**This post contains affiliate links meaning that I will potentially receive a kick back for any new members who join with my link
In 2023, I made the conscious decision to put some extra effort into my side hustling, wanting to truly see how much extra money could be manifested that way.
I didn’t have a particular goal in mind, neither financial nor in terms of which hustle I would focus on, but I decided to try as many as I could.
I’d been following money influencers for years, particularly Neesha from the Fun Money Club and Make Money Without A Job, so I did have a plethora of ideas.
In the end, I decided to see where it took me, spontaneously deciding which hustles to work as and when I felt called to do so.
In this blog post I am going to share my results, offering some thoughts on each income stream AND some tips and tricks for each.
User Interviews
Let’s start with my favourite and undoubtedly the one the surprised me the most because in 2023, User Interviews was a revelation.
I think I joined the website in around June/July, and I’m pretty sure that I probably saw it on one of Neesha’s Instagram posts. But, whatever the reason, I joined. Within 2 weeks I had been accepted onto a study that paid £120.00. And since then, I’ve made over £600.
Due to the nature of the website, I can’t go in to too much detail about exactly what each of these studies involved.
A few things to note about this income stream.
Firstly, the length of each task varies, with some being minutes long and others lasting a month. And just the timeframe, the amount of effort required of each also differs greatly.
It’s also not a website that pays cash, as most of the surveys offer payment in the form of vouchers which are redeemable at varies outlets. I usually choose Amazon for the larger amounts of money and Starbucks for the smaller. But there are plenty to choose form.
All that said, User Interviews has undoubtedly been one of my personal favourites and it’s one that I will be using throughout 2024.
People Per Hour
If you’re interested in dabbling in freelancing or have any kind of skill that you feel can be digitally monetised, People Per Hour is the best place for you to start.
It’s essentially an online marketplace for freelancers. Those looking to hire post a listing that outlines exactly what it is that they are looking for. Freelancers then bid on these opportunities, outlining why they believe they are capable of completing the job and any other important information.
There are a plethora of skills wanted on the website with writers, programmers, designers, administrative assistants and many more regularly featured in the postings.
Unlike market research websites which tend to be limited in their growth – as your reliant on surveys being posted and them being relevant to you – this website is one that you can really make the most of. The more hours you spend bidding, the more chance you have of securing work on the website.
I’ve been using this website for a few years and in the past, I have managed to create a fair amount of money on the website. However, in 2023 I really struggled to find any viable work. Unfortunately, People Per Hour seems to be struggling with an increased number of scammers and other false accounts. There are too many people now request Telegram contact and, a lot of people attempting to use the site as an essay mill (something I’ve tried to raise with them consistently).
For me, it wasn’t a successful side hustle in 2023, but it is still a viable website. As long as your careful, consider each job on its own merit and have the skills needed, you could still find it lucrative.
I recently published a post about People Per Hour, offering some tips, tricks and inside information on how to utilise the website.
Vinted
This suggestion probably doesn’t require an introduction, but Vinted was a reliable source of income for me in 2023. In total I earned roughly around £100.00 on this website over the course of the year.
Sure – it’s probably not going to earn you a huge amount of money, but as selling websites go, Vinted is easily one of the best.
The potential income from this app is only limited by what you have to sell, and in theory you could earn a fair amount of money.
The system is smooth, payment is fast, and customers tend to be more reliable. Not a bank breaker for most of us but a good app with potential.
Kindle Direct Publishing
When I first learnt about Kindle Direct Publishing in 2022, I was excited by what I was seeing on YouTube. Unfortunately, I have never generated the kind of profits that some people have, but I have one fairly successful product.
A couple of years ago, I created a ‘travel workbook’ for children aged 7-11. It’s the only product of mine that guarantees me sales on almost weekly basis. Curiously, all of the sales come from Canada.
It’s a curious one and one I have never understood, but it’s all related to Amazon search. And that is where you biggest challenges lies.
This one requires a fair amount of effort at the beginning, because you need to learn how to uncover hidden Amazon search terms. If you have that ability, then you have huge potential to make a large sum of money on this website. Many other people do.
In fact, this is one of the big side hustles that I want to focus on in 2024. I’ll report back if I manage to hack the system.
Etsy
Deep, deep breaths.
This post is triggering for all kinds of reasons – all of which I will touch on briefly – but for the purpose of sharing side hustles tips, Etsy was a huge success for me in December 2023.
This store was called CulPop and featured hand drawn designs that were based on Pop Culture. It was a huge success and in December, I garnered quite a following.
In just over three weeks, my store received 85 orders, a 5-star standing and over £1000.00 in sales.
And then, without warning, Etsy closed the store.
They gave reasons for this decision, none of which actually applied to my account and having appealed without the full information, the store was closed permanently.
The reasons that they gave were vast and unspecific claiming that I had infringed on copyright (the designs were mine) and that I had a high defect rate (1 refund out of 85 orders).
Obviously, this has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I now find it hard to recommend them to people. After all, they can close your store for perceived violation and since my store was closed, I have heard many other horror stories.
That said, when it was open my store was potentially a full-time business, and I was devastated when it was closed. So, all that said, Etsy is definitely worth doing, but I’m not sure it can be relied upon.
It’s for that reason that I have now launched my own store – CulPop Shop.
Comping
Since 2022, I have been regularly entering competitions having seen a feature online about the ‘comping’ world. As part of my daily routine, I look at online comping websites and then chose to enter the one’s which are of interest to me.
To date I have entered thousands of competitions and since starting, I have won a grand total of three. Yes, that’s right, only three. So, as side hustles go, it’s not been the most effective.
That said, there are some mistakes that I have undoubtedly been making and – to that end – I am now looking exploring how to do comping differently. I purchased a copy of the book Comping BootComp, and the planner, both of which were designed by Di from SuperLucky. This book is pact with tips, tricks and advise for comping successfully.
At the moment, I am not convinced that comping is a viable side hustle and being honest, it’s one that does take a huge chunk of time. But, I’ve made myself a promise, I am going to have one final go at it. If by the end of 2023, I am NOT able to say that I have won a single competition, it is a side hustle that I will be firmly giving up on.
