Editorial Note: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. It is written using our own original words, structure, explanations, commentary, insights, opinions, and understanding. Readers are encouraged to exercise discretion and conduct their own due diligence when evaluating any information presented on this site.
A blue-collar side hustle refers to a business venture that is hands-on and involves manual labor or skilled trades. It is one of the backbones of the working industry offering professionals the possibility of earning extra money with their craft.
Nowadays, when it comes to starting a side hustle, all the attention goes to being a YouTuber or a TikToker. But having blue-collar business ideas can be one of the best side hustles there is out there.
With the right strategy and knowledge, combined with the use of technology and digital marketing to expand your reach, establishing your own business can be a profitable journey and might even replace your 9-5 job.
Overview of Blue Collar Side Hustles
This is a table showing the best blue-collar side hustle ideas’s quick overview and comparison. For a more detailed discussion that includes their potential income and how to get started read more below:
| Blue Collar Side Hustles | Skill Level Required | Seasonality |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lawn Care and Landscaping | Medium | Seasonal (spring and summer) |
| 2. Handyman Services | High | Year-Round |
| 3. House Cleaning | Low | Year-Round |
| 4. Power Washing | Medium | Year-Round |
| 5. Pet Sitting | Low | Year-Round |
| 6. Local Moving Helper | Medium | Year-Round |
| 7. Junk Removal | Medium | Year-Round |
| 8. Snow Removal | Low to Medium | Seasonal (winter) |
| 9. Car Detailing and Repairs | High | Year-Round |
| 10. Painting | Medium | Year-Round |
| 11. Carpet Cleaning | Medium | Year-Round |
| 12. Window Cleaning | Medium | Year-Round |
| 13. Gutter Cleaning | Medium | Seasonal (autumn) |
| 14. Flea Market Flipping | Medium to High | Year-Round |
| 15. Pallet Flipping | Medium | Year-Round |
| 16. Pet Waste Removal | Low | Year-Round |
| 17. Christmas Light Installation and Removal | Medium | Seasonal (late autumn and winter) |
17 Blue Collar Side Hustle Ideas
1. Lawn Care and Landscaping
Overview: Lawn care refers to servicing outdoor spaces by maintaining and beautifying the yard. It can include tasks such as mowing the grass, weeding the gardens, trimming hedges, and making sure that the landscape looks its best for an extended period. You can also combine this with the landscaping business to provide more service.
Getting Started: To start your lawn care business, you will need some essential equipment such as a lawnmower (Ride-on or Push is fine), hedge trimmer, gloves, and a leaf blower for cleaning up after. To start your business, it can be a good idea to begin with your neighbors, friends, or family’s backyards and outdoor spaces.
Potential Earnings: The lawn care average earnings per hour are about $18.50, and it can only go up from there based on the number of backyards you are willing to service in a day.
Scaling Online: Having an online presence will make your business grow quicker, start by building a website where everyone can find your contact details and sign up for appointments. Then leverage social media such as Instagram and TikTok to post your before and after images or videos to attract customers.
2. Handyman Services
Overview: Handyman services can be a broad term that ranges from house repairs to maintenance tasks for homes and other businesses. You can fix faucets, assemble furniture, install appliances, and more based on your skills and trades.
Getting Started: Starting a blue-collar business idea such as a handyman business requires a diverse set of tools such as a hammer, screwdrivers, tape measure, and drills. The key is familiarity with common household problems and how to repair them via DIY solutions instead of more expensive ones.
Potential Earnings: The handyman’s average earnings per hour is about $22.50. The more experience you have the more you can charge for your services.
Scaling Online: Showing off your handyman skills is the key to expanding your own business in the world of social media. Use Pinterest and Instagram to show off your skills and make DIY videos on How-to’s around the house.
3. House Cleaning
Overview: One of the blue-collar business ideas is a house cleaning business, especially if you are someone who likes to clean and organize your surroundings. The tasks can include basic chores like dusting or vacuuming to harder ones such as cleaning the bathroom or kitchen. It’s all about providing your customers with a fresh environment.
Getting Started: Essential basic cleaning supplies include brooms, gloves, mops, vacuum cleaners, clothes, and scrubs. You should think about the quality of these tools instead of the quantity. Depending on your target audience, dressing up nicely can be a preferable way of presenting yourself professionally.
Potential Earnings: The House cleaner’s average earnings per hour is about $18. The key here is to target wealthier customers or neighborhoods, quickly increasing your wages.
Scaling Online: A house cleaning business can be scaled by creating a professional website containing testimonials from past clients. Being present on social media will help a lot too.
4. Power Washing
Overview: Power washing also known as pressure washing is a great blue-collar business idea. It refers to the use of high-pressure water spray that can remove all types of dirt, mold, grime, and all other unwanted surface pollution.
