/ ideas
What Service Should I Offer? Start From 400 Ready-Made Ideas
The hardest part of listing a service is the empty form. Gig now opens with 400 starter listings you can tap, edit and post. The idea gets you started. Whether it's the right one is still your call.
The short answer: on Gig, open the Profile tab, tap Edit, then Add Service. The first row in the sheet is Browse service ideas: 400 starter listings, 200 Classic and 200 Unique, across 16 categories. Tap one and the title, description and price type fill in, plus a typical US price if your listing is in US dollars. Change it until it describes what you actually do, then post it. The list helps you choose. It does not tell you whether anyone near you will book it.
Where the ideas are
- Open the Profile tab and tap Edit.
- Tap Add Service.
- Tap Browse service ideas, the row that reads "Pick one to fill in the details, then make it yours."
- Pick a tab, filter by category, or type in Search ideas. A search looks across both tabs and every category at once.
- Tap an idea. You land back on the form with it filled in.
The row appears when you add a new listing, not when you edit one. The ideas come in your app's language, in all 18 that Gig supports.
Classic or Unique
Classic is the familiar work: house cleaning, deep cleaning, dog walking, babysitting, TV mounting, gardening, Spanish lessons, tech help. Unique is the narrower work that rarely gets a listing of its own: a fridge cleanout, knife sharpening, chair recaning, holiday light hanging, line standing, a lost pet search, hosting a trivia night.
The 16 categories are Cleaning, Repairs, Yard & garden, Moving, Pets, Kids & family, Food, Errands, Lessons, Fitness, Beauty, Cars & bikes, Events, Tech, Photo & design, and Work & business.
The trade-off is the one you'd guess. A classic job is one people already know to search for, and one plenty of others already offer. A unique job has less company and fewer people looking. Which wins depends on what's already on offer near you.
What a tap fills in
| Field | What fills in |
|---|---|
| Title | One job, named plainly, such as "Dryer vent cleaning" |
| Description | A few sentences in the first person, as if you wrote them |
| Price type | Fixed, Starting at, or Hourly, whichever suits the job |
| Price | A typical US rate, only when the listing is in US dollars. Otherwise it stays blank |
If you'd already typed your own title, description or price, Gig asks first: "Replace what you wrote?" Nothing you wrote is swapped out until you tap Replace, and everything stays editable after.
One detail is deliberate. The descriptions never say licensed, insured, certified or "ten years of experience." Those are claims only you can make, so add them yourself, and only if they're true.
How to choose one
Four hundred options is its own kind of blank page. Narrow it with four questions.
- What do you already do well for other people? Not what you could learn, but what friends already ask you to help with. That's the work you can describe precisely and price without guessing.
- What does it cost to start? Dog walking needs a leash and comfortable shoes. Holiday light hanging needs a ladder you trust. Carpet cleaning may need a machine you'd rent or buy. Start with what you already own.
- What do people near you look for? Search Gig for the service in your own area. See who already offers it, what they charge and how specific their listings are. Ten generic listings means you'll need a sharper one. None at all could be an opening, or a sign nobody nearby is asking.
- Would you do it twice? One booking is a favor. A listing promises the same job to strangers, again.
If none of the 400 fits, the search tells you so: "No ideas match. You can always write your own." Our longer list of 21 local service side hustles covers what each kind of work actually takes.
Make the idea yours
A starter listing is written to fit anyone, so on its own it describes no one in particular. Gig's search reads the meaning of what people type and matches it against your title and description, which means detail is what gets you found by the right person.
- Name the specifics. "Dog walking" is a category. "Midday dog walks, 30 or 60 minutes, small and senior dogs" is a service someone can picture booking.
- Say what's included and what isn't. Supplies, travel, cleanup, the size of job you take on.
- Keep one job per listing. The form says it plainly: "One service per listing — you can add more right after." If a title holds two jobs, Gig offers to post them as separate listings, because each one finds more people on its own.
- Set your own price. The suggested rate is a rough US figure. We walk through finding your floor and your local ceiling in how to price your services.
The idea gets you past the empty form. The details you add are what someone actually hires.
What the ideas don't do
They don't know your market. A suggested $35 an hour can be low in one city and high in the next town over, and outside the US no price fills in at all.
They don't check the rules where you live. Some of this work needs a license, a permit or insurance depending on the place: childcare, food made in a home kitchen, hair and beauty work, anything electrical or plumbing. The SBA's guide to licenses and permits (opens in a new tab) explains how federal, state and local requirements stack up. Your city or county is the place to confirm the rest.
They don't create demand. A listing makes you findable. It doesn't put customers in your area, and how many people search for a given service varies a lot by place. Landing the first booking is its own topic: how to get your first local clients.
A note on what you keep: listing on Gig is free, and Gig takes 0% of what you charge. Customers pay you directly. In the US that income is usually self-employment income, and the IRS self-employed tax center (opens in a new tab) is the place to start on what that means for you.
Frequently asked
How many service ideas are in Gig?
400. Half are Classic, the familiar jobs like house cleaning, dog walking and TV mounting, and half are Unique, narrower work like fridge cleanouts, knife sharpening and line standing. They're grouped into 16 categories and show up in whichever of Gig's 18 languages your app is set to.
Where do I find the service ideas in the Gig app?
Open the Profile tab, tap Edit, then Add Service. "Browse service ideas" is the first row in the sheet. It appears when you add a new listing, not when you edit one you already have.
Is the suggested price right for my area?
Not necessarily. It's a rough US rate, and it only fills in when your listing is priced in US dollars. In any other currency the price stays blank. Treat it as a starting point and check what people near you actually charge before you post.
Do I need a license to offer these services?
It depends on the service and on where you live. The idea descriptions deliberately don't say licensed, insured or certified, because that's yours to claim only if it's true. Childcare, food made in a home kitchen, hair and beauty work, and electrical or plumbing jobs are common examples that can need a license or permit. Check with your city, county or state before you list.
Pick one, then make it specific
Choose the idea you could do well next weekend, rewrite it in your own words, and set your own price. Some of the 400, like video editing or resume writing, don't need you in the room. Those can be offered online, to people anywhere. Once the listing is up, share your profile link with the people who already know you're good at it.