She's On The Money - How to Find Your Perfect Side Hustle for 2025

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

Got a big goal for 2025? Whether it’s smashing debt, building an emergency fund, or finally booking that dream holiday, a side hustle could give you the extra cash you need. But how do you find the perfect one? In this week’s episode, we’re diving into exactly that—how to turn your skills, passions, and free time into cold, hard cash. Victoria and Bec break down everything you need to know, from assessing your goals and availability to exploring creative ways to make extra money (spoiler: it’s not all Uber Eats and filling out surveys). We also share real-life examples of side hustles that work and give you a step-by-step plan to find one that fits your life. If you’re ready to make 2025 your most financially empowering year yet, this episode is your ultimate guide. If you’re ready to make 2025 your year of financial wins, tune in for the ultimate side hustle blueprint—and start building the life you’ve been dreaming of. FREEBIE ALERT: Join the She’s on the Money 30-Day Reset—your step-by-step guide to refreshing your finances, setting achievable goals, and starting the year strong! Sign up for free here. Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast that helps you turn your spare time into spare cash without losing your sanity no that sounds possible i don't know we're about to find out. We're about to find out. Maybe you're feeling the pinch after a holiday season that left your bank account in recovery mode. Or maybe you've set a big goal this year to finally build that emergency fund, pay off some debt, or save for that dream holiday. Whatever your reason, you've probably wondered, is a side hustle the answer, the only answer? Well, you're in luck because today we're diving into exactly how to find your perfect side hustle. I'm Bex Eyed and with me is the author of The Business Bible, who knows a thing or two about making your passions

pay off. Victoria Devine. Wow. Wow. Who is that? The author of the business Bible. She's not here yet. No, no, no, no. Do you think I should change? Yeah. Yeah. I don't want to upset her. She sounds like a big dog. She's a big dog. You have to wear your pearl necklace. I get asked all the time, Beck, what is the best side hustle? Like, should I have a side hustle? What's the best side hustle? How do I make extra money on the side? And my answer is always the same. It depends. It depends. It's the worst. And no, it's the worst answer because that's not what you want to hear. But the truth is there is no one size fits all response when it comes to a side hustle. It's not just about making extra cash. It's actually about something that fits you and your life and

your schedule and your energy. And that's exactly what you and I are going to unpack today. So let's figure out how to discover the side hustle that's right for you. Maybe that's the episode title. Yeah, good one. It's a shame that we even need a side hustle, but unfortunately, Cozzy lives, some people are kind of needing that at the moment. So Vee, first I want to ask you, why should we even think about starting a side hustle? Like life is busy, busy, busy enough. It is, but like, do you like money? Yeah, I like money. Do you want more money?

Yeah, I want more money. Yeah, okay. So that might be why you're thinking about a side hustle. Yeah, that makes sense. A side hustle is different to a hobby. A hobby is something that you're doing, just because it's fun. And like, you know, you might sell your stuff, but like you're not doing it because you're making money. Yeah. Side hustle. The intention is to make some cold, hard cash. Like we want some cash money. And now more than ever, it is important to look at the bigger picture. You said before Cozy Lives, I didn't realize we were still using that acronym. I

thought we left it in 2024, but here we are. It's not about just tightening our belts and cutting costs, like how many times can you be told, review your subscriptions, babe, negotiate a pay rise, cut back on your groceries, do a meat-free Monday, Bec, that'll save you some money. Yeah, yeah, totally. Like, I'm done with that. At the end of the day, we need to start asking, how do I generate some more income to support my life? A side hustle isn't just, I guess, a bonus anymore for a lot of us. It's actually becoming a very essential part of staying ahead, reaching our goals and creating the lifestyle that we deserve because our incomes for some of us

are not enough. And I won't say that's okay because it's to me not okay, but like that's okay because we can talk about side hustles and find a way to generate that extra income because when my friend, there is a will, there is a way. You're so motivating, you know? Thanks. It's Because I don't have any of it myself. So I have to drum it up like this. Whatever works. There are so many side hustle options out there, which is actually very good because it kind of like, it doesn't matter what you're into. You'll find something. So how do we like know where to start? So I would, I'm not going to surprise anybody here because like, honestly, with every single one of my podcasts, it's not about

