How to Make $1000 in a Day (Yes, As In 24 Hours)

Wanting to earn $1,000 in a day is an admirable goal, and we all have our reasons. 

Maybe you have an emergency expense. 

Maybe you’re amped for a fancy new iPhone release. 

Or maybe you’re just a high roller and need funds to cover a first-class flight to the Maldives ASAP.

Whatever your motives, today we’ll cover how to make $1,000 in a day with realistic strategies. 

I’ve personally used a combination of these methods to build a five-figure per month income, and I’ve met people having success in every one of these methods.

Let’s dive in.

How to make $1000 TODAY

Trying to make 1,000 dollars in 24 hours is tough, but it can be done. 

Many of these are one-and-done strategies — as in, they can make $1,000 in a day, but not necessarily every single day.

Also, not every strategy is a good fit for everyone, so pick and choose whichever feels best. 

And if none of these ideas feel feasible for your situation, consider starting with a less daunting goal, like trying to save $5,000 in three months.

So, ready to think outside the box and work hard to make this money? Then LET’S GO.

Sell your stuff  

There are hordes of people who scour the internet, local newspapers, and social media for yard and garage sales. 

If your home is full of stuff you don’t need and your bank account is sitting on empty, then this is probably the best way to make money fast.

Host a yard sale is Saturday when all the hardcore buyers are hunting for deals. The earlier you can start, the better.

As far as advertising, go big or go home.

✔️ Post in newspapers (yes, people still check them).
✔️ Post signs in your yard and poles in foot-traffic areas (yes, people still drive around hunting for signs). 
✔️ Post on the YardSaleSearch and GarageSaleFinger websites.

And most importantly, post your more expensive items (say, $25 and up) on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay. 

Depending on what you have for sale, it’s certainly possible to rack up $1,000 in a day — heck, with some big-ticket items (and some luck), you might even make $1,000 in an hour. 

Earn a commission

It’s possible to earn ginormous commissions with referral marketing. The two most feasible ways to make $1,000 today would be:

1. Headhunting
2. High-ticket affiliate marketing

Headhunting sounds super slick, but all it really means is helping an employer find an employee.

Recruiting is expensive, and many companies offer big incentives for the person who refers the winning candidate.

I’ve seen offers up to $5,000 helping fill higher-level roles.

Another strategy is affiliate marketing. Many expensive online courses pay up to 50% commissions for referrals. 

If you joined an affiliate program for a $1,000 online course paying 50% commissions, you’d only need to find two people in your network that could benefit from the course. 

Unfortunately, with one day, you can’t really vet the course to see how good it is.

It’s usually best to only recommend things that you have personal experience with.

But if you’ve taken an awesome course in the past, take a second to check if there is an affiliate program. If there is, sign up, and think of other people who it would help. 

Ask for a raise

As far as this list goes, this option is the most terrifying for most people. 

Many of us go to great lengths to avoid our boss. I’m just as guilty. (Luckily, my only boss these days is my wife).

That said, it’s the most realistic option for most people. 

To make $1,000, you’ll need to ask for an extra $20 per week (or $0.50 per hour) — that’s what a $1,000 annual raise boils down to. 

Keep in mind you likely won’t get this raise in one chunk, it’ll be spread across every paycheck. 

There is also the chance that your employer will say “no”. And that’s ok. You tried. 

If that happens, you have to ask yourself if your current employer values your work as much as they should. If not, it may be wise to start looking for a new one.

Speaking of which, many companies offer new hire bonuses of $1,000 or more. 

Win the money (not the best plan)

I certainly don’t recommend gambling as a wise way to make $1000 in a day. But this guide wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t at least mention it!

How to make $1000 dollars in a day

There is a big difference between ways to make $1,000 today and how to make $1,000 in a day. 

“Today” implies NOW. As in, you’re forced to work with what you have at this second.

“In a day”, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily mean today. It gives you a little leeway to prepare and build some high-income skills. 

When you have this kind of leeway, making a grand in a day doesn’t have to be a one-off occasion. 

It’s repeatable.

Let’s look at some realistic ways to do it. 

Freelance

Freelancing your skills can be a lucrative career path, especially for in-demand skills. 

Most people who get into entry-level freelance gigs like writing, proofreading, and virtual assistant jobs start at more humble income levels, but certain skills are possible to level up. 

For example, the average freelance writer with little experience can easily earn $0.03 per word. With speedy typing fingers, $10-$20 per hour is feasible.

But as you build a portfolio, make a name for yourself, land bigger clients, and speed up your writing process, your income can skyrocket. 

My record is $750 in a normal 8-hour workday, earning $250 per 1,000-word article. 

If I chugged more coffee and pulled a double-shift, that $1,000 milestone would be history. 

I don’t recommend this — as your brain will eventually turn to mush — but it’s certainly possible to make 1,000 dollars in 24 hours of freelance writing. 

If you want to learn how to get started, check out the free course I made below:

If writing isn’t your jam, you’ve got other options.

What about taking a few days to learn how to create basic WordPress websites? Youtube is full of free tutorials. 

If you charged $350 per site and streamlined your process to finish one site every three hours, you’d crack $1,000 in a day.  

It’s also possible to do something like this without even learning any new skills, which we’ll cover shortly. 

Again, these things don’t happen overnight. But if you’re in it for the long haul, you can freelance your way to $1000 days (and six-figure salaries). 

Amazon FBA

Amazon FBA stands for “Fulfilled by Amazon.”

