Not all side hustles have to be low-paying.
Today I will share a story about someone who makes over $200 an hour with their side hustle.
That is not a misprint. $200 an hour with a side hustle.
There’s a couple reasons why they are able to make more than $200 an hour with their side hustle.
These reasons will become apparent when I share the story. I will also share a couple key takeaways from their story that can be applied to virtually any side hustle.
While you may not be able to make anywhere close to $200 an hour with your side hustle, anyone can increase their dollar per hour pay if they approach side hustles a particular way.
My Uncle’s $200 an hour side hustle
My uncle – Jeff – works in the manufacturing industry. More specifically he works at a company that uses large machinery to cut metal into parts for clients.
The machinery they use requires specific interchangeable cutting tools. These tools are an essential component of the machinery used to cut parts for clients. A brand new tool costs around $150 and cuts approximately 100 parts. At that point the tool is worthless because it’s too dull to use, and is thrown out.
When his company needed new tools ASAP the supplier was sold out. Through trial and error, Jeff was able to sharpen the used tools so they could be used again. The story gets better. The sharpened tools were able to cut twice as many parts as the brand new tools were able to.
The vendor was told about this discovery and the rest is history. The side hustle may not last forever, but as of now he is the only one that anyone knows of that can sharpen the used tools.
How to increase the amount you make from your side hustle
You may not work in the machinery industry but this story is still applicable to anyone looking to make more money per hour of work. There are a couple specific takeaways that I think should be stressed: specialize and solve big problems.
- Specialize – Jeff possess a skill that is extremely specialized. When you start talking about machinery, software, hardware, etc. it can become very specialized very quickly. When your particular expertise is specialized to the point where no one else is able to do what you do, that’s where you can start making a lot of money for your work.
To relate this to more general side hustles, let’s apply it to Freelance Writing. If you are a freelance writer who writes about general topics you will likely be able to find some work, but not for a high dollar per hour pay.
Compare that to the freelance writer who specializes in writing about how federal health care policy impacts businesses from an operational and financial standpoint. There may not be as many clients for the specialized writer, but he may be making $100 an hour because the clients he does have can’t find any other writers with his particular expertise.
- Solve Big Problems – The vendor and it’s clients have a huge problem when there is demand for new tools and there is no new tools available. That’s a huge problem that people are willing to pay a lot of money for smoene to fix.
When your job/business/side hustle are focused on solving big problems, people are typically willing to pay a lot of money to have their problems solved. People aren’t always willing to pay to have their problems solved, but they typically are willing to pay when you are able to solve a customer’s problem and the solution results in money saved or money made.
The more you can specialize and solve big problems, the more value you are creating for clients and customers. Whether it’s a side hustle or regular job, you can command more pay if you focus and execute on these two things.
With that being said, it’s perfectly fine to work side hustles that are relatively low-paying. In fact, many side hustles – including ones I advocate such as blogging – will either cost you money in the beginning or pay nothing for many months. The beauty of a side hustle is that it’s a side hustle, meaning you don’t have to rely on it for full-time income.
But if your goal is to make $200 an hour with a side hustle, or even more than that, specializing your work and solving big problems are two things to focus on.
What do you think about my Uncle’s $200 an hour side hustle? What have you don to specialize your skill set? What big problems have you solved for clients/customers?
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Photo by Kim
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One of my biggest pieces of advice to young people is to develop their specialized skill set. Even if it’s not something they ultimately want to make a career, it’s great to always have a profitable and in demand side hustle to fall back on. The more specialized you are, the higher price you can claim and the more likely you are to be accommodated rather than replaced.
Nice! The specialization component is crucial. The market is often just too saturated to support generalists. I think the start-up costs (education, special equipment, etc) are often much more expensive for super specialized work, but, the pay-out will be greater too–provided there’s a sufficient market. Sounds like your uncle has a great deal going on!
I think you said some key words in there in that most people are successful at freelancing if they can solve a problem. Some people want to venture off into freelancing or starting a business because they are passionate about something, but if it doesn’t solve someone else’s problem they will probably never be successful.
Specialization is similar to finding a niche and niche marketing is some of the best ways to generate business. I built a successful start to my practice by focus on women as a niche and I have grown from there.
