• Steph Thompson is doubling down on side hustles after they helped her earn money while studying.
• She has completed surveys, checked out stores as a mystery shopper, and sold digital products.
• She discussed with Business Insider her favorite gigs she has tried.

Many people are stuck in rigid 9-to-5 jobs. Others crave a more flexible schedule and move on to freelance work. Steph Thompson, 31, prefers having a mix of side hustles.

Thompson, who lives in Australia, said side gigs allowed her to support herself while working on a one-year academic program.

"When I had a more free week I could devote more time to it and when I didn't have spare time it didn't matter, the side hustles would always be there waiting for me," she said.

She made more than $5,000 between January 2024 and this past January from different side hustles, such as completing surveys, participating in user-generated content, referrals, and selling digital products. Thompson completed her program in November, and now she's doubling down on side hustles. Many people work a side gig while holding down a full-time job, and some side hustlers are stay-at-home parents looking to make some money. Some have quit their jobs to focus on side-hustle earnings.

Thompson encourages people to find a side gig that matches their interests and schedule.

"There is going to be something out there for most people," she said. "You may have to hunt for it a little bit, but you will find something out there that suits your personality, suits your brain, suits your time."

Below are a few of the gigs Thompson has tried and why they might be enjoyable for others.

Testing and reviewing products and services

UserTesting, a platform that says people can make money in their spare time by testing and providing feedback on products and services, is one of Thompson's favorite side hustles. She made over $400 in the past year on the platform.

Some assignments may involve giving feedback on camera or through a microphone, while others are surveys where that's not necessary.

Karan Mavai, vice president of product management at UserTesting, said "think-aloud tests" are the most popular on the platform. "Contributors speak their thoughts out loud while navigating a digital experience, prototype, or application," Mavai said, adding that the customer seeking feedback then gets a recorded session of screen interactions and verbal feedback.

"I like being on video, and I like chatting with people, so it really suits my personality," Thompson said about UserTesting and market research side hustles.

She also likes User Interviews, another platform where you can provide your thoughts. There are various ways to earn through the platform, including online surveys, focus groups, and multiday studies. Some studies require having a webcam to participate, while others may involve talking on the phone.

"If you like giving your opinion on things, it's the side hustle for you," Thompson said.

She said the pay can be lucrative; the platform says the average pay is more than $50 and paid through gift cards. Thompson has made some money from referrals to User Interviews and participating in studies. Her earnings ranged from $10 for a 15-minute study to $50 for a longer study. She has found that opportunities may happen during business hours, so she said it might be a good gig for someone who can fit in participation during the day.

Mystery shopping

Thompson said mystery shopping is an easy side gig to try because you could find opportunities through an app and then quickly start an assignment. She has made 6 Australian dollars, or about $4, for one mission and AUD$8 for another. The missions involved taking photos of the chocolate and sweets areas of two different stores to capture how they were displayed.

Thompson thinks this side gig is ideal if you often go grocery shopping. "They're a great little add-on to your day where it doesn't really have to take you too far out of your way to earn a couple extra dollars," she said.

Digital products

Thompson has also earned money from selling a meal planning template and a budget spreadsheet, both of which are digital products. Over seven months, she earned about AUD$1,418 from all her digital products.

"It's stuff that I made for myself and ended up going, 'Oh, actually, other people might want this too,'" she said.

Ebooks, budget trackers, printable planners, and art can be sold as digital products. Thompson thinks you don't need a large audience to get started with selling digital products.

"If you go with where your interests are, you'll tend to make better products, I think, because it's actually come from genuine interest," she said.

Surveys

Thompson said that while surveys can be a good side hustle option, she finds them boring. While surveys aren't her favorite side gig, she does like two platforms in particular: Prolific and Australian platform Octopus Group.

"If you keep an eye out for the ones that pay better, that tends to be an OK use of your time," Thompson said about survey platforms in general.

Prolific's site says the minimum payment is at least $8 an hour per task, but Prolific told BI many pay more than that. Prolific said studies usually are between five minutes to half an hour.

Thompson thinks survey sites would be ideal for someone hoping to make a bit of extra money or doesn't have a ton of time to set aside.

"It's definitely not the most lucrative side hustle, but at the same time, if you are the type of person that can sit and watch TV and scroll on your phone at the same time, you'll be fine," she said.

