I feel for you! You have been trying to find legit side hustles that actually work and aren’t scam, but to no avail. I have been in that position before and know how frustrating it is! Hence, in this post, I’ll list down the 10 legit side hustles that actually work. How much you’ll make is entirely dependent on how hard you can work. Honestly, there’s no limit to how much cash you can make.
Also, please keep this one thing in mind: These 10 side hustles actually works, but you’ll have to work towards it. In the past, I’ve been bombarded with these types of questions: please recommend some easy but high paying side hustles that works. Unfortunately, side hustle that actually works are often a little harder than just completing a survey, or clicking a link and watching a random video.
Trust me, if you want to make REAL MONEY, then these are the 10 side hustles you can try.
Never settle for less!
(1) ChatGPT Prompt Helper
I don’t have to tell you how important ChatGPT has become. It generates the same euphoria in the tech community as the first iPhone created. You’ll find three types of people when a new thing is released to the public: (1) People who are interested, but don’t know how to use it, (2) People who becomes masters too early, and (3) People who couldn’t care less.
So, if you’re (2), then your target audience is (1). ChatGPT is only growing, and will grow every passing day, if you know how to play with it and produce results that nobody else can, then you’ve got a great side hustle. Companies and individuals are paying thousand of dollars (no kidding) to people who know ChatGPT prompts really well.
You can either showcase your skills on social media or just register yourself as a freelancer ChatGPT prompt expert. Ride the AI wave when it’s high. Don’t fear, if you’re confident on your skill, you’ll make more money than you can handle.
(2) Etsy Digital Product Store
I suppose you know Canva and Notion. Great software! If you think that Canva and Notion are only productivity tools, then you’re sooo wrong. Canva and Notion are not just productivity software, but also a great way to make money. How? By selling templates. Canva and Notion templates sell like hotcakes on Etsy. I have seen few Etsy stores making 3-figures daily. Of course, I’ll never know the exact figure, but if you back-calculate and see how many templates they sell, you’ll easily find out how much they usually make.
On months between August and January, these Etsy stores make an absolute ton of money. Canva is easily the best web software to make nice graphics. Especially if you have the pro version. Busy people don’t have the time to make templates, they just buy a template from Canva’s store or from Etsy.
Etsy works better when you try to sell Notion templates. Etsy is an established service, just like Amazon, your only task is to make an Etsy account and list your products. If your products are good, they will sell.
(3) Dropshipping
Anybody who says Dropshipping is dead is wrong. No industry dies, only its entry barrier increases. You have to use more tools than before to break even. That’s what Dropshipping has become. Few years ago Dropshipping was all the rage, and everybody was trying their hands on it. And people who burnt their hands backed off and started badmouthing the entire industry.
That’s not how it is. Dropship stores still perform good, but unlike before, most people use it as a side hustle, seldom a real business. I suppose you know Ring.com? Before global success, Ring was just an another online store made on Shopify. The founder, Jamie Siminoff, tried Shark Tank back in 2013. The company was named Doorbot back then. Though he declined all the investments, only after five years (2018) he sold Ring.com to Amazon for a whopping $1 Billion.
Siminoff is not the only example, you’ll find many YouTube videos where dropship owners sell their website from millions. Well, this is one side hustle you would want to start won’t you? Few years ago people used Facebook to promote their dropship stores, today it’s TikTok. Only the location has changed, nothing else.
(4) Blogging
Blogging will never grow old. It has been decades since bloggers have been saying that blogging is a dead industry. Never true! I have seen blogger make 5-figures within 3 months. Adam Enfroy is one great example. Of course he worked his a** off and hustled like hell to pull that off, but if he can do that you can too.
Trust me, I hated blogging and thought that all those income reports were scam until I tried it myself and saw the results. Blogging is great if you have something to share on the internet and make money out of it. Whether it’s a blog focused on knitting or a blog focused on monster trucks, you can make good money if you can provide value.
Just keep in mind one thing though. Learn SEO thoroughly before going all out. Yes, initially you’ll have to learn what NOT to do to run a successful blog, but once you know the ins-and-outs, you’ll feel and be more efficient. If you think that blogging is a serious business – yes, it is, but almost everyone starts a blog just as a side hustle and then change it into a business.
(5) Social Media Influencer
People say that social media influencers are celebrities of the future. They are more popular and connected to people than Hollywood celebs. Thanks to YouTube and other social media platforms, social media influencers make insane money. Sometime even more money than a well-established Hollywood celeb. Now, I know it’s not that easy to rake in millions every month right from the beginning, but you can register on all social media handle and post content.
