Introduction:

Starting a side hustle can feel overwhelming when you’re staring at a blank screen, wondering if you’ll ever find that one revolutionary idea. The truth is, you don’t need to reinvent success. The most successful entrepreneurs recognize patterns that are already working and make them their own. This principle has helped countless young people turn side hustles into multimillion-dollar businesses, and it can work for you, too.

What side hustles are working for people right now? That’s exactly what we’re covering in this article. You’ll discover seven real-life examples of young people currently making over $100,000 per year from their side hustles, so you can follow their proven pathways and replicate their success. Each opportunity is rated on three key areas: how much time it takes to learn, how much money you need, and how difficult it is to make $10,000 per month.

Let’s dive into these proven side hustle opportunities that are generating real income right now.

eBay Reselling: Turn $400 Into $317,000:

eBay reselling represents one of the most accessible entry points into entrepreneurship. One individual’s life was going nowhere after losing his mother as a kid and never knowing his father. Working a dead-end job in his late teens with no obvious way out, he’d had enough of feeling stuck and decided to take control. He started selling products on eBay and, with newfound motivation, managed to turn $400 into $317,000 within just one year.

Is eBay Still Profitable in 2026?:

Many people assume eBay is dead and that Amazon has completely taken over. The data tells a different story. eBay’s latest revenue shows it’s not dying, it’s actually growing. In the second quarter of 2025, the platform brought in $2.7 billion, which represents a 6% increase year over year.

While you might not hear about eBay as frequently anymore, understanding where this growth comes from reveals the real opportunity. In the early days, eBay and Amazon competed for the same mass market audience. As Amazon scaled into a retail giant powered by logistics and prime delivery, eBay quietly pivoted. Rather than competing on speed and convenience, it began dominating specific niches.

The Riches Are in the Niches:

eBay excels in collectibles, vintage items, refurbished tech, trading cards, and hard-to-find products. In these specialized areas, loyal buyers still choose eBay over Amazon every single time. Success on eBay comes from dominating a specific niche, like gaming accessories. This includes replacement thumbsticks, retro memory cards, and devices designed to improve gaming performance.

Time Required to Learn: 1 out of 5. You only need to pick one profitable niche and dedicate a month of your time to learning how the platform operates.

Money Needed to Start: 1 out of 5. Right now, without even knowing it, you’re probably sitting on a gold mine. Before ordering products from a supplier, a useful strategy most people overlook is warming their eBay account up by selling unused items from around the house. This approach allows you to learn the eBay ropes risk-free, warm up your account with sales history and positive feedback, and make fast money you can reinvest into better stock.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 2.5 out of 5. It’s completely possible to start by selling unused items from around your house, then use that money as a starting fund to scale up to making over six figures. You’ll need to stay on top of your listings, constantly updating them and making sure your prices stay competitive.

Brand Deal Flipping: Connecting Influencers and Brands:

Brand deal flipping is a middleman side hustle where you connect influencers with brands and take a cut for yourself. One entrepreneur was diagnosed with cancer at just 16 years old. Instead of letting his illness stop him, he used the hours spent in hospital beds to start brand deal flipping. He didn’t have any connections when he started, but now, just six and a half years later, he generates over $4 million per year working with major brands.

The Growing Influencer Marketing Opportunity:

When brand deal flipping first emerged as a viable business model, convincing big brands that online creators were worth spending money on was an uphill battle. Nobody really respected influencers as legitimate marketing channels. The landscape has completely changed.

In May 2025, the New York Times announced that for the first time, Americans watch more streaming content than cable and broadcast TV combined. The top streaming platform was YouTube with a whopping 12.5% of TV viewership, with its closest rival Netflix at 7.5%. Brands are throwing more money than ever at online creators, and if you can be the middleman that negotiates these deals, you can take a big slice of the profits.

Why Influencers Need Middlemen:

Consider the biggest companies in the world. Airbnb doesn’t own a single property. Uber doesn’t own any cars. Amazon started by just connecting buyers and sellers, and DoorDash helps you order food. They’re all middleman businesses, and they work exceptionally well because of convenience. It’s really convenient for an influencer to work with someone who can handle the deals, so all they have to do is focus on creating great content.

