The 50 Best Side Businesses for Teachers

For teachers, summer is often full of free time. And that means there’s an opportunity to make some extra money. But you don’t have to resort to getting a seasonal job. You can instead start a business that makes great use of your talents during the summer months. Here are 50 business ideas for teachers.

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Side Jobs for Teachers That Can Turn Into a Business

Tutor

The most natural business fit for teachers is offering tutoring services on the side. You can help students in your subject of choice with one-on-one lessons over the summer.

Selling Online Courses

You could also offer your expertise in another format — online courses. Create your own curriculum and course materials then offer them for purchase online.

Selling Lesson Plans

Some teachers also make extra money throughout the year by creating lesson plans and offering them for sale to other teachers online.

Remote Grading Service

Another business opportunity to help other teachers save time involves offering to grade tests or papers for other teachers who don’t have the time to do it themselves.

Hosting Webinars

If you’re interested in offering your expertise online, you can host live webinars to offer demonstrations and explanations on a particular subject.

Test Prep Courses

There’s also a large market for courses or tutoring sessions to help students prepare for courses like the SATs.

Scholarship Consultant

If you’re skilled with finding and applying for scholarships, you can share your expertise by consulting with students looking for help paying for school.

Ed Tech Business

If you’ve noticed an opportunity through your teaching experience for a new type of product or invention that could help you in the classroom, you could use the summer months to develop the technology and then offer your product to other teachers.

Researcher

There are also opportunities out there for those who are able to provide research services to other businesses and organizations.

Resume Service

You could also provide services to job seekers who need help writing and editing their resumes and cover letters.

Proofreader

Or you could provide more general proofreading services to anyone from students to businesses.

Editor

You could also go a little more in depth with your services, offering full editing services to authors, bloggers and businesses.

Author

Or if you have an idea for a book, you can use the summer and after school hours to write it. Then you can self publish it as a book or ebook.

Public Speaker

Another opportunity to offer your knowledge with others is to offer public speaking services in the area of your choice.

Workshop Host

You could also teach one-time workshops on a particular subject. Rent a space or invite people to your home and share your expertise.

Educational Website

For tech savvy teachers, you could also start your very own website and share information or even provide a forum environment where visitors can interact with one another.

Blogger

If you enjoy writing, you can also share your expertise or experiences by starting a blog. Then you can make money through advertising, sponsored posts or affiliate links.

Freelance Writer

Or you could offer your services to other businesses or publications on a freelance basis.

Copywriter

You could even offer services as a copywriter, providing copy for websites and similar materials.

Educational Videos

If video is more of your format of choice, you can offer your own series of videos on YouTube or start your own site where people can pay to access the content.

E-library

You could also gather up books and other educational materials and offer them in an e-library format where people can pay to subscribe.

Translator

For teachers who specialize in languages, you can make some extra money by offering translation services.

Online Coach

You can also share your knowledge with others on more of an ongoing basis by working as a coach or consultant with online clients.

Corporate Training

Or you can offer more specialized training to employees of companies. For instance, if you specialize in computers and technology, you could offer training on a particular type of software.

Music Lessons

For musically inclined teachers, you can use the summer months and after school hours to offer music lessons to students looking to play various instruments.

Fitness Instructor

You could also use your classroom savvy to teach fitness classes like yoga, pilates, spinning or barre.

Swimming Lessons

If you have access to a pool, you could also offer swimming lessons to customers, provided you have the right knowledge and training.

Caricature Artist

Artistically inclined teachers can spend the summer months setting up caricature stations at special events and offering to make customized portraits for customers.

Child Care

For those who miss being surrounded by kids throughout the summer, you can open your own day care from your home or just provide child care services to clients occasionally.

Summer Camp

You could even start your own summer camp where you invite kids to stay or just hang out during the day while you offer fun summertime activities.

Gardening

If you’re just looking for a relaxing business opportunity that allows you to spend time outside during the summer, you might want to consider offering gardening services.

Lawn Mowing

You could also build up a base of regular weekly customers by offering lawn mowing services to homeowners in your area.

Landscape Design

For those who want to go a little more in depth, you can offer landscaping or landscape design services to homeowners who want to redesign their outdoor spaces.

Pool Cleaning

Or you could invest in some basic equipment and offer pool cleaning services to clients who don’t want to deal with the hassle themselves.

Ice Cream Vendor

You could also spend the summer months selling frozen treats out of an ice cream truck or cart.

Dog Walker

If you want to spend your summer surrounded by cute animals, you could offer dog walking services to people in your neighborhood.

Car Wash

You might even consider offering car washing or detailing services to customers who want to make sure their vehicles look their best throughout the summer.

Farmers’ Market Vendor

If you grow or make various food items, you could rent booth space at a local farmers’ market and spend your summers selling your items to local consumers.

Vacation Rentals

Or maybe you enjoy traveling during the summer months. If so, you could take advantage of any extra space in your home and rent it out on sites like Airbnb.

Boat Rentals

If you have a boat or the ability to buy one, you could also offer boat rentals throughout the summer.

Bicycle Repairs

For those who are skilled with bicycle repairs, you could offer that as another service that’s particularly popular during the summer months.

Yard Sale Organizer

Summer is also a big time for yard sales. So you can help people in your city organize theirs in exchange for a fee, or you could even host your own.

Used Book Seller

For teachers that have accumulated large collections of old books, you could also start a business where you sell those books online.

Tour Guide

If you live in an area that’s popular with tourists, you could set up a tour guide business where you show people around various attractions during the summer.

Party Entertainer

Summer is also a big time for parties. So if you’re skilled with things like juggling, balloon sculpting or other types of party entertainment, you can offer your services to party hosts.

Handmade Business

If you’re looking for something that’s simple to get started and allows you to work at your own pace, make handmade items and sell them at craft fairs or on sites like Etsy.

Fair Food Vendor

You can also take advantage of all the fairs, festivals and similar events that take place during the summer months by starting a food business where you set up shop and offer fair food to event goers.

Photographer

For artistically inclined teachers, you could spend the summer months taking photos to sell or even providing photography services for weddings or other events.

Organizer

Many teachers also have strong organizational skills. So you could start a business offering organizational services to people looking to get their homes or offices organized.

Transportation Service

Or you could do something really simple like offer transportation services through platforms like Uber or even start your own brand offering services in your area.

Teacher Photo via Shutterstock

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