4 Side Hustles That Aren't Worth the Effort

Side hustles are becoming more popular than ever before, as people look to earn extra income. Whether you want to pay off debt, get a more comfortable cash flow for your monthly bills, build up your savings account, or achieve other financial goals, starting a side hustle can be fun and empowering. 

But some side hustles become side "hassles" -- they bring extra costs, risks, and unpaid work. Before you start a side hustle, make sure you're aware of the costs of doing business. 

Here are a few popular side hustles that might not be worth the effort -- and how you can make these side hustles work better for you. 

1. Ride-hailing driving and food delivery apps 

If you own a car, starting a side hustle as a ride-hailing driver or food delivery app driver can be a quick way to start making extra cash. 

But beware: Ride-hailing hourly wages, after the costs of gas and depreciation, might not be worth it. The Ascent's previous research has found that Uber drivers make an average of $19 per hour, and food delivery app drivers might make $15-$22 per hour with tips. Those aren't bad wages, but they're averages -- if you go too long without a new customer, your hourly earnings might drop to the point where it's not worth doing. 

And driving for a living has a few unique risks, like car insurance and wear and tear on your vehicle. What if you get a flat tire while delivering groceries, and have to pay hundreds of dollars for new tires? What if you get in a car crash that's not covered by your "on duty" ride-hailing app's car insurance? That $20 per hour of extra income could turn into thousands of dollars of extra expenses. 

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How to make this side hustle a better deal: Get rideshare auto insurance. Some insurance companies offer special car insurance for the needs of ride-hailing drivers, either as a new policy or as an endorsement to an existing auto policy. Most ride-hailing apps provide some insurance while you're officially "on duty" within the app, but getting additional insurance can keep you from falling through the cracks. 

2. Dog walking and pet care 

I've seen mixed reviews about just how much money you can make with a side hustle as a dog walker or pet sitter. Some research from Preply has shown that dog walkers can make an average of $43 per hour (which would make it one of the highest-paying side hustles), but I've also seen dog walkers advertising on Rover (rover.com) in my city for as little as $13 per walk, or $20 per day of doggy daycare. 

If you love pets, and you're not really doing it "for the money" but just because you enjoy taking care of animals while getting exercise, then dog walking could be a great side hustle and hobby. But a dog walking side hustle might not always be a big money maker. 

How to make this side hustle a better deal: There's a lot of competition for dog walkers on sites like Rover, which can cause aspiring dog walkers to slash their prices. Instead, build up a select dog walking clientele by networking among your friends and family -- and if you're going to be responsible for caring for pets, make sure you're charging enough money to be worth your time. 

3. Podcasting 

Lots of people love listening to podcasts, talking about podcasts, and recommending podcasts. Podcasts get millions of downloads every day. It's possible to make money from podcasting as a side hustle; I have a friend who co-hosts a podcast about Dungeons & Dragons that earns a few hundred dollars per month. 

But here's the problem: Don't assume you'll be able to create a superstar podcast that gets sold to Spotify for millions of dollars. Many podcasts never attract a big enough audience to monetize. According to personal finance guru (and successful podcaster) Ramit Sethi, a typical podcaster with 10,000 listeners might earn about $500-$900 per month. And unless you go viral for all the right reasons and have an overnight success story, it takes time to build up an audience of that size. 

How to make this side hustle a better deal: Don't go it alone with your side hustle podcast -- invite other podcasters to be guests on your podcast, and cross-promote each other on social media. This can help you build up your audience and start making more money.  

4. Social media influencer 

Want to get paid to look photogenic on Instagram, or promote products on TikTok? Being a social media influencer and content creator looks glamorous, but there's lots of unpaid effort that happens behind the scenes. It's not all hanging out in Santorini, Greece with selfie sticks. And it can be hard to cut through the clutter of millions of people trying to get attention online. According to Ramit Sethi, the average Instagram influencer with fewer than 100,000 followers gets paid about $200 per post. Is that enough to quit your day job? 

How to make this side hustle a better deal: Be a content creator because you love it, not because you're expecting to be the next MrBeast (or whoever the cool teens are talking about on TikTok now). 

Bottom line 

I don't want to discourage people from trying to do fun, creative side hustles. But it can take a long time to build up enough of an audience for your social media content, podcast, or YouTube channel to put money in your small business bank account. If you're going to start a side hustle, or any small business, be aware of the costs and risks. Go in with a spirit of optimism, but protect yourself from the downsides.