connects seamlessly with Google Analytics so you can receive all the data about your site’s visitors right in your WordPress dashboard.
You can even set up custom reports to get everything you need to make data-driven decisions about your business.
And as you watch all that traffic start coming in, you need a strategy for converting that traffic into subscribers and sales. That’s where a conversion optimization software like OptinMonster comes in really handy.
OptinMonster can help you turn your casual site traffic into lifelong customers. We do that by helping you create targeted campaigns like:
- Popups
- Floating bars
- Slide-In Boxes
- Full-Screen Mats
- Coupon Wheels
- and more
Here’s an example of a popup that you can add to your site in minutes with OptinMonster:
- Grow your email list
- Advertising promotional offers
- Set static or dynamic countdown timers
- Display useful site or product information
- Lock premium content for subscribers only
- Create full-page campaigns that function as targeted landing pages
And all of that is the tip of the iceberg.
Each of our highly customizable campaigns is perfect for all of your site’s traffic, including those visiting from mobile devices.
So if you’re serious about watching your side business succeed, then you should definitely invest in some kind of conversion optimization toolkit. And if you’re going to do that, OptinMonster should be at the top of your list!
BONUS: Done-For-You Campaign Setup ($297 value)
Our conversion experts will design 1 free campaign for you to get maximum results – absolutely FREE!
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