Cody Berman is no stranger to side hustles. Since his freshman year of college at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the 27-year-old has tried building online businesses, tutoring, doing yard work, working at a Christmas tree farm, editing podcasts and videos, running affiliate marketing campaigns and freelance writing, among others.
"I am a dabbler by trade," he says.
Today, Berman makes his money selling digital products like an online course and printables people buy on Etsy and print on their own. He's also in real estate, renting out long-term properties and short-term housing in New England. Altogether, his various income streams brought in nearly $700,000 in 2022.
Given his years of dabbling, Berman's gleaned some insights about side hustles. Here's how to find the most lucrative hustle for you.
'It's going to be where you can add the most value'
One hustle direction that could prove fruitful is leaning into a skill you have that's in high demand.
Say you know how to build websites. Do a search of local companies from your town and see if you can offer your services. "If a company doesn't have a website, that's a no-brainer," says Berman. "Come to them and be like, 'hey, I'll build this website for you.'"
You can do some research in advance to mention metrics like how much their business can grow with a website and how much better customer retention could be. "It's just looking for those gaps and identifying what isn't this company doing," he says.
Ultimately, "for the most lucrative stuff, it's going to be where you can add the most value for other people," says Berman.
Web designers on Upwork are charging as much as $125 per hour.
Digital products have a 'way higher upside potential'
Berman also suggests taking the time to build out a digital hustle like a YouTube channel, a blog, an e-book or an Etsy or Shopify store with printable items.
When Berman first started experimenting with Etsy in 2018, he created a slew of Valentine's Day products such as love coupons. "You might put, like, 'date night' or 'movie night' or you might put 'no chore day,'" says Berman about how couples can use them. Altogether, he made about 25 products.
"Only two or three of them took off," he says. Still, he adds, "I made over $700 Valentine's Day week."
One thing to keep in mind with these digital products is "it is a long ramp-up period," says Berman, "so do not expect to get rich quick."
Their advantage is you only have to make them once and they can stay relevant for a long time. As you create new ones, the old ones stay on the site and people can keep buying them even as you're adding inventory. Because you're constantly building on your arsenal of products, in the long run, digital products have a "way higher upside potential" than hustles where you're getting paid for doing the work once.
"It's definitely going to be more lucrative over the long run," he says.
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