reinventing the wheel. I wish I could say, actually, Bec, I've discovered this entire concept called side hustles. I invented it and I am the genius behind side hustles. But at the end of the day, this isn't surprising, but the best place to start is by getting clear on your goals and like what you want from your side hustle and what is your why. So you want to start by asking yourself, like, why do I want a side hustle to begin with? Like, do I want a hundred dollars a month? Cause like a hundred dollars a month is a lot easier to drum up than a couple of grand, you know, like you could, we'll get into brainstorming side hustles in a minute. I won't get ahead of myself, but like, what do I want to achieve? Like, am I exploring a passion

and getting paid? Am I, you know, trying to build a skill or even start a side hustle so that I can build a skill so I can have a business so I never have to work full time? How much money do you want to make? Like, as I said before, making a hundred dollars a month is a lot easier than making a thousand dollars a month. But instead of saying, oh, I just want to earn more money, we need to be a little bit more specific. Like you mentioned before, like, oh, you could maybe have a holiday and some people in our community literally have side hustles so they can afford holidays and that is incredible but what's that holiday going to cost? Are we talking like a year in Europe or are we talking like a $5,000 family holiday and that's our financial goal? I also

want to know is it short-term side hustle? Like are we just doing some hustle to get out of debt and hit a financial goal and like you're just going to take every free hour that you have and you're going to do Uber Eats and you're going to do DoorDash and you're going to do everything in your power to make every single hour that you have free income generating because you're just like I'm getting out of debt and that is the goal or are you wanting to do something more specific are you setting up a side hustle that one day will replace your nine-to-five it's a really good point because those two are different and I mean you're not going to start uber driving and door dash driving if the plan is to then replace your full-time job with your side hustle because

it's like, well, that one, yeah, you're getting extra cash in the door, but like, that's not building a business for yourself. Like we need to find the right fit. And both of those options are great. Like your goals are going to play a massive part in determining the type of side hustle that is right for you. Cause it's again, it's not one size fits all. So Beck, for example, if you're like, oh, I want to earn 50 bucks extra a week, you might actually focus on something super low commitment. Like maybe you're going to sell some pre-loved clothes that you've got already in your wardrobe on Depop, you might also offer some babysitting services. You could maybe rent out items. So you could rent out your dresses online if you've got dresses, things that don't

require a lot of energy. There was a money diarist, I think it was a couple of years ago now, who had a side hustle of taking everybody on her streets bins out. That's such a great idea. And she's like, I'll do it. Five bucks a bin. Yeah. That all added up and she was getting a couple of hundred bucks each month. That's, oh my God, a fantastic idea. I would pay someone to do that.

Five bucks a bin every week, every second week, recycling and general rubbish. That's 10 bucks that week. And then they just pop their money in their letterbox and she'd go around, collect all of the money and wham, bam, thank you, man, a little bit of extra cash, right? Yeah, seriously. But that's not thousands and thousands of dollars. No. Right.

That's just actually a little bit of a side hustle. So there's lots of things that you can do, but we need to find the right fit. But if your goal is to then go, oh, well, B, I actually need $500 extra a week, taking the bins out, that's not going to work. Like that's not the side hustle for you. You're going to need something that's a little bit more structured and scalable. Maybe you're doing freelance in an area of expertise or like you're running an e-commerce store or you're starting like a high demand service or you are doing a heap of Uber Eats hours. Like there is something for everybody, but everything isn't for just you. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, definitely. So once

we're like clear on our goals, what do you recommend we do next? Next, we're going to have a look at our lifestyle. Like we're going to look at our lifestyle and our schedule. And it's honestly all about getting honest with yourself. When you want to make extra money, money sounds good. Money is motivating. I love money. I want more of it. But are you actually going to do it? Like you're actually going to pull your finger out and do it. You have to ask yourself a few questions. Like, when do I have free time? You might go, oh, V, it's in the mornings or maybe it's on the weekends or maybe it's sporadically through the week. How much energy do you have as another one? Because like, if you said, V, doing a side hustle, you want to earn 500 extra bucks a week? I'd be like,

absolutely, I do. You're going to have to get up at 4am. Oh, all of a sudden I don't want that $500 extra a week. Do you know what I mean? Like, we're going to find a reason to not do that. And the question is, am I ready to take on something productive or would I need something a little bit more low maintenance or like timing specific? What current commitments do I have that might clash with a side hustle? Like if you're going to do babysitting, but you already have kids, that's probably maybe not going to work if you need to be home for your kids. But if you already have kids and you're going to do babysitting, you're already looking after kids. Maybe you just add them to the mix. Right, right. So there's lots of things you could do. And the other question

