6 realistic ways to work online from home. From video editing to social media management; practical tips to get started with working from home.
Rogier Rijnja09/06/2026
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How do you start working online?
Online work sounds appealing to many people. You can work from home, have no commute time, and some forms of online work can be built up alongside your job or studies. But "online work" is quite broad. One person edits videos, another manages social media, gives tutoring, or sells digital products. This makes it difficult to know where to start. Below you'll find six realistic ways to work online. No vague promises about getting rich quick, but simply: what do you do, how do you start, how much time does it take, and what can you earn from it?
1. Video editor
What will you do?
As a video editor, you edit raw footage into a clear video. You cut out bad parts, put fragments in the right order, add subtitles, choose music and make sure the video is pleasant to watch. This can be for YouTubers, businesses, coaches, TikTokkers, podcasts or brands that need videos for social media. Especially short videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are popular.
What do you need to know?
You don't need to be a creative filmmaker right away. In the beginning, it's more important that you can make videos clear and tight. You mainly need to learn how to maintain pace in a video, how to add good subtitles, how to cut out unnecessary parts and how to build a video logically. Many beginners use too many effects. Customers usually mainly want the video to feel clear, smooth and professional.
How do you start?
Start with free tools like CapCut or DaVinci Resolve. Then choose one type of video to practice with, for example short social videos or podcast clips. First make 5 sample videos. These can be videos of yourself, friends or practice material. Then you have something to show to potential customers.
A smart first step is to approach local entrepreneurs, small creators or sports clubs. For example, offer to edit one short video cheaply or for free in exchange for permission to use it in your portfolio.
How much money do you need to invest?
You can start with €0 if you already have a laptop. You can use CapCut and DaVinci Resolve for free. Later you might pay for better software, stock music, cloud storage or a faster laptop. But you don't need that in the beginning.
How much time does it take to start?
Count on about 20 to 40 hours of practice before you can make something you can charge money for. If you only work in the evenings or weekends, you can build a simple portfolio within 4 to 6 weeks.
How much can you earn?
As a beginner you can think of €15 to €30 per hour. You can also ask fixed prices, for example €25 to €75 for a short video, depending on the length and difficulty. As you get better and faster, you can grow towards €40 to €70 per hour. Especially editors who understand short-form video well and can deliver quickly can become interesting for businesses and creators.
2. Social media manager
What will you do?
As a social media manager you manage the social media channels of a business, entrepreneur or brand. You come up with posts, write captions, schedule content, sometimes respond to messages and see which content works well. You work on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook or Pinterest for example. For small businesses you're often a kind of all-in-one person: you think along about ideas, make simple visuals, write texts and schedule everything.
What do you need to know?
You need to understand how social media works. Not just scrolling yourself, but really understanding why certain content resonates. What makes a good hook? Why does someone keep watching? Which posts generate responses?
In addition, you need to be able to plan and write. Many businesses mainly want to be consistently visible, but don't have time for it themselves. If you can bring structure, you're quickly valuable. You don't need to be an expert in all platforms right away. Rather choose one or two channels you become good at, for example Instagram and TikTok, or LinkedIn for business customers.
How do you start?
Start by practicing on your own account or create a sample account around a topic. Show that you can come up with, write and schedule content. Then you can approach small businesses. Think of hairdressers, physiotherapy practices, restaurants, personal trainers, coaches or local shops. Many of those businesses know they need to do "something with social media", but have no time or idea what to post. Make your offer concrete. For example: "I create and schedule 8 Instagram posts per month including captions." That's clearer than "I help with social media".
How much money do you need to invest?
You can start almost for free. You mainly need a laptop or phone. Useful tools are Canva for visuals, Meta Business Suite for scheduling and possibly Later, Buffer or Metricool. Canva has a free version and many scheduling tools have free or cheap starter options.
How much time does it take to start?
Count on 20 to 40 hours to learn the basics, make examples and build a simple offer. If you do this in the evenings or weekends, you can be ready within 4 to 6 weeks to look for your first small customer.
