4 Side Hustles That Look Easy on TikTok — but Rarely Pay Off
If you’re glued to TikTok, you’ve likely seen countless influencers touting the benefits of quick and easy side hustles that will make you rich — the kind of gigs that generate so much instant cash, you can purchase a brand-new Porsche.
Unfortunately, nothing that generates substantial cash is quick or easy. In fact, Lacey Kaelani, CEO at Metaintro, stated that, in her opinion, “the TikTok side hustle economy is mostly a course-sales economy in costume.” In other words, the majority of videos claiming to generate five figures per month are made by people selling programs on how to perform the side hustle rather than by people actually doing the side hustle.
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Here are side hustles that look simple on TikTok but rarely pay off.
Selling Digital Products on Etsy
According to TikTok, selling digital products like resume templates, planners and educational materials is a gold mine. All you have to do is download Canva to design the product, upload the product to Etsy and watch $1,000-$100,000 per month of passive income roll in!
However, Fahed Bitar, commercial and industrial construction expert at S-Line Contractors, did not have this luck. He spent three weeks creating 15 templates, paid $40 for both the listing and setup fees and only made $23 over a couple months. He explained that not only did Etsy charge 20 cents per listing and a 6.5% transaction fee for each sale, but his product was competing alongside those whose sellers spent years optimizing their SEO.
“What really scares most people off from these things is the time required,” stated Maverick Maltin, AI educator and founder at MavGPT.
To become substantially profitable, creators must spend approximately eight months finding clients, doing outreach, handling objections and delivering the product. Is it possible? Sure. Is it probable for someone looking for an easy side hustle and not another full-time job? Not really.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a business model where items are purchased from an online retailer and then shipped directly to the customer from the manufacturer. Cody Schuiteboer, CEO and president at Best Interest Financial, explained dropshipping “promises” zero inventory for the retailer and passive income to the tune of $4,000 per month.
But he encouraged people to read the fine print: Earnings are more like $200 per month after operating costs. Marketing requires a huge budget ($300-$800 per month), design tools run $20-$50 per month and platforms deduct a percentage from each sale.
It can, therefore, take six months to see consistent profits and, even then, the profits are typically not the amount advertised on TikTok. And certainly not worth the effort involved.
Creating a Faceless YouTube Channel
Faceless YouTube videos are, as the name implies, videos you can make without ever showing your face. They rely on artificial intelligence (AI) voiceovers, stock footage and automated editing tools. The videos cover topics from true crime to finance to self-improvement. While this hustle is marketed as the ultimate way to earn $5,000-$100,000 per month in passive income, that’s not the norm. And the startup costs aren’t nothing.
Bitar explained a good AI voiceover service can run $30-$50 per month, video editing software is another $20 per month and stock footage is $100 per month. On top of that, YouTube won’t let you monetize your channel until you have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours—which can take six to 12 months of consistent work to achieve. Until then, you’re paying to operate your own channel which, while not impossible, is something most people don’t want to do.
“I think creators just portray that [Faceless YouTube Channels] are very easy for likes and clicks, but, in reality, they need a lot of investment (money, time and brains),” Bitar said. “Don’t believe everything you see online.”
Day Trading/Crypto
With earnings are purportedly up to $10,000 per month, day trading and crypto “are presented as a quick skill you can pick up over the weekend to secure your future,” Schuiteboer said. The reality, however, is that it takes three to five years of daily study to become a consistently profitable trader.
Not only is there a monthly subscription package to the tune of $50-$300 per month that traders must purchase to access premium software and real-time market data, but most day traders consistently lose money. In fact, 90% of traders quit within the first year.
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This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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