Are Side Gigs Worth It? How You Can Decide
Written by
Jacob Wade
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Earning money on the side can help you pay off debt, save more or invest in your future. But not all side gigs are worth the effort.
You have to consider the time involved, what your skill set is and how much you can earn to know whether or not to spend time building a side hustle. And even then, you could run yourself ragged trying to make extra money only to end up wasting your time.
How Much Time Does It Take?
Side hustles are, by nature, outside of your regular job. Whether it’s driving for Uber or building a business, you can’t do this on the clock. So you need to take inventory of your current schedule to see how much time you can realistically dedicate to side gigs.
Once you’ve figured out how much time you can spend per day, per week or per month on a side hustle then you can begin to evaluate different side hustles. Make sure whatever side gig you choose can fit within your schedule. If it takes a ton of time and doesn’t earn the money you want, it’s automatically a “no.”
And while things that don’t pay right away (building a business, creating printables, etc.) can take some time, remember that if you build it properly, you spend less and less time on it down the road.
What Is Your Expertise?
Everyone’s an expert in something. Whether it’s fantasy sports, crocheting or simply staying organized, you have skills that you can use.
When picking a side gig, it’s important to find something that plays to your strengths. If you are constantly struggling to do the work, you won’t stick with it for very long.
For example, if you love chatting and driving, Uber might be a great gig. If you hate socializing, but don’t mind the driving part, how about Uber Eats or DoorDash?
And if you want to use what you know to start a side business, you can quickly build one online. Creating a Shopify store or Etsy store is an easy way to quickly list things for sale, whether it’s a physical or digital product.
The key is to leverage your expertise to do something that you enjoy and make money at the same time.
What Is the Income Potential?
There are hundreds of ways to make money on the side, but not all of them pay enough to make it worth it. It’s important to evaluate how much money you can make from a side hustle before diving in.
As an example, online surveys are easy and you can do them from your phone, but you might spend hours per week and earn less than $100 per month. On the flip side, driving for Uber can earn you up to $20 per hour (or more) and has an income potential of $1,000 or more per month, even with just 12 hours per week.
The best way to calculate the income potential is to figure out how much you can earn per hour of time spent, and then multiply that by the time you have available. If you have five hours per week and can make $25 per hour, you can earn $125 per week, or $600 per month on average.
And if you’re building a business, you may be able to increase your earnings while spending less time on the business, but it usually takes an initial time investment to get things up and running.
Does It Require Money To Start?
Some side gigs require some upfront costs, while others you can simply just right in and start earning money. If you don’t want to sink your savings into a side hustle, you will want to rule out anything that has expenses before you earn money.
If you want to become a photographer on the side, but don’t have a quality camera, you will need to purchase one to get paying clients. If you already own a camera, great, but if not, you need to account for that expense.
But if you join DoorDash, for example, you only need a mode of transportation (even just a bicycle) and to download the app.
And if you’re building a business, you might need to pay for software or materials to begin creating a product, so always account for those costs when calculating your potential profit.
Do You Care Enough About the Side Gig?
Once you’ve found some side gigs that are worth your time and can make decent money, you should pick one that you actually enjoy. While the money may be nice at first, if you absolutely hate doing a job, you won’t stick with it for very long.
This goes back to understanding your expertise and what you truly enjoy and playing to those strengths. If you find a side gig that you like doing, it won’t feel as much like work, and you can continue earning money on the side for a long time to come.
Bottom Line
While it seems like there’s an endless amount of side jobs to choose from, picking the wrong one can waste your time (and your money), leaving you feeling defeated. It’s important to evaluate your side hustle before jumping in to make sure it aligns with your financial goals and can fit into your schedule without stressing you out. Once you find the perfect side hustle, you can unlock some more financial freedom in your life doing something you actually enjoy!
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