That’s awesome your uncle was able to spot that and capitalize on it. We’ve seen this ourselves and it has done wonders for our business. We offer copywriting services, of course, and is a good chunk of our business. However, the last thing we want to be doing is writing all day. So, we’ve been able to specialize towards certain niches/industries which can pay quite a bit more as well as move beyond just writing. Essentially, it helps us scale upwards which in the end helps grow the business as not many (as far as what we’ve been able to tell) are offering a fuller range of services so it helps us stand apart from others.
That’s pretty genius of your uncle. As a full-time tax accountant for a large company I can see how I could offer tax services as my side hustle. The guy that works for me actually does this during the season and pulls in an extra $20k a year. I think he broke it down hourly and it works out to $100 per hour for him. He appreciates that extra money each year. However, I’m trying to make my side hustle something other than what I do at my full-time job. Slowly getting there.
That was very smart of your uncle. I would love to do more specialty work in low vision, but the startup costs can be high. Maybe I should reconsider. There is really no one in our area who offers those type services.
brokeandbeau That’s really some great advice. It seems unnatural for a lot of people to specialize because they don’t want to get “pigeonholed” or become “overly” specialized. In reality if you can apply a specialized skill it could pay off many times more than if you have general skills.
Mrs. Frugalwoods You’re right it can cost more to specialize but the payout is typically there for people willing to sacrifice time, money, etc. to gain those skills. There’s a reason why specialist doctors make $100+ per hour.
Beachbudget Yeah that’s a great point. You may never make a “ton” of money doing something just because you are passionate about it, but it still may be worthwhile. If you want to straight up make lots of money you are better off looking for something to specialize in.
blonde_finance Great example. I think finding a niche or even “sub-niche” is a great way to approach business. If you can meet specific demand you are more likely to succeed financially.
FrugalRules Yeah I think his story is a great example that others can learn from and kind of apply to their own lives. It’s great to see you guys are seeing a payoff from being strategic about your business.
Derrick_Horvath Very cool to see that your report is able to pull in some extra money around tax season. $100/hour would be hard to pass up, but I hear you about wanting to do something different as a side hustle.
Eyesonthedollar Well, it sounds like you’d have instant demand. I’d say look into it more and do some research as to how much demand there is and then go for it if it if the numbers line up.
I love the story of your uncle! I’m going to be spending some time thinking about this and how to apply it to me and Jay. He has a great niche around here because there aren’t very many oil burner experts anymore. But when we go south, that will pretty much be unnecessary, soooooo … I will definitely be thinking of your uncle and so will Jay as soon as I tell him the story. Thanks, DC! :)
Sometimes the best hustles can be to improved or updates an existing product or process. A nice job done by your uncle.
Wow that’s an awesome side hustle. Very smart of him to figure that out!
Great side hustle from your Uncle and some very important lessons we can all learn when we are trying to improve the amount of extra income we are bringing in. Its all about finding that unserved niche and then proving that you have the skills to fulfill it!
That’s a fantastic story, DC. I see a lot of businesses want people who can do it all, rather than specialize. And I get it but I also think it can be short-sided on their part. There are some roles where being an expert makes you invaluable. What has helped distinguish me is my focus on goals and emotions first, than investments. Many, including clients themselves, always want to focus first (and sometimes only) on investments. Within my community, I always well-known for my passion around financial literacy, probably not a huge surprise to you. While there can definitely be a danger if you go too specialized or niche, having a specialized skill set also helps develop your brand too. Everyone has a personal brand, even if they don’t own a business.
Awesome example – that seems to be the great thing with these side hustles, the potential is only limited by the unique value you can add. I’ve managed to carve out a specialisation / niche within my company, and the best thing is that people really seek you out when you’re ‘known’ for something specific. Unfortunately, I’m not raking in $200 per hr as a result, but it means I’m in a good place within the company for now. Just need to apply this thinking outside the office!
“Specialize…” Yes! People will pay for excellence and for those who possess unique skills. It’s just finding out what those are for each one of us and learning how to cultivate it into a money making opportunity.
Huge Win!!!! That is a major, major score for a manufacturing company.
You highlighted a really important point in this post DC. People need to find a way to stand out in a sea of competitors and your uncle was very clever in figuring just how he could do that. I have managed to do the same over the years and it does pay well, not $200 well lol but good enough!
The fact that your uncles name is Jeff/Jef/Geoff makes him brilliant in my books ;) haha..
