Traditional gender distinctions are quickly fading away from the world of work, and there are very few jobs left that are strictly “for men” or “for women.” There are still some side hustles that appeal primarily to men.
Let’s look at some of the best ones!
1. Put Your Hands to Work
Handiwork is worth real money these days, especially when it involves what we traditionally call “man jobs” around the house. If you have skills and experience gained in your own home, start offering small house repair services to your neighbors. Professionals won’t waste their time on tasks like fixing light fittings or dripping faucets, so the smaller jobs are a great way to start. Satisfied customers come back for more!
💸 Earning potential: $10–$20 per hour.
💵 Cost to get started: Nothing if you already have your own tools.
2. Start a Rental Business
Would you believe that you can rent basically anything you own? You can rent an extra room or space around your house. You can rent your car or your photo camera. Alternatively, you can start a whole business and start renting stuff that doesn’t pay off to own, like car roof cargo carriers, bouncing castles for kids, or even hot tubs.
💸 Earning potential: Depends on what you’re renting. Could be thousands.
💵 Cost to get started: If you start with something you own, it’s close to 0$.
3. Get Paid to Clean Parking Lots
If you prefer an out-of-home gig, this one has great practical value and low competition. Some bigger businesses employ professionals to take care of their property, but nobody offers parking lot cleaning services. That’s where you enter the scene in your spare time, potentially with the help of your friends or relatives.
💸 Earning potential: $30–$50 per hour.
💵 Cost to get started: Under $100 for a small one-man operation.
4. Become a Pallet Reseller
Pallets are incredibly versatile, so they are always in high demand. While some industries discard them as trash, others use them to build things. There’s an obvious resale potential there if there are companies in your area that discard pallets.
💸 Earning potential: $30–$50 per hour.
💵 Cost to get started: As little as $12 if you have a truck and an empty garage.
5. Start a Pressure Washing Business
You can make thousands with pressure washing as your second job, but you’ll need to invest a few thousand first. Pressure washers are expensive. The great news is that they are easy to operate and build a business around, especially considering the demand.
💸 Earning potential: The average pressure-washing business makes $50,000 a year.
💵 Cost to get started: Around $2,000–$5,000 for a low-key start.
6. Be a Delivery Driver
You don’t have to be an entrepreneurial spirit to bring in extra cash. All you need is free time and some sort of transportation, and you can become everyone’s favorite delivery guy. Research delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Instacart to see which one is the best fit for you. Learn these pro tips for delivery drivers to make the most of your opportunities.
💸 Earning potential: $14–$25 per hour, plus tips.
💵 Cost to get started: Absolutely nothing if you have a car, bike, or e-scooter.
7. Become a Walking Tour Guide
There isn’t some kind of regulatory body that controls or certifies walking tour guides. Anyone with some knowledge of the area (or willingness to learn) and good organizational skills can create their own tour and profit from it. It’s an ideal side hustle if you are a vagabond at heart and like where you live, especially if you live in a tourist area or a place with an interesting history.
💸 Earning potential: You can make $50–$150 per day in touristy areas.
💵 Cost to get started: Under $100 for marketing and potential permits.
8. Walk and Sit Dogs
A dog’s love may be priceless, but you can still put a price on your pet care expertise. To men who grew up around dogs and love spending time with them, it’s a fantastic way to bring in extra money while goofing around. Plus, you should be able to work out your schedule with the dog owners. Sites like Rover and Wag can connect you with clients, or you can advertise through local venues and social media groups.
💸 Earning potential: Around $15 an hour.
💵 Cost to get started: $0, unless you’re starting your own dog-sitting business.
9. Drive Your Own Lyft/Uber
Turning your car into a Lyft or Uber is widely considered one of the simplest ways to earn extra cash in today’s economy. If you like cruising around town and meeting interesting people, that’s a huge plus.
💸 Earning potential: $15–$25 per hour.
💵 Cost to get started: Aside from potential car checkup costs, nothing.
10. Sharpen Your Neighbors’ Knives
Do you have a trusty whetstone lying around your kitchen? You can use it to get quick cash from your neighbors. Everybody wants sharp knives in their kitchen, but many people don’t have the time to do it themselves or just don’t know how. They usually don’t mind paying a few dollars to have that done for them by someone else. If you know a thing or two about blades, why not tap into this local opportunity?
💸 Earning potential: $20 an hour if you commit to it.