It’s a business model where you ship your inventory to Amazon warehouses, and they take care of the rest (storage, order fulfillment, customer service, etc.).

Since you can handle everything from your computer, this makes a good job for digital nomads.

It’s also very scalable, meaning $1,000 in a day isn’t out of the question.

For example, say you have 10 different products listed for sale in 5 different countries. 

If you have an average profit margin of $20 per sale, you’d only need to sell 10 units per day per country. 

10 product types 
x 10 units per day 
x 5 countries 
x $20 profit per sale 
= $1,000 per day

This is just a hypothetical example, but you can see that the math isn’t that crazy. 

If this type of online business model interests you, I recommend checking out this free Amazon FBA course.

And if you’re worried that the market is oversaturated, see: Is Amazon FBA worth it still?

Drop Servicing

The drop servicing business model is a form of digital service arbitrage. 

That’s just a fancy way of saying you’re a middleman  (or woman) who connects freelancers with clients. 

For example, as a drop servicer, you might sell animation video packages to businesses for $1,500 each, then outsource the work to a freelancer for $500. 

If you close one sale, that’s $1,000 profit in your pocket.

The three keys to success in drop servicing are:

1. Finding a service to offer with high margins.
2. Building a team of reliable freelancers.
3. Mastering the art of the sale. 

In the end, you act as a salesperson and project manager (both of which you can eventually outsource!). 

You don’t necessarily need any experience to become a drop servicer. But if you want some hand-holding, here are some free and paid drop servicing courses to get you started. 

Blogging

As with any of these reputation-based businesses, you will not make $1,000 overnight with blogging.

It takes blood, sweat, tears, and a buttload of front-loaded effort. 

But once things start to snowball, it’s extremely powerful. There are no income limits. 

For example, here are some travel bloggers who make money — good money — and there are many other more lucrative niches. 

In fact, you can make money blogging about TONS of different topics. 

And there are many different paths to $1,000 per day.

The creator of my favorite blogging course makes over $100k per month (over $3k per day) solely from ads. (I highly recommend his free course. You can also check out my full Fat Stacks bundle review for a sneak peek behind his paid training). 

Other bloggers earn with affiliate marketing. Other from sponsorships. Others from selling physical or digital products. 

And many bloggers combine all these income streams together to make $1k a day (and beyond). 

Retail Arbitrage (AKA “Flipping Stuff”)

We’ve already covered selling your stuff to make $1k fast. But what if you don’t have anything good to sell?

Well, you have to go out and find it. Find deals, then resell at a profit.

People make a full-time living doing this, often working part-time. Here’s an example:

The video above focuses on smaller items, which can add up if you have enough margin and volume. 

But to make $1000 in a day, you’d have to flip big items, like cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, or other big-ticket items.

This isn’t something you’d finish all in one single day. But you could feasibly hit your goal in one day’s worth of work, spread over multiple days (searching for and buying something, listing it online, meeting with buyers to sell it). 

One of my friends started this flipping model while he was still a young buck in high school. All he had was a single snowmobile. 

Today, he’s grown to a large warehouse full of vehicles — from cars to quads to speed boats — and earns well over six figures. 

Just note that if you decide to flip vehicles, make sure you’re following the laws wherever you live. Depending on what you sell, you may need a dealer’s license after a certain amount. 

Coaching and consulting

Consultants and coaches can charge a pretty penny for their expertise — from hundreds to thousands of dollars per hour. 

In fact, I literally just paid an expat tax consultant $125 for 30 minutes of her time.

✔️ At $100 per hour consults, you’d need to book 10 calls in a day.
✔️ At $250 per hour, you’d need 4 calls. 
✔️ At $500 per hour, 2 calls. 

But why would someone ever pay you hundreds of dollars for one hour?

The answer — your knowledge on a certain topic may help them solve a problem worth far more than a couple hundred dollars. 

In the case of my tax consult, that $125 30-minute call could save me tens of thousands of dollars per year. 

If you’re a coach that can help a client overcome a personal, professional, or psychological stumbling block, that is extremely valuable.

Now, for this to work, you need to be capable of providing this kind of value. 

Think about the accomplishments and experiences you’re most proud of. Could you help others do the same?

For me, that might be moving to a new country, “van lifing” around the country and making money from a van, or building a profitable Youtube channel.

If you can’t think of anything, it might be time to put yourself out there and start building more experiences!

Sell popular seasonal products

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Valentine’s Day!

According to the National Retail Federation, holiday spending hit $886 billion in 2021.

Why shouldn’t you get in on this action? 

One way to do so is by selling seasonal products on online marketplaces like Etsy. 

Etsy is known for handmade crafty items — which make great seasonal products — but that’s only one strategy. 

You can also create digital products to sell on Etsy if you don’t want to hassle with shipping and order fulfillment. 

Either way, if you offer a trending seasonal product, the surge in sales can add up to well over $1,000. 

To help you get started, this free eBook shows the best-selling products to sell each month of the year.

I also took one of the most comprehensive Etsy printable courses on the market, and you can see my full review here.

Is it realistic to make $1k in a day?

By now, it should be obvious that making $1,000 in 24 hours is possible.

But just because it’s possible, doesn’t mean it’s easy.

If this all sounds a bit overwhelming and out of reach, you can always start with a smaller goal, and then work your way up.

For example, here’s how to make $400 fast with 13 different strategies.

While there is some overlap, there are also several ideas that don’t require as much skill.

Frequently asked questions