How I Made Net Income of $20K+ in Side Hustle

A couple of weeks ago, I’ve created a massive list of gig economy jobs for extra income that include 94 gig jobs.

I’ve tried 8 of them in my spare time between 2015 and 2019 and earned over $20K net income. You probably think it’s not a lot of money, but extra cash always helps.

Note: This is my side hustle income. Not freelance income. I’m not going to share my freelance income online (:

So how do I side hustle? 

Here are my 8 sources of side hustle net income between 2015 and 2019.

1. Dropshipping $127,66.69
2. eBay $5,531.44
3. Poshmark $955.46
4. Tradesy $354.14
5. Affiliate Marketing $304.50
6. Fiverr $360.78
7. Rakuten $575.56
8. Mr. Rebates $92.05

Total Net Income: $20,542.31 (already subtract all the business expenses)

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you. Please read my full disclaimer here for more info.

First, Why Did I Start a Side Hustle?

Side hustles, are they necessary? It’s really up to you.

I went back to school to get my bachelor’s degree in graphic design at 30. Going back to school requires a large investment of time and money as an adult student.

I already had a mortgage and no more space for extra debt like student loans at the time.

So, I started to investigate ways to make extra cash.

In the first year and second year of my side hustle journey, I only made less than $2000 a year. Yes, it’s a little but making money online didn’t require special skills. I was shocked in a good way.

There are tons of tools & resources for online business on the internet and these platforms and services made online business much easier than back in the old days.

I’ve tried 8 different side gigs in my spare time between 2015 and 2019.

As a result, my side hustle income grew little by little.

In 2019, I earned a Bachelor’s degree while working full-time without student loans. I paid for everything out of my pocket.

Side hustle definitely helped me to pay for tuition and expensive textbooks. (can you believe it, A textbook was $500)

Earning extra cash in a side hustle won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but it is super helpful to avoid getting into debt.

Here are details about my 8 extra income streams between 2015 and 2019.

#1 Dropshipping, net income $12,766.69

Dropshipping is selling products without having an inventory. The business model is known as “low-profit margins.” And, I think so too. It requires a lot of work with small profits.

The dropshipping business was in the red first year because of the shipping costs. However, the net profit grew little by little and now it’s my biggest source of extra income.

My routine as Dropshipper:

• Product research
• Creating images that make people want to buy
• Upload images and write product details on the site
• Provide customer support as needed (mainly shipping issues)

Helpful resources:

• List of Dropshipping Suppliers
• How I made 14K+ Net Income from Dropshipping

#2 eBay, net income $5,531.44

I’ve been selling pre-owned clothes, handbags, shoes, accessories, and electronics on eBay since 2015. I started selling on eBay as part of my spring cleaning at first, but it gradually became one of my side hustle income sources.

My routine as an eBay seller:

• Shoot photo of items
• Upload images and write item details on the eBay
• When an item sold, pack it
• Weigh a package to calculate shipping cost
• Buy shipping label online and print it out
• Head to USPS!

Helpful resources:

• Day in the Life of a Part-Time Online Seller
• 18 Essentials to Make Your Online Selling Easier

#3 Poshmark, net income $955.46

Just like eBay, I sell pre-owned fashion items on Poshmark since 2017. I personally like selling on Poshmark more than selling on eBay because of prepaid shipping labels. The prepaid shipping labels are flat rate via USPS Priority Mail. (any size up to 5 lbs) I don’t have to weigh a package to calculate the shipping cost. That’s right, no stamps and no hassle required. I really like this “simplified shipping” system.

My routine as a Poshmark seller:

• Shoot photo of items
• Upload images and write item details on the Poshmark
• When an item sold, pack it
• Print out provided shipping label
• Head to USPS

#4 Tradesy, net income $354.14

Tradesy is an online peer-to-peer resale marketplace for buying and selling women’s luxury and designer contemporary fashion. I sold my designer handbags on Tradesy once in 2016. I really wanted to like Tradesy because of its user-friendly platform. But unfortunately, I had a really bad experience with Tradesy. I’m not going to use them again.

#5 Affiliate Marketing, net income $304.50

Affiliate marketing is the process of earning money every time you promote a company’s products or services and drive a sale. For instance, you find a product you like, promote it and generate sales, then earn a small percentage of the sale as a commission.

I use this blog and social media to promote affiliate products.

Helpful resources:

• How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
• How to Promote Affiliate Products

#6 Fiverr, net income $360.78

Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelance services and you can sell a wide variety of digital services.

My first gig (digital service) was “3 Pinterest images for $5.” Guess what? People ordered it A LOT and requested revision endlessly. I had to keep my customers happy even though it’s only a $5 project, so yeah… I worked too much.

All of my customers were happy. They left me 5 stars, but I wasn’t happy at all. I stop using Fiverr since then.

#7 Rakuten, net income $575.56

Rakuten is a cash-back shopping site where you can earn 1% to 25% on purchases you make from more than 2,500 online retailers.

I downloaded Rakuten’s free browser extension to get automatically notified when cashback is available, so I don’t miss the cashback. It looks like this:

#8 Mr. Rebates, net income $92.05

Same as Rakuten, Mr. Rebates is a cash-back shopping site where you can earn 1% to 25% on purchases you make from more than 2,500 online retailers. Mr. Rebates also offers a free browser extension to get automatically notified when cashback is available.

I compare the cashback rate between Rakuten and Mr. Rebates and then use the higher cashback rate. Cashback won’t make you a millionaire, but it is much better than paid online surveys in my opinion. (because you don’t have to do anything but shopping)

Wrapping Up

I spent an average of 10 hours a week on my side hustle project. Is it hard? Not really. As you can see, most of my side hustle is online selling which does not require much skill to start. Once items are live online, I just wait and wait until they are sold. Packing and shipping are not difficult jobs either.

Now, it’s your turn! What income streams are you working on now? Share your thought below or mentioned me on Twitter. I would love to hear your story.