3 Side Hustles That Maximize Your Income And Minimize Your Working Hours, According To New Survey
Could you be making more money if you took on a side hustle?
Dean Drobot | Shutterstock 54% of Americans have taken on a side hustle according to MarketWatch. Now more than ever before, increasing numbers of people are doing work on the side to supplement the income they make from their traditional nine-to-five.
Side hustles are certainly becoming more popular as people look for ways to make more money, or even passive income streams, in an ever-changing economy. What starts out as a side hustle can often become a full-time business for many as it overtakes whatever they were doing in their original job.
As side hustles grow in popularity, more research will be conducted to better understand them. One new survey from Quicken found that three specific side hustles can help you to simultaneously maximize income and minimize working hours.
Here are three side hustles that can maximize your income and minimize your working hours:
1. Personal assistants
Being a personal assistant is definitely popular right now. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted there will be 367,500 openings annually for secretaries and administrative assistants.
The role of personal assistant has changed drastically with the evolution of technology. Now, there is the opportunity to be a virtual assistant.
Polina Zimmerman | Pexels
“The term ‘virtual assistant’ is a catch-all for a slew of different types of work,” according to CNBC Make It. Founder of consulting firm BoldHaus, Angelique Rewers, said that the more specialized your skills are as a virtual assistant, the more money you can make — even up to $100 an hour, she told CNBC.
Personal assistants have the opportunity to work in a variety of different fields and showcase different skills they possess. And, the better you are at a skill, the faster you can perform it. If an assistant billed by the project and was able to complete projects rather quickly, they could definitely make a good amount of money while putting in little time.
2. Cooking and baking
Cooking and baking is a hobby many people enjoy, so it’s good to know that you can make money off of it.
Obviously, there are traditional cooks and bakers who make a career out of their skills. But, with the surge of the gig economy, you can now sell your services on the side.
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According to Qwick, a platform for side hustles in the hospitality industry, you could work as a temporary line cook, personal chef or event caterer, all while maintaining your autonomy as a gig worker.
Of course, there are also opportunities to sell cooked and baked goods. There are multiple ways to do so, from starting your own website and business to joining a platform designed for this. It gives you a way to do what you love and what you’d probably be doing anyway while making money off of it.
3. Caregiving
Obviously, you can work full-time as a caregiver, and full-time caregivers are certainly needed. The average hourly pay for a caregiver in the U.S. is $21.15, adding up to $3,666 a month, according to Care.com.
Caregiving isn’t something people often think of as a traditional side hustle, but it’s a solid option. You can work to help the elderly or sick in your off hours or on an on-call basis.
Andrea Piacquadio | Pexels
Care.com recommended some other caregiving-based jobs such as nannying or babysitting, being a doula, or housekeeping.
If you work as a traditional, full-time caregiver, you will likely need certain certifications or educational credentials. If you work as a caregiver on the side, those things may not be necessary. After all, you’re helping to take care of someone but not really working in an official capacity.
This is a chance to make a good hourly rate while squeezing in work when you can or when you’re needed.
These are just a few of the many lucrative side hustle options out there.
While these three side hustles may have been voted as the best for maximizing income and minimizing hours in Quicken’s survey, there are truly side hustle options that fit every person and their diverse skills and interests.
You never know, that knitting hobby you picked up during the pandemic could make you a whole lot of money.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.