How to Tell If A Side Hustle Is Worth Your Time and Energy
NO BS, No fluff, No wasting time on filling out surveys
“I never thought that I could get paid for something that I enjoyed doing.”
I once helped a reader create a business as a table maker. As in they actually made tables. Matt was shocked at the idea that he could spend the entire day in his shop working on his craft by designing tables. He built a business around making tables for people across the country.
For me, that would never work. I’m not handy at all. So this would be the worst side hustle for me to chase. There could be the potential for someone like Matt to make thousands of dollars while someone like me wouldn’t make a penny because I know my skill set.
Then there’s Theo who took my Craigslist challenge. I threw down a challenge around 2013 when sites like Kijiji/Craigslist were beginning to take off. I wanted to see my readers get their first client. Theo landed his first tutoring client from Craigslist and then he started an entire business around this, which turned into his career.
I want to help you get paid with a side hustle instead of wasting time on funnels, waiting 6 months to get paid, spending hours on stupid surveys and getting stuck trying to fight complicated algorithms (I’m looking at you Google).
Let’s look at what to look for in a side hustle/business opportunity to see if it’s even worth your time or energy.
Here are things that I look for before pursuing any business opportunity:
A clear path to profit (do you know when you’re going to get paid $$$?)
For any business idea or side hustle to be worth going after, you have to answer one question:
Is it clear how you’re going to make money?
You have to know how you’re going to make money or it’s not worth pursuing the idea.
You don’t want to waste your time chasing some scheme that doesn’t lead to any money. You need to know from the very beginning how you’re going to get paid and make money.
What’s a clear path to profit exactly?
You know exactly when you’re going to get paid and how you’re going to get paid. You can’t trust a business that keeps things vague with you.
Here are examples:
You know that if you start an Airbnb Experience, you’ll get paid every time you provide an experience.
As a video editor, you know that you’ll get paid when the gig is done.
As a freelance writer, you get paid when you submit your articles.
You need a clear path to profit or else you shouldn’t even bother. You don’t manifest money. You make money.
A credible company that isn’t SHADY.
You can say what you want about Uber, Amazon, Etsy or Airbnb, but these are legitimate companies. There are many real people using these services to get paid.
You want to find an established company with a history of paying people.
For example, you should Google the company and see what real people are saying about them. You also should’ve heard of this company before.
I would check out Reddit, social media threads, and anything else that you could find about this company. You want to ensure that they’re legit. You don’t want to be robbed in broad daylight.
Here’s an even better example: I promote Airbnb Experiences and Airbnb just announced its best quarter ever in 2021. You know that this is a company that you can trust for payment and reputation.
How do you tell if a company is credible?
A few quick things to look out for:
You’ve heard of this company before.
They have positive reviews within a few quick Google searches.
You know someone personally with experience.
They’re established.
What are examples of side hustle ideas with a credible company?
Selling art or printables on Etsy.
Starting your own Airbnb Experience.
Listing your spare bedroom on Airbnb.
Selling stuff on Amazon.
Selling books on Amazon.
Promoting products you personally use on Amazon.
Flipping stuff on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace.
Pet sitting with Rover.
Promoting your business on Instagram or Facebook.
Selling services on Fiverr.
There are tons of people doing this kind of work and it’s possible to make money.
Something that requires you to learn a new skill.
A side hustle that has you learn or master a skill is always worth the time and effort because you can make more in the future also.
A fun aspect of some side hustle ideas is that you can pick up a new skill in the process. Then you can use this new skill in other areas of your life.
Here are some examples of this:
If you start an Airbnb Experience, you’ll have to be more social which will make you more likely to improve with creating video content. You could also land many other side hustles that require social skills.
If you learn how to write copy or just improve your writing in general, you’ll be able to get freelance writing gigs.
I don’t know how to break this to you, but if you have zero marketable skills and the job tries to convince you that this is okay, it’s not. You need to bring something to the table to make money. This may require you to spend 1-3 months upfront on learning the new skill. The good news is that you’ll then have a new skill that you could use towards making more money in the future.
Tht’s how you can tell if a side hustle is worth your time and energy. I don’t want you wasting your precious free time on “income opportunities” that lead to nothing.