I must say that is very ingenious what he’s done and a great way to earn some extra $$ :).. An area that I really want to work on/with is coaching. Once I gain some experience with this, decent coaches earn around the $200 an hour mark, then again there is prep time though as well so this would probably reduce the hourly rate.. It’s then about how to scale such a side hustle that is important!
kay lifestylevoices.com Yes please share with him! If you can apply this tactic in the right way you can really can make a lot of money per hour.
DebtDiscipline It’s interesting because a lot of time people think they have to create something from scratch, at least if they want to make a lot of money per hour or want to simply make a lot of money. Sometimes it’s the seemingly ‘simple’ process improvement that can be extremely valuable to companies.
SenseofCents Seriously! I was seriously in awe when I heard about it.
moneystepper Definitely! There is nothing wrong with doing something “general” like blogging about personal finance (to use myself as an example). If you want to make your time more worthwhile, though, it’s better to solve someone else’s problem – especially if it’s a big one!
ShannonRyan Great words, Shannon! Sometimes I think people are so scared of being “pigeonholed” that they never become anything close to an expert in anything. I think it can be good to be known for something and I think we all have a personal brand even if we don’t want one!
Jason@Islands of Investing Congrats on becoming the go-to-guy on something within your office! It’s more difficult to do than people think. I’m *kind of* known for my Excel macro skills, but I haven’t been working on cultivating that specialization for some time now. Now that I’ve gotten a few questions about it the past week and even hosted a training, I am reconsidering how much time I put towards it. Perhaps that’s exactly what I should be investing in.
Brian @ Luke1428 I agree, Brian! I don’t specialize enough and I really need to start doing more of it both at work and outside of work.
moneypropeller Definitely! Having an expertise in something and being willing to go through trial-and-error can result in some huge value-added to a company.
Kassandra @ More Than Just Money I think $200 an hour is an extreme example, but I wrote about it to illustrate a point and to motivate others. If you are willing to creatively solve problems it will eventually pay off – people like to pay to have their problems solved!
That’s a pretty sweet side hustle. I used to work in a manufacturing company and the people who ran the drilling machines had a pretty specific skill set. Something like this is very valuable to a company like that.
What a great story. Your uncle was really crafty in figuring out a way to sharpen the tools. What’s even more amazing is the fact that they cut twice as much! I feel that specialization is important in today’s economy. You always want to have a way to set yourself apart from other candidates in the job market. Leveraging a skill that not many have is a sure way to get noticed and many employers will zero in on those who possess particular talents when it comes time to promote employees.
mycareercrusade I think you’d be a great coach! And very funny about the Jeff comment haha. I know some coaches for people trying to get into top 10 business schools over here who make $300 an hour – and that’s a pretty standard industry rate!
pfjenna Very cool that you used to work in manufacturing. I think people worry too much about being pigeonholed. Sounds like some of these specialties – like running drilling machines – is a great place to be “pigeonholed.”
manneredmoney Thanks for sharing your thoughts. There are so many reasons to learn specific skills and I think if you can combine them with creative problem solving you can really benefit.
This is a great point. Also applies to the medical field as specialist keep making more and more while the general doctors are getting paid less and less. I will definitely have to keep this in mind when freelancing though.
thebrokeprof Yeah I mentioned that in a comment earlier. A specialist is definitely comparable. There’s a reason they can charge in excess of $100/hour.
I think specializing is important, especially for a side-hustle. If you’re not counting on a steady day to day paycheck, you can make so much more by specializing. It really works well when it requires very specific tools or machinery. Great post!
My hubs made a good money from his side-hustle. He loves making websites and programming, it is one of his expertise and he loves what he is doing.
A good idea can make a lot of money……invention is the mother of fortune. :)
MoneyMiniBlog I think the best thing about side hustles is that you DO have a steady paycheck and everything you make is “bonus” money. Tools and machinery seem to be an area where having specialized skills can really pay off.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way That’s great to hear! Programmers will always be in high demand.
DebtChronicles Love that quote! I think focusing on solving problems gives you the best chance of succeeding.
DC @ Young Adult Money mycareercrusade Thanks for those kind words DC, it’s a longer term vision that I want to achieve, but getting involved in the coaching community now and looking to do some courses on it!
Well, what can I say, they don’t completely hire me for my good looks ;) haha