Delivery

While some people may enjoy making some extra cash from delivery jobs, it can also mean investing some of your money back into it. Thompson said with a delivery side gig you're likely accruing more costs than other side-hustle options because you will need to factor in gas prices, car maintenance, and other costs.

Food delivery is one option, such as Uber Eats. Thompson thinks Uber Eats can be a fun option if you enjoy driving. She said it can be a side hustle that can be easy to get started with if you pass the background check, but she doesn't think it's as good an option as it used to be.

"I haven't done it a lot in the last year or two because the pay rate has definitely started to not make it as worth the time and the effort when there are other options available," she said.

• Ritesh Verma earns almost $15,000 monthly from side hustles alongside his Capital One job.
• Verma's side hustles include AI agents, YouTube, mentorship, and software services.
• He uses automation to work on multiple projects at once and earn more money.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ritesh Verma, a 23-year-old software engineer in Jersey City. It's been edited for length and clarity.

After graduating from college in 2023, I was hired as a software engineer at Capital One with a $136,000 base salary, but it's not my largest source of income.

I've been building side hustles for years, and they now earn me almost $15,000 a month.

When I got hired at Capital One, I was worried about a full-time job disrupting my side hustles, but I've created a system that makes it manageable. Here's how I stay on top of my work and why I won't take my side hustles full-time — yet.

AI agents are my main side hustle

In late 2019, a friend of mine asked me to code a purchasing bot to help him buy and resell sneakers. I had no idea what bots, or AI agents, were, but I agreed and spent over six months teaching myself how to make software programs that perform tasks.

In 2022, I decided to post a YouTube tutorial on how to create a simple bot, and it got 200,000 views. A man saw my video and asked me to make him a purchasing agent for high-end golf clubs. I accepted the offer and made $600 every time I got him a golf club. Suddenly I was earning $1,800 a month.

Word spread, and I started getting more clients in the golf club collection space and other niche communities. I built purchasing bots for anything from hats to wine bottles to baby clothes.

I didn't want to be known as just the bot guy, so I started building services and tools as well. I built a scheduling bot that helps shift-based workers, such as servers, in the Nevada area snag competitive shifts.

I started using Reddit to find clientele

Early last year, I watched a YouTube video where the creator described how he used Reddit to grow his startup. I decided to give it a try.

I made a Reddit post saying, "I suck at getting these shifts, and I need help. Does anyone else relate?" Then I DMed the roughly 20 commenters who sympathized and pitched them my tool. I got eight of my clients from Reddit and now make about $9,000 monthly from it.

I also trained AI assistants to make Reddit posts for me, advertising my services and sending potential clients my phone number.

Reddit takes my posts down because they're promotional, but within 30 minutes of them being up, I'll usually have several people in my DMs. I've been kicked off Reddit and had to make multiple accounts, but it's all part of the process, and I think it's worth it.

I also have less lucrative side hustles

1. YouTube: I use my YouTube channel to gain clientele and as a side hustle. I get ad revenue from videos, and in one month, I made $1,400 from three sponsors.
2. Mentorship program: I also started a six-week mentorship program where I teach others how to code bots. For $3,000 in any given month, usually, two to three students get bi-weekly meetings to discuss assigned projects and learn concepts.

3. SaaS products: In 2024, I launched two SaaS products, which are basically just more conventional software engineering services. One is Instagram outreach software, which earns me $900 a month. My other SaaS product, which allows people to put Instagram reels on their website, has yet to turn a profit.

How I manage my side hustle and 9-to-5

My secret to success is working on several projects at once. I can stay on top of so many because it's highly automated.

I might spend 20 hours building a new AI agent or project, but after that, my weekly commitment might only be two hours. I also might spend a few additional hours getting clients or troubleshooting, but the hard work is done.

My Capital One job is a hybrid 9-to-5 with two days in the office each week. After work, I eat and have a four-hour deep work session where I focus on my side hustles. I also work a few hours each day of the weekend.

It's a lot of work, but I find it fun. I also make sure to have time for myself. A few friends and I travel every three months. In 2024, I spent a total of a month overseas in places like Brazil, Japan, and Italy, doing no work. Those trips are a good sanity check and keep me looking forward to something.

I won't leave my full-time job until I meet a specific metric

A mentee asked me why I don't leave my full-time job, and I told him I don't feel like it's taking up space.

