Pet sitting or tutoring may be the best option
Side hustles. Most of us (45%) have one of some sort selling stuff on Etsy or eBay, writing a book to sell via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, knitting socks to sell at a craft fair, that sort of thing.
But, lately, a lot of people are getting misled by TikTokers who claim that their side hustle is the second coming. Creators are boasting about their success in everything from virtual assistants to tutoring. Is everything you see real or is it just clever content marketing?
SideHustles.com recently dove into the TikTokside hustles toseparate fact from fiction. Over 1,900 videos on TikTok were analyzed to identify the most popular side gigs, their potential earnings, and their time demands. The researchers say they also unearthed some startling truths about how misleading some of those claims are.
Breaking down the facts
When you look at the metrics on what SideHustles researchers found, the most eye-popping figure is that nearly 15% of TikTok videos on side hustles contain misleading or exaggerated claims affiliate marketing, real estate, and drop-shipping being the top side hustles in regards to misleading or exaggerated claims.
What kind of misleading information should you watch out for? Here are some common exaggerations:
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Promises of unrealistically high earnings
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Claims of easy money
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Suggestions of low effort but high rewards
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Guarantees of quick success
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Assurances of guaranteed income
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Pitches for risk-free investments
But youve got to be realistic when you watch these videos, suggests Mark Slack, SideHustles.com cofounder. In the side hustle community, clickbait and engagement-bait comein the form of claiming big dollar earnings in a short amount of time with the least amount of effort, he told ConsumerAffairs.
How much effort can you realistically get out of a side hustle?
There arehundreds of TikTok videos claiming you can get rich off of some of these side hustles maybe $10,000 a month doing affiliate marketing or $5,000 selling real estate. However, youre either going to have to work your tail off as much as 40 hours a week --which makes it more than just a side hustle or be very lucky, because not everyone who says they can do those services can or even know how.
If you want something thats got slightly better odds, the researchers think you should look at these top three side hustles with the highest average earnings per month:
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Consulting: $1,000$5,000
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Graphic design: $500$4,000
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Social media management: $500$3,000
Where time is precious because of family responsibilitiesor a more pressing full-time job, the researchers consider tutoring and pet sitting the best options. Both require only five to 20 hours a week and you can pretty much call the shots of how many clients youll take on.
Word to the wise
Don't let this discourage you if you're interested in these popular side hustles. They can still be great ways to earn extra cash. Just make sure to do your research beyond TikTok, Slack said.
While you absolutely can, and many have, made money with the side hustles commonly discussed on TikTok, its always the result of determined work. If anyone is selling you secrets, ask why they need to if theyre already so successful.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-08-09 14:38:52