I want you to ask yourself is, can I actually commit to setting up a business or should I find some kind of freelance platform? Should I be going to like a mad pause to do pet setting or an airtasker or an Uber and like using their platform to earn some extra income? I'm not having to run a whole business on my own. So I guess like if you say your evenings are packed with family obligations, a good side hustle that requires like nighttime availability, like tutoring or running events might not work. Yeah, probably not. Instead, you could focus on something flexible, like selling digital products or freelance writing if you have the skills. When you know when you're available, whether it's like a couple of hours on the weekend or early mornings before work,

you can start narrowing it down from there. Exactly. Because like not everything is going to fit into your schedule. Yeah. And I feel like when people are like, what's the best side hustle? I'm like, for what? Yes. And now we're talking about it. You can see why I can't be more specific. Exactly. Exactly. So now that we know what we want to achieve and how much we can commit, what's next? All right. This is the fun bit. This is the bit that you've probably come here for. What you get to do is you get to have a look at your skills and your passions and you get to kind of do a little bit of an audit. You get to sit down and go, all right, well, what do I actually bring to the table? And how can I then turn my talent into something really profitable?

Yeah. Take yourself on a date. Get to know yourself. A hundred percent. But. Okay. Hold that thought. Okay. Because. Just for a hot minute? Just for a hot minute. Let's just go for a little quick break. Is that okay? Yeah. Okay. We can go for a break.

After the break, we'll dive into the exact questions you need to uncover your hidden talents. And we will reveal one simple trick that could lead you straight to your perfect side hustle. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. I'm staying. Welcome back, everyone. Before the break, we talked about assessing your availability and setting realistic goals. Now it's time to dig into the fun stuff. Finally, your skills and passions. Oh my gosh. I did a little hook at the start of last one and then you cut me off. I know, sorry. So I couldn't play. But this is where you get to really dig into what you bring

to the table, Bec, and how you can turn your talents into something more profitable. I mean, even you have a side hustle. I do have a side hustle. You turned your talent into a side hustle, did you not? Yes, yes. Isn't that good? I'm doing video editing eight hours a week and it's like really good pay. And because it's so like that kind of stuff, when it's freelance, you can do it whenever, wherever. And so it doesn't feel like it's taking up too much of your time. So you did something that you already had a skill in and you were like, I could probably do a little bit of freelance. Exactly. Slay queen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love it. But if you hadn't have done a little bit of an audit on like what you bring to the table, you would probably be like, oh, well,

you know, side hustle, let's be stereotypical. Oh, I could do Uber Eats. I could do this. Like I've heard that those are the ones that, you know, other people are doing, but I'm assuming it's a bit more fun when it's something that you're already interested in. A little bit of video editing here and there, like how good for you. But if you aren't like Beck and you didn't immediately know what your talents are, which nice Beck, nice. I want you to grab a notebook or just open your notes app. Honestly, you're going to start by listing out three things. what skills do I have that I already use regularly? So maybe you do like social media on your own, or like at work, you write newsletters or, you know, something like that. Then I want to know

what hobbies have you got that I have that others might value? So like, are you good at baking? Can you throw epic parties? Are you good at mending things? So like, are you like good at sewing and stitching and stuff like that? Stuff that like is a skill that not everybody always has. then I want you to think what do people come to you for like for advice or help on for me it's money so I made a podcast that's my side hustle maybe people are asking you for help like with resume writing that could work are they always like Bec I need your help like I'm going for a new job will you help me with my resume that's a skill you might not have trained for it but if people are trusting you with that you're probably damn good at it yeah and then I want

you to ask have I solved a problem for myself that I could probably help others with so like did you make an epic budget for your wedding that people might want to buy? Yes, totally. Are you still stuck? Here's the hack, Bec. You said that I would tell people this. Ask your friends and family what they think you should do. Yes. Like if I was like, Bec, I'm stuck. I need a side hustle. What do you think I could do? And you're like, oh, V, I'll grab a coffee with you and we can brainstorm some things. I guarantee that you've got some side hustles in your brain that I could do that I'm not seeing because it's like right in front of my face. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Because I know that if I sat down with you, I'd be like, oh, video editing