I've probably tried 15 projects recently, and most fail. I give every project a month or two of serious dedication before deciding if it's worth continuing. Sometimes, the project is just too hard, and growing it is a pain.

Other times, I just lose the spark of the idea. In those cases, I'll put it on a major backburner or ask a mentee if they'd like to take responsibility for equity in the product.

Plus, I'm following a rule that I won't leave my full-time job until I make three times my Capital One base salary from my side businesses. Once I achieve that, I'll drop it. That's the goal.

If you make six figures from a side hustle and would like to share your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].

• Dan Weiss, 79, earns up to $47 per hour on Taskrabbit assembling furniture in Minnesota.
• Weiss, a retired mortgage manager, joined Taskrabbit in 2021 for both the income and structure.
• He completes tasks almost daily, earning $3,000 to $5,000 monthly and supplementing his retirement.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dan Weiss, a 79-year-old Tasker on Taskrabbit in Oakdale, Minnesota. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I joined Taskrabbit in 2021 and have completed nearly 1,200 tasks at around $47 per hour for my services in Ikea furniture and general furniture assembly in and around Minneapolis.

I have a bachelor's degree in business administration and management and two master's degrees. Before I retired in November 2014, I managed several residential mortgage branches for a major bank.

Retirement was fine initially, but I quickly realized I needed to add structure to my life. Now, I fill my days building furniture, meeting new people, and supplementing my retirement income.

Going from 100 MPH to zero was a very abrupt change for me

One can only do so much gardening and reading without feeling unfulfilled.

I stayed "retired" for about six months and then had to find something that gave me more enjoyment and provided additional income to avoid chipping away at all of my retirement savings, which I began saving for in my mid-40s.

Before Taskrabbit, my other part-time jobs included stints at Costco, customer service work, and driving for Uber and Lyft.

I read an article in my local newspaper about a young woman who had discovered Taskrabbit. It intrigued me, so I immediately went online to create a Tasker account and have them run a background check on me. That was completed in a matter of days, and I was ready to go.

I've now been Tasking for 3 years

I've always enjoyed assembling things, but there was a learning curve. Although I had previously worked with Ikea furniture, there was much to figure out about some of the "tricks" associated with Ikea products.

I made over $47,000 in 2023, my highest year in earnings yet. I average $3,000 to $5,000 in earnings monthly. I could live on my retirement savings if I had to, but Taskrabbit income helps.

I do tasks almost daily

I complete between one and three tasks daily, averaging about four to five days a week. Most of my tasks are no more than a half-hour away, but I spend a fair amount of time driving. I can expense the mileage and gas.

My time spent with clients is highly enjoyable. I meet people from all walks of life and find their stories interesting. I enjoy this aspect of tasking the most.

I've realized how fulfilling and also challenging retirement can be

The lack of structure and income flow in retirement is challenging. We're told to save, save, save for retirement, and that's what I did. When I made the change from saving to spending, I was mind-blown. It didn't feel comfortable or natural.

Taskrabbit has allowed me to continue to generate income while also providing structure and allowing me to maintain contact with a variety of people.

I've discovered the importance of superb reviews in growing my business

When I was young, there were no such things as digital reviews. Today, they're critical because everyone checks them before booking a service or going to a restaurant. I secure generally excellent reviews by doing the following steps:

• Always communicate openly with your client. Confirm the date and time and set expectations in advance.
• Arrive on time or slightly early. If you will be late, even by a few minutes, it's important to let them know.
• Upon arriving, be friendly and cordial. A handshake usually gets things off to a good start to establish a line of trust.
• Be efficient and ensure the task is completed properly and precisely. Having the correct tools is also mandatory for this aspect of the task.
• If there are problems such as missing or defective parts, let the client know as soon as possible and provide suggestions on how to remedy the problem so as not to add stress to their plate.
• Thank them for the work opportunity and share how they can save you as a favorite for future tasks, leave a review and, if they choose, tip you, which happens about 25-40% of the time. I'm very focused during the actual task, but if the client engages me in conversation or has questions, I stop and focus on them.

I expect to continue to task as long as the compensation is commensurate with the job

I will continue to do this as long as my body holds up.

Tasking has given me both fulfillment and help funding trips and vacations. My wife and I love Maui and intend to return soon.

I'm still in the planning phase of deciding on our next vacation destination. There are many other places that we wish to visit while we're still healthy and relatively mobile.

Are you a retiree with a side hustle who wants to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at [email protected].