Despite a cooling down of the cost of living and inflation, Americans remain keen on boosting their salaries by finding or creating additional income streams. The trend of side hustles continues to be strong, providing professionals with opportunities not just for financial stability, but also for increased career flexibility. An example is Nicole Farber, a single mother who, seeking freedom and scalability, taught herself website coding and started providing web design services as a side hustle. This side venture led to the creation of her company, ENX2, in 2008, which has since grown by 25-30% annually. Her company focuses on employment law firms, delivering personalized digital marketing and web design services, and now serves over 200 clients nationwide, being recognized by Inc. 5000 for its success.
A new study by researchers at Creative Fabrica highlights the most popular side hustles in the U.S., based on Google search trends across all 50 states. These findings identify rideshare driving, blogging, photography, and virtual assisting as prevalent side hustles. Specifically, rideshare driving stands out as the most searched-for side hustle nationwide with nearly 31,000 monthly searches. Additionally, YouTube content creation and personal training follow as the second and third most popular side hustles, with 19,510 and 18,140 monthly searches, respectively.
These side hustles have surged in popularity as people strive to differentiate themselves in crowded markets and find niches that maximize their earning potential. Whether it's as a rideshare driver, YouTuber, or personal trainer, success stories like Farber's illustrate the limitless potential of side hustles to transform lives and careers.