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Side Hustles: The New Way to Supplement Your Income

Sadia Corey VP, Client Development 5 March 2021

One in three American households currently depend on a side job to supplement their income, with a large majority starting additional work since the pandemic began.

If it feels like everyone around you is working a side hustle, you are not imagining things.
As money worries and layoff fears escalate due to the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans are hungry for side gigs. In fact, 31% of American households are currently working to supplement their income.

The majority of households (58%) started a side business of their own or partnered with someone else.

Savanta reports that the majority of households (58%) started a side business of their own or partnered with someone else. 30% took a part-time job to supplement their household income.

Of the households that started a side business of their own or partnered with someone else, 26% of them began an online business, and 20% of them traded in the financial markets.

Other households started selling homemade food or products on social media (11%), started in-person services such as home health care (9%), began selling art and design (6%), started hyperlocal businesses (4%), and opened a café or shop (2%).

How are Americans promoting their side jobs?

Once people start their own business, 30% join relevant online communities to promote their product or service. Another 30% use direct sales, and 29% use paid social media promotions.

Other ways households boosted their additional means of income were by paying influencers (29%), writing blogs and articles (24%), using Google AdWords (22%), free samples (19%), fliers (17%), attending a trade show (16%), and using paid promotions on an e-tailer app or website (14%).

Social media remains a cost-effective and popular method to promote products and services. The majority of households (63%) who supplement their income prefer Facebook to advertise their business. YouTube (51%) and Instagram (44%) are the next most popular social media platforms used to boost awareness. Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitter follow with 32%, 30%, and 28%, respectively. The social media platforms less frequently used to promote products and services are Pinterest (15%), Reddit (13%), WhatsApp (13%), and Tumblr (12%).

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