would be great. Maybe if you hadn't thought of it, you'd be like, oh, I didn't realize I could take my actual main career and do a little side hustle. Totally. I actually didn't have any idea. Someone else recommended it. So you're so damn right. Yeah, exactly. Somebody else is always going to come in, clutch and be like, hey, by the way, did you know that you could do this? And they probably see strengths that you're not very good at seeing in yourself. Because we are so self-critical. We are. We're our biggest critics. And we're like, oh, I couldn't do that. I don't run a media agency. I can't do video editing on the side. Like, who am I? A good video editor, that's who. Maybe you think like knitting's just a hobby, but your friends are

like, girlfriend, that is boutique level. Like people would commission pieces from you. Yes. Boom. Handmade scarves might be your thing. Exactly. Or maybe you're just like, you find it so satisfying to clean out your bathroom or your toilet. Oh my gosh, that is such a good side hustle. Just let people know. Organizing, decluttering, do people's pantries. Oh, there would be nothing more satisfying. Totally. I was quite, well, I mean, I've always broke, but there was a period where I was very broke and I told all my friends that I would give them a massage, $50 an hour, wine on arrival. And no one took the offer, but I just thought it was a great idea. That is a great idea in theory, but like, I'm not going to lie for $50 an hour, I'm probably

just going to go to the massage shop. Yeah, true. It was worth a crack. You don't want to have a chat. We don't have to have a chat. That's tenacious. I like that. I'm glad you didn't advertise it online because you could have got some weirdos. Yeah, that's true. Well, anyone listening, I'm still offering that. Stick to video editing. Stick to video editing. Maybe I should. Maybe I should. Okay. So we've figured out our goals, our available time, what we're good at. What do we do next? The next step is having a look at your opportunities because we might have some good ideas, but they might not actually be that good. And this is where you are going to start exploring specific side hustles and matching them to everything that

we've talked about so far. Okay. So how do we figure out which opportunities are worth pursuing? So again, we're going to ask ourselves the questions that I asked ourselves before. We're going to ask, does this side hustle align with like my skill and my lifestyle? If it doesn't fit your availability or like strengths you have, it's probably not the right option. I cannot knit. I will not be doing knitting. If you don't have a license, maybe Uber driving, not for you. Does it actually help you achieve your goals? So whether the goal is earning extra money or maybe building a new skill or just having some fun and getting out in the community, like the side hustle needs to support that the next years you could be the biggest baddest

scarf maker in the whole entire world but you live in queensland yeah so like is there a demand for what you are producing i would be doing a little bit of research to see you know are other people already doing this product or like this service use platforms honestly look it up on tiktok look it up on instagram or etsy or reddit and see if there's interest in what you're doing and then what's the startup cost? So like, for example, I think if you and I sat down and you go, oh V, I think you're a side hustle. You're really good at money. Maybe you should give like financial advice. That is a very expensive thing to give, like to have a financial services license to do the whole thing. That is actually not, that's not good. I need you to make

sure it's something that you can start with and have the resources to be able to do. Like if it was a side hustle for me and I didn't have an income and I didn't have any money to invest, I could probably sit people down and do their budgets, but I definitely couldn't give investing advice. So I need to think about what I could and couldn't do. And then the other question is like, does this excite me? You're going to be more likely to stick with a side hustle that you actually enjoy doing because there's nothing worse, Bec, and you can probably attest to this, getting home from a hard day at the office and then realizing you have those eight hours a week of video editing that you need to do. Oh yeah. Like you're like, oh my gosh, I need to do that

too, but like if it's not that much of a drag, you're like, okay, well maybe I'll grab a soda water from the fridge and I'll sit on the couch and I'll just get this done. Like it's not too bad. Exactly. If you feel like you need to bury your head in the sand and you wish you never did it, that's probably not. Oh my God. When you get that feeling in your belly, you know, I would rather do anything else. Exactly. I think that's all very, very good, solid advice. So it's about narrowing down the options in a way that's practical and realistic. Absolutely. And then And the next step is like kind of testing it. This is where you take everything that you've worked on and try it out in the real world, but like on a small and really low pressure scale.