Getting Started: To start your blue-collar business, you might need a business license in some states or cities. But the most important thing is to have a high-quality pressure washer that can remove all types of dirt. It is essential to have protective gear too and some other helpful tools to remove dirt from surfaces.
Potential Earnings: Power washing average earnings per hour is about $19. To scale this up, be sure to find surfaces yourself that a client might want to be cleaned up. Do not wait to be asked to power wash certain spaces, offer it yourself.
Scaling Online: To enhance your pressure washing business consider going on Thumbtack or HomeAdvisor to be connected to some clients a great professional website is always helpful to your blue-collar business ideas.
5. Pet Sitting
Overview: Pet sitting is one of the most popular blue-collar business ideas that focuses on taking care of pets, usually while the owner is absent or has an errand to attend to. It might include walking the pet, feeding them, getting their medications, and more based on which pet it is.
Getting Started: Diving into this blue-collar business is not only profitable but enjoyable, not to mention that you don’t need anything to start since pet sitting is a low-cost business. Usually, the owners will provide you with all the tools you need such as a leash, unless you need multiple leashes for multiple pets then bring your own. Also, consider pet waste removal as another option with it.
Potential Earnings: The pet sitter’s average earnings per hour is about $19.30. If you can handle more pets by yourself, it can be good money., but always talk to the owners first if they are fine with you taking care of multiple pets.
Scaling Online: Given the nature of the business, word of mouth will be ideal to scale it up, but putting those words online will be a better idea. It can serve as testimonials to get more clients. Put images and videos of you with their pets online and let them see your excellent customer service.
Related: 27 ‘Side Hustle’ for College Students: Opportunities to Explore
6. Local Moving Helper
Overview: Blue-collar businesses such as local moving helper is vital in the community but it is not for everyone. This blue-collar business idea stands out as a timely and practical solution for those people who are looking to move. The job can include lifting boxes full of the client’s properties and then driving them off to the new location.
Getting Started: Kicking off your own business like this might require a business license depending on where you live. After that, a powerful vehicle will be necessary. You also might need some basic equipment such as work gloves, straps, and protective padding. Building a team might also benefit your business.
Potential Earnings: A Local moving helper’s average earnings per hour is about $20. The longer the location is the more you can charge. You can also charge based on how heavy the properties are. Combine it with other blue-collar business ideas such as junk removal business can add to your income.
Scaling Online: Consider signing up to Thumbtack and uHaul’s Moving Help Marketplace to gain your first clients. Then make a website and use Google Ads and Facebook Ads to advertise your services to gain more clients.
7. Junk Removal
Overview: Junk Removal is a key blue-collar service in a world full of things we buy but don’t need. The demand for junk removal will never go away, whether it is helping homeowners throw away their stuff, or assisting businesses in cleaning up after their job. A junk removal business will always be needed in the community.
Getting Started: To start your junk removal business or waste management business, you will need a vehicle that can haul this garbage out. You won’t need any special skills but a basic knowledge of waste segregation can help to manage the waste ethically and legally.
Potential Earnings: Junk removal’s average earnings per hour is about $18. In this side hustle, quantity is the key to earning more.
Scaling Online: To scale online, it is best to have a simple website that contains all the necessary contact details and an easy way to book an appointment for junk removal. Combining this business with other ones too can help such as the carpet cleaning business. The more services the better the business’s online presence can be.
8. Snow Removal
Overview: Snow removal is a seasonal venture that can be a highly profitable blue-collar business. If you reside in snowy countries such as Canada and the northern part of the USA, then this business idea is highly in demand. Due to heavy amounts of snow that can fall in some places, homeowners and property holders need a helping hand in clearing up their pathways, sidewalks, and roads.
Getting Started: To start your snow removal business, investing in high-quality equipment is key. For small snowfalls, a snow shovel and some salt might be all that you need. But during peak season, having the right tools and equipment to clean up larger driveways and commercial properties is key to more profit.
Potential Earnings: Snow removal’s average earnings per hour is about $21. Keep in mind that you can only do this side hustle during the winter season but the number of jobs during that time will be enough to gain significant profit.
Scaling Online: Having a website that contains testimonials on your service-based business will be the key to scaling it up. Blue-collar workers will need good feedback from their past clients to attract even more customers. The same principle applies online to snow removal businesses whether it makes use of a website or social media account.
9. Car Detailing and Repairs
Overview: If you love cars then you know that their appearance plays a vital role in people liking their cars. This is why a simple car detailing service can be a profitable blue-collar business. Offering both repairs, if you have the skills, together with the detailing can make it a full-time business operation.
