Snow removal can be big business. If you don’t have experience in the Midwest or Northeast, you might not think about snow much. Sure, Portland and Seattle get the occasional flurry or storm, but it’s nothing like what Bostonians deal with. If you are in an area that experiences cold winters, you know the potential of this side hustle.
The great thing about this hustle is that you really only need a good snow shovel to start. You also might want to have some salt or sand on hand, depending on the policies of your city. Once you start offering snow removal services, you might not be able to stop. When it’s freezing outside, people just want it taken care of. They’ll pay you $30 to $100 per driveway/walkway to have a couple more minutes to sip on their coffee. And if you’re in an area with lots of snow, you can count on repeat business. These reasons made snow removal a great contender for our Side Hustle Master List.
Concept | |
category | Maintenance |
Takeaways | Requires snow plow/snow blower, can require physical labor (shoveling), insurance policy. |
complexity lowhigh  | Capital Required lowhigh |
skill required lowhigh | time required lowhigh |
return potential lowhigh |
 | learn more |
Getting Down to Business
At first, you’ll still have to get the word out. You can go door to door in your neighborhood to start things off. You’ll get a list of houses that are interested in your services. Next, on the first big snow day, be outside with your flyers. As you start in on the work, others will see you and ask you to go shovel their snow. The hard part is to stick to your prices. If you want, you could say you’ll do just their walkway, free for the first time. That’s a good option for getting clients who might not have cash the first time they see you. On that note, consider taking Venmo or another cashless form of payment. With some work, you can build this into a good seasonal side hustle. Check out the links below for more information.