After succeeding and failing at a variety of businesses and ventures, I\u2019ve ultimately learned that it doesn\u2019t really matter as long as you are persistent.<\/p>\n
Get as many irons in the fire as you can\u2026throw things against the wall and see what sticks. That\u2019s the name of the game when it comes to side hustling.<\/p>\n
Eventually, you will find what works best for your given skillet and desires. I\u2019ve launched blogs or Amazon affiliate websites before, but this is the niche and platform that has worked for me (it took a few years to find\u2026I launched my first website when I was 16).<\/p>\n
Anyway, I was recently having a conversation with a friend where I encouraged them to start their own Etsy shop.<\/p>\n
Inevitably, the conversation touched upon 2 questions:<\/p>\n
- \n
- How much money could they make by opening an Etsy shop?<\/li>\n
- Would the whole thing be worth it?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After giving those questions some thought, I wanted to break down the simple math behind starting a side hustle in this post because I don\u2019t think it is as complicated as people might think.<\/p>\n
This post will contain:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The simple math behind starting and benefiting from a side hustle.<\/li>\n
- What side hustles help protect us from.<\/li>\n
- Side hustling for income diversification?<\/li>\n
- Some quick suggestions on how to make more money and financial independence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let\u2019s get to it!<\/p>\n
The Simple Math Behind Starting a Side Hustle – $50\/Month<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Before I get into the nitty-gritty details of this quick math, I want to outline what assumptions and tools I am using:<\/p>\n
- \n
- I am using this compound interest calculator<\/a> from getsmarteraboutmoney.ca.<\/li>\n
- I am assuming a current initial investment amount of $0.<\/li>\n
- I am assuming all of the money from side hustling is added to an investment portfolio each month (or that you contribute an equivalent amount to your portfolio if side hustle money is for paying off bills).<\/li>\n
- I am assuming a 5% annual return rate. This is a conservative estimate, and more than reasonable.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- I am giving the portfolio 20 years to grow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now, let\u2019s say you started a simple side hustle that started netting you $50 of income every single month.<\/p>\n
This $50 might not seem like much, but then again, that\u2019s $600 of extra income each year.<\/p>\n
And when you plug in these numbers into the compound interest calculator\u2026<\/p>\n
![\"side-hustle-compound-interest\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/side-hustle-compound-interest.png\")
<\/p>\nSome pretty awesome returns come out!<\/p>\n
![\"compound-interest-side-hustle-50\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/compiund-interest-side-hustle-50.png\")
<\/p>\nIt might sound absolutely crazy or even impossible, but if you invest $50 a month at a 5% annual rate of return, you will earn more than $8,000 in interest over 20 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Additionally, your investment portfolio as a whole would increase by more than $20,000; all from a simple $50 a month side hustle!<\/p>\n
If you don't believe the math, just checkout the year-by-year breakdown:<\/p>\n
![\"investment-breakdown\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/investment-breakdown.png\")
<\/p>\nThe simple fact is that compound interest and time is the most powerful combination side hustlers have in their arsenal.<\/p>\n
It doesn't matter if you are trying to reach financial independence or if you just want to make more money: investing and a long time frame are a killer duo!<\/p>\n
So, what are some viable side hustle ideas for making $50 a month?<\/p>\n
There are some very simple ones:<\/p>\n
- \n
- You can spend a few hours at a myriad of gig-economy related jobs<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- You can work overtime or pick up one more shift.<\/li>\n
- You can start a phone farm<\/a>\/use passive income apps or websites<\/a> on a laptop to earn some money.<\/li>\n
- You can try your hand at selling items on Etsy or other marketplaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Simple Math Behind Starting a Side Hustle – Other Income Levels<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Alright, while making $50 a month from side hustling is a great start, it's also reasonable to expect that you can make more money and increase your portfolio worth.<\/p>\n
Let's take a look at a few more monthly earning thresholds!<\/p>\n
Earning $100\/Month from Side Hustling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"side-hustle-compound-interest-100\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/side-hustle-compound-interest-100.png\")