So like not like Beck, but you're going to offer your services to friends and family. So no massages with wine on arrival. But if your side hustle is service-based like tutoring or consulting or freelancing, start by offering it to people you know, because this feels safe and this gives you a safe space to practice and refine your process. The next is like maybe make a small scale batch of products. So if you're going to sell products, create a small batch to sell through social media or local markets or like on Etsy, and then that's going to gauge the demand and you're going to get some feedback. The other thing I would say is using gig platforms can be life-changing. So for freelancing or like project-based work, so say, Bec, you had identified

that you wanted to be a video editor, right? You were like, oh, I could do eight hours of video editing freelance, but I don't have any clients. Like you've got the connections. So like money win for you because you were like, okay, cool. Well, I'll just put my hand up and I can do these things because like I've got some people who can connect me with some people. Not everyone has that, right? But you could have put an ad up on Fiverr or you could have put an ad up on Airtasker or Upwork and said, I'm a video editor and I can do these things. And you know, this is my rates and this is what I would charge you. And here's where I work and some examples of what I've done. And then people could see that ad and then go, oh, Bec, I know it's not eight hours, but I've got

two hours of video editing work a week for you. You can start by picking up some small things. I think a lot of the time people go, oh, V, but I don't have anyone that has, I don't have any clients. You're going to have to get clients somehow. And these gig platforms are literally game changing. I use AirTasker all the time, not to advertise my services, but like I go on AirTasker and I'm like, surely there is somebody who does this. Yes. Like I need help with X, Y, Z, like from home organization to gardening to admin stuff. I mean, this year, one of my strategies, Bec, for growing my mortgage broking business is letterbox drops. Yeah. So I have thousands of these like flyers to be like, hey, new year, new mortgage. So we've printed those out. I don't have

time to put them in individual letterboxes. Like that's just not going to happen. So for me, I have advertised that on Airtasker and found a group of people who want to be paid per hour to just literally walk their dog around and put these letterbox drops into everybody's letterbox. You don't even have to always have a skill. You just have to be tenacious to take the work. and I think that that's the cool thing about 2025. You can do anything. If you want to earn an income, you can jump on Airtasker. If you've lost your job, you can pick up odd tasks here and there. If you can't drive and do courier stuff on there, don't worry because people literally like me will advertise, oh, I've got a short job here and then you can line up the next one for a few

days in advance. It's really cool. Totally. Me and my friends were having a lovely night one night And we couldn't obviously leave the house because, you know, when you've had a couple of drinks, you're like, I don't want to drive. No, absolutely not. You go on an air tasker, like on a Friday night, we were asking someone to deliver us a vape for like $100. One vape. And people will do that.

Did it happen? Did it happen? It actually did happen. Okay. Oh, my God. See, that is iconic. And if I was just doing nothing one night and I saw a group of people who wanted a vape for $100.

Mate, say less. You better believe I'm on my way. I'll be there. I'll do it for $99. I'll undercut the competition. Exactly. And it's very responsible. because they're not drink driving and you're helping friends out.

I love that. But I think it's also about just being a little bit creative. Like if you want a side hustle, I actually love, Bec, the idea that you'd pick one that doesn't commit you to heaps. Like use a platform like Fiverr or Airtasker or Upwork, none of which sponsor me, but if they want to, they can call me. But small, non-coincidental tasks that add income to your back pocket but when you get home there's no stress.

Yeah, exactly. That's my favourite kind. You leave it at work. Don't worry about it. You don't need to set up a whole damn business and file your tax return and do all of this stuff. All you need to do is go, oh, for $100, I would absolutely do someone's admin. Yeah.

Or, you know, I saw the other day because, like, I scroll on Airtasker to see what other people are doing. Oh, ironing. Someone was doing, like, $50 for each basket of ironing. Oh, that's actually really good. Isn't that cool? And ironing is fun. Hey, you good at ironing?

I hate ironing, Bec. I'm not good at it, but I do enjoy it. No, thank you. No, thank you. But that's why people pay. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I feel like we've covered so much today.

We have covered so much. Any final advice for someone ready to take the leap into a side hustle? I would say start small. Focus on what's going to work for you and your life and honestly don't overthink it. And if you're still looking for some inspiration, shameless plug, check out my book, The Business Bible. It is packed with tips to help you turn your ideas into action and make your hustle a success. Love it. All right.

Thank you so much, V. Have a good week, guys. We'll see you on Friday. See you Friday. Bye. Bye. The advice shared on She's on the Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances.

She's on the Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.