Profitable Side Hustles You Can Start Today

The rise of the hustle culture and why side hustles are the easiest way to get more cash in your pocket every month without feeling overwhelmed.

In the last ten years, the advice parents, professors and people we look up to have fed the average Nigerian graduate is:

“Get good grades —> graduate well —> find a good job —> and you’ll do well in life.”

Fast-forward to 2025, and that advice no longer holds up.

Rent is up.
Food is up.
Salaries? Not moving.

For many techies and professionals in Nigeria, one income is no longer enough.

They are forced to build multiple side hustles in their spare time to earn extra income or maintain their desired standard of living.

So, whether you’re working a 9-to-5 facing Lagos traffic

job-hunting after NYSC,

learning one tech skill or tired of relying solely on vibes and insha’Allah, stay glued to this post because we’re about to reveal three side hustles you can easily start in 2025 with low or no capital.

1. Freelance Writing

This is the art of turning words into real hard cash. You can easily build a profitable business offering your services- that’s if you are willing to learn and master the skill, though.

Writing is one of the easiest side hustles to start without any capital. If you can clearly communicate the value a product or service offers, tell stories, or have strong opinions, there’s a client out there for you.

If you’re looking for a way to start freelance writing in 2025, there are hundreds of FREE resources on YouTube, Udemy, and Alison that cover steps a beginner can use to make their first $50 online.

The best way to start making money writing is by posting your content online. Write something and hit that publish button. You can write on Medium, start your blog, or build a personal brand on social media ( X, Instagram, or TikTok).

The more content you put out there, the better your writing gets. Don’t get stuck in the tutorial hell, make sure you practice everything you learn, and what better way to do that than on a stage where you can test different ideas on real people who can give you instant feedback.

Editor’s Note: Focus on niches like tech, crypto, beauty, or health – these clients tend to pay more.

Also See: 5 Best Tech Communities You Can Join

Where to start:

• Sign up on platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Contra.
• Join Facebook groups like “Writers in Nigeria” or 
• Join the TopNotchVibe WhatsApp Community for hot remote job updates.

2. Affiliate Marketing

What if you could earn money anytime, anywhere in the world- even while you’re asleep?

That’s what affiliate marketing is in a nutshell.

This is a business model that allows an affiliate to earn a commission for marketing another person or company’s product.

The affiliate simply searches for a product they enjoy, then promotes that product and earns a piece of the profit from each sale they make. The sales are tracked via affiliate links from one website to another.

You can earn 10–20% commissions by becoming an affiliate for physical products like e-commerce brands, shortlet apartments, luxury scented candles, and beauty brands – simply by marketing their offers online.

Or…

You can as well earn 30–50% commissions as an affiliate for digital products like e-books, courses, masterminds, or event tickets, just by promoting things you already believe in online.

This is a smart way to stack passive income without feeling stressed over buying inventory or creating your own digital product

The best way to start earning as an affiliate is to look for products you’ve tried, or you have some sort of interest in, and hosted on trusted platforms- this way you are genuinely reccommending products you know, trust and like to your audience.

You can easily build a profitable business in three months or less, promoting products using social media content and ads and the sweet thing is that you only need to work for a couple of hours a day.

Where to start:

• Pick a niche (physical or digital products)
• Get a training to build the foundations of a winning affiliate business fast
• Pick a product on a trusted platform like Stakecut, Clickbank and our very own Affiliate platform (Coming soon…)

CLick Here to Watch A FREE Training on How to Start Earning This Week

3. Social Media Management:

This is a sweet gig where you get paid to create, edit, and publish content online to grow brands.

Small businesses across Nigeria are looking for help managing their Instagram pages and TikTok videos. If you know how to write captions, understand trends, or can design with Canva-you’re already ahead.

Even if you don’t know ho,w there are dozens of Free and Paid Courses to guide you through the basics to the point where you can help brands increase followers, build a relationship with their ideal customers, and in some companies you will be required to shoot content, and handle messages on social media.

Where to get started:

Get Free Courses on Hubspot, Google Digital Garage, and many others we will cover in another article.

Build a brand on social media to get hands on experience on how to be a successful social media manager.