Time Required to Learn: 2 out of 5. As a brand deal flipper, your main job is to bridge two worlds: the creators who are usually younger and the people running big brands who are typically older. The real value lies in managing both sides of that relationship. As long as you understand YouTube, you’ve already done half the work. Take the time to understand how brands operate, and you’re onto a winner.

Money Needed to Start: 0 out of 5. All you need is a laptop and time to invest in building your connections. One successful brand deal flipper started by following creators on Instagram and finding related creators using the suggested feature. He spent hours following this process and reaching out to people, and within his first six months, he made $30,000 in profit.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 2 out of 5. The hardest part is convincing people to work with you. Once you accomplish this, earning $10,000 a month is more than achievable. Consider this scenario: you find one brand that books just five influencers through you each month. Each influencer has an average deal value of $7,000, and your margin is 30%. From one brand alone and just five influencer partnerships, you have an agency doing $400,000 a year in revenue and netting around $10,000 per month in profit. These numbers are completely realistic in today’s influencer economy.

Video Editing: Turn Your Laptop Into a Money Machine:

Video editing represents one of the most in-demand skills in the digital economy. Just a few years ago, one student was sitting in his university bedroom staring at the student debt he was racking up, thinking there had to be a better way to make money. He had no idea where to start, so he grabbed the closest thing to him, his laptop, and decided to learn video editing.

The Explosive Demand for Video Content:

That single decision led him to learn a skill far more valuable than his degree. Before long, he’d made his first $100,000 in yearly profit, working with some of the biggest companies and creators on the planet and editing influencer collaborations for brands like Coca-Cola, Nintendo, and Gymshark. He escaped his small university room and gained the freedom to travel the world and work from anywhere.

There’s no reason you can’t achieve similar results, as the demand for skilled editors is only growing. Video now accounts for 82.5% of global internet traffic. Companies need to create video content; they’re invisible. They’re urgently looking for people who can take their message and turn it into something people actually want to watch. Once you become good, you’ll be able to charge premium rates as you’ll be directly increasing the company’s revenue.

Will AI Replace Video Editors?

AI can cut clips and sync to music, but there are two main reasons why it will never replace real editors. First, emotion. AI can’t feel tension, build anticipation, or spot the moment that gives you goosebumps. Second, AI can’t innovate. It can only imitate. AI studies what’s already been done and copies those patterns. Real editors do the opposite. They don’t copy, they create. AI will be a tool editors use frequently, but it won’t be a suitable replacement for human creativity and emotional intelligence.

Time Required to Learn: 3 out of 5. Video editing isn’t something you master overnight, but it’s also not something that takes years to learn. Beginners often make the mistake of focusing too much on fancy transitions and crazy effects, but this isn’t what most clients are looking for. Master the basics first: how to cut, pace, and add music. Then practice putting together a story. If you can make a viewer feel something or keep them watching until the end, you’ve already mastered 80% of what makes an editor valuable.

Money Needed to Start: 1 out of 5. Video editing is one of those rare skills where you can start with almost nothing. If you’ve got a half-decent laptop and an internet connection, you’re good to go. You can save up and invest in paid software, a faster laptop, or better storage, but none of those things are required to start earning. Some of the best editors began on laptops that could barely export a 1080p clip. Don’t wait until you’ve got the perfect setup. Start with what you have. Learn the craft, and the upgrades will follow the income, not the other way around.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 3 out of 5. In the beginning, you’ll probably take on smaller jobs like editing TikToks and reels for smaller creators or businesses. Don’t overlook these opportunities. These jobs lay the groundwork for your future earnings. They’re your ticket to building a strong portfolio, and that’s what attracts higher-paying clients. If you take on multiple clients per month, you’ll reach that 10K mark in no time.

Branded Dropshipping: Build Sustainable E-Commerce:

Branded dropshipping represents the evolution of traditional e-commerce. Not long ago, one entrepreneur was just like most students: broke, stuck in a neighborhood he wanted to escape, and wondering how he’d ever get rich. He didn’t have any money, connections, or experience, just a laptop and motivation. He started branded dropshipping and learned on the go, and that decision changed everything. Now, he regularly pulls in around $40,000 in profit per month.

