Although “going green” seems to be the way of the future, the customer’s transition to buying green products and services is not moving at record speed. If you know a thing or two about paid internet marketing and are comfortable with Google, a great way to make some extra income as a side business idea is to sign a freelance contract to manage a company’s Google Ad Campaigns , and gradually start bringing on more clients as your consulting business grows.

If you want to step your Amazon selling game up, check out this detailed guide to Amazon and eBay retail arbitrage on Entrepreneur featuring an interview with Julie Becker and several drop-shippers who’ve grown this home based business idea from side business idea into a lucrative money-maker.

If you’ve always wanted to design and make clothes by hand , then you can start turning those fashion ideas into real, hand-sewn garments and earn a little bit with this side business idea while you sleep and customers from around the world browse your Etsy & Amazon stores.

55 Startup companies, particularly those associated with new technology, sometimes produce huge returns to their creators and investors—a recent example of such is Google , whose creators became billionaires through their stock ownership and options.

Lay out clearly what services or products you’ll provide to the customer to avoid scope creep (them continually asking for more free work.) And, tell them explicitly what you hope to get out of the transaction – referrals or a testimonial if you do a good job.