Vlogs are highly engaging because people can feel a connection with you. If you can vlog and show them your what’s going on in your life, you’re going to quite famous soon. Famous Vloggers like Roman Atwood from the Roman Atwood Vlogs make millions from ads, sponsorships, brand deals, and affiliate sales.
Roman’s net worth is close to $30 Million and growing. He has earned a major chunk of his fortune from vlogging. So, even if you’re a college student, or a working professional, start a social media handle and release new content. Through social media, you can also establish more connections who can help you make money, or just become friends.
(6) Virtual Assistant (VA)
Most people have treated Virtual Assistant (VA) jobs not so seriously, but the worldwide events changed a lot of things for everyone.
Virtual Assistant as a side hustle option rose to popularity after the 2020 global event, and it has been like that ever since. Being a virtual assistant is popular among college students who wanted some extra money. As a Virtual Assistant your job could be as simple as reading and deleting emails of your client or as complex as handling your client’s a major part of their business.
So, if you love taking responsibilities while also make money, Virtual Assistant as a side jobs will be great for you. Also, the great thing is that there are now websites that provide Virtual Assistant services which you can take. Just make sure that they aren’t scam. In the end, if you don’t find any reputed sites, just register on Fiverr as a Virtual Assistant, and you’ll surely find some opportunity.
(7) Freelancing
Freelancing is probably the fastest paying side hustle. You can be pretty sure that money will reach you bank account when you complete a job. As for my personal experience, I feel Fiverr is the best freelancing site when you want to test your skills. It’s one side hustle that won’t disappoint if you provide good service.
The reason why I recommend Fiverr is because of how quickly you can get an order. You can provide any service – Be it graphic designing, computer programming, or content writing, you’ll get more order that you can fulfill if you’re good at your job.
Freelancing is a great way to test your time-management skills. Time management is one skill that no book can teach you, only real-life experience can. All the more reason to try freelancing, because if you’re successful, your freelancing experiment can soon change into a thriving business.
(8) Affiliate Marketing
Among all the side hustles I have listed here, Affiliate Marketing is probably the most well-known earner. You can make as low as $1, or as high as 8-figures if reach the top 1%. Affiliate Marketing is every blogger’s most sort after way of making money. If you’re doing well, you can easily make $1000 monthly from affiliate sales alone.
Of course, there’s no limit to how much you can make from affiliate sales. I had a site few years ago that made money only from affiliate sales. I cannot reveal how much it earned, but it made way more money than my monthly expense. Unfortunately, back then I didn’t knew risk management and the site was hit by Google’s algorithm update.
Now, let’s talk about the positives and negative of affiliate marketing. The first positive is that you don’t have to produce your own product. You’re only promoting someone else’s product and making a cut from the sales. You’re the “marketer.” The only drawback is that it works on top of a blog or a social media handle. This is where a blog or a YouTube channel comes in. So, if you have a blog or a YouTube channel, or both, you’re perfectly ready to make some moolah.
(9) Amazon FBA
Amazon FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) is a great side hustle if you want to continue your present job and explore business. You can either go all in and establish a private labelling company, or be small initially and deliver products from your home. The beauty of Amazon FBA program is that Amazon handles everything. Your only job is the have the product available to Amazon. Amazon takes care of the rest.
So, Amazon FBA is one side hustle that you can transform into business when you see adequate cashflow. Most business initially start as an experimentation side hustle and later, if they are successful, go on to become profit-making establish business on Amazon.
The only downside of Amazon FBA is that you’ll need some money to start. If you have a job, see if you can take some money out and start small.
(10) Doordash Delivery
Doordash deliver is one of the most common side hustles when you want to make money fast (no pun intended). Glassdoor claims that an average Doordash delivery guy makes $4K+ monthly. Which is above the national average in the US. And, the $4,000 monthly is fixed. Most delivery guys make good money from tip.
Doordash is especially great for guys who want to meet and interact with new people. Maybe not every customer will interact with you, but some surely would. Honestly, a delivery person learns a lot at their job. Real-life experience like dealing with customers, taking responsibility, time management are some of the few things they learn. These personal experiences comes in handy when starting and managing a business.
The only things you have to keep in mind is about safety and scam. You might have to handle scammy customers who try to cheat you off you delivery. Such things have happened in the past, so you have to take care of yourself so that it never happens with you.
Finally, I tried my best to provide the 10 best side hustles that actually works and aren’t scam. You may think that some of these side hustles seem more like a business. You can start small, just as a side hustle. It’s better if you don’t go big from the beginning, because let’s be clear, you can fail and lose a lot of money.