If you’re looking to make an extra $1,000 a month in 2025, investing in the right side hustle can help you generate passive income while requiring minimal ongoing effort. These seven ideas are carefully selected based on emerging trends, low startup costs, and their potential for scalability. By investing $1,000 or less, you can start building income streams that run on their own. Here’s a breakdown of each hustle, along with estimated hours needed for success and the demand drivers behind each opportunity.
1. Automated Niche Dropshipping Business
Difficulty: 3/5 | Estimated Investment: $800–$1,000 | Estimated Monthly Return: $500–$2,000 (once scaled) | Hours per Week: 5–10
In niche dropshipping, you focus on specific, targeted products—such as eco-friendly products or unique gadgets—that appeal to a select audience. Platforms like Shopify, Oberlo, and Printful automate the majority of your business processes, from inventory management to fulfilment.
Why It’s Stable: Demand for niche products is growing as consumers become more selective and environmentally conscious. The key is finding the right market and building a trustworthy brand. Once the systems are set up, the business can largely run on its own with periodic updates and marketing.
Time Commitment: Initially, it will take 5–10 hours per week to set up the store, identify suppliers, and develop marketing strategies. After the initial setup, the time commitment reduces to 2–5 hours per week for customer service and marketing optimisation.
2. Print-on-Demand Custom Merchandise
Difficulty: 2/5 | Estimated Investment: $300–$600 | Estimated Monthly Return: $500–$1,500 | Hours per Week: 5–8
Print-on-demand (POD) allows you to create custom-designed merchandise like T-shirts, mugs, or phone cases, with no upfront inventory costs. Platforms such as Printful, Teespring, and Redbubble handle production and shipping, meaning you can focus on creating and marketing your designs.
Why It’s Stable: The POD model is highly scalable, and the demand for personalised products continues to rise. It’s especially lucrative in the gift, fashion, and home decor sectors, where people are constantly looking for unique or customisable products.
Time Commitment: The initial setup (designing products and creating a website) may take 5–8 hours per week. Once established, expect to spend 2–4 hours per week on social media marketing, updating designs, and responding to customer inquiries.
3. Airbnb Experience Host (Virtual or Local)
Difficulty: 3/5 | Estimated Investment: $500–$1,000 | Estimated Monthly Return: $1,000+ | Hours per Week: 5–10
Whether virtual or in-person, Airbnb Experiences allow you to offer unique activities such as cooking classes, nature tours, or creative workshops. With minimal upfront costs (mainly for equipment or materials), you can start monetising your expertise or passion.
Why It’s Stable: With more people seeking authentic, local experiences while travelling, and the rising popularity of virtual experiences, Airbnb is in high demand. This offers a direct way to capitalise on your knowledge or hobbies, while Airbnb takes care of the bookings.
Time Commitment: Preparing and hosting an experience typically takes around 5–10 hours per week, depending on the frequency of sessions. Virtual experiences require less physical effort, while local tours may involve travel time and logistics.
4. Real Estate Crowdfunding
Difficulty: 2/5 | Estimated Investment: $500–$1,000 | Estimated Monthly Return: $100–$500 | Hours per Week: 1–2
Real estate crowdfunding allows you to invest in property projects through platforms like BrickX or DomaCom in Australia. This lets you own a fraction of a property and earn passive income through dividends or rent without the need for large upfront capital.
Why It’s Stable: Real estate has always been a stable long-term investment, and crowdfunding makes it more accessible to everyday investors. With the property market continuing to show steady growth in Australia, this investment model is likely to remain strong.
Time Commitment: Once you’ve made your investment, your time commitment is minimal, around 1–2 hours per week for monitoring your investments and reviewing financial reports. The real work is done by the platform, leaving you with a more hands-off income stream.
5. Affiliate Marketing with a Niche Blog or YouTube Channel
Difficulty: 4/5 | Estimated Investment: $500–$1,000 | Estimated Monthly Return: $500–$2,000 (after 6–12 months) | Hours per Week: 10–15
Affiliate marketing involves promoting third-party products or services on a blog, YouTube channel, or social media platform. You earn a commission every time someone buys through your affiliate links. Investment typically goes toward website setup, domain hosting, and SEO tools, as well as basic equipment for content creation.
Why It’s Stable: As e-commerce and online shopping continue to grow, affiliate marketing remains a profitable venture, especially in niche markets. Content creation provides a long-term return once an audience is built.
Time Commitment: Setting up a blog or YouTube channel can take 10–15 hours per week to create valuable content and optimise it for search engines. Afterward, you’ll spend 5–8 hours per week creating and promoting new content.
6. Self-Publishing E-books and Audiobooks
Difficulty: 3/5 | Estimated Investment: $100–$500 | Estimated Monthly Return: $200–$1,000 | Hours per Week: 5–10
If you have a passion for writing, self-publishing e-books or audiobooks on platforms like Amazon Kindle and Audible is a great way to generate passive income. Costs mainly include editing, cover design, and any necessary marketing.
Why It’s Stable: The demand for e-books and audiobooks continues to grow, especially in niche genres such as self-help, educational material, or specific hobbies. Once written, books can earn royalties for years with little ongoing effort.
Time Commitment: The initial writing process can take 5–10 hours per week, but once your book is published, time investment reduces significantly to maintain and promote the book.
7. Automated Online Course Creation
Difficulty: 4/5 | Estimated Investment: $500–$1,000 | Estimated Monthly Return: $500–$2,000 | Hours per Week: 5–15
Online courses can be a fantastic way to monetise expertise in a particular field. Once created, the course runs on its own, providing passive income through platforms like Teachable or Udemy. The initial investment goes toward course creation tools, video equipment, and marketing.
Why It’s Stable: Online education is booming, with a growing demand for courses on everything from digital marketing to creative skills. Once set up, courses can generate income with minimal upkeep.
Time Commitment: Expect to spend 5–15 hours per week creating course content. After launch, the time commitment drops to around 2–4 hours per week for marketing and handling customer questions.
Conclusion
These seven side hustles offer unique opportunities to earn an extra $1,000 per month in 2025 with an initial investment of $1,000 or less. From automated dropshipping to self-publishing, these ideas cater to various interests and skill sets while providing solid long-term income potential. The key to success is consistent effort during the setup phase, after which the time commitment becomes minimal, allowing you to enjoy ongoing passive income streams.
