How To Make $5,000+/Month From Side Hustles In 2025

Despite the increasing popularity of side hustles in today’s economy, not everyone makes it to earn enough money to supplement or even replace their income sustainably.

In fact, recent research from a TurboTax (Intuit) study shows that the majority of side hustlers earn less than $1,000 each month. Of the survey’s 1,000 U.S. respondents, 45% make less than $500 monthly, 27% make between $500 and $1,000, and 18% make up to $2,000 each month. A tiny fraction–only the top 2%–make more than $5,000 from their side hustles per month.

So it’s clear that despite the rise of the gig economy, not everyone is getting it right. Nearly half of side hustle professionals are earning $1,000 or more each month.

Now, if that’s all you need to live on and you’re content with that, no problem. But if you have high aspirations for your income goals this year, and you want to reach the earnings of the top 18% or 2%, you’ve got to do something that’s entirely different from the rest. You’ll need to operate strategically and lay the right foundation for scalable growth.

Here are the two must-have ingredients for an outrageously profitable side hustle that pays so well, it could even out-earn your current job:

1. Skill Stacking

Not all skills are equal; some pay significantly more than others. And in your own career toolkit, you may find that within your skill set, you are stronger with some skills more than the rest.

You likely have strong technical skills to design web apps, for example, but have medium-to-average writing skills. That’s perfectly fine. You don’t need to be exceptional at everything. The real beauty and power lies in combining all your skills together–those that you perform really well at, as well as those that you’re not so good in. This diverse skill set, when combined, can turn your side hustle into a powerful six-figure ecosystem.

Indeed describes skill-stacking as a “process that individuals undertake to make themselves more valuable or relevant. During this process, an individual learns a variety of skills rather than focusing on one. This approach can provide professionals with additional opportunities in various sectors. Learning several related, complementary skills can be very beneficial for reaching your professional goals,” Indeed explains.

As an example of how this would look for your side hustle:

• Copywriting + SEO = SEO content strategist/writer
• Brand strategy + graphic design = Branding consultancy, designing branding packages
• Video editing + digital marketing = Fully done-for-you video marketing campaigns

This enables you to add more value to your packages and throw in more services, which of course increases your pricing because you’re providing more value. If you are already in a high-demand niche like tech or marketing, even better.

2. Scalable Delivery

The next non-negotiable ingredient that enables you to have true financial freedom and separates you as a top 2% earner from everyone else is scalability. Freelancers and side hustle professionals who understand how to scale are ultimately able to regain control of their time and not become a slave to their side hustle. They’re able to spend more time doing what they love, and can even afford to consider climbing the ladder at their current job if they wish to continue working there, because their scalable side hustle is making money for them in the background.

Making your side hustle scalable means that it can continue to grow with minimal extra effort, essentially like passive income. Here are some ways you can apply this principle to your side hustle so you can make more money:

• Create digital products such as templates and e-books
• Launch a course
• Create workshops and host training events
• Hire (contract) other freelancers
• Automate and use AI to step in and engage customers out-of-hours

If you have a valuable, in-demand skill that has proven market growth, and have a system in place that allows you to scale and stack your skills to create added value for your services, you’re already ahead of three in four side hustlers. Remain consistent and you’ll begin to see results. If not, now is the time to start rethinking your approach to your side hustle and working strategically.

Side Hustle FAQs

What skills make the most money?

Generative AI, data analysis, digital marketing, social media management, software development, and leadership and sales skills are some of the highest paying skills that can be combined or stacked in different ways (as mentioned in the article above) to make money.

What side hustles can I start today?

Some profitable side hustles you can start as soon as today include freelance website content writing, resume writing, and virtual assistance. You can discover more here.