💵 Cost to get started: Sharpening equipment can cost from $5 to $200 or more, so somewhere in that range unless you already have your own gear.
11. Become a Fitness Trainer
Many men carry a deep passion for muscle-building. Whether or not you’re one of them, getting paid to exercise must be one of the best ways to keep making money after work hours. It’s not enough to be fit: you’ll need to learn how to build and execute training regimes for many different types of clients.
💸 Earning potential: $15–$25 per hour.
💵 Cost to get started: You may need to spend formal training to be fully qualified.
12. Sign Up for Car Detailing
Would you call yourself a guy’s guy? If so, then you probably love cars and consider them a passion. If you are a neat person on top of that, you can turn this unique combination of traits into a rewarding money-making hobby. Car detailers clean and restore cars to mint condition, which takes a special kind of craft.
💸 Earning potential: Up to $4,000 per month.
💵 Cost to get started: Supplies for one car cost $5–$10 or more.
13. Invest in Real Estate
Did you know you can invest in large-scale real estate for as little as $10 through investment platforms like Fundrise? Over the last couple of years, some Fundrise investors have been able to get a real-time return of over 60.4% on their original investments. There’s always money in real estate, but it’s not guaranteed, and there are always risks in investing.
💸 Earning potential: The more you invest, the more you can win (or lose).
💵 Cost to get started: You can invest as little as $10, but that’s unlikely to generate significant income.
14. Repair and Flip Furniture
Popularized by DIY influencers on Instagram and TikTok, carpentry has become such a popular skill that many amateur carpenters are quitting their day jobs and turning their art into a business. Until you get there, you can hone your skills by repairing, improving, and flipping old furniture.
💸 Earning potential: $100–$500 per month.
💵 Cost to get started: $100–$250 will get you started.
15. Get Money from Phone Flipping
Phone flipping is another trending side gig for guys into modern-day gadgets. If you understand the smartphone market and follow the latest trends, you can make a lot of money reselling used phones.
💸 Earning potential: The average profit margin per phone is $50.
💵 Cost to get started: You can start with anywhere between $200–$1,000.
16. Become a Software Consultant
If there’s a software system that you’ve been using for so long that you’ve developed expertise, you can call yourself an expert and start providing software advice. Officially, that would make you a consultant for that particular software, which means you will provide independent support for other users. You can even build a blog with expert tips, user guides, and FAQs.
💸 Earning potential: Up to $200,000 a year.
💵 Cost to get started: $50–$200 to start and market a blog.
17. Start Your Own Podcast
Even when it turns to nothing, podcasting is still a fun opportunity to break through the internet noise and share your opinions with the world. However, it can turn into a million-dollar gig when it succeeds. As for job requirements, you need audio recording equipment, strong verbal skills, and interesting topics.
💸 Earning potential: $25–$1,000 per episode, depending on the number of downloads and payment model.
💵 Cost to get started: At least $400 for low-end equipment.
18. Play Online Games for Money
Yes, there is a way to turn your love of gaming into money. And no, we are not talking about gambling, which is a serious addition. As a side hustle, you can get paid to test gaming apps and play games on your phone, all thanks to brilliant websites like Swagbucks, MISTPLAY, and Gamesville.
💸 Earning potential: $20–$200 an hour.
💵 Cost to get started: $0.
19. Start a Dropshipping Business
Prepare to have your entrepreneurial mind blown. Do you know all those sellers on Oberlo and Shopify? They don’t hold a single item they sell. Instead, they let the original seller handle the inventory and shipping–they only act as middlemen, dropshipping products from online stores to buyers.
💸 Earning potential: Up to $100,000 per year.
💵 Cost to get started: You can start with as little as $100.
20. Sell Your Stuff on Amazon/eBay
If you are like most guys, you likely have a basement full of old action figurines, comic books, CDs, concert T-shirts, and other remnants of the past. In case you haven’t heard, retro is very fashionable right now, meaning that you can turn a serious profit selling your stuff on popular marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. When you’ve worked through your own stuff, consider flipping items you find in thrift stores and garage sales.
💸 Earning potential: $1,000–$25,000 per month.
💵 Cost to get started: $40 for an Amazon Professional Sellers Account, plus the cost of shipping and other fees.
Find Your Own Brand of “Man Job”
In this article, we’ve looked into some side hustles that typically interest men more than women. That doesn’t mean that these are exclusively “man jobs” or that men can’t make money doing “woman jobs.” Whatever you’re good at, find a way to turn it into profit!