Why Branded Dropshipping Beats Traditional Models:

Dropshipping has been around for a while, but branded dropshipping is where people are making the most money right now. It’s much more effective compared to the old approach. A few years ago, the classic dropshipping model worked like this: someone visits your store and buys a product for $30. You jump over to AliExpress, grab the same item for around $10 plus shipping, and have it sent straight to your customer. On paper, that looks like easy money.

The reality never played out that smoothly. To get that sale, you probably spent $5 to $10 on ads. By the time you deal with refunds, delays, or shipping issues, you’re barely scraping a profit. That’s the problem with old-school dropshipping. It works, but it’s fragile.

The Branded Dropshipping Advantage:

Branded dropshipping changes everything. The backend looks similar as you’re still selling online, but the way you position the product is completely different. You focus on building trust, designing better websites, and branding a product people actually want to be seen using. Suddenly, that $30 item isn’t fighting for pennies. It’s an $80 product that people buy because they believe in the brand behind it. Your margins grow, your refund rate drops, and your side hustle starts to feel more sustainable.

Time Required to Learn: 4 out of 5. Not because it’s hard, but because it takes time. You’re not going to be profitable right away, and that’s completely fine. This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s a long-term side hustle that builds steady, predictable income over time.

Month one is all about getting started: building your store, testing your ideas, and figuring out how the pieces fit together. You’ll have some small wins and a few frustrating losses, but that’s part of the process. Month two is when things start to click. You’ve got data, you’ve learned what works, and now it’s about doubling down on what’s actually getting results. Month three is where you shift gears into growth. By now, you’ve likely made your first sales and maybe even your first 50 to 100 customers. That’s your proof of concept. Now it’s time to scale your ads, reinvest profits, and start thinking bigger. By around month six, if you stay consistent and keep learning, you’ll have a store that’s generating reliable profit every month.

Money Needed to Start: 1 out of 5. You can get started almost completely free. The beauty of dropshipping is that you don’t actually pay for the product until you’ve made a sale. The only thing to keep in mind is that there can be a short delay while your payments clear, but that’s about as risky as it gets.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 2 out of 5. It’s much easier than most people think. $10,000 a month is just $333 a day. Imagine you’re running a branded dropshipping store where each sale makes you around $25 profit after costs. To hit $333 a day, you’d only need to make around 13 or 14 sales per day. That’s not hundreds of customers or a massive audience. That’s literally a handful of people finding your store and buying something that solves a real problem for them.

Brand Identity Design: Create Visual Recognition:

Brand identity design is one of the most profitable pathways in the graphic design world. One designer grew up with no money and, after leaving school, found himself stuck in an accounting job he hated, watching his life pass by in a soulless office. He knew he needed a plan to change his circumstances, so he locked himself away for six months, researching, reading, and learning whatever he could get his hands on. That’s when he discovered brand identity design. Six months later, he went from a negative bank balance to hitting his first $20,000 month.

Understanding Brand Identity:

Imagine a company approaches you and says they want people to recognize them instantly, to know who they are and what they stand for just by looking at them. That’s where brand identity comes in. It’s your job to design the entire look and feel of that business, from the logo and colors to the fonts, images, and overall style that make it instantly recognizable.

Because brand identity directly affects how people see the brand and ultimately how much money the business makes, it’s one of the most profitable pathways in graphic design. Thousands of designers charge $50 for a quick logo or social media template, but very few people are offering the full package that makes a brand feel professional and trustworthy.

The Massive Market Opportunity:

The brand identity market has exploded in the last few years and was valued at over $9.5 billion in 2024. It’s projected to hit $40 billion by 2032. Even governments are investing heavily in brand identity. The UK government spent $650,000, or half a million pounds, on redesigning the Gov UK logo. This demonstrates the massive opportunity in this space for designers who can deliver professional results.

Time Required to Learn: 4 out of 5. It takes time because every project teaches you something new. Once it clicks, you can start charging real money for your work.

Money Needed to Start: 1 out of 5. As long as you have a laptop, you don’t need to spend money getting started. The real investment is your time, not your money, making it perfect for students.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 2 out of 5. It’s actually very achievable. Some brand identity designers charge $10,000 for just one project. If you charge $2,500 for a full brand identity package, you’d only need four clients a month, or one client a week, to hit $10,000.

