Which Sides Gigs Pay the Best – and the Worst

When you want to earn a side income you want to do it in the easiest and most enjoyable way possible or you won’t end up sticking with it. Here are some side gigs that pay the best, and also some that pay the worst that you should avoid.

Getting the Most for Your Time

Make sure that you are always getting paid well for your side gig. You’re not trying to start a charity here, so you shouldn’t place a low value on your time and always make sure you are being paid a premium for the tasks you complete.

Great Pay: Online Trading

Online trading can be very lucrative if done correctly, and you’d be surprised how easy it is to make a decent side income while minimizing your risk and creating regular cash flow. Many people are surprised how little it can take to get started with online stock trading, you don’t have to bet the farm in order to experience initial success.

It could be as simple as reading this Penny Stocks 101 Guide and trying it out with a practice account, then moving to real money when you think you’ve got the hang of it.

Great Pay: Bookkeeping

One way to make some good side money is to do the bookkeeping for small businesses that are looking for a mix of experience and cost-effectiveness. It’s possible to make $30 an hour or more and once you build a base of clients this can be a very steady income that you can rely on month after month.

Great Pay: Virtual Assistant

Becoming a virtual assistant is one way to make sure you’re getting paid according to your skill set. The more you can do for a company the more you can command per hour, but in this case you can do all of the work from home which saves you a lot of money on commuting to and from work.

It’s not always easy to get started (as we discuss below) but once you separate yourself from the pack it’s not too hard to find one really good client or a handful of decent-sized clients to keep you busy.

Moderate: Driving for Uber/Lyft

You’ve no doubt seen or heard advertisements on becoming a driver for Uber or Lyft, and there are some aspects of the job that seem very appealing. But when you factor in the wear and tear on your car and the downtime of driving around without a passenger in your car it’s not as attractive as some of the other ways to earn a side income.

Lousy Pay: Free Sample Provider

One way to make money is to become the person that gives out the free samples at grocery stores. This side gig involves setting up the display and interacting with customers as they pass by enticing them to try a free sample. You get paid a flat rate plus a bonus based on how much product you move thanks to your offering skills.

Lousy Pay: General Freelancing

One of the most common and hardest-to-master side gigs is becoming a freelancer. From freelance writing to any and all online gigs it can be very hard to line up enough work to make it steady. Online employers are more fickle than ever, expecting more and paying less than ever before.

With such a huge market for online workers it’s no wonder why it’s so hard to compete. One way to avoid this is to specialize in one area and then become a standout at your chosen field. This way you’ll be sure to catch the eye of potential employers and make things easier to scale up as you go along.