How much can you earn?
As a beginner you can think of €150 to €400 per month per customer for simple management, for example a few posts per month. For more extensive packages with strategy, content creation and reporting this can increase. If you work per hour, as a starter you can think of €20 to €35 per hour. With experience, better results and business customers you can grow towards €50 per hour or more.
The advantage is that you can build recurring income with monthly customers. The disadvantage is that customers often expect quick results, while social media usually needs time.
3. Online community manager
What will you do?
As an online community manager you manage an online group for a brand, business, course, platform or creator. Think of a Facebook group, Discord server, Slack community, WhatsApp community or member environment. You make sure the group stays active. You answer questions, start conversations, share updates, keep the atmosphere good and make sure people feel welcome. So it's not just "answering messages". You help keep an online group alive.
What do you need to know?
This work fits well with people who are social, can write well and sense what's happening in a group. You need to be able to respond calmly, even when someone is critical or impatient. In addition, you need to be able to bring structure. A good community has clear rules, fixed moments and messages that provoke response.
How do you start?
Start by becoming active yourself in online communities. Look closely at how good moderators respond, which posts get many reactions and how discussions are guided. Then you can start small. For example by managing a community for a local club, small entrepreneur, course maker or niche group.
Make a simple offer for yourself, such as: "I help with managing your online community by answering questions, starting conversations and keeping members active." That's clearer than just saying you do "something with community management".
How much money do you need to invest?
Almost nothing. You mainly need a laptop and internet. Most tools, like Discord, Facebook groups, Slack or WhatsApp, are free or paid for by the client.
How much time does it take to start?
Count on about 20 to 30 hours to learn the basics. You need to understand platforms, look at examples and learn how to activate conversations. If you do this alongside your job, you can be ready within 3 to 4 weeks to look for your first small assignment.
How much can you earn?
As a beginner you can think of €20 to €35 per hour. With more experience, more responsibility or larger communities this can increase. The disadvantage is that community management often requires attention spread throughout the week. You can't do everything on one Sunday afternoon, because members also ask questions during weekdays.
4. Online tutor or private teacher
What will you do?
As an online tutor you give tutoring via video calling. This can be in school subjects like math, English, Dutch, economics or chemistry. But it can also be about study skills, exam training, languages or music. You help someone understand the material better. That doesn't mean you just repeat the book. You see where someone gets stuck and explain it in an easier way.
What do you need to know?
You need to be good at a subject AND be able to explain it simply. That second part is important. Some people understand a subject well themselves, but can't convey it calmly. A good tutor stays patient, asks questions and notices when someone doesn't understand something.
How do you start?
First choose one subject and one target group. For example math for lower secondary school, English for final exam students or economics for vocational students. Then make a short profile explaining who you help and with what. You can start via tutoring platforms, local Facebook groups, LinkedIn or your own network. Also prepare a simple trial lesson. This way you can show how you explain and discover if there's a connection.
How much money do you need to invest?
Almost nothing. You need a laptop, internet and possibly a headset. For online explanation you can use free tools like Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams or an online whiteboard.
How much time does it take to start?
This is one of the fastest ways to start online. Count on 10 to 20 hours to make your offer, collect practice material, create a profile and prepare your first lesson. If you work in the evenings or weekends, you can be ready within 2 to 3 weeks to help your first student.
How much can you earn?
As a beginner you can think of €15 to €25 per hour. If you have experience, teach difficult subjects or offer exam training, you can ask more. The advantage is that you can start quickly and get paid directly per hour. The disadvantage is that your income remains dependent on your available hours.
5. Online customer service employee
What will you do?
As an online customer service employee you answer customer questions via chat, email, phone or social media. You help with orders, returns, appointments, invoices, technical problems or complaints for example. This is often the most practical way to start working online quickly, because you don't first need to find customers yourself.
What do you need to know?
You need to be able to communicate clearly, stay calm and respond politely. Even when someone is angry or impatient. In addition, you need to be able to work well with systems. Often you need to look up customer data, check orders and record answers. You usually don't need years of experience. Many companies train you in their systems and products.
