key takeaways
- One in four American adults has side jobs, providing extra cash and flexible work opportunities.
- Eight people who started successful side hustles reveal how much they made and what they learned.
Want to Make More Money in 2026? You might have considered an additional hustle – broadly speaking. one in four American adults Finally have one – but don’t know where to start.
The best side isn’t just the opportunity to earn quick extra cash: they provide flexibility, foster creativity and help people create sources of income that can grow with them over time.
RELATED: This couple hops out of camper van for vacation. It surpassed $1.5 million in revenue – and ChatGPT helped it grow.
Whether you’re hoping to offset rising costs, saving for an important goal or experimenting with a new business idea, the right side hustle can transform hours outside of your 9-5 into a life-changing activity.
entrepreneur 2025 sat down with dozens of side hustlers to find out how they’re making money now and setting themselves up for success in the future.
RELATED: Starbucks Barista’s ‘Stealth Mode’ Side Hustle Now Earns $1 Million Monthly
Read on for 10 of the most creative things we learned about this year — and see if any of them inspire you to start your own business next.
1. Tuition
If you’re an expert in a subject that people want to learn, tutoring, whether online or in person, can be a great way to turn your knowledge into extra income.
Seattle, Washington-based tutor Carter Osborn started tutoring in 2017 as a side hustle to help pay tuition in graduate school. In 2024, Osborne left her job as a PR director to pursue her college essay consulting business, Carter Osborne TuitionFull-time – and earned $220,000 that year, sometimes averaging only 10 hours of work per week.
“Remember that there are no prerequisites for starting a successful side hustle,” Osborne explains. entrepreneur“I hardly have the image of a business owner: I studied public policy in college and never dreamed of starting a business, There’s no such thing as one ‘type’ of person who will become a successful business owner, so pursue your ideas and see what happens,”
RELATED: I worked my butt off full time and made $222,000 last year. Here’s how—and why—sometimes I only work 10 hours a week.
2. Creating Content for Brands
Have an eye for content that helps brands go viral and attract consumer interest? Lots of brands invest in this service, known as user-generated content, or UGC, and it could be your next endeavor.
Kelly Rocklin is an Oregon-based entrepreneur who dropped out of college to pursue a career in user-generated content (UGC). Rocklin broke six figures with her UGC side in 2022, at one point earning six figures on top of $160,000 in her full-time corporate role. She has since transitioned to creative strategy consulting to focus on building her business, ugc pro,
“You don’t have to be a beautiful 20-year-old white girl to be successful,” Rocklin said. “I have students who are Gen
RELATED: I Turned a Side Job into $20,000 a Month – Working Part-Time Without a College Degree
3. Reselling on TikTok Live
If you have a passion for collectibles or another in-demand product that generates buzz, consider capitalizing on it with a resale side hustle in the spotlight – selling goods live on TikTok or another social media platform.
You have to be consistent: posting every day, going live every day.
When Madden Forrest and his father, Steven Forrest, started breaking cards – buying and opening sealed products to reveal their contents – it was just for fun. After watching TikTok creators who livestreamed the process and sold the cards to interested buyers, the father-son entrepreneurs did the same through their own bull island broke The account grew the business from $4,000 in sales a day to nearly $50,000 a month.
“The first time everyone looks at (this business), they think it’s really easy, but it requires commitment and hard work,” Madden said. “You have to be consistent: posting every day, going live every day.”
RELATED: After 12-year-old’s hard work made over $4,000 in 1 day, he and his father grew the business to about $50,000 a month: ‘It takes commitment’
4. Starting a Podcast
This versatile side hustle doesn’t require getting in front of a camera to share your ideas with the world – just find a topic you enjoy talking about, line up a guest or two first, partner with like-minded advertisers who can help you generate revenue, and set press records.
New York City-based entrepreneur Ginny Muse-Cook is its founder and CEO. Ginny MediaAn award winning podcast production agency. Hosting his own podcast, giving his side, ginny showLed a full-time business that has doubled revenues almost every year since launch and currently has approximately $50,000 in monthly revenue.
“People think podcasting is all creative flow and deep conversations — and yes, that’s what it is,” Muse-Cook explains. entrepreneur“But it also has a surprisingly high tolerance for project management, emotional labor, and Wi-Fi instability, What surprises most people is that podcasting is as much about listening as it is about talking, You’re holding space for someone’s story, brand, and message, while combining 57 audio files and making it seamless,”
RELATED: He Made Airplane Wings for a Living – Now His Surprising Initiative Earns $50,000 a Month
5. Invest in Domain
Do you have the talent to know which domain names are likely to be worth more? Domain investing can be a flexible, virtual job for you.
When Dennis Tinerino of Los Angeles, California first learned about domain names and launching websites, he worked in online sales, which led him to discover domain investing as a side hustle. He then turned this work into a lucrative business that brings in six figures a year – with about an hour or two of work per day.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Dennis Tinerino
“The freedom that comes with this business is unlike anything else,” Tinerino said. “You can run it from anywhere in the world with minimal technical skills. You set the rules, choose your hours, set your prices, choose where to sell your name, and choose which names you want to buy.”
RELATED: They Spent $36 to Start a Side Hustle. Now the business earns 6 figures per year by working only 1-2 hours per year: ‘Freedom.’
6. Creating Products
Side hustles can be the perfect way for aspiring entrepreneurs to test-drive their business before fully launching it, so if you have an idea for a product, it might pay to create it in your spare time.
My best advice is to put your product or service out there and see what happens.
Kelly Bozigian and her husband, Colt Bozigian, of Boston, Massachusetts, run coastal caviarA handmade jewelry company offering charming necklaces, bracelets and more. The jewelry business started as a side hustle in 2024 and grew to $1 million in sales with zero paid advertising.
Image credit: Courtesy of Coastal Caviar. Kelly bozigian.
“My best advice is to put your product or service out there and see what happens,” Bozigian said. “I was lucky that I knew product-market fit right away because of TikTok’s reach. One post immediately validated our business idea, and all the other logistics can be figured out as you grow and scale.”
RELATED: ‘Instant Success’: Their Beach-Inspired Side Hustle Made Over $100,000 in Sales in First Month — Now It’s Over $2 Million
7. Selling skills by the hour
If you have a skill that someone would pay for by the hour, all you need is your first client to get your side hustle up and running. Platforms like Taskrabbit can be a great way to connect with people who want to pay for your services.
Marisa Risden In Denver, Colorado, he has built a flexible, thriving business tackling home-improvement projects, including advanced mounting, minor electrical work and more. taskrabbitShe earns about $4,500 per month from her extra work,
“I love seeing a project from start to finish, but my customers are the real reason I enjoy this job so much,” Risden said. “I’ve had the chance to meet and help so many incredible people, and I take pride in making their lives easier. There’s nothing better than a happy customer who refers a friend because they had a great experience with me.”
RELATED: She’s the former 911 dispatcher who started a side hustle dominated by men — and it makes her nearly $4,500 a month: ‘The hustle paid off’
8. Competing on a game show
Have you ever watched a game show contestant compete on TV and thought, I could do that? If you make competitions your next side hustle, you might just be able to make it – and make big money.
RELATED: I’ve Made Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Having Fun – and You Might Have Seen Me Do It on TV
gumgam ad CEO Phil Schrader had a successful run as a contestant on a game show – and made hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way.
“(The side hustle) gave me a lot of financial freedom,” Schrader explained. entrepreneur“(And) it provided other exciting opportunities to make money over the years, I appeared on the Dick Clark Pyramid Show, where I won $22,500, I literally took off from work, called my brother after I won and said, ‘Oh, that was a good day at work,'”
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