Side Hustle Stack: What is it And How Does it Work?

To earn money, consider building a side hustle stack to diversify your income streams and make your free time more productive. 

This strategy can help you rely less on your day job. In fact, it may eventually replace your full-time job as you scale your business.

Since this might be the first time you’ve heard about this money-making concept, let’s look at how you can monetize and maximize your skills.

What is a Side Hustle Stack

A side hustle stack combines different side hustles to earn money in multiple ways from similar activities. In addition to earning active income, you may also receive passive income.

For example, you might be a delivery app driver (active income) while also getting paid to put advertisements on your car (passive income). 

Instead of pursuing two different side hustles that might be unrelated, you “work smarter, not harder” to earn more for your efforts.

It might sound complicated, but there are plenty of ways to stack your side hustle earnings locally and online.

The Benefits of a Side Hustle Stack

Having a side hustle stack can benefit your financial well-being in many ways.

Here are some of the best benefits of having multiple side hustles:

• Flexible schedule: You get to choose your hours.
• More income: Multiple income streams means that you earn more money.
• Location independent: You can work from home, so it’s easier to earn cash.
• Do what you love: You can choose side hustles you enjoy.

Plus, depending on your earning potential and availability, you can turn your side gig stack into a full-time income stream that can replace your 9-5 job. 

How Does a Side Hustle Stack Work?

Creating a side hustle stack might sound difficult, but you can do it in just a few easy steps.

1. Determine What You Want to Do

First, compare your interests and skills to the available opportunities.

Since this is a long-term income strategy, you want to enjoy your work. Take the time to figure out if you have any hobbies that can make you money. You’ll be more inclined to stick with it if you are having fun.

2. Start One Side Hustle

Instead of trying to build Rome overnight, focus on one side hustle initially. Putting all of your efforts into one income stream might seem counterintuitive, but doing so can help you create the foundation of your side hustle stack.

While you might only focus on one income idea, consider trying several platforms to see which works best. For example, you might deliver for DoorDash and Postmates to see which is more lucrative and enjoyable.

You can consider branching into related activities as you gain experience, establish a positive rating, and connect with long-term clients.

3. Make a Plan and Follow It

Creating short-term and long-term goals will help you become more successful. For example, you may strive to make $100 daily or establish a monthly earning goal.

Minor setbacks and other surprises are inevitable since it’s challenging to predict how successful a particular side hustle will be before you start it.

Fortunately, your plan can help you stay the course and avoid distractions that can delay progress. 

In addition, don’t be afraid to adjust your income strategy if an idea isn’t as profitable or enjoyable as you originally anticipated. 

4. Consider Taking a Course

While this isn’t required, learning a new skill or improving your knowledge base is one of the easiest ways to increase your income potential. Thankfully, there are short and affordable self-paced online courses for many niches. 

You can take these classes in your free time and learn from experts who share their tips for success. Applying what you learn can make you more proficient with your time and allow you to complete advanced tasks that pay more.

Skillshare is an excellent online learning platform with classes on many topics.

These include:

• Graphic design
• Organization
• Photography
• Programming
• Writing

As you increase your skill set, more opportunities will become available to you and you can earn more money.

5. Join a Community or Find a Mentor

The phrase, “It’s not who you know, it’s what you know,” rings true when it comes to side hustle stacks. Connecting with others in your niche can lead to job opportunities and the ability to grow your brand.

Networking with an established freelancer or business owner can also be an excellent way to learn about the industry’s best practices and get suggestions to improve your work.

Here are some ways to collaborate with peers:

• Attend trade conferences and networking sessions
• Connect on social media
• Sign up for a mastermind group
• Join Facebook groups
• Swap guest posts 
• Visit niche websites and leave comments on posts 

Building relationships takes time and effort, but the rewards are worth it. You can also check out mentoring.org to try to find a mentor.

6. Scale Up

Building your brand and earning a steady income can take months or years. How quickly you scale your side hustle stack into an income-producing machine depends on several factors, including the quality of opportunities and your time commitment.

In some situations, it’s common to try several odd jobs before figuring out which ones are the most successful.

Growing your business requires hard work. However, the process can be more straightforward if you have high-demand skills and join supportive communities.

How to Maximize a Side Hustle Stack

Once you determine the side hustles you want to stack, it’s time to start earning money. These steps will help you make more money per gig and increase your productivity.

1. Combine Active and Recurring Income

Try to find ways to multitask and make money from different gigs simultaneously. One option is trying a mailbox money idea. This requires upfront effort to create the initial product, but it can earn recurring payments from future sales.

A prime example is creating a downloadable product such as an ebook. While you need to make the initial effort to produce the book, your selling marketplace can automatically send a copy to the buyer. Then, you collect a royalty. 

2. Mix Time Flexibility

Ensure you have sufficient time to devote to each income idea. Otherwise, you’ll limit your total earning potential.

For example, your primary income stream may require being available during specific hours. Then, in your free time, you can devote your efforts to a side hustle app that lets you complete tasks at your convenience without strict deadlines.

