The definition of a side hustle is a job you do extra. Some might say working a couple of shifts on Deliveroo is a side hustle; however, I believe for a job to be a true side hustle, it has to have three things.
It has to be flexible; you can do it in your spare time, but you don't have to do it. You can do the job wherever you are and fit it around your other commitments.Â
It also helps if you find it fun, as no one wants to work all day at something they want to escape and then hate their side hustle. That is another reason the supermarket can not be your side hustle.
Finally, you have to be able to make money. You might not always start by making money, but eventually, you should be able to.Â
Most of these side hustles also require some initial outlay of time.Â
Content
Most side hustles fit into three categories: content, product and service. The first two have a more significant outlay of time before money.Â
Making content is a gratifying job. You might write on one of the content sites, Medium, Newsbreak or Vocal. You might also decide to write books or stick to Substack. All of these are content side hustles.Â
Once you have established a body of work, you can gain payment for your work through various ways, from sponsored posts to pay-per-view platforms.Â
There is another form of content side hustle—rather than producing the content, you find good content and share it with others.
There are people on X with thousands of followers who only publish the work of others. Check out Adam, The Diabetic Cyborg.
Many popular newsletters are a curation of ideas and articles. Austin Kleon shares ten things a week that he has found valuable and interesting.Â
You might decide to curate cat photos on Instagram; once you have built a following, brands will look to partner and sponsor you, and then you start earning from your side hustle.Â
ProductsÂ
These can be anything you want, and you don't even have to produce them. I have a friend who makes money selling stuff on Amazon that she imports at half the price. It took her time to list her goods, but now the shop runs itself.Â
You might decide to produce a notion template you have used and sell it on Gumroad.
Have you written a number of articles on one subject? They collate them into an eBook and sell that.Â
If you are an artist or cartoonist, sell your pictures. The products are endless; there is even a market for old underwear. We will leave that there.
Service
Out of all the areas, this area needs little time outlay before making money. You can offer a service to others. You will be surprised how many people will pay for services that take them too long to carry out.Â
For example, you might be very good with graphics, then you could offer to produce logos.Â
You might be able to design websites for people or other technical services.Â
If you are good at sales, you could work for a cold calling company providing Zoom calls and email marketing products.Â
I have offered mentoring sessions in writing to people; all you have to find is someone six months earlier in their journey than you, and you can offer them advice.Â
Which Side-Hustle
Which one is right for you is a question only you can answer. If, like me, you have a love for writing, then this could be your job. Whether I make money or not, I have to write. Writing has never been an issue, and the extra cash helps.Â
You may have a few free months where you could build many products to sell. You can do all the work over the initial months, and then when you are back to your main hustle, the products will sell themselves.Â
Whichever you choose, there is one thing that everyone should know: all of these take effort and work. There is no easy money, and anyone who tells you differently is trying to make a side hustle out of you.Â