Short Form Content Strategy: Master the Attention Economy:

Short-form content strategy is about understanding what makes content go viral. One strategist was just an ordinary student scrolling through social media until one day, instead of passively consuming content, he started studying what makes content blow up. He took note of every hook, every caption, and every transition that made people stop and watch until he found the exact formula that led to virality.

The Power of Short Form Video:

Once he cracked the code, he tested it on TikTok, and it worked. Soon, he was helping creators, tech companies, and even banks grow their audiences through short-form videos. This led to him making over $100,000 before he turned 18 with nothing but his phone.

Short form content isn’t just a trend; it’s the future. The average TikTok user opens the app 20 times per day, and TikTok reports users spend an average of 90 minutes a day scrolling. This attention is the new currency. All the young millionaires you look up to got rich by leveraging some form of attention. Being a short-form content strategist allows you to tap into this power without being a creator yourself.

Finding Clients Everywhere:

Your job is simple: help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and coaches grow their brands online. The opportunities are everywhere. You could work with your local gym, a coffee shop, or even an estate agent who has no idea how to market themselves on social media. Every business needs content and attention, and right now, they’ll happily pay someone who knows how to deliver both.

Time Required to Learn: 1 out of 5. You can learn the basics in just a few days. The real skill comes from understanding why something works, not just how to make it look good. If you spend even just one hour a day analyzing and creating, you’ll start spotting patterns that most people completely miss.

Money Needed to Start: 1 out of 5. All you need is your phone, and most people are probably reading this article on one right now.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 3 out of 5. It really depends on how you charge. Once you get good, charge both a flat fee, which is what you get paid no matter what, and on top of that, something called a view bonus. This is an agreed upon bonus that you get paid if the video ends up going viral. Most clients will be open to this as it puts you both on the same page and incentivizes you to work harder to make videos explode. If you manage to get a few viral videos per month, then $10,000 a month is more than achievable.

Investing: Build Passive Income Streams:

Investing is the one side hustle that everyone should pursue, no matter what. If your money’s not working for you, then you’ll always be stuck working for it. Smart investing currently generates more than $17,000 per week in passive income for savvy investors. This demonstrates why investing can truly take your wealth to the next level.

When to Start Investing:

People often ask two key questions about investing. The first is, what’s the best time to start investing? The answer is always the same: there’s never been a better time to start than right now. In the past, you needed brokers, minimum deposits, and hours of research just to buy one stock. Today, you can start with just a few taps on your phone.

How to Actually Start:

The second question is, how can you actually start investing? This requires more comprehensive education than can be covered in a single section. Successful investors break down their strategies through detailed educational content, covering everything from index funds to individual stock selection, technical analysis, and fundamental analysis.

Time Required to Learn: 4 out of 5. It’s simple to get started with something like index funds, but to pick individual stocks, you need to master technical and fundamental analysis, which takes time.

Money Needed to Start: 1 out of 5. Most investing platforms now offer fractional shares that let you begin with $1 or one pound. The barrier to entry has never been lower.

Difficulty Reaching $10,000 Per Month: 4 out of 5. It can take many years to achieve this level of passive income. However, when you do reach it, it is truly passive as it doesn’t require any extra work beyond your initial research and periodic portfolio management.

Conclusion:

These seven proven side hustles represent real opportunities that are working for people right now. From eBay reselling requiring minimal startup capital to brand deal flipping connecting the influencer economy, video editing serving the growing demand for content, branded dropshipping building sustainable e-commerce, brand identity design creating visual recognition, short form content strategy mastering the attention economy, and investing building passive income, each pathway offers a unique route to financial freedom.

The most important takeaway is that you don’t need to reinvent success. Study what’s already working, recognize the patterns, and make them your own. Every single person featured in this article started with nothing more than determination and a willingness to learn. They didn’t wait for the perfect moment or the perfect idea. They started where they were, with what they had, and built their success one step at a time.

Choose the side hustle that resonates most with your skills, interests, and current situation. Dedicate consistent effort to learning and improving. Stay focused on providing real value to your clients or customers. The path from zero to $10,000 per month is proven and achievable. Your journey starts with taking that first step today.