<\/p>\nIf you invested $100\/month at a 5% annual rate of return, you would earn more than $16,5000 in interest in 20 years and reach $40,500 in portfolio value!<\/p>\n
Some viable side hustles I would recommend to make $100 a month in additional income include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Teaching English or other subjects online<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- Offering local services in your city, like lawn care, shoveling snow, gardening help, etc.<\/li>\n
- Starting your own blog<\/a> (it will take a few months to get running, granted, but if you check my recent income reports you'll see it is possible to earn $100-$300 a month from blogging within a year).<\/li>\n
- Start writing on Medium<\/a> (frequently…ideally several times a week until your income starts to pick up).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Earning $300\/Month from Side Hustling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"compound-interest-side-hustling-300\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/compound-interest-side-hustling-300.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nIf you invested $300\/month at a 5% rate of annual return, you would earn almost $50,000 <\/strong>in interest over 20 years and see your portfolio grow to more than $120,000!<\/p>\n
Granted, it might take some time for you to develop a side hustle to a $300\/month point, but it is possible!<\/p>\n
Realistically, these are some side hustle ideas I could see generating $300\/month:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Finding work as a freelance writer<\/a> (a lot of gigs can pay around $30\/hour, so you would have to put in 10 hours a month to make $300).<\/li>\n
- Finding other types of freelance work (social media management, web development, etc.)<\/li>\n
- Selling products on Amazon<\/a> (if you know what you are doing).<\/li>\n
- Dropshipping<\/a> (if you know what you are doing).<\/li>\n
- Selling on Ebay (if you know what you are doing).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Earning $1,000\/Month from Side Hustling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"side-hustle-compound-interest-1000\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/side-hustle-compound-interest-1000.png\")
<\/strong>Alright, while this might be getting to the daydreaming phase for a lot of side hustlers, I think this $1,000\/month benchmark really shows the power of compound interest in full.<\/p>\nPersonally, earning 165K in interest from side hustle work sounds like a dream come true. While I am still a long, long way off this mark, the numbers certainly serve as a nice goal to work towards!<\/p>\n
However, I think it is fairly unreasonable to expect someone that someone with a 40 hour work week can earn an additional $1,000\/month from gig jobs or anything that pays a lower hourly rate.<\/p>\n
To earn $1,000\/month as a side hustle, I imagine you would have to:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Get into some sort of consulting on the side (SEO, digital marketing, project management, etc.)<\/li>\n
- Offer copy-writing services or do landing page work for businesses (these can be some high paying contracts).<\/li>\n
- Find some other way to offer a business your services, since businesses are more likely to have the capital to pay monthly contracts worth $1,000 or more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Back in college, a colleague and I had $1,000 contracts for SEO and paid advertising work, and I have heard of copywriters earning some impressive amounts of cash.<\/p>\n
Hell, even bloggers who dabble in sponsored posts can make a killing, so it is certainly possible to make the coveted $1,000\/month mark with enough time and dedication.<\/p>\n
But even if you can't make $1,000 a month in extra income, you see the point: any additional income can be immensely powerful when invested.<\/p>\n
Now, while making extra money is always welcome, I also want to touch on a few other benefits of side hustling because this concept is much more powerful than just increasing your net worth.<\/p>\n
Other Factors Side Hustles Protect us From<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1 – Avoiding Debt or Paying Off Debt Faster<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Due to life events or circumstances, not everyone is able to invest the extra money they make. This is absolutely normal.<\/p>\n
However, earning even a bit of additional income every single month from a passive income source or side hustle can be immensely valuable.<\/p>\n
- I am using this compound interest calculator<\/a> from getsmarteraboutmoney.ca.<\/li>\n
![\"Elon-Musk-Quote\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Elon-Musk-Quote.jpg\")