How do you start?
Here you usually don't need to build a portfolio. You just look for remote customer service vacancies. Use search terms like remote customer service, work from home customer service, customer support employee, chat support employee or online customer service. Adapt your CV to customer contact, communication and reliability. Experience in hospitality, retail or administration can also help, because you've often worked with customers there already.
How much money do you need to invest?
Usually little to nothing. You need a quiet workplace, good internet connection and sometimes a headset. Some employers provide a laptop or headset, others expect you to have basic equipment yourself.
How much time does it take to start?
This is less a "building up" route and more an application route. Count on 10 to 20 hours for searching vacancies, adapting CV, applying and preparing interviews. If you get hired, you learn the work during the company's training.
How much can you earn?
As an employee you often earn a normal starting salary. Think roughly €2,300 to €3,000 gross per month, depending on your experience, age, employer and hours. The advantage is that you can start relatively quickly and take little risk. The disadvantage is that it's less free than some people think. You often have fixed working hours, targets and systems you need to work with.
6. Selling e-books or digital products
What will you do?
With digital products you make something once and then sell it online. Think of an e-book, planner, template, Notion dashboard, fitness schedule, application guide, travel planning, budget sheet or social media template. The big advantage is that you don't need inventory. You don't need to ship anything and your product can be delivered automatically after someone pays.
What do you need to know?
You mainly need to be able to solve a concrete problem. Many people think too quickly: "I'm going to write an e-book." But a good digital product doesn't start with what you want to make. It starts with what someone else needs.
Examples:
- A student wants to write a motivation letter faster
- A starter wants overview of their money
- A freelancer wants a simple invoice template
- A traveler wants a handy packing list
The more concrete the problem, the easier your product sells.
How do you start?
Don't start with an 80-page product. Start small. Choose one target group and one problem. Then make a simple product that solves that problem. For example a checklist, template or short guide. You can make the product in Canva, Google Docs, Notion, Excel or PowerPoint. You can sell via platforms like Gumroad, Payhip, Etsy or your own website.
Then create content around the problem. If you sell a budget sheet for example, you make posts about saving money, keeping overview and financial mistakes. This way you attract people who need your product.
How much money do you need to invest?
You can start with €0 to €50. Canva, Google Docs, Notion and Excel are often free or you already have them. Platforms like Gumroad or Payhip usually only charge costs when you sell something. If you want to work more professionally, you can later invest in your own website, advertisements or better software. But you don't need that to start.
How much time does it take to start?
Count on 20 to 50 hours to come up with, make, test and put online a simple digital product. If you only work in the evenings or weekends, you can have your first product live within 4 to 8 weeks. Most work is not in making it, but in sharpening the problem and promoting your product.
How much can you earn?
This varies enormously. A small digital product often costs between €5 and €30. A more extensive e-book, template package or mini-course can cost between €30 and €100. In the beginning you might earn little or nothing. Digital products only work well when you also have traffic via social media, SEO, a newsletter or advertisements. The advantage is that it's scalable. You don't need to sell again every hour. The disadvantage is that you first need to invest time without guarantee that someone will buy it.
Online working is possible, but stay realistic
Online working is not a quick shortcut to easy money. You still need to be able to do or make something that someone wants to pay for. But you also don't need to quit your job right away or invest thousands of euros. Start small. Choose one direction. Practice for a few weeks. Get your first profile, portfolio, application or product ready. And then test if the work really suits you.
About the author Rogier Rijnja
Rogier is co-founder van Findmino. Hij heeft veel internationale ervaring in senior management rollen in bedrijven als Nike, Apple, Amazon, Danone en een paar Nederlandse merken. Naast business is hij geïnteresseerd in wat Nederland nou zo mooi maakt.
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The information on this page is meant as general inspiration. We share links to third-party websites that may interest you, but we cannot guarantee that the content is always up-to-date, accurate or safe.
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