If you have read my other articles, you have seen proof that online side hustles work.
Even the traditional side hustles (dog sitting, driving an Uber, delivering pizzas) can work.
So if all you wanted to know was do online side hustles work, then the answer is yes.
There are better questions you should ask instead though. And they start with “How” not “Do.”
If you have not read my other articles, then here is a short summary.
Lots of people make money with online side hustles. You can tell because they keep doing the same thing, year after year. And they often go from doing it as a side hustle, an hour or two a day, to doing it full time.
Surveys show that side hustlers (online and offline) make on average around $1,000 per month.
When they increase their skills and hustling hours, they make more.
Now you know it works. But your question is still wrong. It should not be:
“Do side hustles work?”
It should be “How can I make side hustles work for me?”
There are more questions to ask, so let us start with the most important one.
“How can I enjoy doing a side hustle?”
That should be your most important question to ask. Side hustles, per definition, ideally start being a hobby or interest.
If you enjoy doing something, it is much more likely that:
If you are looking for success, you should make your side hustle a joy to do.
Start with what you enjoy doing now. If, for example, you enjoy doing gardening, then sure, you can do that as a side hustle. Mow lawns for people. Even design their gardens (for those who can afford it).
But you can turn that into an online side hustle instead and make more.
Your offline side hustle is limited to your geographic area. And maybe your home is the only house with a garden in a neighborhood with tall buildings and not even a balcony.
There goes the lawn moving gigs.
Online, you have the whole world as your audience. Lots of people are interested in gardening. You can start a newsletter about it, write books, create a blog and share tips…
The online possibilities are endless.
What do you like doing? You can check if there is a market for it by going to YouTube, Amazon, Udemy, Medium, ClickBank and Substack to check if others buy and sell products about that topic.
If they do, then you can make money with that side hustle.
The surveys I wrote about in another article clearly showed that side hustlers with higher skills made more money.
If you say to yourself right now, “I know nothing,” then perhaps you are right.
Perhaps not.
You have two options now. Find out if the “nothing” you know is just your judgment and that you actually know a lot that other people would like to learn from you. You do that by checking the above mentioned places to see if people sell information, books or courses about it.
If they do, you know something.
But nobody knows all there is. You can and should keep learning. Keep increasing your skills and education at the same time as you perform your side hustle.
You learn best by doing.
So combine doing with learning. That will make you a lot more money with your side hustle.
If you treat your side hustle like a hobby, you will not make much money in the long run.
You will do it only when you feel like it. And that does not work.
You need to treat it like a real business.
That means:
If you have decided to work two hours a day, then work two hours a day.
After a while, it will become a habit that you cannot break. You will feel bad if you do not put in your two hours.
But here is the thing that can destroy your system:
If you do not have a plan, you will waste time every day. And you will become less and less motivated to do your side hustle, since it provides you no results.
Start with a plan.
Make that plan and stick to it.
Ideally, have one to two things you must do every day. That will assure they get done. If you have 17 things on your to-do list, it will overwhelm you. And if it does not, I officially hate you.
Have one to two big goals for every day and follow your plan.
That way you can start on each side hustle day knowing exactly what to do.
As you can now tell, your question should not be “Do online side hustles work” but rather “How can I make an online side hustle work for me?”
There is plenty of proof and statistics to show that a side hustle works. And also that it works better if you put in more time and grow your skills.
And here is the roadblock you cannot directly find in the numbers.
It is something I have discovered after years of struggle. You can plan to put in lots of time. But you will not do it, unless you like what you are doing.
Therefore, it is super important to find a side hustle you like enough to do it daily (or every weekend) and to keep learning about so you will improve your knowledge and skills.
Then there is almost no limits to how much this online side hustle will work for you.