With global inflation driving up prices, more people are looking for ways to earn extra income. Tom Blake, a 29-year-old from Canada, has tried dozens of different side hustles and figured out which ones are both profitable and relatively easy to manage.
From a student in debt to earning $100,000 a year in an interview with the Daily Mail, Blake shared that his exploration of side hustles began in 2014. At the time, he was still in college and burdened with student loans. He worked part-time at Starbucks on campus during his spare time, but the income was barely enough to cover living expenses.
To earn more money, he began to try various side jobs, such as reselling textbooks and freelance writing. “At first, I tried many ideas, some of which worked well, while others were complete failures,” he admitted. “I even saw a ‘passive income’ side hustle on Reddit called ‘phone farming,’ which claimed to earn hundreds of dollars a month, but I only managed to earn a measly 30 dollars a month, which was very disappointing.”
He later discovered that there were too many types of side hustles, making it difficult to determine which ones were truly profitable and which were just a waste of time. So, in 2018, he started a blog called This Online World to document in detail every side hustle he had tried.
At the time, he had just graduated from university and was working at a digital marketing company. In his spare time, he tried almost every side hustle he could find and wrote detailed reviews, which he then posted on his blog. “I persisted in publishing income reports, side hustle reviews, and experience sharing, and my fan base gradually expanded,” Blake explained. By the fourth year, he had earned nearly $100,000 from blog advertising alone.
Which side hustles are the most worthwhile? Blake’s “red list” recommendations.
- Paid surveys: the first choice for beginners.
Blake stated, “These kinds of side hustles may not be very lucrative, but they’re perfect for beginners.” “Many companies pay you to answer questionnaires on various topics such as entertainment, food, music, and politics; market research firms need this data. You get paid for each completed survey, usually withdrawable via PayPal or redeemed for gift cards from companies like Amazon. I highly recommend platforms like Branded Surveys, Prolific, and Survey Junkie.”
- Taking on odd jobs: Earning money through physical labour Blake also believes that doing odd jobs for others is a great side hustle. “Some people are willing to pay you to help them move, clean, garden, shovel snow—you name it,” he said. “You can also post your services on relevant platforms, sometimes people post for help in Facebook groups, or you can proactively post to promote your services.”
- Niche delivery and recycling: Avoiding saturated competition in addition, he revealed that many niche apps on the market can make money. “Everyone knows about food delivery and ride-hailing, but DoorDash and Uber are already too saturated. There are many niche apps that pay much more,” he said. “For example, Oppizi pays you to hand out flyers in neighbourhoods. And companies like Sharetown pay you to collect returned furniture, mattresses, and other large items, then resell them on Facebook Marketplace and earn a commission.”
- Reward apps: Earn an extra few hundred yuan per month Blake also strongly recommended various cashback and reward apps, saying he could earn several hundred dollars a month using them. “There are now many apps and websites where you can get rewards for downloading apps, playing games, or even opening a free checking account,” he said. “Some rewards can be as high as several hundred dollars. The biggest platform in this space is Freecash, which has millions of users worldwide.” “I also like Scrambly and Kashkick, which are also very popular platforms.”
- Cashback Apps: Turning Consumption into Income Finally, he recommended that everyone try cashback apps, or those free apps that allow you to get cashback when you shop. “For example, Upside offers cashback on gas, restaurants, and grocery shopping,” he added. “I also use Fetch to get cashback on grocery shopping. Now there are newer apps like Franki that even pay you to explore cities, new restaurants, and bars. It’s perfect for beginners.”
Pitfalls to avoid: Blake’s side hustle “blacklist” Regarding which side hustles are not worth doing, Blake strongly advises everyone to avoid projects that “require a large upfront investment.” “For example, if you’re doing drop shipping, you might have to invest thousands in advertising to test the products right away. Or like with Amazon FBA, you need to invest money in inventory upfront,” he said. “While these models may be profitable, starting with debt or emptying your savings can create enormous psychological pressure.”