Side jobs for people who are strong or athletic-minded
Got muscles? Some of the best-paying spring and summer side hustles are good matches for the strong, fit or athletic-minded. These jobs involve helping people move, coaching, personal training or construction work.
Here’s a roundup of sites that offer these kinds of gigs.
Moving
Spring and summer are high season for moving, which has moving platforms seeking adults who can lift 50 to 100 pounds. You earn more money if you have a truck, but you don’t need one to participate.
GoShare, Truxx, Dolly, Laborjack and TaskRabbit all offer jobs for movers with or without a truck. If you don’t have a truck, sign up as a “helper/courier” at GoShare and you’ll earn $33 to $47 per hour. With Truxx, helpers earn $30 per hour.
Dolly pays $15 per hour for “hands.” Laborjack pays $15 to $20 an hour.
With TaskRabbit, you set your own rates and terms. You can advertise your packing and organizing services or hire yourself out as muscle.
If you have a truck, you have more options. GoShare pays up to $66 per hour for movers who drive their own vehicles. Truxx pays $42 to $49 per hour.
In addition, Citizen Shipper and UShip let people with trucks and trailers set their own prices and book multiple “on the way” jobs. Both are go-to sites for longer-haul moves.
Extras don’t get film credits or lines. But they can get union wages, meals and perks — such as getting to read novels or work on their side gigs while on the job.
Training
It wasn’t just you. A recent survey suggests that during the pandemic, more than 2 in 5 Americans gained unwanted weight. Now, with summer coming, people who want to shed those pounds are returning to gyms and seeking help from online trainers.
If you’re a personal trainer looking for new clients, you can sign up in Fiverr’s “fitness lessons” and “health, nutrition & fitness” categories. The site encourages you to create service “packages” that may include personal training sessions, taped lessons or written advice. Trainers already on the site advertise fitness services for $15 to more than $100 per package. You create and price your own service, paying a 20% fee to the site to market and collect for you.
Coaching
Kids’ sports are also reviving, and that boosts the need for coaching. CoachUp connects athletes with trainers and coaches of virtually any type of sport. To list services on the site, you must be 18 or older and have some coaching experience. Coaches typically earn $40 to $75 an hour.
Another option for sports fans to consider: Sign up as a referee. Referees can earn $50 to $100 a game, and many officiate multiple games per weekend.
There’s a plethora of side jobs for food lovers, including food photography and reviews, offering cooking classes, and working at restaurants, bars and — eventually — events.
Construction
Perhaps being stuck at home caused homeowners to find fault with their surroundings. Or maybe the work-at-home trend necessitated extra space for home offices. Whatever the reason, building and construction are going gangbusters, sparking demand for all types of construction work.
There are many sites where you can find construction-oriented jobs — from simple things such as assembling Ikea furniture to complex trades such as plumbing, electrical and framing. Some of the better options:
ToolBelt connects contractors and tradespeople with clients and with contractors who need help. The site offers both a free plan and a pro plan. The free plan provides as many as two leads a week. Those who want more can pay $99 a month for the pro plan.
TaskRabbit has an extensive listing of construction-oriented services you can offer on the site, from hanging television sets to doing plumbing. You set your rates and detail what’s included in your price.
Jiffy finds clients for contractors who provide a wide array of services, from yard work to plumbing, at pay rates that range from about $40 to $85 per hour. The rates are set by the site, which takes a commission on each sale. Jiffy is available in only a few cities: Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Ottawa.
Finally, Nextdoor is a neighborhood social media site that’s used for everything from trying to find your lost dog to reporting local crimes. It has become a great place for local contractors to post their availability for work and receive referrals from satisfied customers. There’s no downside to introducing yourself here and letting your neighbors know that you’re the local framer, cabinet maker, plumber or electrician — or, say, that you’ve got muscles and, for a price, are willing to help people move.
A slew of delivery, baby-sitting, retail and evaluation jobs, among others, can be done without specialized training or previous experience.
Kristof is the editor of SideHusl.com, an independent site that reviews hundreds of money-making opportunities in the gig economy.
