One of the biggest truths in the American workforce today is that one income alone might not be enough to sustain everything we need. This is especially true as inflation has risen dramatically over the last few years, which means everything, from the cost of milk on up, is costing us more.
As a result of increasing costs that are rising faster than wages, side hustles have gone up, with average earnings of more than $810 per month, according to Bankrate’s most recent survey. When you consider that 39% of US adults have a side hustle these days, it’s now gone from a rarity to an essential part of life.
Average Earnings
Building on the idea above that the current average for earnings with a side hustle is around $810 per month, it stands to reason why one out of every three adults is pursuing a side hustle. However, things get murky when you consider that while 8% of adults are making more than $2,000 and another 7% are making between $1,000 and $2,000, only 28% are making $50 or less monthly.
Pushing this thought aside for one second, there is also a big split between millennials and other generations. On average, millennials earn around $1,022 per month in extra income, while baby boomers earn close to half this amount, at $646. Gen Z and Gen X are in the middle, with around $753 and $670 in earnings, respectively, so a big gap is forming between generations.
Low Earnings
Average earnings aside, the real head-scratcher here is what motivates the 28% of adults making less than $50 per month to keep going. This concern gets even bigger when you realize that only 42% of adults make under $100 monthly in a side hustle, which doesn’t feel like a lot of extra money. This is doubly true considering the effort likely going into receiving this additional income, which leads directly to why.
Paying Debts
One of the most apparent reasons anyone would keep going with a low-earning side hustle is that they have debt to pay and are likely hoping income will rise. There is no question that even $100 can make a dent in any debt, so there is that motivation to keep earning this money.
Skill-Building
In many cases, the reason to keep going for almost no income as a side hustle is that you are learning valuable skills that will translate to more income. Whether this is something as simple as dog walking that can translate into showing additional responsibility to an employer or food delivery that shows dedication to punctuality, there is a reason to keep going no matter the earnings.
Future Business Potential
Piggybacking on the skill-building idea, the likely biggest motivator to keep pushing forward with a low-paying side hustle is the hope it will grow into more. Many side hustles, especially entrepreneurial-based ideas, take time to build up, so it’s not uncommon to go a year or more with little money to show for the effort. However, all of this work can pay off from just one customer, or in the second year, maybe there is more luck from a marketing perspective, and things suddenly take off.
How to Increase Earnings
Better Marketing
If you’re struggling to see the results of a side hustle, consider revamping your marketing strategy. An investment might be needed to utilize paid Google, Facebook, or Instagram ads to help narrow your audience to those most likely to buy. You can also try email marketing by purchasing a list online or revamping your existing email marketing to tighten your sales pitch.
Raising Rates
One of the biggest challenges for any side hustle, especially independent side hustles, is knowing what to set for your pricing. Yes, you can look at the market and stay in line with your computers. Eventually, if you feel like you are working too hard for your money, you have to raise rates and pitch to your customers why your rates are too low compared to the results you deliver.
Pivot Directions
There are also timeless stories of successful companies that started as one thing and suddenly became something else. The original idea for YouTube was a video-sharing platform for online dating or a short text-message only service for X (formerly Twitter), which would later become one of the most dominant social media networks.
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