Getting Started: Starting a car detailing service can be a blend of skills and knowledge about cars and how to clean them. For detailing, investing in high-quality cleaning supplies is necessary. If offering a car repair service or including a small engine repair business, it might be a little harder to start since you will need experience of your own already to service different car engines. Also, you might need a space to operate if the car owners do not like or have a parking lot to clean their cars.
Potential Earnings: Car detailing’s average earnings per hour is about $16. If you include repairs it will considerably go up, also the better the cars you service the higher the charge you can do.
Scaling Online: Scaling online means making extra money for car detailing businesses. One of the best ways is to post a video of you cleaning a car on YouTube or TikTok. Then do not forget to link your contact details with the post. Also, include before and after images to attract viewers to become customers.
10. Painting
Overview: Painting is one of the best low-cost business ideas in this list. Homes and renovation of commercial spaces will need to paint their walls or usually at least want to, making painting one of the high-demand blue-collar jobs. The job is to revive a boring room or to make a new one lively. It is a combination of art and business.
Getting Started: To start your painting business, all you need is your skills together with some brushes and paint. For the paint, it usually is provided by the client based on which color or brand they want. A painting starter kit can also be helpful, including different sizes of brushes, drop clothes, and a ladder.
Potential Earnings: The painting business’s average earnings per hour is about $23. The more high-profile the client is the higher the potential earnings are. Commercial buildings pay way more to paint than homes.
Scaling Online: A painting business will benefit from having a website and a strong online presence. This can include other social media accounts connected to the website and even blogs. Being an authority in the field will make the business land more clients.
Related: How To Start Freelancing With No Experience
More Blue Collar Side Hustles
11. Carpet Cleaning
Potential Earnings: A carpet cleaner makes about $18.50 per hour.
A clean carpet is a must for both residential and commercial spaces. It will require expertise in how to clean a specific type of carpet to remove dirt, stains, bacteria, or even insects in some cases. It is a blue-collar side hustle that has constant demand, especially if you are in populated cities with lots of households area.
12. Window Cleaning
Potential Earnings: A window cleaner makes about $18.50 per hour.
Every house and building has windows. Some will require an expert to clean it, such as tall buildings or windows on the top floor of a house. So, this job will require both physical and mental strength as it will involve cleaning the windows at heights.
13. Gutter Cleaning
Potential Earnings: A gutter cleaner makes about $18.54 per hour.
Cleaning the gutter is essential to maintain the health of a building’s roof and drainage system. That is why it will always be in demand too, however, most of the building owners only ask for the services of a gutter cleaning expert during the autumn season when the leaves fill out their drains. It will also require experts to not fear heights and be comfortable with ladders.
14. Flea Market Flipping
Potential Earnings: A flea market flipping side hustle can earn about $60 per hour.
Flea market flipping will require expertise to notice the real value of an item or object. For those who are not familiar, it is when someone buys an undervalued item in an auction, garage sale, or flea market to then resell it for a much higher price. It has the potential a for high profit margin, but will also require some initial investments to buy those items.
15. Pallet Flipping
Potential Earnings: A pallet flipper makes about $17.08 per hour.
Just like flea market flipping, pallet flipping involves purchasing wooden pallets that are used but still reliable. Then it has to be refurbished and repaired if necessary before selling it for a higher price. This side hustle idea is for those with basic woodworking skills that they can use to make sure that the pallet is usable.
16. Pet Waste Removal
Potential Earnings: A pet waster remover can make about $18.50 per hour.
Pet waste removal is a good side hustle if you are someone who likes pets, however, it is more about cleaning the spaces where they play and throw their waste. This can include backyards, front yards, gardens, and sometimes public spaces. A good pet remover should ensure that they are not only clean but safe for the pets to come back and play in the same spaces.
17. Christmas Light Installation and Removal
Potential Earnings: A Christmas light installation side hustle can earn about $24 per hour.
This is a very seasonal blue-collar side hustle as it will only be profitable during late autumn until the new year. It is very important to homeowners and sometimes companies who like to decorate their buildings and commercial spaces. This side hustle will require some basic electronic knowledge, as well as design and comfort with height because some of those Christmas trees are way too tall.
Frequently Asked Question
What is a blue-collar business?
Blue-collar business refers to business ventures that involve manual labor or hands-on services. The term blue collar refers to the uniforms that are often worn by workers in these types of businesses. Nowadays, the original term does not even represent the actual job or business. Some blue-collar business ideas include the woodworking business, pest control business, pool cleaning business, gutter cleaning business, and a lot more.
Author's Final Thoughts
The world is full of opportunities to start a side hustle and turn it into a profitable business. Yes, it will not make the same income as a job in its early stages or might not even reach it. But you get to work for yourself, on your own terms at your own hours.
Daily Recommended Resources
Affiliate Disclosure: This section contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click one, we may earn a commission at no cost to you.