- Instawork’s Kira Caban and Bankrate’s Ted Rossman shared options for side-hustle work.
- Working as a security guard at a nearby concert venue is one option.
- Another is a side hustle that involves something you’re passionate about.
Side hustles can be anything from building a profitable business to spending a few minutes completing an online survey or working a second job that falls outside your primary work schedule.
“For people who are looking for a side hustle, think about the time of year that we’re in and sort of some of the bigger events or ongoings that people really love to go to,” Kira Caban, the head of strategic communications for Instawork — a platform where people can find flexible work — told Business Insider. “That’s usually a good indicator that these businesses are going to need help handling customer demand, and it’s a great way to make extra money on the side.”
A lot of people make money through side work. In a LendingTree survey of American adults adults aged 18 to 42 conducted in November, 58% of Gen Zers and 53% of the millennials said they had a side hustle. Additionally, 80% of survey respondents who said they had a side hustle said they were actually more reliant on this income given the current economy.
While some side gigs might be a temporary way to pick up some money for a vacation or a big purchase, many side hustlers are in it for the long haul. Nearly 40% of respondents to a Bankrate survey of American adults conducted in April 2023 said they had side hustles; 44% of those with a side hustle said they thought they would always need to do extra work — whether that is “to make ends meet,” “for discretionary expenses,” or both. Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, told BI he hoped more side hustlers were taking on extra work as a passion project or “to get ahead to pay off debt, to save, and invest more.”
“What we found was that most people are doing it just to get by, which I thought was kind of a sad reality that people felt like they needed to and they feel like they’re going to keep needing to,” Rossman said.
Below are some side-work options for 2024, according to Caban and Rossman.
Concerts
If you like listening to music while working your day job, you might enjoy working at concert venues.
If artists are coming to play near where you live, Caban said, it could be a lucrative side-job opportunity.
“They’re going to need people that work concession stands,” Caban said. “They’re going to need people to help with security. They’re going to need people to do retail and cashiering, and it’s a great way to sort of get in on the action.”
Take Davis Perrigo, for example, an accountant who moonlighted as a security guard for a Taylor Swift concert when she played in Nashville last year because he couldn’t land concert tickets.
Baseball games
Big arena concerts might not be the only side-job opportunity involving a stadium event. Caban said another gig could be at a baseball game.
She said professional baseball players are “going to be in season very shortly with opening day and then the rest of the season.”
Surveys
There are a lot of side hustle options that can be done from home, such as completing surveys, Rossman said.
“It’s not a get-rich-quick kind of thing — unless, I suppose, you’re dedicating a ton of time to it — but that’s something that’s pretty quick and easy to do,” Rossman said.
Scott, a person who previously shared his side-hustle recommendations with BI, has completed surveys as a side hustle, such as through platforms Connect and Prolific.
“If you have really busy schedules, if you’re not looking to make a ton of money from side hustles, then these survey sites are definitely perfect for you,” Scott said. “You just have to be really picky and choosy.”
Pet sitting or other kinds of care work
Another side hustle could be care-related, like watching someone’s pets or other care-related side hustles.
“In our research, we found that the most common side hustle for men has to do with landscaping and home repair,” Rossman said. “For women, it tends to be either crafts or childcare. So those all seem pretty accessible things that a lot of people could get involved with.”
Meghan Lim, who has walked dogs and watched pets as side work, previously told BI, “The best price to start for dog walking is $20 for a 30-minute walk.” Lim also suggested meeting with a prospective client first before taking care of their pet so you could ask them questions about it.
“There are situations where you may not end up liking the responsibility or maybe you just don’t find the right fit with the owner,” Lim said.
Food delivery
There are several food- and grocery-delivery platforms people can use for side work, such as Uber Eats or Instacart. Rossman thinks the barriers to entry are low for food delivery.
Erin Couch works a sales job and started delivering groceries with Instacart as a side gig in February 2023. Couch told BI she’s able to make money from tips, too, and did this gig on the weekends to help pay off her credit-card debt.
“I use my Instacart money to pay off my debt once a week, $100 every Sunday — and that’s it for right now,” Couch said. “Once I feel more comfortable with my money situation, I’ll start paying more to get it down.”
Holiday-related jobs
If you are planning ahead or don’t have time for a side job yet, you could take on a holiday-related gig toward the end of the year. The holiday season is “notoriously” an expensive time, Caban said.
“We will see people look for fun events, holiday parties, all of the things that you think about when you’re celebrating the holidays,” Caban said.
Caban said these jobs could include being a server for an event, a bartender, or a person who helps with setting up or cleaning after events. She added that it could be a great way to enjoy the season while making money to offset additional costs.
But side hustles for the holiday season don’t have to involve events. BI previously reported that being an Airbnb host could be an option.
A passion could become a side hustle too
If you don’t want to head to an event for a side job, think about things you enjoy. Rossman said side gigs could be a way to work on something you have a passion for — and it could be something you don’t get a chance to do for your day job.
“Especially with somebody’s primary job, sometimes they’re not able to do something that’s a true passion project,” Rossman said. “You need to do something that pays the bills.”
Rossman added that “if you’re going to be putting in extra time and effort above and beyond your primary job” to work on a side hustle then it could be more enjoyable if it’s something you care about.
“Who knows? Maybe that even leads to a full-time gig down the road or furthers your experience in an area that you’re interested in,” Rossman said.
Find a side job similar to your primary job
Rossman said people could also leverage their skills, experience, and network to find side work.
He gave the example of a graphic designer taking on side projects where they could apply their design skills. Those looking to do something that involves similar tasks or skills to their job might want to first talk to their primary employer.
“You have to be careful that you’re not doing anything competitive or anything that would concern your primary employer,” Rossman said.
Caban shared similar advice as Rossman. Caban said that people could start with what they’re excited about or had experience doing.
“You may be really passionate about art or that creative side, but that’s not something that you do in your day job,” Caban said. “I think that you need to take stock in the things that you’re passionate about and then apply some of the skills that you have from your day job and figure out how to combine the two so that you can get going and start making that extra money.”
In general, Rossman’s main piece of advice is to “follow your passion, figure out what you’re good at, think about that total cost of ownership — the time you’re putting in, what you’re going to get out of it, what kind of materials you might need to source.”
Have you made money from a side job or a side hustle? Reach out to this reporter to share at mhoff@businessinsider.com.
Source: Side-hustle recommendations: 8 side gigs to try to make more money