Finding your ideal balance helps develop an achievable routine to avoid burnout. You can also diversify your efforts and have more opportunities to earn income instead of relying on a particular client or app to provide more paid work.

3. Take Advantage of Money-Making Apps

Making a little extra money is pretty easy these days thanks to numerous side hustle apps offering short and long tasks. 

Many apps specialize in a specific opportunity, such as:

• Data entry
• Deliveries
• Dog walking
• Games
• Online surveys
• Photography
• Selling locally and online
• Transcribing

If one app isn’t keeping you busy enough, you can add another one.

Additionally, finding the best platforms can take time and effort. The Steady App is a timesaver as it lists local and online positions available today. 

4. Use Multiple Platforms to Leverage One Skill

One benefit of having a side hustle is that you’re an independent contractor and are not restricted to one employer. Joining several platforms increases the probability of having more clients. 

You can also compare more opportunities to choose the highest-paying option.

For example, you could create driver accounts with DoorDash to deliver meals and Instacart for groceries. After testing out both, you can stick with the one that pays the most.

Another example is selling on Etsy, Amazon and eBay. Each platform has a loyal customer base that may not shop on competing sites. This allows you to never miss an opportunity to sell an item.

5. Utilize Easy Extra Income Streams

Unless you’re incredibly talented and have highly efficient time management skills, your side hustle stack should consist of both challenging and easy income streams.

Typically, complex and time-consuming tasks pay more for your efforts but leave little time to pursue other high-paying jobs. However, there are online jobs that pay well and supplement your income.

For example, you might complete a 10-minute online survey between delivery requests. Or, you could perform data entry during a work break.

You may not get rich from the easy-income ideas, but your total earnings can add up.

Side Hustle Stack Examples

Now that you know how to make a side income system, it’s time to look at how you can earn money from multiple tasks simultaneously. Here are some side hustle stack examples.

Be a Freelance Writer While Running a Blog

There are multiple paths to make money through writing. 

A typical option is writing for a client’s website that is already producing an income and needs to hire freelance writers to create new content. You may find some of your clients on Upwork and other freelancer platforms. 

In your free time, you can start your own blog. This won’t make money initially, but it will once you build consistent traffic. In time, you can make money through ads, affiliate commissions and sponsorships.

Pet Sit and Be a Social Media Influencer

Dog walking and pet sitting provide flexibility since you can choose your clients and when you work. When you’re not taking a walk around the block or caring for Fido, you can share your pet care tips on social media.

As a social media influencer, you can make money through sponsorships and referring viewers to join the platform you use to connect with pet owners.

Run an Airbnb and Work as a Virtual Assistant

Airbnb can be an exciting way to earn extra money from a spare bedroom or a second house and can be less stressful than maintaining a long-term rental. 

Plus, depending on your location, short-term rentals can have frequent bookings so that you’re constantly making money.

Between tending to guests, you can work as a virtual assistant by completing various administrative tasks for clients. This position is usually location-independent, and you can make money by answering emails, scheduling tasks, and more.

Resell Different Products on Different Platforms

Flipping products for a profit is an exciting endeavor. From the active income perspective, you can buy undervalued items at yard sales and thrift stores and sell them to local or online buyers. 

For example, you might consider selling these products:

• Clothes
• Prom dresses
• Shoes
• Sports cards

To earn passive income by selling products, you can create a digital download about flipping items that sell on Amazon, Etsy, Gumroad, and other niche sites. 

Another option is starting a dropshipping business where you buy an inventory of a physical product that the supplier ships directly from a warehouse to the buyer and make a small profit for each sale.

What is the Side Hustle Stack Tool?

This free tool helps you quickly find platforms for a particular work category. In addition, it reduces your research time so that you can easily join various services and start making money. 

The Side Hustle Stack Tool will most likely present income categories and paid platforms you didn’t know existed or didn’t realize were possible to monetize. 

How Does the Side Hustle Stack Tool Work?

First, visit the tool homepage and search for your desired work category. Then, you can compare the various companies and decide which one you want to join. 

As you research platforms and work categories, look for ways to earn a mixture of active and passive income. You should also plan on scaling into different tasks with varying time commitments, pay potential, and difficulty levels.

What Are the Work Categories?

There are over 20 different work categories within this tool.

These include:

• Chef
• Content creator
• Community leader
• Driver
• E-commerce
• Fitness instructor
• Personal shopper
• Reseller
• Restaurant worker
• Tasks and services

You will find local and online companies for many categories. This means you will have plenty of ideas to start making money and make adjustments as you gain experience. 

Side Hustle Stack Tool Pros and Cons

While the tool has benefits that can simplify the process of building your side hustle stack, it’s also important to evaluate the downsides.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Multiple work categories
• Summary of each company

Cons:

• Easy to overlook some work categories
• Finding reliable work can be competitive
• Work categories don’t include every popular company 

Summary

A successful side hustle stack can help you earn active income while you work and make money in your sleep. Your initial earnings might be small, but they will make you less reliant on your day job to pay the bills. 

Consider this income strategy if you want a long-term side hustle that can make money for years and potentially decades. Future opportunities may surprise you and allow you to improve your financial health or even quit your full-time job.