#side-hustles

#side-hustles

“In many ways, making the work is the easy part,” he says. “The harder part is everything that comes after.” That “everything” includes building relationships with galleries, engaging collectors, maintaining visibility, and navigating an art market. For business audiences, there is a familiar parallel here. Many founders will recognise the challenge of explaining and justifying something that requires context, positioning and a degree of interpretation before its worth is fully understood.

A 2024 report from McKinsey & Company found that 36% of employed Americans - roughly 58 million people - identify as independent workers, with many using side hustles to supplement their primary income. When you're building something on the side - whether it's freelance coding, selling vintage finds or coaching clients - every dollar of revenue feels hard-won. So when tax season arrives, the real question isn't just how much you made, but how much you get to keep.

The quality of life [provided by] my current stipend (same amount as for 10 years ago) definitely has not been maintained with the rising cost of living. Within a few years I think most people would struggle and need to begin a side hustle or second job.

Side hustles started as a way for consumers to make additional cash from passion projects. Now, they're a financial necessity for 73% of Americans, collectively earning $83.1 billion extra per month-a figure that reflects how side gigs have become a permanent fixture of today's labor market.

Scroll through social media and it feels like everyone has the next big side hustle figured out. Dropshipping. AI services. Crypto. Faceless YouTube channels. But when real people compare notes after months or years of trying, the tone changes fast. Boring Beats Hype Every Time "I've tried so many side hustles and most were trash," one Redditor wrote in a recent discussion about long-term income ideas. That comment captured the mood of the entire thread.

Millennials aren't picking up side hustles for the love of the game. Rising costs and stagnant wages have made extra income necessary. Many of these gigs look modest at first, but the numbers tell a different story. A lot of people are told to make content for everyone, which usually leads nowhere. Creators who earn consistently tend to do the opposite by narrowing their focus until viewers know precisely what problem they'll solve.

If in our earliest issues we valorized filmmakers recklessly putting their production budgets on their credit cards, Robinson in a 2009 series on filmmakers and their second jobs preached the necessity of a good side hustle, convincing filmmakers such as Barry Jenkins, Tze Chun, Joe Swanberg and Liza Johnson to reveal the wage labor they undertook before their entertainment industry careers took off.

A separate survey by Omnisend of more than 1,200 U.S. adults confirms that side hustles have shifted from exception to standard practice. 31% of U.S. adults currently run a side hustle, and 73% are motivated by financial need. More than half launched their side hustle within the past year, and collectively they are already generating billions of dollars in extra income each month.

Many CFOs now rank talent-whether hiring, retention, or skill gaps-as their companies' top internal risk. And "polyworking," where employees hold multiple jobs or roles at once to make ends meet, shows no signs of slowing. Polyworking is likely to continue into 2026, according to Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, the job search and recruiting platform. She points to a recent polywork survey showing that nearly one in two workers hold multiple jobs simultaneously.

If you're looking to start a side hustle in 2026, you're not alone. Research from SurveyMonkey found that 37% of workers already have a side hustle and 35% are thinking about starting one. They're a great way to make additional income ( Bankrate found that side hustlers make an average of $885 per month) as well as learn new skills and meet new people. If you're considering a side hustle in 2026, here are some options to explore.

While Black Friday brings about massive sales and shopping frenzies, it also creates a surge in demand for workers to help companies manage the increased traffic and transactions. If you haven't yet secured a side hustle to tide you over this holiday season, there's no need to panic. There are several flexible and profitable options that can help you capitalize on this busy time of the year.

For small business owners, inflation is a big concern. Many are more worried than ever about their income, according to a recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The economy has made things harder for many, but small businesses still play a key role in our towns, cities, and neighborhoods. Local services like dry cleaners, bakeries, coffee shops, and tailors might not seem exciting, but they're essential. These are the businesses you and your neighbors count on every day.

Gaming is one of the clearest examples. Fortnite, with its global player base, has created an entire culture where digital progress now carries real-world value. Marketplaces that handle trades, such as platforms offering GG Chest Fortnite accounts, show just how quickly hobbies can turn into entrepreneurial ventures. In the past, this might have sounded far-fetched. But in today's world, it has definitely become part of a booming digital economy.

Most adults look back on their childhood earnings and think of pocket money, Christmas gifts or a Saturday job. These days, however, children as young as seven are already fluent in entrepreneurship, running side hustles, talking about profits and losses and razor-sharp in their focus on honing sophisticated business skills. Research from the children's debit card company GoHenry found that two in three young people want to be entrepreneurs when they were older,

CMAT's Euro-Country reflects on the 2008 financial crash, from a child's perspective, and features the lyrics All the big boys/All the Berties/All the envelopes/Yeah, they hurt me/I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me. The song appears to have hit a major nerve with Ireland's millennials, most of whom are experiencing major frustrations as a result of Ireland's economic and housing situation.

A report published by Talker Research pinpoints the exact average bank balance Americans need to drop everything and travel the world. According to this study, involving 2,000 people, the average wannabe world-traveling American needs roughly "$287,731 in the bank." Of course, there is a generational divide on the exact amount: baby boomers indicated an average of $335,000. Meanwhile, their youngest-paying relatives in Generation Z (Gen Z) named a more modest $211,000 to encourage their exodus abroad.

On October 12, A&E, the cable channel behind "Hoarders" and "Duck Dynasty," will air "The Real Estate Commission," a show about Drowlette's travails and triumphs as a commercial real estate dealmaker. The 8-episode series arrives as the idea of side hustles and DIY investments continues to captivate droves of Americans with aspirations for financial freedom. Drowlette promises that audiences won't be disappointed as he attempts to offer a glimpse into a multitrillion-dollar industry normally dominated by billionaire developers and corporate investment giants.

The first caution every aspiring entrepreneur needs to hear is this: know the line between play and work. Many side hustles begin as hobbies, such as baking, crafting, coaching, or digital content creation, which feel effortless in the early stages. But once that passion starts generating consistent income, the rules change. Upskilling courses are now available everywhere, from baking masterclasses to Etsy business strategy workshops, coding bootcamps, and fashion design intensives, giving women the opportunity to sharpen their skills and compete at a professional level.