I Tried 3 Side Gigs for a Year — Only 1 Actually Made Money
Written by
Cara Danielle Brown
Edited by
Levi Leidy
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
Tom Blake, managing editor at The Budget Diet, knows about side gigs. When he’s not writing and editing all things personal finance, Blake runs a YouTube channel (@TomBlakeFinance) focused on testing various side gigs to determine which are legitimate and which are scams.
As a broke college student, Blake initially started testing side gigs as a means of earning extra cash for groceries and other expenses. He didn’t have a much in savings. So, to assess which side gigs were worth the time and money, Blake looked for gigs without high startup costs. He also prioritized gigs that were beginner-friendly and wouldn’t take months or years to start earning money.
Here are three gigs he tried within a year, and how much he made from each.
Paid Surveys
A form of market research, various websites and apps paid Blake to answer surveys and share his opinions with them. Branded Surveys and Survey Junkies were the two man websites he used, often answering several surveys at a time on his lunch break or while watching TV.
Did he make money? Not really. When it sounds too good to be true, it typically is.
“The earning potential of paid surveys is incredibly low,” stated Blake. “Oftentimes, I was making $2 to $4 per hour at most. This still let me make $25 to $50 per month without needing any skills, but paid surveys are one of the lower-potential side hustles I’ve tried.”
At $300 to $600 annually, this was not a success.
Paid Focus Groups
Another form of market research, paid focus groups pay a solid hourly wage — typically $50 to $150 per hour (per Blake). The caveat is that they’re hard to qualify for. Through User Interviews and Respondent.io, Blake took part in a few one-hour virtual meetings where he was asked to answer a series of questions.
Did he make any money? Again…not really.
“In a single year, I was able to earn about $300 by completing several studies between the two companies. […] Market research gigs are very hit or miss. Some months you qualify for studies while other months you make $0.”
Starting a YouTube Channel
As a scrappy kid with no film experience, Blake learned editing basics from YouTube tutorials, ordered a USB microphone from Amazon and bought a budget camera. He gave himself a goal of making one video per week to see if his channel would take off.
As luck would have it, his sixth video — centered on how teens can make money online — surpassed 200,000 views and helped his channel qualify for the YouTube partner program where creators receive advertising revenue.
Did he make money? Yes.
“In my first year on YouTube, I received 400,000 views and made just over $3,900 from the YouTube partner program.” Five years later, his channel has over 135,000 subscribers and earns a nearly full-time income.
Scaling this gig didn’t happen overnight. But, when Blake saw the potential earnings available to him, he decided to stick with the endeavor long-term.
Takeaway
Ultimately, Blake’s side hustle journey taught him a couple things.
“One of the main lessons is that there’s immense value in testing new ideas,” stated Blake. “This is how you discover what you enjoy and which ideas also pay well.” In other words, be open to trying many different things. Dive in, learn as you go and discover which gig feels right (and profitable!) along the way.
Additionally, Blake said the success of his YouTube channel showed him what was possible to achieve in any endeavor with consistency, effort and hard work.
More From GOBankingRates
