10 Businesses to Start after 5pm

Financial planners tell you that you’ll need close to two million dollars saved for retirement. Your student loan debt is still significant. And you’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and crave a business of your own.

You don’t have to hate, or even quit, your day job to start a business after hours. There are plenty of businesses that require little overhead, are a natural extension of the network you have already created during the day, and can be worked nights and weekends.

Consultant
You know your industry like the back of your hand, but not everyone is as experienced as you are. Local businesses will pay for your expert marketing advice, restaurant design, and basic business strategies. The possibilities are nearly endless. You can easily market yourself to the new-business members at the local chamber of commerce.

Landlord
You don’t have to purchase a piece of rental property to become a landlord. Turn your extra room into extra income. You could rent that extra bedroom to another young professional that needs a place to stay. If your hometown is a tourist destination, you could offer the room through Airbnb. If you travel a lot for your day job, you could rent your condo to vacationers only during the weeks you are absent through a service such as VRBO.

Tutor
Remember that statistics class that you aced without ever cracking a book because it just “made sense” to you. Some journalism student somewhere is struggling to pass stats and could use your help. Maybe you loved high school calculus and can assist students from the local high school.

Photographer
You own $3,000 in photographic equipment. Turn your hobby into a business as a freelance photographer. Businesses need photos for their websites. Happy couples want wedding photos of their big day. Professionals need headshots for business cards. Maybe you love enjoy touring houses and could shoot homes for some local Realtors.

Party/Event Planner
If you throw Pinterest-worthy children’s parties or corporate holiday parties with star power, you could make extra money with a party or event planner business. Surely, there are busy parents who would welcome the assistance of someone who actually enjoys tracking down the right bounce house and pink princess cupcakes for a six-year-old’s birthday bash.

Caregiver
You built your wardrobe and bought your first car with the proceeds of your babysitting business in high school. Now you can build your retirement fund with it. It isn’t only parent that require caregivers for their kids. Many adults caring for their aging parents could use a night out as well. If you interact well with the elderly, you could earn additional income as a caregiver to assist with meals and making sure that mom doesn’t wander away from home at night.

Pet Sitter
Pet care is expensive, especially when a person has a menagerie of pets. Pet owners can board the dog or cat, but they find it more difficult to find care for more exotic pets like lizards, snakes, birds and small rodents. Your love of animals and experience caring for them could be an invaluable asset to vacationing families and business travelers alike. You’ll have few expenses to start and earn money while getting your daily step count in.

Bookkeeper
Turn your accounting education or work experience into a side job as a bookkeeper or tax preparer for businesses. That new bakery on the corner might have the best cookies in town, but that doesn’t mean they have any idea how to use QuickBooks to track the sale of those cookies. You could get them started on the right track, or assist them weekly or monthly to manage their finances.

Website Designer
Every business needs a website, so there’s no shortage of potential business here. If your day job provided the skills to design and manage a website, use your mad skills to pay off your student loans faster, finance a European vacation, and build a business you can scale in proportion with your free hours.

Cleaning Service
You already know the businesses in your office building. They all have one thing in common; they require an after-hours cleaning service to clean their offices, lobby and other common areas. You can work evenings and weekends for little in start-up costs, and as you expand, you can hire a crew to handle the work.

Turning your areas of expertise into a side business is easier than you might think. If you’re unsure how to begin, start with a list of things at which you excel or in which you have an interest. Start small if you wish by offering to build a website for your cousin or to photograph your aunt’s third wedding. As your after-hours business builds, so will your confidence, your reputation and your income.